Rule #18
BEWARE OF THE DANGERS THAT LURK IN THE POST-STORM BEAUTY
CAI
I hurry back to the kitchen, and even though the power has only been back for maybe ten minutes, my nieces and nephew are already glued to their phones, cereal getting soggy in their bowls.
Sonny is nowhere to be seen. No adults around at all, actually. Have all the adults already gotten to work?
“Hey,” I call out to the kids. “Did you guys see where Sonny went?”
They all look up and glance around the room as if I had simply missed him. Sofia and Patty shrug.
“Wouldn’t he usually be with you?” Lucas asks. “Did you guys fight or something?”
“No, we just had a disagreement on gaming stuff, and I went to change that’s all.” I try to sound casual.
“Speaking of which,” I say, looking around again. “Where are your parents? Do they know you guys are all zombie-zoned on your screens?”
Sofia rolls her eyes. “God, not you too.”
“Mama says she needed a shower. Papa went outside,” Patty says, not looking up from her phone. “Mama says we could use our phones as long as we ‘gave her ten minutes alone to wash the damn sweat out of her hair.’”
“Well, permission or not, those screens will rot your brain,” I say, crossing my arms, feeling like I am killing this Tia role.
“You’d think you’d understand the potential of gaming more than most,” Lucas says.
I open the back door and squint against the bright sun. Sonny isn’t immediately out there either. “Why would I understand? I’ve never been an advocate of video games.” I come back in and close the door.
“Yeah, but that was before,” Lucas says.
Why is he being so cryptic? “Before what?”
“Before Sonny.”
What did Sonny tell them that would make them think I’ve changed my stance on video games? I am antsy to find him, but I also want to know what the heck Lucas is trying to say. “Why would Sonny make me change my mind?” I stand with my hands on my hips.
“Because of who he is…” Lucas says like it was obvious. He rolls his eyes at me without lifting his face from his phone.
I look at him, confused. “Huh?”
“You know, like what he does for a living…” It’s Sofia, now, who looks up from her phone to explain further.
I’m still lost.
“He’s famous!” Patty says with a big smile, happy to add to the discussion.
“Famous?” What are they talking about? Is this some joke Sonny is playing with the kids?
Lucas types something into his phone and hands it to me. “He’s Lawson Jones, CEO of SonLaw Gaming. Gamer tag: TheLaw0ne. The creator of Silent Knights. You really didn’t know?”
I scroll through the search results, not believing my eyes.
There’s Sonny, on stage, presenting on morning shows, on podcasts, and even cooking with Bobby Flay.
Headlines scream: “Meet the Man Revolutionizing Gaming,” “Silent Knights Creator Explains Sequel Plans,” “Forbes 30 Under 30: Lawson Jones,” “Looks, Brains, and Wealth — Millionaire Lawson Jones Has It All… And He’s Single. ”
I am suddenly lightheaded. I grab a nearby chair and sink into it.
This is Sonny?
How could he not have told me? Why hadn’t I asked? “I… I didn’t know…” I say to Lucas, handing him his phone back.
“Yeah, obviously,” he responds, taking in my reaction.
I had spent the entire time insulting gamers—insulting his entire career—while he sat there and took it.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “I said so many horrible things about video games. Why didn’t you say something?”
“You mean, why didn’t I tell you about the person you brought home? I didn’t think I had to…” Lucas is 100% right about that. “Besides, would it have changed anything? Would you have changed your stance on games just because he’s gotten super rich playing them for a living?”
“No,” I lie. “That’s a really good point; thanks for pointing that out.”
The truth is, of course, I would have! You don’t tell a brilliant, successful, insanely hot game developer his life’s work is a waste of time, especially not when he’s looking at you like you’re the most fascinating person in the room.
I bury my face in my hands. “I’m such an idiot.”
Lucas had gone back to his phone. “Dad went on a walk around the neighborhood. Sonny might have gone with him.”
“Do you know if he took his phone?”
