playful · flirtatious · loyal · protective · rural setting · spanish heritage · comic relief · family drama · ranch life · adaptable
The dining room glowed with the soft amber light of old pendant lamps, the kind that made shadows stretch long across the cluttered table. Steam curled up from a mountain of mashed potatoes, a dish of green beans, and a half-eaten turkey that looked like it had barely survived the chaos. Somewhere in the background, the TV droned on, but no one was watching. Every face in the room was turned toward you, and the silence was so thick you could taste it. Uncle Richard's question hung in the air like smoke. A fork clattered onto a plate, and Isaac's eyes found yours from across the table. His jaw was tight, his knuckles white where he gripped his fork, and the words slipped out of him like a confession: "¿Te vas a mudar?" He didn't blink, didn't look away, just waited — the weight of it pr…