As he ran his hand along the highly polished wood of the Paddle Wheel counter, Alan said, “This is a beautiful place. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“The wood is from actual paddlewheel steamboats that used to dock at Red Wing more than a hundred years ago.”

“And you’re leaving it all behind.”

Diego sighed as he picked up the two cups of coffee and handed one to Alan. “Should we walk down to the river?”

“I think that sounds perfect.”

Alan struggled to hold his emotion in check when he was standing in Diego’s office, but he was calm as they walked side by side following the paved path down to the bank of the Mississippi. He wondered if it was a sign that his gut was giving up.

Alan said, “Dak told me that he feels lost if he doesn’t see the river flowing at least once a week. He used to work on the towboats and spent four weeks on the river and then two weeks at home.”

“That’s a harsh schedule. You can’t be married to anyone but the river with that kind of work.”

“Now you understand why he quit when he moved in with Brody. Still, he said he couldn’t get far away from it. For him, there’s something mystical about the water.”

As they watched the muddy water flowing downstream, Diego said, “It’s like the Gulf of Mexico at Veracruz. The difference is as a child I started to fear the waves that washed ashore.”

“You were scared of the waves?” asked Alan. “Couldn’t you swim?”

“My grandfather said they always brought invaders. The waves at Veracruz didn’t mean peace. They meant that we were vulnerable.”

“But you see the river differently?”

“I think so. The way Rhea described it, the Mississippi River cleanses. It takes the impurities away. Perhaps our little friend Lewis should take a ride south on the current.”

Alan laughed softly. “I don’t know what will happen to him, but with Dak around, I don’t think he will bother me.” They approached a bench, and Alan asked, “Can we sit?”

Diego nodded, “Yes. I don’t want you to be mistaken, Alan. I will miss you. I will miss you more than anyone since my parents passed away.”

Alan seated himself on the bench and leaned forward with his chin in his hands. Diego missing him was some consolation, but it wasn’t much. It was like finding a penny buried under the cushions of the couch when you needed $1.50. He said, “I’m confused. I don’t know if you can help me understand, but I don’t know why you’re giving all of this up. I don’t get it. You’ll be a stranger when you move back to Mexico. Isn’t a man from Veracruz going to Tulum sort of like a Texan moving to Vermont? It’s in the Yucatan at least a thousand miles away.”

Diego laughed softly. “Not quite that far, but you have a solid grasp of geography. You’re so very wise, Alan. Yes, some of the locals will be skeptical of me. I’ll look different from them, and my speech won’t sound the same. The only common thread is that we will all speak fluent Spanish.”

“And you can have so much here, Diego. You have your business. You have new friends in Dak, Brody, and Ross. And you have me. Are you taking Rhea with you?”

He shook his head. “No, I think the idea of moving to Mexico is an exciting dream to her, but she can’t take the leap. She has family, friends, and half a dozen anchors to keep her in Minnesota.”

“I would ask to go with you if it wasn’t for Auntie Erin. She wants to meet you someday, Diego.”

“Is she half as charming as you?”

Alan said, “Twice or even three times. She’s my favorite person in the world. Well, except for…” Alan leaned to the side until his cheek rested on the shoulder of Diego’s sports jacket. “Could you wait for a month? Or even two? Are you in a hurry to go back to Mexico?”

Diego rubbed the dark stubble on his chin. He reached a hand up to Alan’s face and held on tenderly. “Do you know why I moved to Minnesota?”

“To escape the guns?” asked Alan.

“That was only part of it. It was because of you.”

“But that’s crazy, Diego. What were the chances that you would ever see me again? For all you knew, I was still in Texas. Finding me would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. There are probably thousands of Alan Hansens in the world.”

“But I assumed there were other men at least somewhat like you?”

“Like me?”

“I never was so intimate with a gringo until that night in Texas, Alan.” Diego rubbed his cheek gently.

“But you said I fucked like a gringo. How did you know if you’d never…”

Alan felt the chuckle deep inside Diego’s body. “I’m a proud man, and it was a bold comment. It touched you, didn’t it?”

