Zan walked into his house it was quiet. Even though it was 8:30AM on a Saturday quiet at his house never a good thing. His dog Runner jumped on him as he closed the door. He patted the dog then looked for his parents. He found his mother sitting on the bed staring a stack a bills and his father's cross. She was quiet and he could tell that she had been crying. His mother didn't cry, ever. He glance into his room and he saw the white envelope on his bed. He walked in there and picked it up. It had his name written on it with his father's handwriting. He didn't bother opening it he ripped it in two and threw it in the trash.

"Mom." He called softly. The women didn't answer she just keep staring at objects on her dresser. He walked up to her and place his hand on her shoulder. "Mom." He said again.

This time she looked at him. "Hey baby." She replied softly. She wiped her eyes and smiled. "I thought you were going to stay with Jorge until Sunday?"

"His grandma had a stroke."

"How come Coral didn't call me. I would of come and got you."

"She did."

A car horn sounded. His mother jumped. "That's Ms. Coral she wanted to make sure you were home before she pulled off." He told her.

She nodded. His mother took the money and cross and shoved it in the drawer. She got up and kissed him on the forehead. Zan watched his mother go the front door and waive off Jorge's mother. He pulled open the drawer she just closed and pulled out his father's cross. His father was always wearing it. He loved that thing it was the last thing his father given to him before he died. Zan shoved it back in the drawer when he heard her footsteps come closer.

"Hey mom you wanna go surfing?" He asked as she returned to her room.

Surfing was his favorite thing to do with his mother. It was something that only him and his mother did. His father wasn't a big fan of water. They would sit and wait for the perfect wave and talk. They talked about everything and nothing. Joke around how big of a baby his dad was for not coming out with them. They really didn't do much actually surfing only catching a couple of waves that they deemed worthy of their effort. He didn't care, it was their time.

His mother smiled. Zan loved that smile, she had the best smile of anyone he knew. His dad said that his mother's smile could make his world stop. He never knew what his father meant by that, until now.

"Sure, kiddo let me get changed." She kissed him on the forehead.

Zan followed her lead and changed into his surfing gear. He couldn't take his eyes off of the torn paper in the waste basket.

"Let's ride." His mother called out. Runner was barking loudly jogging out behind her. "Lock the door behind you."

It was a beautiful morning the ocean was quiet. Letty sighed in deeply trying not to cry. She didn't want to be one of those women whose world would crumble because their man left them. She had their son, no her son to take care of. He had threaten to leave more than once, but never made good. But, this time was different. She knew it when the words left his mouth. "I don't want you and Zan around when the cops come around." She kissed him and tried to convince them that they were invincible as long as they were together. "Ride or die." She told him. The way that he looked at her, the way he kissed her, the way the made love that night she wasn't too surprise when she woke up and he was gone. What pissed her off was that he left while she was asleep, while their son was off staying the night at a friends. He didn't have the balls to say goodbye to their faces. He owned her that much, he own Zan that. And to add insult to injury he left a stack of cash on the night stand like she was some fly by night hooker. Not the women that had been by his side since he got out of jail, put up with his bullshit until he was ready for a real relationship, bore his child, hijacked trucks with him, went on the run most of all loved him without question without faltering. And he left money on the nightstand.

"He left didn't he." Zan said after a while. He couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

"Yeah baby." Letty turned to look at her son. "We're gonna be ok." She reassured him. She took his hand. "It's just you and me kiddo, for now on."

"I hate him."

Letty shook his head. "You don't mean that."
"Yes I do. You guys didn't think I could hear you all those times, but I did."

"He had his reasons for leaving..."

"Whatever." Zan paddled forward to get away from his mother. He hated his father for leaving them, but most of all he hated him for making his mother cry. His arms were beginning to hurt. He looked back to see how far he had gone he could make out was his mother splashing around with Runner.

Letty threw a tennis ball into the ocean. Runner happily ran after it. She plopped down in the sand digging her toes into it. Runner came shaking himself dry dropping the ball. Letty threw it again. The dog ran after it again leaping into the water. She kept an eye on Zan as he waited for his wave. She knew that she had to make a game plan and that plan didn't involve her staying in the Dominican Republic. She pulled her cell phone from her beach bag. "Tego, usted hombre fachero. Cómo usted que vive?"

