After I talked to him he invited Rudy and me to come over to his house. So Rudy and I got into my truck and followed the man to his house. When we got to his house I parked my truck and Rudy stayed close to me hugging me along the way to the door. I couldn't really blame him for doing that. I mean I was like that with Emy when I went to new places in town when I was younger. When we walked inside the house the guy called out
"Hey Jackie look who's here"
Then a lady walked out of the kitchen with a cooking cloth on and when she saw Rudy hugging me, her eyes widened
"Is…is that Rudy" she said in shock
"It sure is" the guy said
Then she looked up at me and asked, "And who would you be"
"I'm Emmanuel Villalobos, I'm Rudy's older brother"
After I said that, she looked at me with a confused expression "Older brother, Javi has another son"
Rudy shifted awkwardly beside me.
Then she asked "he you found your dad yet or no, hun"
"No" I said "but Rudy and I will keep trying"
Her expression changed after that. The confusion was still there, but now there was sympathy mixed into it.
"Lord…" she murmured. "You boys really had no idea where he went?"
Rudy shook his head. "He disappeared before I could even ask questions."
I crossed my arms lightly. "All we got are old names, a few towns, and stories that barely match."
The guy beside her leaned against the doorway. "If you're talking about Javi Villalobos… there are people around here who might remember him."
Rudy immediately looked up. "You serious?"
The man nodded slowly.
"But you two might not like everything you hear."
"At this point, we just want the truth," I said
Then she sat down and said "Well ever since Rudy got taken away from them they have been struggling to survive in El Paso and not too long ago, your mom sadly passed away from cancer."
When we both heard that The moment the words left her mouth, the entire room felt heavy.
Rudy froze beside me.
"…What?" I whispered.
I felt my chest tighten so hard it almost hurt to breathe.
"No," I said quietly, shaking my head once. "No, that can't be right."
The old man came up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder while Rudy still kept hugging me. Out of all these years, I wanted to meet my mom and now the person I want to meet is dead I only had blind memories of her and now she is gone for good.