If no one goes after him, I’ll go.
Everyone saw me again.
Tomás frowned:
“Diego, you have a transport company, a wife and two children. Don’t bring trouble to your house.
I squeezed the edge of the chair tightly.
“He’s my brother.
Lucia let out a dry laugh:
“Brother?” After fifteen years, it is nothing more than a burden.
I didn’t answer. But the next morning I drove my old pickup to the prison on the outskirts.
Esteban walked out the front door in faded clothes and an old backpack spent in his hand. He was thinner than he imagined, with his cheekbones sunk and eyes marked by the years. But when he saw me, he stopped dry.
“You really… came for me?”
I walked over and hugged him.
“Let’s go home, brother.
I felt a slight tremor in his shoulders.
During the return journey, Esteban stared out the window for a long time. When we entered the colony, he asked me quietly:
Does Mom know I’m going to your house?
I was silent a few seconds before I answered:
“You know that. But he didn’t say anything.
My house was in a quieter area west of Guadalajara. I had managed to build a small company dedicated to the transport of agricultural products between Jalisco and Michoacán. We were not millionaires, but we did live comfortably and we could give our two children a good school.
Only, when Esteban crossed the door of my house, I immediately felt the atmosphere tighten.
My wife, Sofia, was standing in the room. The smile was wiped from his face as soon as he saw the man in the old backpack.
“You really brought him here?” he asked with a rigid voice.
I replied:
“You have nowhere to go.
Sofia looked at Stephen from top to bottom and then turned her eyes to me.
“Diego, our children live here.
Stephen lowered his head immediately.
“If my sister-in-law is not comfortable, I can sleep in the garage for a few days.
That phrase left a knot in my throat.
I took her little suitcase and put her inside the house.
No one is going to sleep in the garage. You’re gonna stay in the room by the yard.
My children, Matthew and Alma, were hiding behind me, curiously watching that guy they knew only a few vague stories about. Esteban sat down, took out of his pocket two cheap mint candies and, shyly, offered them to him.
Matthew was the first to accept them. Alma looked at his mother before daring to reach out.
Sofia said nothing more, but throughout the dinner her gaze was as cold as ice.
In the early days, Stephen lived almost like a shadow. He would get up very early, lay his bed, sweep the yard, fix the iron gate that was twisted, change the focus of the entrance, and then go out to look for work.
But everywhere they saw his record, those fifteen years in white and his background, and denied with their heads.
Three weeks later he returned home with his shoulders down. I was sitting in the little office behind the house and I saw him stand at the door for a long time before speaking.
No one hired you, right?
He let out a bitter smile.
“No. In some places they said they would call me. But they certainly won’t.
I looked at the driver’s uniform of one of my employees, who had just quit and was still hanging.
You know how to drive trucks and cars, right?
Stephen looked up.
“Yes.
“Then, from tomorrow, you’re going to drive for me.
He stood still.
“Diego, you don’t have to do that.
I need someone of trust. And you need work. Nothing more.
