Gemotions

The small, hand-painted sign read, "Bienvenidos." He'd seen it a hundred times, but today it struck him with peculiar force. The letters were wobbly, almost childlike. His partner, Mateo, had hung it in the hallway, a supposed act of affection. But when he heard the lilting Spanish conversation coming from the living room – his partner discussing his hopes, his dreams, using the language he'd always found so hard to speak – the wobbly letters seemed to mock him. He turned and walked back outside, needing the bite of the wind to clear his head.