Chapter 20
“ S o, that’s Tomas?” Joseph had asked after she absolved him of any guilt about their mother. As a son, the pressure he received growing up had eased once he reached adulthood and moved away from home.
“That’s him,” Fiona replied, eying Tomas where he stood in the kitchen with Andy. Tomas turned toward her, eyebrows raised in question. She shook her head and smiled.
“He looks at me like he doesn’t quite trust me not to hurt you.”
She gave Joseph the side-eye. “That’s because he had quite the introduction to our family.”
“Again, I’m sorry. I wish I’d done better.”
His sincerity was so apparent that tears welled in her eyes. “I know,” she replied.
After Joseph and Andy left, Tomas had gone to a pet store and returned with a mountain of paraphernalia.
While the cat zoomed around the apartment until it wore itself out and collapsed on the couch, they batted around names for it.
Nothing seemed right, so they tabled the discussion and went to bed.
Tomas held her all night long and woke her with soft kisses that led to morning sex, which, she decided, was her favorite way to start the day.
Now, sitting down at her desk, Fiona flipped open her planner to see what the day was supposed to look like.
No meetings, thank God, although there was a note to reach out to Hilary.
They’d interviewed the first student interested in an architectural scholarship but were having problems setting up an interview with the second applicant.
As screwed up as her family life had been, Fiona knew that her education opened the doors to where she was today.
Without her parents pushing her to apply for every scholarship she was eligible for, she would be neck deep in student loans.
If she could set up this scholarship program, many other people would be able to realize their dreams without going broke.
She opened her laptop to go through her emails when she heard a tentative knock. David Han stood at the door looking very unhappy.
“May I come in?”
Nodding, Fiona rose from her chair and came around to stand in front of her desk. He rarely visited her office, and after yesterday’s drama, she braced herself, not knowing what to expect.
Her father stepped forward, hands clasped in front of him.
She waited for him to speak, watching as he gazed around the room.
He moved closer to the long wall displaying photos of Keeney Works’ success stories.
Pictures of smiling people at work, doing jobs they’d found through the program.
The photo she’d hung most recently was similar to one that hung in the conference room of KBS.
It was of students standing around Tomas while he delivered instruction at a building site for a tiny house.
“Is that him? Tomas?” Her father pointed at the picture. He pronounced the name as Tom-us.
Fiona corrected him, “Yes, that’s Toe-mass.” She studied the photo, trying to look at it through her father’s eyes. Tomas had been caught unaware, frowning in concentration. Standing with his legs spread and arms crossed, he looked fierce and intimidating.
David Han leaned in, peering closely at the image. “The students are paying attention. Some are taking notes.”
She blushed. “I’ve never really looked at the students.”
Her father smiled at her confession. “They look relaxed and engaged. A mark of a good teacher.” He stepped back and faced her fully. “I would like to meet him.”
This was not what she was expecting. Although he was more tolerant than her mother, they’d always been a united front.
“I…Mother….” The smile left his face as she fumbled to express herself.
“Your mother is wrong. More importantly, I was wrong. I’ve stood back for too long, letting your mother make all the decisions, and not seeing the damage we did to you.
You are a flower bud that wasn’t allowed to bloom.
I should have put my foot down before you married Eddie.
But I thought you and he would grow together as your mother and I have.
We have had a good life, and I wanted that for you.
However, parents, although they mean well, don’t always make the best decisions. For that, I am sorry.”
His lips trembled as he gazed intently at Fiona. Blinking back tears, she opened her mouth to reply, but he held up a hand to stop her.
“Let me finish. Your mother doesn’t sleep well, so for years, we’ve had separate bedrooms. Last night, I heard her crying. I went to her, and she told me what she said. Those ugly words are unforgivable. She knows that and regretted them immediately.”
Fiona couldn’t hold back. “She doesn’t regret saying them. She regrets that Tomas and Iris heard her.”
“You might be right. Your mother is incredibly proud and hates when there are witnesses to a mistake.”
Her head was reeling. She moved over to a chair and sank into it, collecting her thoughts. “So, if they hadn’t heard her, she could pretend it didn’t happen? It would have been swept under the rug?” That’s the way it had always been in her family. Nothing was ever addressed, just ignored.
“Maybe,” he admitted. “We’ll never know.”
