Skip to content

Ruben Alvarez and Zeek Reyes

Ruben Alvarez and Zeek Reyes were connected through Ashley, Ruben’s daughter and Zeek’s partner, and their son Julian Reyes. Ruben liked Zeek and briefly housed him after his father expelled him. His efforts to help could coexist with defensiveness, and he later regretted not making himself easier for Zeek to talk to.

Origins

Before the 2002–03 school year, Ruben brought the Alvarez family’s car to the independent repair shop owned by Zeek’s father. The men became friends after the Alvarez family moved a few blocks from the Reyes home in Fresno High-Roeding. Zeek and Ashley met at the shop that summer and began sixth grade together at Fremont Elementary School.

Ruben regarded Zeek as a good boy. Before Zeek’s expulsion, Ashley tried to tell Ruben that something was wrong in the Reyes home, though she may only have alluded to the problem rather than explaining it directly. Ruben believed she was exaggerating and did not understand the danger Zeek faced.

Expulsion and Temporary Housing

Ruben was angry about Ashley’s pregnancy but opposed Zeek’s father’s decision to expel him after Julian’s birth. He told his friend, “I wasn’t perfect and I never will be, and I’m pissed, sure, but she’s still my daughter, and he should still be your son.” Their disagreement ended the fathers’ friendship.

Ruben let Zeek stay in the Alvarez home briefly. Zeek then used money he had saved during the pregnancy to obtain a studio apartment for himself and Julian. Ruben’s support provided temporary housing during the transition out of the Reyes home.

Dynamics and Communication

While Zeek stayed with him, Ruben found him at the kitchen table holding infant Julian upright against his shoulder and recording the baby’s feeding and reflux in a notebook with his free hand. Ruben offered to hold Julian. Zeek declined because the baby had just settled after spitting up and he knew how to keep him upright.

Ruben took offense at the refusal, and Zeek apologized. Ruben made breakfast the next morning rather than discussing what had happened. Years later, he told Julian that he regretted not making himself easier for Zeek to talk to.

Death and Later Regret

After Ashley and Zeek had both died, Ruben carried profound guilt for dismissing Ashley’s warning about the Reyes home and not recognizing Zeek’s danger sooner. He continued to describe Zeek as a good boy after his death.

Ruben’s own recurrent fainting, impaired exertional capacity, and depression prevented him from safely assuming sole care of Julian, who was nearly three when Zeek died. Zeek’s father remained angry over Ruben’s opposition to the expulsion. He and Zeek’s older brother Marco used their control over Julian’s upbringing and access to exclude Ruben and the wider Alvarez family.

Recollections Shared with Julian

Main article: Julian Reyes and Ruben Alvarez

Main article: Zeek Reyes’s Microcassette Archive

During Julian’s 2037 reunion with the Alvarez family, Ruben recounted the kitchen exchange when Julian asked for a memory of Zeek. Julian showed him a photograph of a page from Zeek’s health notes, including the entry “Kept him up after. Better.” Ruben recognized the note and asked to see more of Zeek’s writing later.

Julian suggested that Zeek had understood Ruben’s wish to help. Ruben answered, “You don’t know that.” When Julian recoiled, Ruben clarified, “I’m not calling you a liar. I’m saying I don’t know what he understood from me. I should’ve asked him.” Ruben’s account preserved his uncertainty about what Zeek had understood rather than treating Julian’s reassurance as proof of a reconciliation.

Ruben also gave Julian the information the medical examiner had released after Zeek’s death. The official record did not identify a definitive cause or resolve whether an arrhythmia or aspiration killed Zeek.

Relationships Family Relationships Ruben Alvarez Zeek Reyes