The Driving Force to Love (MXM) ✔

Chapter 47

Antonio Angel Hernandez Sanchez

"Are you ready to go?" I asked Liz as I came down the stairs.

"Yes," she said. "Let me just grab the present for Olivia."

We were celebrating Olivia's twentieth birthday today at my brother's house. It was a family party, not a friend party. She had already celebrated with her college friends. I waited at the door for Liz. Then we walked out to the car together. I drove. When Liz's phone chimed with a text, she immediately looked at it.

"Sarah?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said. She put her phone away without replying and stared out the passenger side window.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Not really," she said, but that generally meant there was something wrong so I waited for her to tell me. "You know Sarah has been doing that Big Sister program."

"Yeah," I said as I drove along the streets. She only met with the little girl she was assigned to once a month so it hadn't cut into much of her time with Liz.

"The little girl doesn't like the foster family she is currently with. They have five other foster children and the little girl isn't related to any of them. Sarah thinks she is being neglected. She wants to foster her."

There was a long pause as Liz went back to staring out the window. If Sarah did foster her, that would make continuing to hide her relationship with Liz more difficult. Maybe even impossible.

"And what did you say to her about that?" I asked after she didn't say anything.

"Nothing," Liz said. "I haven't said anything. I don't know what to do. I don't want to hold her back if this is what she really wants to do."

"What would that mean for your relationship?" I tentatively asked.

"I don't know," she said quietly. I reached out and took her hand. "She's talked about adopting before, but never went through with it because of me. Now she wants to foster this little girl and she would definitely be a more suitable foster parent than her current foster parents." There was the longest pause yet, before she whispered, "Maybe it's time for me to let her go."

I squeezed her hand. We were getting close to my brother's house now. "Or maybe," I said, "you should come out and join her in being a foster parent."

She squeezed my hand in return and finally looked away from the window to me. "Me coming out would affect you too. I am married to you after all."

"Don't worry about me," I said. "That's not why you've been hesitant to come out, is it? I thought it was because of your parents."

She sighed. "It is because of my parents. But I also don't want it to reflect badly on you."

I pulled up to my brother's house and let go of her hand to turn off the engine.

"Would you consider coming out to be with Dean?" she asked me.

"Consider it? I've considered it, but I don't think I can do it."

She nodded. "I always thought that too," she said, "but I don't want to lose Sarah."

"Even if that means losing your family?"

She swallowed. "I think so," she whispered. Then in a stronger voice she said, "but I'm not ready to tell my parents yet. And I really should talk to Sarah before finalizing any decisions."

I jumped when there was a knock on my door window. "What are you doing, tio?" Silvia asked. "Come inside."

"We're coming," I said as I stepped out of the car. "Were you just waiting for us?"