After surfing Zan was banned to his room. He knew that something was going on, music was blasting and his parents' friends were over. He sat leaned against the door hoping to hear what was going on, but no luck all he could hear was music.

"So, what you want to do Let, we're here for you Mami." Tego said offering his hand.

She took a sip of her Corona. "I need to go back to L.A. make things right there."

Han shook his head. "Don't think that's a good idea. Once you cross that boarder cops will down on you Letty and I know Dom wouldn't want that."

"Fuck Dom, Han." She gulped the rest down and tried to grab another from the frig but Han stopped her.

"Move." She warned.

He didn't move. "Look L.A. a bad idea. I'm leaving to go to Tokyo in a couple of days. I can arrange for you and Zan to come with me."

Letty eyebrow lifted. Han smiled. "Come on Let, it'll be fun..." He grabbed her waist. "They're doing some crazy stuff over there." He playfully shook her. "We'd run that city you, me, Zan. Tokyo wouldn't know what hit them."

Letty bit her bottom lip. Han's offer was tempting but she needed to go back home. She ran out on her family, on Mia without a goodbye. Besides the one person she knew who could make things right was in L.A. and Letty needed to get to him to make things right for her family.

"Tokyo does sound like fun, but I need to stop running. Plant my feet somewhere solid. Zan needs that right now."

"No changing your mind, huh?"

Letty opened the frig and grabbed a water. "Nope."

Han nodded. "Alright what do you need us to do."

The music stopped and Zan stood up. The little pow wow was over and his door opened.

"Hear anything good?" Letty asked sitting on his bed.

He shook his head. "Nope, music to loud."

She laughed. They were silent.

"We're moving again, aren't we?"

Letty wrapped her arm around her son. "Last, time kiddo."

He sighed he heard that a million times. "Yeah right." He mumbled.

"No, this time I mean it."

He looked up. "Really? Where we going?"

"L.A."

Zan scrunched up his face. "What's in L.A.?"

"Familia, kiddo."

Mia was tired, she had just come off a double shift at the hospital and all she wanted to do was sleep. She popped in a frozen dinner in the microwave and grabbed a drink. She flopped down on the couch flipping on the TV. She picked up the mail she threw down on the coffee table. She opened a white envelope with no returned address. She knew who it was when she saw the chicken scratch handwriting, Leon had the worst handwriting in all man kind. He would write her every few months from what ever town he was at telling her he was ok and wishing her well. She would read his letters over and over again, hoping to find a clue about Vince. The last time she heard from Vince was a couple of months after he broke out the hospital. He had called to tell her that he wasn't dead and don't worry about him. Also he told her he didn't blame her for the buster, he knew that she had a weakness for pretty boys, just like he had a weakness for her. Mia heart broke when he told her that and wished that she felt the same way he did. Maybe things would have turned out differently. The microwave beep breaking her from her trance.

Letty sat outside her old home. It looked exactly the same minus all the cars parked in front of it and loud music shaking the shingles. Runner whined in the backseat. Letty vowed never to travel with an eight year old and a dog again. She had the boys arraigned for her and Zan to take a boat to Mexico and there was a car waiting for her at the docks when she arrived. What should have been hours to get to L.A. took a couple of days because of pee breaks for Zan and Runner. She opened the door and Runner hopped out immediately finding the nearest tree. After he was finish she order him back into the jeep where Zan was still sleeping. Letty closed the door and took the steps to the house.

Mia was about to head upstairs when the doorbell rang. She looked at her watch it was 3AM. The last time her doorbell at 3AM it was the police looking for Vince. It a few days after his surgery, the police said that he had broke out the hospital stealing some medical supplies from an ambulance and stole a car. He had disappeared into the night. Everyone always underestimated him. She was hesitant to answer, but it rang again multiple times in a row. She swung it open to tell whoever it was to piss off.

Mia was frozen at the familiar figure standing in front of her.

"Hey girl how you living?" Letty said standing in her door frame with a grin on her face.