
“I’ll see you in a few days. I won’t say good-bye, then, but hasta luego.” Until later. A later that never came. After visiting his sick mother in Mexico, Arturo didn’t return to San Francisco. With an expired tourist visa and a lover and business to get back to, he risked reentering the US illegally but never made it across the border. Haunted by constant thoughts of Arturo, Joe has to carry on in his absence and the lingering despair of loss as he relives their past. His responsibilities to both their restaurant and to Chava, a troubled, hot-tempered young man they’d taken in, demand Joe pull himself together. But Chava’s past is never far behind. Caught in the middle, Joe must make a choice. In the aftermath, he decides to visit Arturo’s parents. It’s a desperate bid for peace, but Joe isn’t sure revisiting his memories will be enough to help him move on, even when later finally arrives on the Day of the Dead.
Author

Born in San Francisco in 1970, Erik Orrantia lived in the San Francisco Bay area until 1997. By that time, he had earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Counseling at California State University in Hayward. His original intention was to build a practice in psychotherapy. He then felt a calling to explore the world and entered an International Study Program in Mexico City where he earned a teaching credential. He currently works as a middle school teacher in San Ysidro, California, along the Mexican-American border. He was voted Teacher of the Year in 2008 for his school district. He has traveled extensively throughout Mexico. He now spends most of his time in Tijuana with his partner and dedicates his free time to writing.