The next morning, I didn't even leave the hotel room. My mind was still in shock. The person I had spent so long thinking of the person I loved—my own mother—was dead. Rudy tried to get me out of the room, but I just couldn't. My mind was still trying to process everything. It didn't feel real.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Rudy stood in front of me. He looked at me for a moment before slowly reaching out and placing his hand on my shoulder.
I looked up at him.
He pointed toward the door, then back at me, as if asking me to come with him.
I shook my head.
"No, Rudy. I can't."
He lowered his hand but didn't leave. Instead, he sat down beside me.
For a while, neither of us moved.
I looked toward the window. The sunlight coming through the curtains made the room feel strangely normal, even though everything inside me felt like it had fallen apart.
"I finally found her," I whispered. "After all that time…"
My voice broke, and I looked away.
"And I was too late."
Rudy didn't say anything. He couldn't. But he stayed beside me.
After a moment, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. He wrote something down and held it out to me.
I stared at the words.
I'm here.
I looked at Rudy, then back at the note.
For the first time that morning, I felt like I wasn't completely alone.
Then I looked at Rudy.
"Well, there is one person we still have to look for," I said. "And that's our dad."
Rudy looked at me for a moment before giving a small nod.
I took a deep breath and stood up. I put on my shoes, grabbed my things, and headed for the door. Rudy followed close behind.
A few minutes later, we were on the road.
As we drove through El Paso, I looked out the window. The city was already busy. Cars filled the streets, people walked along the sidewalks, and buildings stretched out in every direction.
I stayed quiet for a while.
After everything that had happened, finding my Dad felt different. I didn't know where he was. But I did have one clue.
The old man had told me that Dad was somewhere on the south side of El Paso, near the border.
I kept thinking about those words as we drove.
"The south side," I said, looking out the window. "Near the border."
Rudy glanced at me, then back at the road.
"I don't know exactly where he is," I continued. "But it's better than nothing."
Rudy nodded.
We continued driving through El Paso, heading farther south. The streets slowly became less familiar to me, and I found myself wondering what Dad had been doing all these years.
Why had he disappeared?
Why hadn't he tried to find us?
And most importantly…
Would he even want to see us?
I looked down at the clue I'd written on a piece of paper then looked back at the road. While I was driving, I noticed something in my rearview mirror.
A black car.
At first, I didn't think much of it. There were plenty of cars on the road, and I figured it was just another driver heading in the same direction.
But then I noticed something.
It had been behind us since we left the hotel.
I glanced at the mirror again.
Still there.
I made a turn.
The black car turned too.
My grip tightened around the steering wheel.
"Rudy…"
He looked over at me.
"That car has been following us."
Rudy turned his head slightly, trying to get a better look without making it obvious.
I kept my eyes on the road.
"Don't look at them," I said quietly. "Just keep watching the road."
Then, in that moment, the lights on the black car suddenly came on.
Red and blue lights flashed across my rearview mirror.
"God dang it. It's a cop."
I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
Rudy looked over at me, then at the flashing lights behind us.
"Relax," I said. "We haven't done anything wrong."
I slowed down and carefully pulled over to the side of the road.
The police car stopped behind us, its lights still flashing.
For a few seconds, neither of us said anything.
I looked at Rudy.
"Well… let's see what they want."
Rudy gave me a nervous look as we waited for the officer to approach the car.
A few seconds later, the officer walked up to the driver's side window and motioned for me to roll it down.
"Good evening," he said. "License and registration, please."
I handed them over while Rudy sat quietly beside me.
The officer looked over the documents, then glanced inside the car. His eyes stopped on Rudy.
He stared for a few seconds.
"Wait a minute…"
Rudy looked at him.
The officer leaned slightly closer, clearly recognizing him.
"I know you."
I looked at Rudy, confused.
The officer looked back at me.
"I dealt with your father before," he said. "And I remember when Rudy was taken away."
My stomach dropped.
"You knew our dad?"
The officer nodded slowly.
"I did. A long time ago."
I exchanged a look with Rudy.
"Do you know where he is?"
The officer hesitated.
"Well, I do know where he is. It's just…"
The officer paused and looked at Rudy.
"He's currently in custody."
I stared at him.
"Wait… you mean he's in jail?"
The officer nodded.
"He was arrested a while back. I can't give you every detail, but I can tell you where he's being held."
I looked over at Rudy. His expression changed immediately. He lowered his eyes, clearly trying to process what the officer had just told us.
"You can take us there?" I asked.
The officer thought for a moment before nodding.
"I can show you where it is. You'll have to go through the proper process if you want to see him, though."
I nodded.
"That's fine. We just need to know where he is."
The officer handed my license and registration back to me.
"Follow me. I'll lead you there."
He returned to his patrol car and pulled back onto the road.
I started the truck and followed behind him.
As we drove through El Paso, I kept thinking about what I was about to do.
After everything that had happened with Mom, I finally had a chance to see my dad.
I just didn't know what I was going to say when I finally stood in front of him.