Chapter 17 #2
I rolled my eyes. “No, Auntie. But you also don’t live with blind people, so I won’t assume you know what to do.
I just want…” I let out a puff of air. “He’s here because his family is really horrible, and they were actively trying to make it harder for him to be there. I just want him to feel safe, okay?”
Soma nodded. “Yes, of course. He’ll feel safe, and you two will both be properly fed—”
“We’ve been eating fine—”
“—and we will make him an honorary Canadian Indian.”
“Fantastic,” I said flatly.
Soma patted my cheek as Manisha caught my gaze. “I know quite a few of the blind players. I’ve learned a lot about what to do.”
I remembered in the hospital, Tiago had told me he knew Ferris’s mom and that he loved her. I managed a real smile. “Okay. I’ll be right back. I need to—”
I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence. Ankita chose that moment to walk into the kitchen, holding the arm of a disgruntled-looking, very familiar teenager.
“Does this young man belong to any of you?”
I managed to get Oliver away from my aunties and outside with the door shut. He looked terrified and confused as we stepped under the bright patio light so he would be able to see properly.
“Um,” he said after a long silence.
“Looking for your uncle?”
Oliver tipped his face down. “I had a huge fight with my mom and dad, and my grandpa kicked me out.”
Rage boiled through me and was nearly spilling out through my mouth before I caught myself. I took a breath. “Did you call Tiago?”
“His phone kept going to voicemail. I panicked and called an Uber, and I’ve been kind of…hovering by the houses here. I wasn’t sure which one was yours. Your, uh…your aunt found me.”
I let out a puff of air. “Wonderful. Okay.” Yeah, this was not how the night was supposed to go. “Are you okay out here? I know it’s dark, but the lights aren’t too dim.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Alright. Sit, relax, don’t fall in the pool unless you know how to swim.”
“I can swim,” he said, sounding defensive.
“Then take a dip if you want. I’m going to fetch your uncle from the beach and explain to him what’s going on because my aunties are early, and now, apparently, there’s some wedding planning happening, and you’re here…”
“I can go back,” he whispered.
“Fuck no.” I stopped myself quickly, then shook my head. “Oliver, you can stay here. Your uncle would literally throw me into the ocean if I turned you away.”
He looked surprised by that, which also hurt to see. “I, uh…just. Thanks.”
I kind of wanted to hug him, but I wasn’t sure he’d appreciate one from a total stranger. “I’ll be right back. And if my aunties try to feed you…just let them. It’s not worth the fight.”
He laughed a little as I turned away and started jogging toward the beach.
In the long minutes I’d been gone, the sky had gone from dusk to almost full dark, so I used my phone to find my way back. Tiago was where I left him, and when I flashed the light at his face, I could see he was not happy.
“Crisse, I thought this was some kind of sick joke! I thought you left me!” he all but shouted.
I dropped to the blanket beside him. “I am so sorry. There’s been, ah…there’s a situation at the house.”
I heard him swallow thickly. “Is that so?”
“Our sanctuary has been compromised.” I quickly gave him a rundown, and by the time I was done, he was packing up the blanket while I was putting the camera away. I’d be able to edge him into oblivion another time.
Maybe. Probably.
I could never really predict how days or nights were going to go with family at the house. But I was going to try. I wasn’t ready to be done with this thing I had going between us.
“Where’s Oliver?” Tiago asked as we reached the edge of the pool deck.
I scanned the area and found him near the shallow end with his feet on the top pool step. “By the water.” I dug into the bag and pulled out Tiago’s cane, pressing it against his hand. “Here, so you don’t fall in. He’s by the shallow side with his feet in the water.”
Tiago bowed his head. “Will your aunts be upset if I don’t come in right away?”
“They’ll understand.” I could see them all standing in the window, watching like we were suddenly their new favorite daytime soap opera. “And I’m going to go figure out sleeping arrangements.”
He caught my arm just before I walked off. “Would it be better for me and Oliver to find somewhere else to stay?”
“No,” I said fiercely. “Just…let’s figure it out, okay? Together?”
Tiago bit his lip, then nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
He turned and flicked his cane out, then followed the edge of the pool around until he came to a stop beside his nephew. They were too far away for me to be able to hear anything, but I still didn’t linger.
