Chapter 5 - THE GODFATHER'S ARRIVALThe gate rattled again, louder this time, accompanied by the urgent honking of a car horn out on the Zapopan street.
"Alejandro! Open up, man! Don't be a coward!" Mauricio’s voice boomed over the fence, desperate and unhinged.
I stood paralyzed for a second, my mind racing through five years of memories. Every barbecue we shared, every beer we drank, every time Mauricio ruffled little Mateo’s hair and called him his "little buddy." It was all a sickness. A sick, twisted circle of deceit.
"Don't let him in," Valeria whispered, her voice trembling as she clutched her arms around herself. "Alejandro, please, if you let him in, everything will explode. We can fix this. Just... just you and me, we can move away. Guadalajara, Mexico City, anywhere!"
"Move away?" I turned on her, my voice dripping with ice. "With whose child, Valeria? Your nephew? My sister's son? Whose family am I supposed to run away with?"
"He's our son, Alejandro!" Valeria sobbed, taking a desperate step toward me. "I raised him! Blood doesn't mean a damn thing compared to five years of changing diapers, teaching him how to walk, kissing his scraped knees! Carmen gave birth to him, yes, but I am his mother in every way that counts!"
"And what about me?" Carmen shouted back, tears finally spilling over her lashes. "Do you think it was easy watching you play mother to my baby every single day? Do you think I didn't want to scream every time Mateo ran to you? I gave him up because Mom and you convinced me I had no choice, because I was 'the disgrace of the family'! But every time I hugged him, my heart ripped in half!"
"Enough!" Doña Elena’s voice cracked like a whip across the patio. She stubbed out her second cigarette with such force the filter tore. "Both of you, shut your mouths! Arguing like children won't fix what's broken. Mauricio is at the gate. If you don't let him in, he’s going to break the lock or start shouting to the entire neighborhood, and then the police will be involved."
She was right. As much as I wanted to lock the world out, the truth was already bleeding through the cracks.
I walked stiffly across the patio, my boots crunching on the dry grass. Every step felt heavy, as if my legs were made of lead. I reached the front door, walked down the short corridor, and unlocked the heavy wooden pedestrian gate that opened to the street.
Mauricio was standing there on the sidewalk, his shirt rumpled, his hair disheveled, sweat dripping down his temples. His eyes were wide with a manic, terrified energy. Behind him parked at the curb was his white pickup truck, its engine still running.
When he saw me, he froze.
For a long, agonizing moment, neither of us spoke. The neighborhood dogs were barking in the distance, disturbed by the commotion.
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"Alejandro..." Mauricio began, raising his hands defensively. "Man, let me explain. Please. Don't do anything stupid."
I didn't say a word. I simply stepped aside, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with a strength I didn't know I possessed, and violently yanked him through the gate into the entryway of the house, slamming the door shut behind him.
