"What's up Ma?"

"Baby, hurry back!" Larry tells Liliana as everyone starts driving away.

Liliana blows a kiss at her husband before turning back to her son. "I was gonna wait until we got back, but I don't know how you'll react to the surprise, so I'll just tell you now."

"What surprise?"

"There's going to be a woman waiting for you when we return, and she's expecting you to take her out to eat."

"Ma, what?"

"Please just do this for me, babe. I just want to see you happy."

Sam runs a hand down his face, and sighs. "Ma. I'm happy. I'm good."

"I'm your momma. You think I don't know you? You think I'm stupid?"

He shakes his head, trying his best to hide his annoyance. "Ma, you're gonna get that girl's feelings hurt. You know I'm not going to say shit to her."

"Stop being such an asshole. That's my job. You need to take back what that Jasmine stole from you. And don't think I don't know about Yemi."

Sam sucks his teeth. "V talks too much."

"If you don't want me to get started on you about this Yemi, then you will go on the date tonight, and you will be nice to her. That will be my Christmas gift from you."

"Me going on a date is what you want for Christmas?"

"Yes, son. Life is too short. And I'm not getting any younger. I want you to give me grandkids before it's too late for me to enjoy them."

"Ma, stop talking like that."

"I'm just saying." She grabs his hand. "Allow yourself to have fun. You deserve that. You should've seen your face when you were driving that buggy. That's what I want for you every day. To actually live life, and be happy. Please do that for me."

Sam stares at her for a moment. "You're lucky you're my momma."

"And I am the luckiest mother in the world, to have a son like you."

Sam searches her eyes, skeptical of her behavior. "Alright, Ma. But after this, please don't set me up on any more dates."

Liliana grins from ear to ear. "Promise."

___

LATER

At a restaurant, Sam eats his seafood as his beautiful date, Aracely, sits across from him eating her food. Between bites, Aracely steals glances at Sam while his mind is focused on something else. She puts her fork down and grabs her glass of wine.

"Sam..."

He immediately snaps out of his thoughts, "Yemi..."

Her eyes widen, and Sam notices her reaction. "What?"

"Who's Yemi?"

He frowns at her. "What did you say?"

"Yemi. You called me Yemi. Is that who you're thinking about?"

He looks away in shame. "Shit."

"It's okay. Is she your ex?"

"No. And I don't wanna talk about it."

"I respect that. Honestly, I've been sitting here, pretending you were someone else, too. My ex-financé."

Sam squints, wanting to know more but not wanting to pry into her business. She sips her wine while reading his thoughts.

"I got deported from the U.S. for domestic violence that really wasn't domestic violence."

"So what was it?"

"We just argued a lot."

"About?"

"I kept prolonging sending our marriage certificate because I was afraid he would cheat on me. He never gave me a reason to think that, I was just paranoid because of my exes."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"So did the cops feel you were a threat to him or some shit?"

"No. A neighbor called the police on us. When they showed up, I didn't have my papers on me. They sent me home and said it was because of domestic violence."

"That's fucked up."

"Tell me about it."

"Can't he just come out here and marry you?"

"He did come out here, but he tried to sneak me back to the states. We got caught, but I escaped and turned back around when I saw them arresting him. That's when I knew he loved me and only wanted me. I just wish I would've known that before it all happened. I would be with him right now."

Sam thinks for a moment. "What's his name?"

"Daniel. Daniel Gant."

He nods at the information. "You know what prison he's in?"

"I read in the system that he's somewhere in Florida. It didn't have the name of the prison on there, though. Which is odd. Why do you ask?"

"Making conversation. How do you know my mother?"

"She grew up here with my mother. They were close friends until your mom moved to the states. I see your grandma a lot though. She talks about all her grandkids. You're in Cali, right?"

"Yeah."

"How is it out there?"

"Hot."

Aracely chuckles at his brevity.

"My bad for calling you another name. I wasn't thinking."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. But hopefully, you work out whatever you need to with her. She must be a really great person, if she's on your mind like that." All of a sudden, Aracely giggles.

"Why's that funny?"

"No, I'm thinking about what your grandma told me today."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Do you have a good sense of humor?"

"Maybe."

Aracely makes an hmm expression. "Okay, I'll tell you." Aracely giggles again. "She said I was wasting my time going on this date with you, because you probably don't know how to work your penis anymore."

Sam let's out a belly laugh. A much needed laugh. "Yo! She's like the older version of my cousin, I swear. And they're not even blood related."

"Veronica, right? Your grandma loves her so much."

"Yep. My abuela treated her good from the beginning. She loves hard, until you fuck her over."

"Like you."

Sam chuckles. "She told you that, too?"

"No, Veronica did."

"Damn, you met everybody." Sam smirks.

"I spoke to her over the phone. She was giving me a heads up about you, so that my feelings wouldn't get hurt."

Sam shakes his head, smiling. "She's definitely the person to listen to. She knows me the most."