Chapter 20 #2
“We haven’t. Your greedy ass uncle Chris stopped by Freddie’s Fried Chicken on the way over. Talking about ‘he ain’t lying.’ Nigga, your gut looked like you swallowed the whole hog, never mind the chicken,” my daddy declared, causing everyone in the room to erupt with laughter.
Uncle Chris licked his fingers clean, tossed the bone into a box on the side of the chair he sat in, and looked at his older brother. “The women ain’t complaining.”
“You ain’t got no woman, nigga,” Daddy retorted.
“I don’t know, Uncle John. A few ladies have been ringing my dad’s phone lately,” Tobias, my cousin declared.
“They’ve been ringing his phone because they’re trying to come work for him and clean up that bullshit he be on.”
Everyone started laughing again, but my eyes went to the other side of the room where Ramon sat. His eyes were on me, but he was silent. I jerked my head in acknowledgment of my brother, and he did the same.
I meant what I said. There was no way that I would show my ass and mess up everyone’s holiday today, but that didn’t make things right between us. I took a seat near my daddy and got into the game as we waited for my mama to announce dinner was ready.
She called everyone to dinner about twenty minutes after my arrival. Prayer, dinner, and dessert went over without a hitch. It wasn’t until we were preparing to leave that things became uncomfortable.
I had hugged everyone and had returned to the family room to say goodbye to my dad and Joaquin. I noticed that Ramon wasn’t in the room with them anymore. After I dapped everyone up, I headed back to the front door where I had last seen Charly. She had told me she would meet me at the car.
When I stepped out onto the lawn, I saw Ramon cornering her by my car. I walked up behind him, checking her composure and his demeanor. She didn’t appear to be afraid, but she also didn’t appear to be extremely comfortable.
Ramon stepped back a few steps and shoved his hands in his pockets. He was shrugging his shoulders and saying something to her that I could not hear from my distance.
By the time I approached them, Charly looked up at me with wide eyes, and Ramon spun around.
“Oh, hey, Bro.” He greeted me like everything was all good between us.
“What’s up? Everything good, Char?” I asked.
“Yeah, baby. It’s good,” she replied softly, looking hesitantly between my brother and me.
“It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t know what to think, G. I watched you avoid her all afternoon and evening. The minute that I’m not around, you creeping around. What’s up with that?” I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets and walking closer to him as I hunched my shoulders forward.
“Dominic, I spent two years of my life with this woman. And while it may not be right in your sight or anyone else’s, it doesn’t change it. I never had a chance to say goodbye to Charly. I never got a chance to apologize or make things right.”
“And you don’t need to worry about it now. I’ve made sure that she was all right.”
He bobbed his head. “Yeah. I get it. Charlyse,” he stated, turning back to her, “I only wanted to apologize to you tonight. It’s the least that I owe you for what I took your life through over the last couple of years.
Or at least the last year. You didn’t deserve any of my issues, putting my hands on you, making false accusations, or any of that.
I made you a victim by pulling you into this unspoken beef that I had with my brother.
I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for what I did after you left me. ”
Charly crossed her arms over her chest and leaned into me. I wrapped an arm around her and squeezed.
“I accept your apology, Ramon, because that’s what my parents taught me to do. But you and I can never be friends again.”
“I can respect that. I just want to know that you forgive me.”
“That’s not something that I’m ready to do right now. And I know they’re always saying that you should forgive people for yourself and not for the other person. One day, maybe I will. I’m just not there yet.”
Ramon nodded and turned his gaze to me. “Can you and I talk one-on-one for a minute?”
I turned my gaze to Charly, and she stated, “I’ll wait in the car.”
I nodded and watched as she got in the car and closed the door. Ramon and I stepped away a few feet, where we could talk without her overhearing us.
“Dom, I don’t have any excuses for why I’ve been an asshole to you and to her.
I could blame it on the drinking, but my shit started long before the drinking.
It’s like you always got everything so easy.
Dad letting you have your freedom, the way the girls were with you, your relationship with Mamá and Abuela.
I was jealous. When Charly seemed to be lost, I thought, this is my chance to show my little brother that I’m just as good as he is.
When you got out, and she was all excited about it, and started spending more time around you, that shit hurt. ”
“That’s no one’s fault but your own, Ramon. You always knew how we were.”
“You’re right, I did. But I hoped that would change after she’d been with me.
I remembered how y’all would walk around each other naked or in your underclothes.
I got pissed thinking that you two had picked that shit up again.
The thought of you touching her or being with her would drive me to drink.
I couldn’t take it out on you, so I took it out on her. I was wrong.”
“Neither of us would disrespect you that way. Our entire friendship changed and became something we didn’t recognize out of respect for you. That shit wasn’t easy, nigga, and neither was it fair.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
“Do you love her?”
“What?”
“Do you love her? Did you ever love her, Ramon?”
“I loved the idea of her, and even more than that, the idea of taking her from you. I’m in therapy. My boss insisted that I attend therapy and deal with my drinking if I wanted to retain my job.” He shrugged, offering his statement as an explanation of his feelings.
“You did that shit to hurt me. Getting with her and beating her.”
He shook his head. “I got with her to hurt you. Beating her had nothing to do with you. That was a problem that I had long before her, something I needed help with. I did prey on Charly, though, because I wanted to get under your skin. I was wrong, and for that, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry for ever being jealous of you and wanting to hurt you, Dom.
You’re my brother, and I love you. You deserve better than that. ”
I could have used my anger to beat his ass again, or ignore him, or I could have been the bigger man and forgiven him.
I decided to forgive him because that was what was in my DNA.
The unforgiveness would destroy me, and I knew that I would have my hands full helping Charly to heal from what he had done to her and learning to forgive him in spite of her pain.
“I love you, too, Ramon, but this shit won’t end overnight. It took years for this damage to occur in our relationship, and it’s going to take time to get anything back. Right now, I’m not in a good place, but I do forgive you. Just stay the hell away from her,” I warned in a serious tone.
“Yeah. I can respect that.”
I didn’t hug him, but we did dap it up before I got in the car. Charly rested her hand on my wrist and looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
“I am because I’ve got you, baby.” I leaned sideways and kissed her. “I love you.”
“I love you, Dom.”