“Are you Gabriel?” I asked.
He nodded.
“I’m your uncle.”
The word felt strange. I had never had an uncle before, at least not one I remembered. My father had rarely spoken about his family. When I was younger, I assumed that meant they lived far away. Later, I began to suspect there had been some disagreement between them.
I had never imagined that a part of my father’s life had been standing somewhere beyond our house, waiting for me to find it.
Gabriel glanced toward the small white house behind me.
“Is Rosa here?”
“She’s inside,” I said.
He gave a short nod, but before he could move, Rosa opened the front door.
“You must be Gabriel,” she said.
“I am. And you must be Rosa.” His expression softened. “Thank you for taking care of Matthew.”
Rosa looked toward me.
“He needed someone.”
Gabriel’s eyes lowered for a moment. “Yes. He did.”
