When Rae got home a few hours later, she came straight into the kitchen, following her nose.
“Oooh, honey…” Rae’s voice trailed off as she put her purse down, looking around at the array of food. Ana would be excited when she got home. Domi didn’t often take the time to make Puerto Rican food. It was usually a special treat, or they went to a restaurant. Ana also wouldn’t realize what it meant, but Rae definitely did.
Using the back of her arm to wipe the sweat off of her forehead, Domi looked around. Maybe it had gotten a little out of hand. She’d ended up running to two different stores to get everything she needed—the first store hadn’t had quite enough plantains for both the mofongo and the tostones.
“I couldn’t concentrate on work,” Domi said, wringing her hands.
“It smells amazing. Ana will be thrilled. It’s been months since you made tostones.”
“I made alcapurrias, too.”
Rae’s eyes lit up. Those were her favorite. What Domi really wanted was the Asopao de pollo she’d made. Once she got the idea in her head, she wanted the food her mom made her when she was a kid, suffering some kind of disappointment, she hadn’t been able to let it go. Which actually reminded her of her mom. It was never enough to make one thing—she had to make a whole feast.
“Too bad Avery has to work. I bet she’d love this.”
“I can set some aside for her. There’s plenty.” That was an understatement. There was enough for ten people. They’d be eating leftovers for days.
The thought made her sad but relieved. She didn’t want to feel like she needed comfort food for days, but she was relieved it was going to be there since she was probably going to need it.
Stupid Mitch. Stupid her. She couldn’t help but wonder, what would have happened if she hadn’t pushed him? What if she’d let him retreat and have his minute instead of pushing things? Would he have still ended things? Would they have been able to talk and work through it?
Was it too late?
Arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight.
“It’ll be okay,” Rae whispered in her ear. Squirming around, Domi hugged her bestie back, thankful she had Rae. Sometimes, she thought Rae might be her real soul mate. Not in the romantic way. Platonic soulmates. Sisters by love, rather than by blood.
“I know,” Domi replied. It might not feel like it right now, but eventually, it would be. Though she didn’t think she’d be exploring dating again any time soon.
Mitch
After his friends left, Mitch sat on the couch, wondering if it would do him more harm than good to take a nap. Maybe he should go in early and see if he could get a Vitamin IV. It wasn’t a ‘cure’ as such, but it sure helped speed up the recovery time and would make him feel less nauseous. The grease from breakfast had helped a little, but his gut still felt all twisty and unsettled.
Maybe that’s because you know you fucked up, and it has nothing to do with all the alcohol.
Thanks, brain.
That was exactly his fear.
As if to punctuate his misery, Darth Vader’s theme began playing on his phone. Mitch groaned. The temptation to let it go to voicemail was strong, but… he had some questions only his dad could answer.
“Hey.” With only a single word, he sounded tired.
“Hey.” His dad was quiet for a long moment. Mitch was too tired to try to think of something to say, so he waited for his dad to say something. “I ah… I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“It wasn’t that. I mean… it was… but…” Mitch scrubbed his face. “I really don’t want to know about your and mom’s sex life, but that wasn’t why I left.”
“Ah.” Another moment of silence, though this one didn’t last quite as long. “Was it the lass? She seemed verra nice. Unhappy after you left, though.”
“What did you say to her?” The words came out sharper than he intended, but there was also a weird little feeling of… craving? He wanted to know what she had done. If she’d been okay.
“Told her it was nice to meet her, and it was my fault you were upset. I hope that was all right.” His father’s voice turned a little quieter than usual. Mitch blew out a long breath. Could have been worse. Could have been better.
“That’s fine. What did she say?”
“Thank you.”
It took Mitch a moment to realize that was what Domi had said. Sounded like her. Polite even when she was upset. Holding it all inside. She held far too many things inside. Which was why she loved scening and was always lighter afterward.
“Did the two of you have a tiff? Do you want to talk about it?” The oddly hesitant way his dad asked brought Mitch out of his reverie and made him blink. These weren’t the kind of conversations he and his dad had. They didn’t talk about feelings or what had happened. That was his mom’s arena. When his dad asked how he was, Mitch knew he wasn’t really asking, but this… this was a clear offering for something more.
“Are you okay?” he asked, some of his sense of humor trickling back in. “Who is this? Did the aliens finally get you? Tell me your D&D alignment, so I know it’s really you.”
His dad snorted.
“Still lawful neutral, lad. I’ve been…” His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, his brogue thickening as it always did when he was emotional. “I’ve been seeing a therapist.”
“Okay, well, the first answer was right, but…” If Mitch hadn’t already been sitting down, he probably would have fallen to the floor in shock. He couldn’t count the number of times his mom had begged his dad to go to couples’ therapy, but his dad always scoffed at the idea. “Are you going with Mom?”
“By myself, for now. Eventually, I’d like to go with her. If she’ll have me.”
Holy shit. His dad sounded uncertain. His dad never sounded uncertain.
“What brought this on?”
“A gentleman and his wife came to Outlands this past fall to reconnect. Got me thinking…” There was a wistfulness to his dad’s voice, shocking Mitch even further. His dad was never this open with his emotions. “I never stopped loving your mom, lad. I just wasn’t very good at showing her that. While there was one place, we could communicate—”
“Don’t wanna hear about that,” Mitch murmured, making his dad chuckle. Another shocker. Man, his father really was loosening up in his old age or maybe thanks to the therapist.
“I didn’t try outside of that. I thought as long as we had it, that was all that mattered. I didn’t take the time to listen to what she was saying or wanted from me. I didn’t give her the little things she asked for. I didn’t think it should be necessary. We loved each other, and that shoulda been enough, right?” His short, sharp bark of laughter held no humor. “But tis not. I should have chased after her every time we argued. Talked through it. Got to the root of why she was angry instead of focusing on the single incident that set her off and got me going my merry way. Apologized where I was wrong and made it up to her.”
“You apologized a lot.” That was something Mitch definitely remembered. He always knew when his dad had fucked up.