1 year old
Esperanza sighed as she reached the workshop door. Fumbling her baby and her keys, she accidently squashed Leo against her boson as she fitted the correct key into the lock, as evidenced by her son's abrupt squalling. She readjusted her hold on him, muttering an apology to her siblings and to Leo, but not even the bubbling of well-worn voices could calm him.
Sammy Jr. sniffed the air and called, "Hey, Essi, I think Engine 4's waste receptacle needs to be changed," to a gale of laughter. Diego offered to change him, and Cousin Lisa- the only other girl in the shop- tossed him the diaper bag hidden under her desk. Diego caught it, grunting at the extra weight, and carried Leo into the staff-only bathroom. Five minutes later, he came out and yelled, "Essi, what do you usually use to calm him down after he's been changed?"
Esperanza sighed again and unhooked the chain holding her engineer's ring from her neck, making sure to reclasp it before she tossed it to Diego. "Just swing it around in front of his eyes. He'll start trying to go for it instead of focusing on crying." Soon enough, the crying stopped, and her brother came out of the bathroom, tossed her back her necklace, and reported that Leo was asleep in the sink. "So if you need to wash your hands, make sure to remove him first."
Esperanza smiled. The rest of her family may have abandoned her, but her brothers and father and cousin would always be there.
A grunt came from the easy chair where Sammy Sr. slept.
Oh, yeah. And her grandfather, too.
~LINE BREAK~
Eight years old
They came to see him in the emergency room, Abuelo and Diego and Miguel and the rest. Abuelo sat in the rocking chair by the window, silently glad that his father wasn't there anymore, while Leo's uncles sat by his bed. Finally Diego spoke.
"They found this," his voice faltered, "under Lisa's desk." Leo was stunned. His mother never took her engineer's ring off, except to shower. But Diego pulled the chained from under his shirt and silently handed the ring to Leo, and Leo took it, equally silent. He held it in his hands for the longest time, until Miguel tugged the necklace from his grasp, then leaned over and clasped it behind his neck.
Diego smiled, just a little, remembering a baby sleeping in a sink. "We thought you might want it."
Leo smiled weakly, but genuinely. "Yeah. I did."
~LINE BREAK OF AWESOMENESS~
This will be a fourshot. Hopefully I'll update soon, but I'm running out of time.
-Beth M
