"I don't know what to say, Dom."
She had told me the day I broke the news to her about me becoming a Gear. We sat there on the worn out sofa I managed to buy when we got that apartment a few weeks earlier. Maria sat next to me, with her hands on her belly, as if to remind me that we had a baby on the way.
"Just think about it, I'll make more money if I become a Gear than working at some store doing God-Knows-What for shit."
I put my right arm over her shoulder and took her chin so she would look at me. She looked back with worried eyes, still uncertain about what I had put on her mind.
"I know, Dom… I'm thinking about when the baby gets here. Who will help me when he or she gets sick? Or when I need to feed it in the middle of the night?"
"Babe, don't think about that now. We could always ask our parents to help us with the baby. What I'm aiming for is that we have money to survive."
I knew that words were meaningless for Maria. She needed to see the action behind my promise. I placed my left hand on her belly, and rubbed it with much love.
"I'm doing it for the three of us. Plus I won't enlist until after the baby is born, and I promise to help you in every way possible with the little one."
I gave her the warm smile she loved; convincing her that I would make ends meet. We both had to, for that night that we made Benedicto, we became adults. For better or worse. And we both knew that we would be together, for richer or for poor.
"Please, be careful. Don't push yourself too hard, and don't be a smart ass with your instructor."
Maria told me as she fixed the jacket I had on that crisp morning of my departure, months after I told her about the news. I held her shoulders firmly, that forced her to stop what she was doing.
"Maria, amor. Everything will be okay. I'll come back a better man. For you and Ben. You have nothing to worry about."
I brought her in as close as I could, and gave her a kiss I knew she would think about the nights that we would be apart. Just like I did when I laid in my buck bed. Her lips were very soft, even for that cold morning. I felt like I could kiss her forever.
"Track 7 now boarding."
An announcer said through a P.A. system. Our lips parted, but we still held on to each other as long as we could before I felt time catch up on us.
"Te amo, Dom. Come back soon."
She kissed my rough cheek before I left. I looked down at the bundle that was in her arms. Our son, only months old, looked just like her. But in a boyish way. I gave him a kiss on his very soft cheek.
"Behave, okay?" I said very softly so I wouldn't wake him up.
"I love you both."
I got my ruffle bag from the ground and walked towards the gate. I turned to gaze at what God had blessed me with, what he wanted me to cherish and to hold, go further and further away from me until I saw it no more.