HE SAT ALONE AT HIS OWN BIRTHDAY DINNER WHILE HIS CHILDREN MOCKED HIM ON A YACHT

Thirty enthusiastic confirmations.

Zero people.

At first, you assumed traffic.

Then delays.

Then one small emergency that would explain one branch of the family. Then maybe another. Then maybe everyone had gotten trapped in some absurd chain of coincidence. Your daughters-in-law were always late. Roberto always answered messages in batches. Martín never remembered time zones even when he wasn’t traveling. Your youngest, Elena, lived like a woman in a perfume ad and thought calendars were suggestions.

You gave them grace in ten-minute increments.