Page 152 of Break Point
A quick knock startles us, but I don’t move in time, too scared I’ll hurt him.
A nurse steps in, followed by?—
“Dora!” I blurt, springing off the bed like I’ve been caught doing something illegal.
I knew she was flying in from Chicago today. Dad’s the one who called Dora and offered her our apartment in Manhattan while we’re away so Henry wouldn’t be alone during his recovery.
“Mom?”
Henry licks his lips trying to get the gloss off.
No luck.
I want to laugh and crawl into a hole at the same time.
She rushes in and pulls me into a hug.
“Oh, Belén!” She sways me from side to side, rubbing my back in adelicate, nurturing way. “Look at you! You’re all grown up!”
She holds me at arm’s length.
“Thank you,” she says, her blue eyes, the same shade as Henry’s, locked on mine. “For doing this for my boy.”
“Of course,” I say, nodding. “We love Henry. It was a no-brainer.”
I press my lips together and step aside so she can get to her son.
She kisses his forehead and pulls up a chair to sit beside him.
“I’ll be staying in New York for a few weeks for your recovery,” Dora says. She looks tired. Not just early flight tired.Lifetired. The kind that settles in your shoulders when you’ve held too much for too long.
Her brown hair is swept back in a low bun, a few strands escaping at her temples. Her makeup is minimal, but those soft, sea-glass blue eyes Henry inherited look older than I remember.
She’s lived through so much. Mitch’s death. The lies leading up to it. The years of quiet damage. The drinking, the partying, the women.
Holding it together for Henry when no one else would.
I don’t know how she did it. But I knowwhyshe did. She looks at him now like he’s her whole reason.
“You didn’t have to drop everything to come here,” Henry says, already worried.
Knowing him, I can tell he doesn’t want to be a burden. He never does. I don’t get why it’s so hard for him to let people show up for him, especially when he’s spent his whole life doing just that for everyone else.
“I know how busy you are, and I don’t want to be?—”
“I’ll be working remotely,” she says, her tone final. “They’ll survive without me in Chicago. And anyway, I told you your uncle’s expanding. He wants to open a gym in New Jersey, so I’ll be relocating in a few months.”
“That’s such great news!” I say.
Henry had mentioned the possibility of her moving back, but this is perfect. Something tells me it’ll give him peace of mind to have Dora close. To know he doesn’t have to worry about her all the time anymore.
They talk for a while, and every time I offer to step out to give them space, they wave me off. At one point, Dora gets emotional about Henry finally going through with the surgery. She reaches for my hand andsqueezes.
“I don’t know how to thank you and your dad for everything you’ve done,” she says, brushing away tears with the back of her hand. “For both of us.”
“You’ve always been family,” I say. “We love you both so much.”
Dora blows her nose and gives herself a few seconds to compose. She shifts in her seat and arches a brow.
