I GAVE BIRTH AT FORTY-ONE, AND MY HUSBAND LEFT ME FOR AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD… FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, OUR SON SHATTERED HIS PRIDE IN THREE SECONDS

His first smile came during a thunderstorm.

His first word was « Mama. »

His first steps happened while I was making dinner, and I nearly dropped an entire pot of soup running across the kitchen to catch him.

Every milestone belonged to us.

Not Andrés.

Us.

There were difficult years, of course.

I worked mornings at a local accounting office and evenings doing freelance bookkeeping from home.

I slept less than I should.

Worried more than I admitted.