“You don’t have to thank me.” His eyes caught mine and held. “I care about Cooper.”
“We can see that,” she said, only to then smack first my shoulder and then his.
“Ow.”
“Never keep things from us again!” With that, she squeezed Ricky and me in a crushing hug, while allowing the tears to fall freely.
I mouthed, “Sorry,” to Ricky over her head, to which he grinned.
Among happy wails echoing around us, the high ceilings further amplifying my mother’s dramatic sobs, she hiccuped a few times before saying, “I’ve been so worried about my son, and now I know he’ll be just fine.” A full tirade of supporting comments followed, and at some point it sounded like she was speaking in tongues.
Through it all, my father kept repeating, “Ellen… Ellen… Ellen…”
“What the hell is happening in here?”
Our heads all swung to Rebecca, standing in the doorway, holding Liliana just as Marco came to stand behind her. In Marco’s arms, Antonio proudly said, “Hell. Hell. Hell.”
“Fantastico,” Marco mumbled sarcastically.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ricky
It took all of one minute to fill Rebecca and Marco in on what had just occurred. Of course Rebecca kept grinning like a fool and went as far as egging her mother on by sharing some of the scenarios she had envisioned for Cooper and me.
Two words—beach wedding.
And of course she ignored the daggers I shot her way, but her enthusiasm wasn’t out of the ordinary. Since the day we’d met, finding my happiness was second on her to-do list after finding her own. And now that she believed that possibility was within reach for me, with her brother to boot, there would be no stopping her from trying to hijack our future. In her defense, it was exactly what I had done when she and Marco had started. I’d played a huge part in fate playing out, and this was all payback for her.
During it all, Cooper just rolled his eyes and shook his head while I got caught up in my it’s-a-matter-of-time-before-I-fuck-this-up net.
After we all helped ourselves to the cold food Cooper and I had brought, and as the Stantons gushed and cooed over their new granddaughter, I muttered to Cooper, “I’m gonna go.”
The look he gave me clearly meant he’d rather I not, but then a short nod came before he said, “I’ll walk you out.”
After quick goodbyes and promises to come back soon, I beelined out the front door with Cooper quick on my heels.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just think there are things they probably want to say that should be said in private.” I also felt the same of Cooper, and I didn’t necessarily need to be witness to his innermost thoughts… not yet at least. “Coming out is a very personal experience, and you all deserve some privacy.”
“I don’t expect any drama,” he countered. “I actually think it went well.”
“It did.” There wasn’t any drama with my mother when I came out either. I knew the Stantons well enough to know their love for Cooper would be first and foremost. Still, it was normal for questions to arise. No doubt, his age at the time of his discovery would play a part in their confusion, as it should. “But their undying support doesn’t mean they aren’t entitled to ask questions, Cooper. You should answer them without an audience.”
“Okay. I get it. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, sure.” He narrowed his eyes. None of what I’d said until then had caused as much as a reaction as those two little words. While keeping my expression as impassive as possible, he continued to study me, clearly trying to read into my solemn mood. In an attempt to deflect, I admitted, “I have a present I need to go purchase for Liliana.” That wasn’t a lie. I had been on the fence over buying the obnoxious gift, but after today… game on.
“What is it?”
“You’ll see,” I said with a wink before heading to my car. As I got in and started the engine, Cooper remained where he stood even after I waved, pulled out of the driveway, and headed down the street.
Giving them all some space was only half-true. I needed it myself. All that talk regarding love and forever and happiness was too much to process. The look in Ellen’s eyes was the same that had been in her daughter’s since Cooper and I had started. The difference: I could handle Rebecca, keep her expectations for Cooper and me real. Whereas just a few minutes in and it was clear Ellen wanted to hang Cooper’s happiness on me.
Problem was I had no faith I could be all that for him, and it went beyond the constant worry I carried over his prior confusions. Watching Cooper recklessly dive into our relationship headfirst seemed too perfect to be true. Besides that, what if somewhere along the line I screwed up? My experience with relationships sucked ass.
Then there was the tiny issue that August was quickly approaching. Cooper would be going back to his life, and what would become of us wasn’t cut-and-dried. Cooper didn’t have an end game, not that he should. His life was in Jersey. Mine was here. And for obvious reasons, it would make more sense for me to uproot rather than Cooper… but did I want to?
It was all conjecture at this point; the man had only just come out. And as quickly as that thought popped into my mind, the obvious that he had only just come out left gray area that still needed to be navigated.
“I sure know how to pick ’em,” I said to no one.
A few minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of the children’s store in town, welcoming the distraction.
Two steps through the door and a salesperson approached. “Can I help you, sir?”
“Yes. I’m in search of a giant giraffe, and your store was listed as having it in stock.”
A cunning smile spread over her ruby-red lips. “Oh, yes. The eight-foot mechanical giraffe. We have one left.” She motioned for me to follow deeper into the store, where we came upon just what I’d been looking for. “By downloading an app on your phone, you can control its neck, have it blink, stick out its tongue, and even have it hum just as a live giraffe would. It is a bit pricey, however… listed for fifteen hundred, but I can offer a ten percent discount.”
Little did she know I would’ve paid the original price. “Can you have it delivered today?”
“Yes, sir. Provided the address is local.”
“Perfect. I’ll take it. Now can you tell me about that giant elephant?” That’ll show that little minx to mess with me.
I hadn’t heard from Cooper all day, not that I expected to. My guess: the moment I left their discussion got heavy. And the more I thought about his experience compared to mine, the more I felt he was moving way too fast.
After dinner, bored and antsy, I headed to my favorite hangout, D & R’s Pub. Still too early for the place to be crowded with their normal nighttime partiers, I strolled through the dozen or so patrons scattered among tables and the bar. Taking a seat at the farthest end, away from any people, I mindlessly focused on the Marlins game playing on the big screen, waiting for Damon to spot me.
It didn’t take long before he called out, “Hey, cuz. Long time no see. Where’ve ya been?”