Some evenings remained difficult.
There were days when old habits returned and he caught himself scrolling through his phone while Mateo tried to talk.
But now he noticed.
And when he noticed, he tried to make a different choice.
Sometimes he put the phone away.
Sometimes he asked Mateo another question.
Sometimes he admitted to Elena that he was having a stressful day instead of withdrawing into silence.
The changes were small.
That was precisely why they were possible.
Carlos was not attempting to rebuild his entire life overnight.
He was learning to make room for joy within the life he already had.
The distinction mattered.
Happiness was no longer something he imagined reaching only after a promotion, a larger paycheck, or the disappearance of every financial concern.
It was something he could experience in ordinary moments while continuing to work toward those goals.
Chapter 9: The Family Starts Again
Over the following weeks, the Martinez family developed several new traditions.
