“Dad. Roman and I. It’s over.” Taylor ducked her head wringing her hands together. “The engagement. We don’t love each other. Never have.”
“Taylor, princess, you’re just overwrought. You don’t mean it. Our families have been so intertwined—”
“Stop with the bullshit, Richard,” Roman interjected. “Why don’t you listen to what she’s trying to say? You never listen. You have time to talk to thousands of people in a day. You stand patiently hearing their problems and sympathize, but you just can’t shut up and hear what your daughter, your only child, is telling you.”
He laughed incredulously. “Son, know your place. Don’t you ever speak to me that way again. You’re dabbling with the hired help and have brainwashed my daughter to be supportive of whatever you do.” I let his condescending words go. Been there, heard that before. Nothing new.
“Father, no, you’re wrong.”
“Honey, you’re upset.” He patted her on the back before giving her the most awkward hug in the history of parental hugs. “Daddy will take care of this.”
She shrugged out of his reach. “You don’t ever listen to me. You don’t even know me. Stop with this fake act. We’re not okay, we barely even speak!”
Richard drew his brows together in annoyance. “Taylor, pull yourself together. You know better than to act like this in public. You think you’re an adult and are making a stand.” He reached out, and she shrugged away. “I don’t care how old you are. I am your father. You will listen to me and show respect.”
“Respect?” she squealed eerily. “How can I respect someone who is never around? Who doesn’t even know his own daughter? I don’t want to marry Roman, Father, because I don’t love him. I’m in love with a woman. A woman, Dad. I’m gay.”
His face twisted in disgust. “Stop. You want attention. You’re just saying this shit for shock value. Stop being an embarrassment to me.”
His final words vibrated through the air, and Taylor’s eyes were wide in shock. Mine were too. Richard’s true colors finally showed. “Wow.” Roman laced his hand in mine. “Now, the real shit comes out. Too bad your constituents weren’t here to see what a homophobe you are. Not to mention, a shitty father. You and dear old Robert are running neck in neck in the race to be the biggest douche canoes on the planet.”
“It’s over, father. I’m done hiding behind a lie.” Taylor turned stomping off.
“Taylor,” Richard gritted out. “Get back here.”
She kept walking and gazed over her shoulder leveling her father with a look of pure disgust. “Oh, and good luck with the election.”
Soon, Sonya rushed up in panic. “Richard, do something,” she ordered.
“I’m trying,” Richard retorted. “I told you we needed to be more firm with her, but you always allowed her to do whatever she wanted.”
“Me?” Sonya’s eyes shot up in disbelief. “How dare…”
Not caring to hear more of this sad melodrama, I released Roman’s hand and started off down the long driveway to my car. Soon, I heard heavy footsteps behind me. “Theodora. Wait.”
I paused with hands wrapped around my stomach. “I just want to go home.”
“Don’t withdraw from me.” His steps were slow and heavy as he approached closer. “I told you I’ll never lie to you again.”
“I know,” I sighed heavily. I was almost convinced he meant it, but it still hurt what he’d done. “What am I supposed to do? Where do we go from here?”
“Forgive me. Give me another chance.” He stood in front of me tipping my chin up gently to his eyes. He loves you…Taylor’s words played in my head. “I know I don’t’ deserve you. I may never deserve you, but I’m not giving you up,” he said softly. His tone wasn’t demanding or laced with the threat of breaking my will. In fact, if anything, he looked lost, vulnerable which was rare to see. My heart ached to hold him. To seek solace in his strength and give him comfort for all that we’d suffered.
“So much has passed between us.”
“I can make it up to you, if you’ll just give me a chance.” He cupped my cheeks. “I can’t lose you.”
He gazed at me intently, and I was drowning in the dark depths knowing in my heart I could never lose him either. I found my voice fighting the hammering of my pulse. “I think I’d like to see you try.”
Roman
“You ready for the game?” Nick asked as he pulled his shoulder pads over his head.
I closed my locker and dropped down on the bench. “Is this going to be a weekly occurrence before games now? You checking on my headspace before we take the field? This was week three of our daily touch-base sessions. I thought your major was business management, not sports psychology.”
He smirked. “You’re such a dick. I wanted to make sure you were back on track.”
“Like I said before. I’m golden, Pony Boy. You take care of you, and I’ll focus on me.” Why the hell I was engaging in this touchy feely convo was beyond me. Guess I was going soft.
“Did Theo forgive your sorry ass, or do I need to intervene?”
“No. Not unless you want me to rearrange your all-American face.”
Nick chuckled. “I didn’t know you cared so much.”
“I don’t.”
“So you and Theo are good?”
Another observation: Why was he so interested in my business? He really was turning into one huge vagina. I shrugged. “We’re working on it.” The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of trying to pick up the pieces of earlier sins brought on by my family. Despite everything, there was the messy fiasco of making Antoni’s funeral arrangements. Pops insisted on having a small ceremony closed to everyone but us. I didn’t want to attend considering I hated Antoni for what he did and didn’t feel much remorse for him being gone. Maybe I should’ve since he was my brother and blood, but I wasn’t there yet.
Talking about what happened with Theodora was still a painful topic for both of us, and I didn’t want to tell her about Antoni’s ceremony, but I promised I would never lie to her again. My father still insisted he had nothing to do with what happened to Rhonda. No one would ever truly know except my brother. He claimed he loved Theodora’s mother, but it was hard to believe Robert Martinez could ever love anyone more than he loved himself.
I thought about my mother, and she was the reason I showed up. She was fragile already, and I knew she was devastated over what happened. She blamed herself for being part of the problem, which I disagreed, but it was a moot point. She tried her best to create a loving environment for Antoni and me.
I stood by her side as we listened to the priest conduct a graveside ceremony. Mom cried silently while Pops kept a firm hand on her shoulder. His thousand-dollar aviators kept his expression well-hidden. Seeing the cracks in his veneer the other night for the first time, I knew there was some sort of humanity in him, maybe. But he’d definitely closed the curtain tightly again with a stiff upper lip to boot ever since.