Chapter 19 #2
Joseph and Andy exchanged glances. Joseph crossed his arms and looked tense.
Andy shoved his hands in his pockets and turned his gaze to Tomas and then to Fiona.
“I got a call from Tomas’s mother.” He smiled in a way that Tomas could only describe as pastorally.
“It sounds like you’ve had quite the day. ”
He couldn’t see her face, but Tomas could feel Fiona’s tension.
He placed both hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently while meeting Joseph’s gaze.
The man appeared to relax slightly, lifting his chin as if accepting Tomas and Fiona.
Tomas returned the gesture. “You guys want to sit down?” he asked.
“Yes. Please.” Fiona gestured toward the living room. “Where are my manners. Please, sit.”
Joseph and Andy seated themselves on the couch. Fiona perched on the chair while Tomas sat on the arm of the chair. He could have brought in one from the dining room, but he didn’t want to leave her side.
“Tomas’s mother called you?” Fiona spoke to Andy but twisted to look up at Tomas. “Did you know?”
Shaking his head, he said, “No. I told her what happened today, though.”
“Why would you do that?”
He studied her face, seeing the hurt in her eyes. “I needed an outlet. It was either talk to my mother or drive over to your parents’ house and yell at your mother.”
Their eyes locked. He could see the emotions move across her face. The tightness around her eyes and mouth relaxed, and she murmured, “Good call.” The cat grew restless, and Fiona put it down. It made a beeline for a dish of water and lapped daintily at it.
Andy leaned forward, lacing his fingers together and propping his elbows on his knees. “Your mother, Tomas, was very concerned about Mrs. Han and the impact of her outburst on Fiona. She hoped that I might be able to intercede. Joseph was with me when I got the call.”
“I am so sorry.” Joseph reached over to take Fiona’s hands, his angry gaze shifting between her and Tomas.
Fiona shrugged. “You didn’t do anything.”
“That’s the point. I didn’t do anything.
Mother has been controlling you for years, and Father and I have sat back, allowing it to happen.
You seemed fine with it, so we didn’t interfere.
And now, now that you’re finding some happiness in opposition to what she wants, she’s lost it.
” Joseph spoke bitterly. “Andy had the phone on speaker, and when I heard what she said about Tomas, I lost it. I called Mother and blew up.”
Fiona’s gasp was the only sound in the room as brother and sister stared at each other.
Clearing his throat, Andy spoke to Tomas, “Any chance you’ve got some beer? I wanted to pick some up, but Joseph wouldn’t let me.”
“Sure.”
Tomas stroked a hand through Fiona’s hair and stood.
Andy rose from the couch and followed him into the kitchen.
Opening the fridge, Tomas pulled out three beers and a bottle of wine.
“Glass?” he asked. When Andy shook his head, he poured a glass of wine for Fiona and dug the bottle opener out of the drawer to uncap the beers.
He handed one to Andy and leaned back against the counter.
Andy did the same and held his beer aloft. “Cheers.”
Tomas returned the salute.
“Are you mad at your mom?”
Tomas took a drink, giving himself time before answering.
Being talked about didn’t make him happy, but his mom set in motion something he couldn’t do; improve Fiona’s relationship with her brother.
“No. My mom is big on forgiveness. I made her life hell and scared the shit out of her when I went to jail.” He looked at the pastor to gauge his reaction.
Andy nodded, but remained silent. “She wants me to be happy and knows that I won’t be happy unless Fiona is happy. So, she called you.”
Placing his beer on the counter, Andy crossed his arms. “I was in my office and wasn’t expecting Joseph, which is why the phone was on speaker. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad that he heard the conversation.”
Tomas tilted his head toward the living room where Fiona and Joseph were speaking in low voices. “Good for them. Maybe not good for their mother.”
“Are you going to reach out to her?”
Hell no! was on his lips. Instead, he replied, “That depends. If they want me to, I will. But maybe not for a while. It’s too fresh, and I’ll probably blow up.” If he did show up on her doorstep, Fiona’s mother would, no doubt, call the cops on him.
“Was your family like theirs?” he asked Andy.
Even when he and his stepfather weren’t speaking to each other, Tomas knew that he was loved and that he could depend upon his parents. With a mother like Linh Han, growing up must have been tough on Fiona.
Andy shook his head and smiled. “Controlling? No. They weren’t happy that I went into social work instead of engineering like they did because there’s not a lot of money in it, even less so in ministry, but they’re happy that I’m happy.
It helps that they married for love.” Seeing Tomas’s raised eyebrow, he continued.
“The Vietnamese immigrant population was, and still is, very close-knit. David and Linh Han grew up together, knowing that they would marry. Which was not uncommon.”
“But that’s not the same as choosing who you will spend your life with.”
“No. However, Linh Han’s parents made that choice for her. And she expected and did the same thing for Fiona.”
“And look how well that turned out,” Tomas muttered. His blood boiled whenever he thought about Eddie McLeod. The self-centered prick destroyed everyone he came into contact with. The fact Fiona had survived Eddie’s gaslighting was a testament to her inner strength.
Picking up his beer, Andy pointed it at Tomas. “Right. And now she thinks she has to find another husband for Fiona.”
“One that isn’t an uneducated Mexican with a prison record.” Bitterness clogged Tomas’s throat. He understood the message in his mother’s story about the boy she bullied, but that didn’t make the hurt go away. Didn’t make him feel less angry toward Linh Han.
“There is no excuse for the words she said. Whether you heard them or not.” Andy moved closer to Tomas and grasped his shoulder. “You don’t need me to tell you that. I’m hoping Linh Han realizes she’s fucked up her relationship with her kids and works to heal it.”
Tomas snorted. “Are pastors allowed to swear?”
“Hell, yes. Just not in front of the congregation.”
The two men laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Fiona rounded the corner with Joseph right behind her. She looked like she’d been through the wringer. Both her eyes and her nose were red, but she was smiling. Joseph still looked tense, but when his gaze met Andy’s, he dipped his chin in some unspoken acknowledgment.
“This guy swears like a trucker. He’d fit right in on a construction site.” Tomas handed the wineglass to Fiona and the other beer to Joseph.
“Not a good idea. I’d get distracted if there were hot guys in tool belts.” Andy winked at Tomas before moving over to Joseph. Nudging his shoulder, he said, “How’d it go?”
“We cleared the air a bit. But we’re still angry with Mother.” Joseph looked up at Tomas. “If you treat my sister well, that’s all I care about. Mother should, too.”
Tomas spoke to Joseph, but his eyes were on Fiona. “I will. That’s a promise.”