What Remains

Chapter 9

"T, how's it going with my mom?" Alejandro asked over Facetime.

"We're doing good," Teresa replied. "She just had a bath, and I washed her hair and put some coconut oil into it and braided it. So, she is feeling nice and fresh at the moment," she continued. "She's feeling well enough to cheat at dominó," she added.

From a few feet away, Alex's mom called out, "No hago trampas," defending herself against the accusation.

"Is it even possible to cheat at dominos?" Alejandro questioned.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Teresa said with a grin. She seemed so much more relaxed than she had been during earlier calls. It seemed like she was finally ready to face Alejandro as a friend again, but he wanted to be sure.

"So, T, um, I was thinking of asking Yuna to come to LA to visit. Are you okay with that?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why wouldn't I be okay with it?" she asked. "It's your house. It's your life. No cuenta mi opinion," she answered.

"Of course, it matters, T. You're my best friend and you are taking care of my mom. Your opinion matters to me," he assured her.

"Listen, you do what you want to do, okay? I'm a big girl. I can handle it," she said.

"Okay," Alejandro replied. "When I get back, you won't need to stay overnight anymore, but I still might need your help sometimes. Do me a favor and start looking into getting Public Assistance to pay for you to be a caregiver for mom. I think they do that sometimes even when the caregiver is someone the patient knows," he added.

"I'm already on it," she answered. Alejandro smiled. It was so like Teresa to be on top of things. He was blessed to have her as his best friend.

"I've got to go now, but take care of yourself, T," he said before logging off. Feeling confident that Teresa was able to handle Yuna's presence, he decided to go forward with the plan of asking her to go to LA with him.

And so it was that when Alejandro left Korea, Yuna was by his side. Neither of them was sure what would happen. Would she stay in LA, or would they come back to Korea? That part was still a mystery. What wasn't in question, however, was that they were meant for each other and would stay together one way or another.

After having traveled for over 12 hours, Yuna and Alejandro arrived at his modest home. As they walked in, Yuna saw that the walls were painted in bright blues and oranges. She figured his mom must not be afraid of color. There was a large crucifix hanging over the TV. Fake bouquets of flowers sitting atop crocheted doilies were on all of the end tables. The walls also sported several strings of ceramic figurines of different peppers. It was quite a unique décor. Yuna sucked in her breath. She was about to meet the two women who could make or break this relationship, Doña Rosario and Teresa.

Alejandro called out, "We're home!" When he heard no response, he walked back the hall and found Teresa and his mom in the master bedroom doing yoga. Well, Teresa was doing yoga. His mom was doing modified moves from her bed. When they saw him, they both stopped what they were doing. Teresa ran to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're back," she said as she gave him one final squeeze before letting him go. He leaned over and hugged his mom and helped her walk to the living room where Yuna was waiting to meet them.

When he got her seated, he said, "Mom, this is Yuna." The older woman nodded and held out her hand to Yuna who panicked slightly, not knowing whether she should shake her hand or kiss it. So, she settled on grasping it for a moment and letting go. Doña Rosario inspected Yuna cautiously.