Lucas shrugs.
I pull out my own phone to text Rey and notice a new message waiting
Trevor
I’ll be in Miami in a few hours. Text me where to meet you.
I stare at it, numb.
No “Are you okay?” No apology. Just assuming I’ll drop everything and run to him again.
I’ll deal with that later. For now, I am singularly focused on repairing what I broke last night.
What did Crispi say in the text the day I arrived?
I think he called me Hurricane Cayetana?
He had been so right in that! I have probably made more of a mess than the storm, and I just hope that the cleanup effort isn’t coming too late.
SONNY
The weather is beautiful following the storm. The sun shines brightly, and the wet trees and grass glisten.
“I’ve heard of the calm before the storm, but there’s nothing about the beauty after the storm,” I say, taking in the clear blue skies.
“Yeah, it has something to do with pressure systems or something, but we are blessed with some nice weather following storms. Luckily, it doesn’t look like this one did too much damage.
Some tree limbs to clear and some debris in the road, but nothing that can’t be fixed with some elbow grease.
Keep an eye out for downed wires. That’s the real hidden danger. ”
The world looks like it has a filter over it.
It doesn’t look real. But then the real world comes crashing in: the power must’ve been restored to the cell towers, and my phone starts buzzing like crazy.
I pull it out and frown at the volume of texts and emails coming through.
This was going to take a while to dig out from.
“Whoa,” Rey says. “Someone’s popular.”
“Yeah, there’s a big project with work that’s pretty dependent on me.”
Rey nods. “Silent Knights sequel, right?”
I look over at him, shocked. “You knew?!”
“Yeah, Bro! I knew from the moment I picked you guys up from the airport, but I wasn’t going to say anything once it became obvious that you weren’t bringing it up. I’m a huge Silent Knights fan! World War II, espionage, puzzles, strategy. It’s awesome.”
We walk up to a downed tree, and Rey gives it a tug, testing its weight. “Thanks, man. I mean, for liking the game, but also for not saying anything. I really enjoyed not having to deal with that for a day.
“Yeah, I get it. I don’t like even telling my wife when I’m playing the game, because she’ll say there’s something more productive I could be doing.
So I can only imagine how it must be to have to defend making them all day.
” Then, pointing to the tree, he adds, “I’ll need to come back with a chainsaw for that. ”
“Do you think your family will think less of me if they know?” The thought of them not liking me is bothersome.
“Nah, nothing one look at your net worth won’t solve.” He gives me a wink.
I frown.
“Just kidding. Honestly, I think you won everyone over. I don’t think anyone would think less of you unless you pledge allegiance to the Castro regime.”
“No worries there,” I say.
“So you’re out then? Back to all that?” He indicates towards my phone.
“Yeah, I’ll probably need to head out as soon as possible. I’ve taken a long enough break from reality.”
“And you and Cai?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m kind of confused where I stand with her. I’m too selfish, I think, to be just friends with her.”
Rey nods and then, looking past me, says, “Well, speak of the devil.”
I turn to see Cai trotting over to me. Her hair is a wild, voluminous halo around her head. A sheen of sweat clings to her bare legs and face, making her look like she is glowing. Her face flushed and her eyes bright, I think she might look more beautiful than she had since I met her yesterday.
Rey makes some excuse about needing to grab the chainsaw and leaves just as Cai catches up to me.
“Hey,” she says a little breathlessly. “I was looking for you.”
She is rubbing her hands on her shorts, avoiding looking me in the eyes.
“Rey and I were scoping out the aftermath,” I say.
She fidgeted, pulling her hair out of her face and wiping her brow. “What’s the assessment?”
“I am told it will be a few hours’ work, but nothing too worrisome. "
She nodded, looking around, clearly wrestling with something.
“What’s up? Did you have something you needed?” I asked, prodded for an answer from her. She was being too fidgety not to have something to say.
My phone is buzzing again. “Powers back. So phones are working again,” she says, indicating my phone.
