And you?
Mariana held his gaze for a long moment. Then, without haste, she rested her head on his shoulder.
—For me… you arrived just in time too.
At that moment, Matthew ran towards them.
—Family hug!
The two of them crouched down and hugged him, laughing and crying at the same time.
A year later, Alejandro and Mariana remarried.
This time there was no big reception or mandatory guest list. The ceremony was intimate, at a small estate outside Guadalajara, surrounded by white flowers and soft music, with Mateo walking among them carrying the rings in a small wooden box.
When the judge asked them if they wished to resume their lives, Alejandro stared at Mariana and replied:
Yes, I accept. This time, to take care of what I didn't know how to value before.
Mariana, her eyes shining, replied:
Yes, I accept it. Not because we have forgotten the past, but because we have learned from it.
Mateo applauded before anyone else.
We're a family again!
The room was filled with laughter.
Alejandro lifted him in his arms and kissed his forehead.
"No, champ," he said excitedly. "We never stopped being champions. We just need time to find each other again."
Mariana hugged them both.
And as the sun set over Guadalajara, Alejandro realized that the "gift" Mariana had promised him had never been just Mateo.
It was a second chance.
An opportunity to become a father.
To love without selfishness.
To go back home.
And this time, I had no intention of letting any of this slip through my fingers.
