I choose you

Chapter Twenty Two-MATEO

I woke up before Andrés.

That wasn’t unusual.

Most mornings, I woke up first.

Most mornings, I would lie there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet sound of another person breathing beside me.

It was strange.

After all these years, it was still strange.

Andrés was here.

In my house.

In my bed.

Wearing the necklace I had given him.

And somehow, all of those things still felt unbelievable to me.

I turned my head slightly.

He was asleep.

Peaceful.

The necklace rested against his neck, the small diamond catching the soft morning light.

I looked at it for a moment.

Then looked away.

Because if I kept staring, I was going to become even more pathetic than I already was.

I sighed quietly.

Last night had not gone as planned.

Not even close.

I had spent weeks planning his birthday.

Weeks.

And then work happened.

Which, honestly, was the most Andrés thing that could have happened.

I wasn’t angry.

Disappointed?

Yes.

A little.

But angry?

No.

Never.

Because I knew him.

Andrés loved his work.

He loved the pressure.

The deadlines.

The negotiations.

The impossible situations.

He loved solving problems.

It was one of the things I admired most about him.

Even if sometimes I wished he loved resting just a little more.

I got out of bed carefully and went downstairs.

Elena was already in the kitchen.

She looked at me.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Then she studied my face.

“You look disappointed.”

I looked at her.

“Do I?”

“Yes.”

I poured coffee.

“My plans didn’t work out.”

“Mr. Andrés had work.”

“I know.”

She nodded.

“Did you tell him what you planned?”

“No.”

“Why?”

I looked at my coffee.

Because if I told Andrés I had arranged an entire evening for him, he would feel guilty.

And I didn’t want that.

I never wanted Andrés to feel trapped.

Or pressured.

Or obligated.

So I shook my head.

“No reason.”

Elena looked unconvinced.

But she let it go.

⸻

After breakfast, I went into my office.

I opened my laptop.

And there it was.

The reservation.

Still there.

Unused.

I stared at it for a while.

I had rented a private section of a small restaurant overlooking the sea.

Not a large place.

Not crowded.

Just quiet.

I remembered Andrés saying months ago that he hated large events.

Too many people.

Too much attention.

So I had chosen somewhere small.

Somewhere calm.

Then after dinner, I had arranged for us to go to the observatory outside the city.

Andrés liked quiet places.

Books.

Museums.

History.

The stars.

He had once spent twenty minutes explaining something about constellations after watching a documentary.

I hadn’t understood half of it.

But I had listened.

Because it was Andrés.

And when Andrés talked about things he liked, his eyes changed.

They became brighter.

Warmer.

So I had thought—

Dinner.

Then the stars.

Simple.

No huge party.

No unnecessary extravagance.

Just… a good evening.

I closed the laptop.

Maybe next year.

The thought made me smile.

Next year.

Andrés had said it so casually.

“Remind me next year.”

Such a small sentence.

But I had held onto it all night.

Next year.

There was something comforting about those words.

They implied time.

A future.

Another birthday.

Another year.

Us.

Still here.

Still married.

Still sharing a home.

Still living our strange little life.

I leaned back in my chair.

Then my phone buzzed.

A message from Héctor.

Héctor: Did my little brother survive his birthday?

I smiled despite myself.

Me: Yes.

Héctor: Did he work too much?

Me: Obviously.

Three dots appeared immediately.

Héctor: That sounds like Andrés.

I stared at the message.

Then typed:

Me: I had plans.

There was a pause.

Then:

Héctor: And?

Me: Work happened.

A few moments later:

Héctor: Mateo.

I waited.

Héctor: You have loved him for a long time.

Me: Yes.

Héctor: Then you know this already.

I looked at the screen.

Then another message came.

Héctor: Andrés forgets many things. But when something matters to him, he remembers eventually.

I read that twice.

Three times.

Then I put the phone down.

⸻

Around nine, I heard footsteps.

Andrés.

He came downstairs dressed for work.

He looked slightly tired.

Which was expected.

He worked too much.

He saw me.

“Morning.”

“Good morning.”

He sat down.

Elena placed breakfast in front of him.

For a few moments, there was silence.

Then Andrés looked at me.

“What did you plan?”

I looked up.

“What?”

“Yesterday.”

He took a sip of coffee.

“You said you had plans.”

I stared at him.

“You remembered?”

He frowned.

“Of course.”

That shouldn’t have made me as happy as it did.

But it did.

I looked at him for a moment.

Then answered honestly.

“Dinner.”

He nodded.

“And?”

“An observatory.”

He blinked.

“An observatory?”

“Yes.”

He looked genuinely surprised.

“Why?”

I shrugged.

“You like stars.”

He stared at me.

For a few seconds, he said nothing.

Then—

“How do you know that?”

I looked at him.

Because I had known him since we were children.

Because I remembered things he forgot.

Because I listened.

Because I loved him.

But I couldn’t say any of that.

So I simply said:

“You mentioned it once.”

Andrés looked down at his coffee.

Quiet.

Thinking.

Then he said something I wasn’t expecting.

“We can still go.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

“The observatory.”

He looked almost uncomfortable saying it.

“If you want.”

I forgot how to breathe for a second.

“Really?”

He looked at me.

“Yes.”

I tried not to smile too much.

I failed.

Andrés looked at me.

“You smile too much.”

“Probably.”

He shook his head.

Then looked at his coffee again.

“We can go this weekend.”

Weekend.

I repeated the word in my head.

Weekend.

Us.

Going somewhere together.

Voluntarily.

No family obligations.

No business.

No forced appearances.

Just us.

I smiled again.

Pathetic.

Completely pathetic.

But happy.

Very happy.

Andrés stood.

“I have to go.”

I nodded.

He picked up his bag.

Then stopped.

“Mateo.”

“Yes?”

He touched the necklace at his neck.

“I really liked the gift.”

Then he left.

I sat there.

Completely still.

Elena walked into the dining room.

She looked at me.

Then at the door.

Then back at me.

“What happened?”

I looked at her.

“He liked the necklace.”

She smiled.

“That’s nice.”

“And we’re going to the observatory.”

She blinked.

“That’s good.”

I nodded.

Then smiled.

Again.

God.

I was hopeless.

One compliment.

One plan.

One sentence.

And suddenly my entire morning was brighter.

But maybe that was enough.

Maybe happiness wasn’t always grand.

Maybe sometimes happiness was simply this—

A necklace still hanging around someone’s neck.

A future plan.

A weekend.

And the quiet understanding that, little by little, without either of us noticing—

Something was changing.