Chapter 24 – Analyse
Chapter Twenty-Four
ANALYSE
Isend a message to everyone in our chaotic-as-hell group chat.
Analyse
Family dinner tonight at my house. Be there or die.
Mateo
That’s a lot of aggression for nine in the morning, chula.
Anna
I like it. I’m in.
Mari
You can count Seba and I in as well.
Seb
What if I didn’t want to be counted in?
Mari
Well then you die. Obviously.
Analyse
Yeah, Seb. You’ll obviously be subjected to death at my hands.
Seb
Oh, right. Count me in.
Nathan
Do you need me to bring anything?
Analyse
You’re the only one to ask! Such a gentleman. But no, no need. Unless….bring the good wine?
Nathan
You got it.
Andres
Hey! I was going to offer too! Cap just didn’t give me a chance.
Anna
Sureeeee. Whatever you say.
Mari
I can bring desserts from The Rolling Pin!
Andres
Yes! brING DESSERTS!
Analyse
Thanks for answering for me, Andres.
Andres
You’re welcome. Just giving your little typing fingers a break.
Mateo
I think it goes without saying…I’ll be there, baby.
Mari
Awwww
Anna
You guys are so cute it makes me sick.
Seb
Bro, not while I’m here please.
Analyse
Shut up Seb.
I set the last pair of scissors on the table, step back, and grin. The dining rooms looks like Pinterest and a craft store had a love child. There are magazines everywhere, poster boards propped against mason jars full of markers, glitter glue, and sparkly washi tape.
I glance at the clock. Five minutes until the gang shows up for what they think is just a casual dinner. They have no idea they’re walking into a full-blown vision board party.
“Maya!” I call down the hall. “Are you ready?”
She comes racing out of her room in a fuzzy pink sweater, polka-dotted leggings, and her sparkly boots. She’s clutching a stack of old kid’s magazines and a glue stick in her arms.
“I’m gonna make mine say I want a unicorn and a puppy!” she announces proudly.
“That’s right! Dream big, mamita,” I say with a laugh, smoothing down one of her wild curls. “That’s what tonight’s all about.”
A knock at the door pulls my attention. Showtime.
I swing it open to find Anna, Mari, Seb, and Andres huddled on the porch, their faces red from the cold. Mari’s carrying a bakery box, Andres has a bag of chips, and Seb has nothing but an expression that already screams regret.
And right behind them, cheeks flushed and bottle of wine tucked under one arm, is Nathan.
“Sorry I’m late,” he says, stepping in with a grin. “Had to track down the good wine.”
“You’re forgiven.” I laugh. “The good wine earns you instant immunity.”
They filter into the house, stomping snow off their boots, and then they see the dining room.
Mari lets out a gasp. “Wait. What is all this?”
Anna drops her coat and bolts over to the table. “No. Freaking. Way. Are we doing vision boards? Analyse, this is GENIUS.”
Seb and Andres stop dead in their tracks, exchanging wide-eyed glances.
Andres slowly sets the chips down. “I thought we were having tacos and chisme. This is glitter. Glitter is dangerous. Glitter gets everywhere and then in three months from now I’ll still find more of it lingering in my house without any clue as to how it got there.”
Seb points at a bottle of sparkly pink glue. “Is this thing loaded?”
I laugh and gesture toward the table. “Surprise! Tonight is about feeding your stomachs and your manifestations.”
Mari sets the bakery box down and claps. “Honestly, I’m obsessed. And Lyse, this is SO the teacher in you.”
Anna’s already flipping through a magazine, tongue between her teeth as she tears out a page. “I’m making mine aesthetic. Maybe some dreamy beach vibes with a hot mystery man reading poetry in a hammock.”
I raise a brow. “I wonder who that man will be.”
“I guess we’ll find out if the manifestations come true,” Anna quips without looking up.
Nathan leans over and points to her page. “Don’t forget to add a dog. No dream guy is complete without a dog named Biscuit.”
Anna snorts. “Biscuit?”
He shrugs. “It’s a solid name. Trust me.”
Just then, another knock sounds. Mateo walks in, snow clinging to his hair, cheeks flushed from the cold. He scans the room, eyebrows lifting at the sight of the chaos.
“Vision board night?” he asks, lips curving into a slow smile.
“You’re not even surprised,” I say, crossing my arms.
He shrugs, walking toward me and wrapping an arm around my waist. “At this point? You could tell me we’re doing interpretive dance in the backyard and I’d still show up.”
Maya runs over and tugs on his sleeve. “I’m putting a unicorn and puppy on mine!”
Mateo crouches to her level, eyes wide. “That’s amazing. But are you sure you don’t want to add a dragon that breathes glitter? Just in case?”
Her mouth drops open. “YES.” She darts off again, magazine in hand, and Mateo straightens, chuckling.
“She’s so yours,” he murmurs, kissing my temple.