This was a moment for privacy.
By the time I got to the back door, all three aunties had moved away, so I kicked off as much sand as I could manage and tried not to make a face as Soma immediately started following me with a broom.
Ankita was at the counter, getting her own rice cooker set up, and Manisha was at the table with her phone in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. She glanced up at me and smiled as I dropped into a chair.
“Is that boy alright?”
Well, I had all their attention now. “Uh…he will be, I think. He’s Tiago’s nephew, and he was just diagnosed with the same eye condition Tiago has. His family is being shit about it, I think.”
Ankita made an irritated noise in the back of her throat. “The way these modern families just throw their children out…”
I bit my tongue and kept from reminding her that it happened everywhere.
Which was how I wouldn’t recognize my other set of grandparents in a crowd of two.
But she was right. There was so much less community with people over here, and even though I grew up surrounded by cultures that weren’t my parents’, I didn’t understand it.
I couldn’t imagine standing outside a stranger’s home because I was kicked to the curb.
It made me want to hug my dad.
Ankita dropped a mug of tea in front of me, and I almost cried at the creamy, spicy scent. It went down smooth and hot and warm, exactly like I needed. “Do we have any sort of sleeping arrangements figured out?” she asked.
I grimaced. “Tiago’s, ah…”
“In your dad’s room,” Soma finished for me. “He told me.”
My entire face went hot. “He’s been in my room. And don’t,” I said when both Ankita and Soma sucked in a breath, “make a big deal out of it. We have bigger things to worry about. Like a wedding.” I shot a smile to Manisha. “Congratulations, by the way. I really, really like Quinn for Ferris.”
She smiled into her mug as she finished her tea.
“He’s not what I pictured, but he’s perfect for my son.
I spent a lot of his life worried he’d never find someone who understood him.
And I think people like Quinn are rare. I want to celebrate that.
” She looked hesitant, then said, “I’m just not sure this place will work. ”
I snorted. “Yeah. Uh…it’s nice, but it’s small. It could probably function for somewhere that Quinn and Ferris can stay and get ready with family. And there are a ton of rentals around here, so with some clever planning, it’ll probably be fine.” I cleared my throat. “Will they need a bedroom too?”
Manisha’s eyes widened. “Oh no, sweetheart. No. We have the house next door. Quinn figured out the rental thing after he spoke with your dad.”
I almost passed out with relief. At least there would be some space. “Great.”
“And that boy—” Soma started.
“Oliver. And he’s still a kid, so his parents will probably come to take him back. Or…I don’t know. Maybe Tiago and I can get a place big enough for him to stay.” Or god knows what else we could do.
It wasn’t like I wanted to send Oliver back to a bunch of people who were willing to toss a teenager out into the street in the middle of the night.
“He can stay in Rohan’s room,” Ankita said, waving her hand as she started the rice. “Your dad was delayed a few more days.”
I wrinkled my nose. “At this rate, it’ll be preseason before he gets a chance to breathe.”
“No one should be surprised. It’s been like this since he was drafted,” Soma reminded me, as though I needed reminding.
But it wasn’t a huge deal. I’d see him when I got home. I was still trying to figure out what the fuck the rest of my life was going to look like now that I wasn’t in some shit-ass job for a publication I hated.
Ankita walked across the room and sat beside me, laying her hand on mine. “This boy you like—”
“Very much a man,” I told her. “Older than me—but not like Leon,” I added.
She’d only met him twice because he refused to go to family functions.
Which was probably a good thing. He’d never done anything overt, but I would not be surprised if he was a secret racist with a fetish for guys like me.
“And this thing we have is kind of…new.”
That would be easier when—if—we told everyone it was over.
She gave me a look but said nothing. “Well, I’m excited to get to know him. We’ll make some plans for the week. Do some tourist stuff. There’s a dolphin-watching tour coming up.”
I blinked at her, and when she didn’t seem fazed, I rolled my eyes. “He’s blind, Auntie. I don’t think he’s going to love a dolphin-watching tour.”
She waved her hand at me. “He can enjoy the boat. And the snacks. And I’m sure someone will be there to narrate.”
My family was so fucking ridiculous. But I had a feeling Tiago was going to like that.