Page 169 of Something Like Winter

«No idea,» Tim admitted. «I think he’s attached to his house, and I don’t want to leave mine.»

Nana nodded as if this made sense. «Did you know I never wanted to live in this city? I grew up in a small village, and that’s all I knew. That’s all I wanted to know. Your grandfather was from Guadalajara, and he didn’t want to leave there, either.»

«Then how did you meet?»

«He did business with my father, working for a bank that wanted to check on their investment. So when he came to see that everything in the company was going well, he would always be invited for dinner. That’s how we met and kept meeting. When he said he wanted to marry me, I was happy, until I learned he wanted us to live in Guadalajara.»

«So what did you do?»

«I told him that if I had to leave my home, he also had to leave his. I told him to find a new job somewhere else. Then I would marry him and move there.»

Tim laughed. «And that’s how you ended up here?»

«That’s right.»

«Crazy old woman.»

Nana smiled proudly. «You think about it. Sometimes you can only make a home in a new place. Move here to Mexico City. Be close to your grandma.»

Now he saw what she was trying to say. Tim agreed with Ben. Too much connected them both to Austin now. They couldn’t leave it behind. But there might be some wisdom in her words anyway. «We can’t move here, but I’ll try to visit more often. Okay?»

Nana nodded as if satisfied. «Next time you come with me to my new church. The priest, he’s younger than me, but he says that love isn’t a sin. You love a woman, you love a man, you love a tomato. God is happy, because he created love.»

Tim stared at her. «Do you agree?»

Nana shook her head. «No one should love a tomato. But the rest, yes.»

«Then maybe you can talk to Mom about that.»

Nana sat upright. «Is that why you don’t spend time together?»

Tim shrugged, turning his attention back to the dictionary. He didn’t want to send Nana after his parents like an attack dog, but hopefully she would broach the subject with them. Maybe it would help. And if not, Tim would no longer worry about the consequences. Nana was right. He needed to have his own home, his own family. The only question was how.

* * * * *

“Ready to fly home tomorrow?” Tim said, not hiding the concern in his voice.

Ben looked over at him. “Afraid I’ll come to my senses the second we land in Austin?” He winked. “Stop worrying. Against all logic and reason, I’ve been hopelessly in love with you since I was sixteen. If I haven’t snapped out of it by now, then there’s no hope for me.”

Tim grinned. “Glad to hear it.”

“Besides,” Ben said. “The past has to catch up with us eventually. When it does, we’ll face it together.”

The past was a funny thing. He and Ben stood on the apex of a pyramid, a green valley surrounding them—the Basin of Mexico. On the horizon, rolling hills and mountains turned blue as they faded into the distant sky. Here they were, on the Pyramid of the Sun, part of an ancient city built by a civilization that had risen and fallen centuries before even the Aztec Empire. The Teotihuacan people had never thought their time would come to an end, that centuries later, tourists would wander their city with cell phones and cameras extended to capture it all on video. Or that two gay guys would stand on the top of their tallest pyramid and contemplate their future together.

“I don’t want to forget what we’ve been through,” Ben said. “Not any of it. Even the painful memories belong to us.” He shrugged. “That’s who we are. Coming here was just to help us get on our feet.”

“Really? I thought we were running away together.” Tim meant it as a joke, but it didn’t sound that way.

“Nah. There’s nothing we need to run from. Not anymore, although the idea has a certain romantic appeal to it.” Ben nudged him. “Besides, what about Chinchilla?”

“She can come with us.”

“And Samson?

“Absolutely!”

“Allison too?”