We settle into the table, and for the next hour, it’s chaotic, colorful magic. Scissors snip. Laughter echoes. Andres pretends to be too cool for it, but I catch him carefully cutting out the word adventure and pasting it under a picture of a mountain.
“I want to hike Machu Picchu,” he mumbles.
Mari claps. “YES, manifestation king! Put that right under your little photo of a llama.”
“I like llamas,” he mutters.
Seb is the last to cave. “Fine,” he sighs, grabbing a board.
An hour later, his board says stability, gym gains, and less back pain. There are also photos of pancakes, a house with a wraparound porch, and a bunch of kids.
“Mari, based on his board, you’re going to be popping out a bunch of little Sebastians,” Anna teases.
He shrugs. “More like little Mariana’s.”
Mateo’s board is surprisingly quiet. He cuts slower than the others, more deliberate. I glance over and see words like peace, home, love. There’s a tiny photo of a firefighter’s helmet next to a photo of a little girl flying a kite.
I place a hand on his thigh under the table. He covers it with his own and squeezes.
“Yours is beautiful,” I whisper.
There’s still so much healing to do—for both of us. But this moment feels like a start.
Nathan leans over from the other end of the table and shows me his board. “Mine’s a weird mix of fitness, travel, and finally remodeling the damn kitchen I keep pretending I don’t have time for.”
I grin. “You forgot ‘intimidating us with your maturity.’”
He chuckles, low and easy. “Please. I’m just old enough to have made most of the dumb decisions already.”
“And now you just make adult ones? Like buying a second air fryer?”
“I’ll have you know, the second air fryer is for hosting. Don’t knock the setup until you’ve had my honey garlic wings.”
Andres stares at him from across the table. “You cook? Like, cook cook?”
Nathan raises a brow. “I meal plan, Andres. I season.”
Anna fans herself dramatically. “The bar is so low it’s underground, but somehow Nathan is just…up there. Floating in the clouds with his spice rack and his emotional stability.”
Nathan winks. “What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”
Seb groans. “I suddenly hate him.”
Mari pats Seb’s arm. “It’s okay, baby. You can still learn.”
Maya’s finished board has sparkles in every corner. “Mine says I’m gonna be a ninja-clown-vet-scientist,” she announces proudly.
“Well then,” Mateo says. “Dr. Ninja Clown Maya, I believe in you.”
She curtsies. “Thank you, kind sir.”
Seb groans. “I can’t believe this is how I’m spending my Friday night.”
“You love it,” Mari says, tossing a pillow at him.
“I love any second that I get to spend with you, mi tesoro,” he admits.
Nathan leans back in his chair, sipping cocoa. “Honestly? This is better than most parties I’ve ever been to.”
“See?” I say, beaming. “I told you manifestation night was the move.”
We clean up with music playing and cocoa mugs in hand. Anna and Andres dance around the kitchen like idiots while Mateo carries Maya on his back, both of them giggling. Nathan helps Mari gather the scraps and sticky glue sticks, his sleeves rolled up, a smear of glitter on his cheek.
As the night winds down and everyone prepares to leave, I glance around the room. The boards are drying. The house smells like chocolate and cinnamon. The people I love most are here, warm and full and laughing.
My gaze drifts back to Mateo’s board. Between the pictures of fire trucks and family dinners, one small square catches my eye—our initials drawn inside a crooked little heart. My breath hitches. It’s simple, almost hidden, but I know. That one’s about us.
Mateo comes up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist again. “This was perfect.”
“Really?”
He nods, pressing a kiss just behind my ear. “Vision boards, glitter bombs, chaotic energy. All of it. I’d do this every night if it meant I got to see you like this.”
“Like what?
He tilts his head. “Happy.”
I lean back into him, content and full in a way I didn’t know I could be. “I am,” I whisper.
We watch Maya run to show Seb her board again, and Anna threatening to laminate hers. Andres has glue in his hair, and Mari is laughing so hard she’s crying. Nathan’s lounging on the couch, shaking his head as he peels glitter off his jeans.
It’s messy. Loud. A little ridiculous…or maybe a lot. But it’s mine, and I love it.
A knock echoes through the house. We all freeze.
Seb glances around. “Who could that be? We’re all right here.”
Anna frowns. “Unless someone invited Santa, we’re not expecting anyone.”
Maya gasps. “Is it the unicorn I manifested?”
I give her a soft smile, ruffling her curls. “Not this time, mamita.”
I force my feet to move toward the door. When I open it, a blast of cold air hits me—and so does the sight of Nico. He’s standing there, snow clinging to the shoulders of his coat. His jaw is tight, his hands shoved into his pockets.
Mateo is behind me in second. His voice is low and sharp. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Nico’s eyes narrow. “I’m here to see my kid, obviously.”
I step between them, heart pounding. “You can’t just show up here unannounced.”