"Mom." Jacob smiled as he instantly wrapped his arms around his mother before she even had time to process what was going on. "Jacob." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. "My baby."
"Mommy." He smiled as he pulled away. She quickly pulled him into her house. "Your cousins and aunts are here! My baby! He's back! Everyone Jacob is back!" She shouted.
It amazed Jacob how close his family was. Here he was at his mother's door out of nowhere on a Thursday at four in the afternoon and his family was here. All of them. His aunts, uncles and cousins he hadn't seen in years were here and happy to meet him.
"You came alone?" His aunt Camila asked as she hugged him. Jacob nodded with a shrug. "You know your cousin has been talking my ear off about you and this Frank Ocean boy and how she'll finally be able to meet him since you guys are dating."
"We're not actually dating officially, I didn't want to bring him because this is my first time being back in a while and I wanted it to be just us. I'll bring him next time."
She smiled before moving out of the way so he could greet the other family. He was so filled with joy he was crying by the time he made it back to his mom. "Ah mi bebé, don't cry. It's alright. We're so happy that you're here. We're happy that you came home."
Jacob couldn't stop crying. He'd been in California many times before this, but he'd never stopped by once to see his family. He was the worst son ever, but his mom just invited him in like nothing had happened. She wasn't angry with him like he thought she'd be.
"I'm sorry, mom." Jacob sniffled as he hugged his mom again.
"It's alright. I'm just happy to see my baby again." She patted his back and tried to wipe away his tears within the hug. "Let's go up to the bathroom, yeah. Get you cleaned up."
Jacob followed his mom through the house and to the bathroom. The house still looked the same after all these years. The same pictures still hanging up on the wall. His door still had 'Jacob' on it in big brown letters.
He smiled as his mom turned on the light and pulled him inside. She grabbed a washcloth out of the cabinet and then wet it before handing it to Jacob.
"You know it's really good that you came by." She smiled as she leaned back against the counter. "Your cousin Amara is getting married soon and you know how much she loves you. She wants you to be there a lot, but you haven't been keeping in contact."
Jacob sniffled, "I feel so bad. I just left you all behind and I didn't even call once."
"It's alright. Everyone is just so glad you're back and we hope that you never leave again."
"I won't. I'll never do that again." Jacob shakes his head before looking in the mirror and wiping his face. "Good. Now when we finish up here there are some people who would really like to see you."
"I thought I saw everyone."
His mom shook her head and smiled as she patted his cheek. "Hurry and I'll show you."
Jacob finished wiping his face and then let his mom lead him downstairs to the basement. "You got it finished." He smiled as he noticed the light pink and purple walls and the off white carpet. "Mmhm they finished it a couple of months ago.
Once they turned the corner they were three people and a baby sitting down on the floor playing with his old dog, Beans.
"Beansie!" He yelled while crouching down and the dog came running over to him jumping up at him, clearly excited to see him.
He looked at the people who were now turned around. His cousin Amara sat with some man he didn't know and his younger cousin Noah sat beside them. "Oh my gosh Noah you're so big now. How old are you?" He asked. "Eight." He quietly answered. Still shy.
