Will He or Won't He?

Luna woke early, blinking at the clock radio next to her bed. “It’s too early for a Saturday,” she grumbled, silencing the alarm. She sat up and got out of bed, stumbling into the bathroom to take a shower. After she got out, she heard the water running in the other bathroom, and knew her second son was up. It was going to be a long day, but she was so proud of Julio. Today was his high school graduation, and it had been difficult at times, especially when her ex-husband had left them when Julio was in middle school and Matthew was a baby. Thankfully, Matthew was staying with his godparents for the day, so that she could attend Julio’s graduation and then go to the pre-school celebration for her students who would be going to kindergarten the following year.

Luna finished her makeup and combed her hair before choosing a comfortable dress and pair of shoes, knowing that she would be walking a lot and standing in line before the graduation started. She and Julio quickly ate breakfast, and went out to the car. “Is Dad going to be there?” Julio asked as they drove to the university campus.

Luna gripped the steering wheel tightly. “He said he was coming,” she carefully replied, not sure she could trust that her ex would keep his promise. Julio didn’t say anything else, and Luna’s thoughts drifted to previous times when her ex had made and broken promises, especially their wedding promise, in which they’d promised to be there for each other forever.

Luna and Julio soon arrived at the venue, and drove around looking for a place to park. Fortunately, since it was still early, they found a spot and walked to the area where other graduates and their parents milled around. Luna took some pictures of Julio in his cap and gown, and one of his friends took photos of her and Julio together. All too soon, Julio had to go line up with the rest of the graduates, and Luna got in line with the other parents, waiting for the doors to open. She checked her phone for messages, but saw nothing. As the line started moving, her ex rushed to join her. He tried to hug her, but Luna evaded him. He handed her a bag, saying it was for Matthew.

“Thanks,” Luna replied, her tone brusque. She had no interest in conversing with her ex, and was thankful that the line kept moving. They found their seats, and Luna signed as she sat down in the hard plastic chairs of the basketball arena, which was now set up to host various high school graduation ceremonies. It was impossible to sit comfortably, and the people around her were so loud that it was hard to hear anything that the speakers said.

Luna watched the stage intently as the principal began calling the student’s names, scanning the program for her son’s name. Shortly before Julio was supposed to walk the stage, her ex left the auditorium to make a phone call. While he was out, Julio walked the stage, shaking hands with the administrators. Her ex returned to his seat after Julio sat back down. “Oh, I missed it,” he exclaimed.

“Just like you’ve missed the past six years of his life,” Luna thought, but she bit her tongue to avoid starting an argument in public. After the ceremony was over, Luna took a few more photos of Julio. He opted to go with his dad, but Luna excused herself since she had to go to the preschool event.

“I’ll see you at home, Julio,” she promised. “Love you.”

“I love you too, Mom,” he replied, before joining his dad.

Luna hurried to her car and typed the address for the preschool event into the GPS on her phone. She started her car and carefully backed out of her parking spot, joining other parents who were trying to exit the venue. “Great, just great,” she muttered, as it started pouring. She drove carefully to the preschool event, and pulled into a parking spot. It was still raining, so she opened the car door before snapping her umbrella open. She waded through the puddles, grimacing as her feet got soaked. The rain stopped just as she entered the area where the pre-K celebration was set up. “Typical,” Luna muttered. She closed her umbrella and plastered a smile onto her face as the children rushed to greet her. Luna crouched down to hug them before they ran off again. Luna greeted the director of the program, chatted with a few parents, and posed for photos with her students. Since she had arrived late, the party soon ended and she drove home, eager to get her wet shoes off and into comfortable clothes.

Once home, Luna quickly changed and started the laundry. She went into her room and laid down to take a nap. When she woke up, she saw that her ex was camped in the living room watching TV. Sighing, Luna went to move the wet clothes to the dryer before going back to her bedroom. Her older son, Andres, followed her in. “Mom, I want us all to go to dinner tonight to celebrate Julio’s graduation and so you can meet my girlfriend,” he told her.

“Absolulely,” Luna promised. “What time and where?”

“6:00 pm, at Chili’s,” Andres replied. Luna nodded and went back to finishing her chores.

A little before 6:00, Luna changed out of her sweats and t-shirt into a nice pair of slacks and a blouse. She combed her hair again, then went out to the living room. “We can ride together,” her ex offered.

Luna shot him a withering look. “I’ll drive my own car,” she declared.

“Mom, I don’t know who to ride with,” Julio told her as her ex went downstairs.

“It’s your choice, Julio,” Luna responded. “If you want to ride with your dad, that’s fine.”

Julio opted to ride with her, and they drove to Chili’s in silence, with the music from the radio filling the space. They soon arrived at the restaurant, and went inside. Luna sat across from Andres, his girlfriend, and her ex, with Julio next to her. The waitress took their orders, and the four of them managed to have a conversation.

After dinner, Andres and his girlfriend went to his car, and Luna sent Julio to her car and told him to wait since she and her ex needed a minute to talk. Her ex began by demanding to know where Matthew was so that he could see him. “I’m his father,” he stated. “I have every right to see him.”

Luna stared at him for a minute. “As far as I’m concerned, yes, you are his father legally, but that’s it. You haven’t been here to help raise him and you don’t even know what he likes to do. You’re not seeing him tonight.”

“I promise to do better,” her ex protested.

“Why should I believe you?” Luna demanded. “You promised before that you would help, that you would make more of an effort to connect with Matthew and you haven’t done any of that.”

“You’re supposed to help me build a relationship with Matthew,” Diego retorted.

“That is not my responsibility, Diego,” Luna retorted, furious. He opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. “You are going to listen to me for once,” she ordered, her tone fierce. “I’ve bitten my tongue and not said much, but now, you are going to listen without saying a word. You left to go be with your parents, putting them above our marriage, above the children. You promised to be here for us and to help cover the bills, but you haven’t. You complain that I’m not as soft as I was before, that I’ve become hard. Well, guess what, I’ve had to become hard, stronger, because everything is on me. Matthew is my child, and his godparents have done more to help me than you have. You are not seeing him tonight. If you want a relationship with Matthew, you need to figure out how to build one. I hope you have a safe trip back to your parents’ house.”

“I’ll do better, I promise,” Diego called after her.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Luna told him. She got into the car and took a deep breath. “Julio, where’s the key?”

“You’re sitting on it,” he answered. Luna shifted her position on the seat, and pulled the key out. She stuck it in the ignition and started the car. She glanced at her ex one last time before pulling out of the parking lot.

Diego stood there, watching them drive away before going to his car. It hurt to hear Luna say that he couldn’t see Matthew that night, as he had to leave the next day, and it was painful for him to consider that she didn’t view him as Matthew’s father. He wasn’t sure how he could repair this, especially since Luna obviously didn’t trust him anymore. Diego walked to his car with a heavy heart, wondering and drove to his hotel. Once in his hotel room, he sat for a long time, replaying Luna’s words in his mind. Sighing, he finally went to sleep, knowing that regaining Luna’s trust and connecting with Matthew was going to be difficult and he didn’t even know how to begin.