The next week continued with Val continuing to act out more and more, both at work and home ... and finally in public with Diego.
Diego tried to placate his mom as much as possible. One evening he thought she was in a good mood. She was reserved -as she always seemed now - but she hadn't lashed out at him. Trying to bring a feeling of normalcy back to their relationship, he asked if she could drive him to pick up a few things from the mall—just school supplies and maybe some clothes. He was pleasantly surprised when seemed to feel that way as well. Normally, Valeria might’ve just handed him the car keys, but that evening she insisted on coming along.
The parking lot was crowded, the late-afternoon sun glinting off rows of windshields. Inside, the mall buzzed with shoppers—families wrangling kids, couples weaving through crowds, teenagers clustering by the food court.
They wandered into a clothing store first. Diego sifted through a rack of hoodies, holding one up for her opinion.
She tilted her head, her voice pitched just loud enough for a pair of girls browsing nearby to hear. “Hmm. I mean… if you’re going for ‘freshly divorced dad who lost custody of the kids,’ then sure, that works.”
The girls stifled giggles. Diego’s face flushed, and he set the hoodie back down a little too quickly. “What’s your problem?” he muttered.
“Problem?” She smiled innocently, glancing toward the girls as if to share the joke. “I’m just helping you avoid bad fashion choices, sweetheart. That’s what moms do.”
They moved on, but she could feel him getting quieter, shrinking into himself a little. That reaction—exactly what Chase had wanted—only fueled her.
At the checkout counter, she struck again. The cashier, a kid not much older than Diego, scanned his items. Valeria leaned against the counter and said, “Make sure you double-bag that. My son here has a talent for dropping things.” She said it with a warm laugh, but her hand came down to give his shoulder a light pat—more of a condescending tap, like you’d give a clumsy child.
The cashier chuckled politely. Diego’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
By the time they left the store, she could feel the shift—the way he walked a half step ahead, eyes down, shoulders tense. And all she could think about was telling Chase every detail.
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