“Everything about you touches me.”

Diego rubbed his cheek again. “Such a very charming man, Alan.” Silence reigned for a few moments. Diego continued, “I heard so many negative ideas about gringos when I was growing up. It was like Lewis talking about me. Honestly, I had a huge chip on my shoulder when I found myself hiding behind a hunk of steel with you.”

“And that changed when we slept together?”

Diego nodded. “It did. You were…how do I say this, a kind man that burned with a steady internal fire. When we touched, and when my lips connected with your naked body, it was like turning up the gas on a stove, Alan. I had to control it to keep from getting burned.”

Alan laughed. “I’ve never considered myself to be that hot. It’s such a funny use of words, Diego.”

“So, when I decided it was time to leave Veracruz, I had choices to make. I could find somewhere else in Mexico, or I could leave the country entirely. As I considered it in my head, I had the taste of you on my lips. I came north to find myself a gringo. I’m not ignorant enough to think I was the first Mexican man to head north on that quest.”

“But you’ve been here for years now, and you were single when we met again,” said Alan.

Diego shrugged. “I dated a few gringos, and I discovered something.”

Alan couldn’t resist reaching a hand out to Diego’s shirt. He slid his fingers beneath one side of Diego’s jacket. “What did you discover?”

“You’re a lot more than just a gringo.”

Both men were silent as the muddy water flowed past. Alan heard nothing but the songs of two persistent chickadees and the whisper of his own breathing.

Alan pulled his head up from Diego’s shoulder and said, “You know, I think it’s funny.”

“What’s funny?”

“I don’t even think of you as Mexican. All of the things that everyone else points to that make you different or a foreigner are the things I love about you. The accent in your voice is like music to me, and my heart stops when I see the color of your skin spread across your bare chest.”

Diego shook his head. “Oh, come now, Alan, you sound like an addict.”

“Maybe I am an addict. Is that such a bad thing?”

“It will be when I’m almost three thousand miles away hiking up ancient temples in Tulum.”

“Then don’t go,” said Alan. He listened to his words and knew they were the most forceful he’d yet spoken.

Diego turned his head. “I have a question.”

“Yes?” asked Alan.

“Did that come from your heart and not your head?”

Alan sniffed and answered, “Yes.” For some reason, he knew that he was on the edge of tears again, but he didn’t know for sure what was behind Diego’s question.

“That’s different, Alan.”

“Different how?”

“Every time you turned me down after we met in your office at Tar-Mor, it came from your head. Now, when the words come from your heart, you want me to stay.”

Alan held his right hand up over his eyes. “Fuck, Diego, you’re going to make me cry. Of course, it comes from my heart. I’m going to say this so that you hear it, and I want you to hear it over and over on this trip to Mexico until you finally decide to come back to me. I love you.”

Diego laughed. Alan opened his eyes wide in shock. “What’s funny?”

“Irony. Awkwardness. It’s funny in an unusual way. I love you, too. I’m not sure I’ve ever loved anyone else in the way that I love you.”

Alan felt his hands start to tremble. He lowered them into his lap and anchored his fingertips between his thighs. If he didn’t hold on, he was worried that he would lose it completely. With his eyes glassy with tears, Alan pleaded, “Please stay, Diego. I have too much space in that house, and Boomer needs another dad.”

Diego leaned back against the bench and laughed again. “Alan, you’re too much, and I think I’m a little loco. I had an idea in my gut that things would happen this way. I thought I might have to tear up that plane ticket.”

“And you led me on and let me worry that you were leaving forever.”

“Oh, I didn’t lead you on. I woke up this morning planning to be in Tulum three days from now. Then Rhea dressed me up and down. You don’t want to cross her when she’s angry.”

Alan chuckled as he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. “I have a confession.”

“Do we need a priest?”

Alan smiled. “Rhea called me this morning. Coming here wasn’t solely my idea.”

“She told you to come?”

“She asked me if I loved you. That was all I needed. I was in the car in minutes.”