“Yeah, I noticed. Did uhhh…” I want to say ‘Senor Asshole’ but think I’ll play it a bit more mature. “Trevor text you?”
“Yeah, but uhh, that doesn’t matter.” Well, her tune has changed from earlier. “I…” She begins and then throws up her hands. “I’m sorry! I should’ve planned out what I wanted to say on the way here.”
She stretches her arms over her head, frustrated.
“That’s ok,” I say, hoping to encourage her to keep going.
“No, I’m a writer. I should communicate better than this.” She brings her arms down to her sides and takes a deep breath.
“Ok, so I feel like I’ve been a real bonehead about everything.
I have an issue with things not going my way.
I’ve always wanted what my grandparents had, what my parents had.
And instead of waiting for it, I kept trying to manufacture it.
To shoehorn myself into what each guy wanted and call it love.
I figured the ends justify the means, and they would get me to my goal, right?
Like that’s how I would get my Rey or whatever. Does that make sense?”
She pauses for a second and looks at me for confirmation. “I guess that depends on where you’re going with this.” I have to admit I’m a little confused.
“Right ok, so I’m trying to explain what I’ve been trying to accomplish with my past relationships and with Trevor.
Then I met you, and… have you ever looked for the perfect cloud in the sky?
And then you do this for so long that, at some point, you’re not sure what ‘perfect’ is anymore?
That’s kind of what it was when I met you. ”
“I’m the perfect cloud?” I ask, trying to keep a serious face and not crack a smile.
“Yes! Not that I’m trying to say I want to marry you or have your kids; that’s not what I mean. You are what good looks like; You’re the slot that I don’t have to shoehorn my idea of what a partner is into. But I’ve spent so much time with the wrong ones I didn’t realize it right away.”
She pushes her hair behind her ears. A lump starts to form in my throat.
She has changed her thinking about me. She’s saying I am what she wants.
I’m not sure what happened in the last half hour or so that brought about this change of heart, but I want to cheer with relief.
I smile wide, not trusting myself to say anything yet.
“And that was before I found out that you’re the head of SonLaw Gaming,” she adds.
My blood runs cold. She knew? What were the odds that this epiphany is unrelated to the fact that she now knows I’m successful?
“You know?”
She grimaces a little and says, “Yeah, and I’m so sorry I said all those things about gamers and video games in general. I didn’t mean them. As you said last night, I was projecting.”
Last night? Last night, when she spat the word “gamers” out like it was venom? When she was ready to group me in with every other prick out there in her “if you know one you know them all” mentality. Just like my family.
She changed her thinking about me. But was it about me? Would she be okay with me being committed to gaming if I were a janitor? How can I know the difference? How can she?
Still, she’s looking at me with such hopeful eyes I can’t say anything. “So umm… what did Trevor say?”
“What?” She asks, clearly not the reaction she was looking for.
“You said he texted?”
“Oh,” she says, pulling out her phone and looking at it as if forgetting she had it. She waves a hand as if dismissing the idea. “Nothing really. Something about being in Miami in a few hours. Nothing important.”
“Well, that’s lucky, then. You can get the closure you’re looking for.” If she even decides to end it.
She begins to blink fast. “What? I mean, no, I wasn’t going to meet him. You said I shouldn’t…”
I begin to worry she’s going to cry, and I need to get away from her before that happens. I’ll never be able to think clearly if she does.
“Did I? Well, I think you should do whatever you want to do.” I hold up my phone and say, “I have a car coming to get me here shortly. I’ve been neglecting work long enough.”
I take a few steps back toward the house. Cai looks like she’s crumbling; her shoulders are falling as if giving up.
“I want to…” I have to stop myself from saying, I want to be that perfect fit for you. And instead I say, “Thank you for letting me ride out the storm with you.”
Cai stands there, mouth open, dumbfounded. I force myself to turn away from the hurt on her face. By the time I reach the house, I have almost convinced myself I don’t see a tear on her cheek when I walk away.