Cuti Romero

Almost ten months had passed since the separation. It didn't end like most relationships, with infidelity or a lack of love; it ended due to poor communication, scheduling conflicts, lack of time, and the distance caused by football. Her relationship with Cristian was only good because of Valentino, their son. They shared custody every other week and only spoke when absolutely necessary.
That afternoon he came to pick her up. Valen was already wearing her little backpack, pacing around the living room while she waited for her dad to ring the doorbell.

When he came in, the little boy ran out to hug him.
—Daddy!

—Hello, Valen.
While he was adjusting her jacket, you finished putting one of Valentino's sweatshirts in your backpack.
—I put his lunch for kindergarten tomorrow in his front pocket. Don't forget it.

—Go ahead.
He grabbed his backpack, but before leaving he glanced at the picture frame still on the shelf. It was a photo of the three of them at the beach.
—You haven't taken it out yet…

You barely looked up.
—It's Valen's favorite photo.

—Ah… of course.
An awkward silence fell. He continued to stare at the house for a few seconds, as if everything had remained exactly the same since the last time he had lived there.
—You changed the armchair.

—Yes. The other one was already a wreck.
Cuti let out a soft laugh.

—I thought you were going to take longer to change it… you always said it was the most comfortable.

—Things change.
The phrase hit him harder than he expected. He lowered his gaze and nodded slowly. Valentino came running back with a drawing in his hand.
—Look! I drew the three of us.
You smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
—It turned out beautifully, my love.
Cuti looked at the drawing for a few seconds. Then he carefully folded it and put it in his sweatshirt pocket.
—Well, shall we go?
Before leaving, she looked at the house one last time. She didn't say anything. But the way she lingered for a few more seconds before closing the door made it quite clear that there were things she still couldn't let go of.

A Cuti bot for a change 🫶🏻