“You’re a grown man, son,” Dad says. “You can do whatever you want, and if this woman in Miami is what you want…” His voice breaks along with my heart.
I hate upsetting them any more than I already have. “I don’t want to live away from you guys. I hope you know it’s not about that. It’s just that I have a chance to have something I thought was never going to happen for me, mostly because I refused to allow it to happen. And now that it has…”
“I get it,” Dad says, “and it makes me happy to know you’ll have that experience. It’s just, you know, hard for us. We worry about you.”
“I know you do, and I hate being the cause of that. But I’m feeling great, better than I ever have. There’s no reason to worry about anything. I’ll live with Dee in Miami. We’ll be surrounded by her family, and Jason will be there, too. It’s not like I’ll be moving somewhere with no support like I did when I went to Duke. Dee even has doting grandmothers to help keep an eye on me. And I was thinking… Maybe you could spend part of the winter with us in Miami. We’re getting a house with plenty of bedrooms, and Dad, you’ve been talking about taking more time off now that the business is doing so well. Mom, you should retire one of these years and enjoy life. You’ve both certainly earned the right to relax.”
My mom is on her second tissue as she mops up the tears that keep coming. I go to her and hug her. “I’m sorry to upset you, but I promise this is a good thing. The very best thing.”
“What are we supposed to do if you have some sort of problem, and you’re in Miami?”
“You can be there in a few hours if it comes to that, which it won’t.”
“You can’t possibly know that for sure, Wyatt,” Mom says.
“No, I can’t, but I’ve made up my mind to quit living like I’m dying.”
“You haven’t been doing that!” Mom’s distress turns to anger in an instant. “Look at what you’ve done with yourself—you’re a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon. How does that equate to living like you’re dying?”
“My career is incredible. I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished there. It’s the rest of my life that’s been lacking. I had fly-by relationships with women, never allowing myself to get too involved out of fear of my loaner heart giving out and how unfair it would be to ask someone to care about me when that could happen.
“Dee reminded me we’re all one bad decision away from certain death. We could step off the curb at the wrong moment, accelerate through an intersection when someone is running a red light or any number of dreadful things that happen. I’ve been so busy pursuing my career with a ruthless determination that, somewhere along the way, I forgot to live. Dee has shown me something else—something I want more than I’ve ever wanted anything, and I’m going for it. I want you guys to be part of it. But what I don’t want is to add to your stress. I want you to just be happy for me and not worry about me.”
“It’s tough for us not to worry,” Dad says softly.
“I know, and I appreciate why. I hate that I put you through such hell, but this is the payoff for what we all went through. Dee is the payoff. She’s my golden ring.”
“And you know this for sure so quickly?” Mom asks.
“I knew it right away. The day I met her was unlike any day I’ve ever spent with anyone, and all I’ve thought about since then was seeing her again. Please… Just be happy for me. Let’s not dwell on all the ways it could go wrong. Let’s just be happy in this moment, the only one we have.” I use Dee’s words to seal the deal with them, or so I hope.
Dad closes the distance between us and hugs me as fiercely as he has in years.
My eyes burn with tears.
“We’re happy for you, Wy, and we can’t wait to meet your Dee.”
“Thanks, Dad. You’ll love her. I know you will.”
When he releases me, I turn to my mom. “Are you okay?”
“I suppose I will be. I just can’t bear the thought of you living so far from us.”
“You got through the four years I was in North Carolina,” I remind her.
“That was hell, always waiting to get a phone call.”
“That never came. I was fine. I am fine. I’m going to be fine. We just have to have faith in that, and if the day comes when I’m not fine, we’ll deal with it then. In the meantime, I don’t want you to be upset.”
“I’m sorry.” She wipes away more tears. “I don’t want to take anything away from your happiness. I just… I need a minute to wrap my head around this.”
“Take as long as you need. Dee is coming next Sunday for the week before we leave for Miami. I hope you guys can spend some time with her while she’s here. I promise you’ll feel a lot better about this after you meet her.”
At least, I hope so.
Chapter 17
DEE
The week after Wyatt leaves drags like nothing ever has. Every minute feels like a year, except for the hours I spend talking to him, usually late into the night after my waitressing shifts. I'm so tired, I'm practically delirious, but I wouldn't trade the hours on FaceTime with him for sleep. So far, I've toured six potential houses and have narrowed the choices to two I love. I want him to see them before I make any decisions, but the thought of living with him in either of them fills me with unreasonable joy.
I've spent time with my parents every day this week but still haven't talked to them about Wyatt and our plans. I haven't even told them I'm leaving for Phoenix on Sunday. I'm planning to see them before my waitressing shift later to let them know.
It's finally Friday, and I'm due to meet with my aunt and uncle this morning, so I drive out of my way to stop by Juanita's to get a much-needed kick of caffeine.
“¿Dónde está tu chico sexy?”
Smiling, I say, "My sexy man is in Phoenix, where he lives. For now, anyway. He's moving here next week."
"That is awesome. It's so nice to see you smiling again after what that jackass Marcus did."
"You know about that, huh?"
"Everyone knows about that. And PS, I know the puta he married, and she's no Dee Giordino."
"Aw, thanks, but that's all in the past now. I'm in love with Wyatt, and we're making plans. It's all good."
"You deserve it, cariño." She hands over my cortadito. "Heard about your big new job, too. Congrats."
"Thanks." As I give her a ten-dollar bill, I gesture to the coffee. "This will be critical to my success on the job."
"I'm here for you."
"Bless you, amiga."
I drive to the restaurant in rush-hour traffic, feeling elated and tired and so ready to see Wyatt again. The time apart has been pure torture, which only confirms my decision to go all-in with him. If I feel this way after a couple of days without him, then I know I'm doing the right thing. It does occur to me that if the worst possible thing happens, I'll have to feel this awful ache every day for the rest of my life.