50 Chapter 50: Mariana

Six months later…

Dishes. I swear I'm always doing dishes. Only now I'm doing them while looking out my window into our backyard.

I watch Santos and the kids kick a soccer ball back and forth. For the umpteenth time, the ball goes right between Theo's legs and I find myself laughing. Looks like our boy didn't get the athletic gene. Lina, however, seems to be a natural.

I quickly dry my hands and grab my camera, taking shot after shot of them in their colorful winter coats, eyes bright with excitement, cheeks red with the chill in the air. It's not cold for the rest of the world, but for my kids, February in Houston is chilly.

I was worried when we moved in that I would lose my friendship with Marcus. But since we got here about six months ago, the opposite seems to be true. He's here all the time. He says it's because his new neighbors make way more noise in the bedroom than even the people who lived there before us. I don't believe him. I think he just misses us.