“Deal. And what’s the other promise?”
“You come by for Sunday dinner, like the good ole days. I’ll make your favorite.”
“Lasagna?”
“Lasagna,” she echoed. “I’ll even bake homemade bread.”
“Well, you had me at lasagna and sealed the deal with the fresh bread.”
We went on to talk about life and catch up for a little bit longer before we both hugged one more time to say our goodbyes for the evening.
We walked out of the studio, and Maria locked up the door. I waited to walk her to her car. When we approached it, I opened the door for her, and she slid inside. “Thank you, Landon.”
“Of course.” I held my hand on the door and hesitated. “Maria?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Of course. And thank you, son, for allowing your heart to keep beating.”
She drove away.
I wondered if she knew how much she changed my life all those years ago. I probably would’ve checked out a lot sooner without her Sunday dinners. Maria Martínez saved my life. She held me when no one else was around. She was one of the main reasons why my heart still knew how to beat.
46Shay
“What do you mean someone dropped this off at your studio?” I asked Mima as I gave her a bewildered look. She had called me over to help her move a dresser, but by the time I arrived, she’d already changed her mind about moving it. Even so, she made us some coffee and cut me a slice of the pound cake she had made the day before.
“I mean exactly that. Someone came by the studio and put up the sign. It’s not uncommon for people to hang up posters in my studio. It happens weekly. I kept this one for myself because it seemed like a perfect fit for you.”
“This is all it said? An email address?”
“Well, no. There was a bigger flyer, but I didn’t bother bringing it. It’s for a personal assistant job on a movie set.”
“A movie for who?” I asked. “Who would I be assisting?”
Mima waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. “Shannon Sofia, you need to learn to just go with the universe sometimes.”
I laughed. “I don’t even know what that means, Mima. You hand me a random email address, with no name attached to it, and I’m supposed to email them to get in contact?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
What in the heck was going on?
“This smells fishy,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“That’s just because I had tuna for lunch. Now go on, email the person and see what comes from it. Just imagine working ona set, surrounded by movie stars. You’ve always wanted to be in the film industry. I can’t see how this couldn’t be a good thing.”
“Well, it sounds more like some kind of porno film, seeing as how it’s so vague.”
“Yes, well...” Mima cut me another slice of pound cake and placed it on my plate. “Porn stars need assistants, too.”
“Mima!” I gasped.
“What? It’s true. Now do your grandmother the favor and email that person. Who knows? This might be the beginning of something special, Shay. You have to open your doors to new possibilities. When God gives you an olive branch, take it.”
“I don’t know...”