It's been a long day, but so worth it. It's finally Friday...Friday Family dinner. Blanca had to make the food stretch now that they had additional family members. Papi had brought home a chicken a few days ago from the bodega and some veggies. They had rice. They could always count on rice to go a long way. Blanca flipped through her mother's recipe book and knew right away...arroz con pollo. Blanca had been trying to make healthier meals since her diagnosis and of course for the kids. Papi walked in from his shift at the bodega and kissed his mother on the cheek.

"Hey moms!"

"Hey Papi. Come here, baby. Wash your hands and help me make dinner...arroz con pollo."

"Of course. First, let me pop up these tables I found at the flea so we can have more space."

Blanca smiled. Of course her son would have thought about that. Of course he would come home providing what his family needed without being asked. He finished, washed his hands and got to work filling up a large pot with water.

"Hey moms, we can make a soup too with the broth from the chicken. We have some carrots and potatoes and celery and noodles. I saw the recipe in abuela's recipe book." Blanca smiled and nodded, but mainly got giddy at the thought of Papi calling her mother abuela. If Blanca's mother had seen the family she had built and the children she was raising, she would be so proud, she thought. She would love her "grandkids". Blanca cherished the thought that she and her sons enjoy cooking together. Angel..not so much. She didn't find joy in cooking. That didn't matter though. Blanca and Angel have their own mother/daughter things that they share and do together. Cooking was a mother and son activity that they shared. That's where they talked and shared. Blanca and Angel shared when they shopped together or when they walked together through the park. She wondered how Cubby and Lemar would fit in if they eventually did.

While preparing dinner, Blanca and Papi chatted away at what had happened to Papi earlier. It was all so incredibly unexpected. Papi shared that he had given a lot of thought to what he wanted to do with this opportunity. He had already begun to fill out the paperwork for his application to CUNY and his financial aid packets. He shared with Blanca that he needed to get his general education requirements out of the way but he noticed that they offered a degree in photography. He had borrowed Pray's camera that Blanca had given him for Christmas and had taken shots of Angel when she was submitting to agents and he took images of Damon while he rehearsed at the studio and he waited for him to finish. It was all improvised shots with no lighting and no professional gear but he definitely had an eye for it. Angel's agent Eileen Ford had mentioned it to him and had also offered to connect him with a studio photographer to get an apprenticeship. He actually had taken some candid images of his mother when she walked the balls and had captured some beautiful shots that he had been planning on framing and giving to her as a gift. He said he also wanted to take business classes so he would learn how to run the business.

When dinner was ready and served, everyone gathered around the table to eat. Blanca tapped her water glass with her fork and told everyone she had a big announcement. She told everyone Papi's news and told him how proud she was. They all piled on top of him and embraced him. Then they feasted on their delicious meal from abuela's cookbook.

That night, Papi filled out his paperwork and prepared it to be mailed as soon as his GED certificate arrived. That night, Blanca slept well, knowing she had helped another one of her children find his worth and get on his right path.