David took the seat beside her, clasping his hands in front of him. “I’m not apologizing for her. And it’s up to you and Tomas to decide if you can forgive her. I’m hoping she reaches out to you. I take it she hasn’t done so already?”
Fiona shook her head. “I’m not surprised. She’s never apologized before.”
“She was raised to believe admitting to mistakes and apologizing is a sign of weakness.”
Fiona digested that for a moment. “Do you believe that as well?”
“No. To understand when you have made a mistake, and apologize for hurting someone, that is a sign of strength.”
This, too, was something to think about. And her thoughts led her back to Tomas and his heartfelt apologies. A warmth spread in her chest, and tension leaked out of her body.
Her father rose from his chair. “I’ve taken enough of your time.”
“Thank you for coming, Father.”
He wasn’t a demonstrative man, merely nodding. “I hope your mother calls soon.”
“I do too,” she murmured.
He wandered back to the photo of Tomas and pointed at it. “I would like to meet your young man and see the work they are doing.”
Pleased at his words, she smiled. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
C rossing his arms, Tomas sat back and grunted in satisfaction. A beer bottle landed beside him with a thunk, jarring him out of his reverie. “Hey,” he said, turning around to see Carlos drinking from his own beer. “What’s up?”
“I’m drowning my sorrows,” Carlos answered, staring moodily at the oil-stained concrete floor.
“Okay.” Tomas sipped his beer and watched his stepfather.
The three-car garage smelled like metal and motor oil.
His mother’s car was parked in one bay, Carlos’s SUV was in the second, and the third bay was Carlos’s workshop.
It was currently empty as his most recent project had just been sold.
One wall was lined with cupboards filled with auto supplies and tools, and a workbench was built under the wide window of the back wall.
Tomas sat on a stool with graph paper in front of him.
He moved aside to allow Carlos to see what he was working on, knowing Carlos would get to whatever was bugging him in his own time.
“New tattoo?” Carlos asked, pointing at the design.
“No, although that would look awesome.” Tomas had drawn his name in thick lines, overlaid with Fiona’s name in a delicate swirl. “I’m trying to decide if it should be a necklace or a bracelet.”
“Nice.” Carlos propped a hip against the bench and changed the subject. “Your mom told me you gave Fiona an apology cat.”
“I guess so. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“Still,” Carlos said, “it was nice. Considering what her mother did.”
Tomas shook his head. Of course, Carlos would know. His mother once said that he and his sisters should expect her to share whatever they told her with Carlos because keeping secrets was bad for a marriage.
“That woman is a piece of work.”
“You’ve met her?” Tomas asked.
“Sort of.” Carlos shrugged. “Your mother pointed her out to me at church once. She was giving the pastor the notes she’d taken on his sermon. Rumor has it she’s the reason that pastor left Keeney.”
Linh Han was a piece of work. Tomas stared at the intertwined names on the paper, more determined than ever to protect Fiona as much as she would let him.
Carlos tilted his beer at Tomas, saying, “You aren’t beneath Fiona. You know that, right?”
“Yeah,” Tomas replied. But it was going to take a while to sink in.
“You are a good man, and worthy of her. Believe it.”
Carlos wandered over to close a cupboard door that was ajar. Something blocked it, so he pushed harder. It still wouldn’t close. Carlos wrenched the door open, shoved the offending item onto a shelf, and closed the door with a resounding thud.
“You sure showed it,” Tomas observed.
“Yeah.” Carlos’s growl turned into a humorless chuckle. “I got word that someone outbid me for Woodbine Automotive.”
“That sucks.” And he meant it. Ever since he and Louisa decided they could afford to buy the shop, Carlos had worn a permanent smile. The restaurant was Louisa’s passion, and the auto parts store would be his.
“Yeah.” Carlos sighed and finished his beer. “A California company bought it and plans to open up a fast-food restaurant. So not only do I lose out, but Hola! will have more competition.”
“Well, shit. How’s Mom doing?”
“She’s taking out her frustrations on the appliances and muttering to herself. She’s more pissed on my behalf than worried about the restaurant. She’s too good of a businesswoman to let this stop her.”
“Still, that really sucks for you.” Tomas rose from his stool to grasp Carlos’s shoulder, shaking it lightly. “I wish I could do more to help, but can I get you another beer?”
“Yeah.”