18. Gabby

The next morning, I found myself tiptoeing into my father’s room before anyone in the apartment was awake. I slipped the key to our family safe from the ceramic candy house with the hinged lid on his bureau and kneeled next to his bed. After easing out the small fireproof box he kept under there, I snuck both items out and retreated down the hall to the front room. There, I sat on the couch and perched the mini safe on my lap. After unlocking it, I popped the lid open.

There was no money or monetary valuables inside, except some Venezuelan coins Papá had saved as keepsakes and Mama’s wedding ring. Most of the contents were paperwork. I found my and Miguel’s birth certificates, along with our social security cards near the top. After a bit of digging, I found Mama and Papá’s marriage license and Mama’s birth certificate. And then there, Papá’s certificate of naturalization, proving he was an American citizen, lay folded under that. It had his registration number and signature on it and