Nancy didn't know why it felt so difficult to open the door.
She stood in front of the Mexican Consulate, where Alejandro del Rio would no doubt be sitting at his desk. She'd come to say a final goodbye before leaving to Pennsylvania to solve another mystery. She'd already bid farewell to Joanna and Henrik; all that was left was Alejandro.
She finally gathered enough courage to walk into the small office where the handsome young man worked. She was right; he was sitting at his desk, writing down business notes. The sight of him almost made her want to run out the door.
He looked up and noticed her for the first time. A small smile appeared on his lips. "Hola, Nancy! How may I help you?" The smile quickly faded as his eyes fell on the suitcase in her hand. "Leaving so soon?"
"I came to say goodbye, Alejandro."
He set down his pen and leaned back in his chair. "I thought you were staying for the launch of the exhibit."
"Well, it's obvious you haven't been over to Beech Hill in a while. The exhibit is open, and the museum has been packed with visitors."
Raising an eyebrow, he smirked and said, "Where are you going?"
Leave it to Alejandro to not care about the exploitation of museum monoliths.
"Out to the East Coast. My friend Sally just bought a cabin there, and she wanted me to come see it."
Confusion spread onto his face. "That's all?"
Nancy could feel the blush appearing on her cheeks. "Well, she did imply that there might be a mystery worth solving…"
Alejandro laughed and shook his head. "Well, I better not keep you from your wild and crazy adventures, cihuapilli."
"Goodbye, Alejandro."
"Adios, Nancy."
She turned on her heel and began to walk towards the door. Halfway there, she hesitated, wondering if she should say it.
Turning around, she called back, "Thank you. For everything."
He smirked again. "It was no problem, Nancy."
Nancy did not move. She felt as if her legs were anchored to the floor.
He noticed. "You don't really want to go, do you?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she shook her head and choked out a "no".
Quickly, Alejandro was out of his chair and embracing Nancy into a hug. She had given up holding in her tears; she was sobbing now. Alejandro wiped the tears away, trying to be of some comfort.
"You should go, Nancy. There's plenty more mysteries out there than right here."
"But I'll miss Joanna and Henrik, and…"
Alejandro relaxed his embrace but kept his arms around Nancy's waist. "And what?"
Nancy looked up at him again. "You. I'll miss you."
Alejandro smiled a sad smile and nodded. "I'll miss you, too, Nancy." He let her go and walked back over to his desk. Pulling something out from his desk, he clasped it in his hand and walked back over to her. Opening his palm, she realized it was a necklace; a small Mexican flag on a gold chain. Putting it around her neck, he whispered in his thick accent, "Keep this. As a sort of memento. You know how I feel about souvenirs, Nancy. I wouldn't give this to you if it didn't mean something."
Holding the flag charm in her hand, she whispered back, "It's beautiful."
Kissing her cheek, Alejandro said goodbye one last time.
Nancy picked up her suitcase and walked back to the Metro.