Chapter 17
chapter seventeen
camilo
I turned the doorknob to my mom’s apartment with my stomach in knots, unsure of what I’d find on the other side of the door.
I couldn’t keep at bay the images of those months after my dad died, when her depression got so bad she’d spend weeks in bed with all the curtains drawn, in total darkness.
When I stepped in, I saw the lights were on and heard the TV on in her bedroom; I felt dizzy with relief.
I called out so I didn’t startle her as I walked down the hallway to her room.
“Mama. ?Dónde estás?”
No answer.
I walked in and saw her asleep in her bed, with a book on her chest. She’d fallen asleep reading.
The house wasn’t disheveled and the kitchen looked like it had seen some action in the last few days.
All good signs. I was still worried, because even if she wasn’t in full-on crisis, the fact that she opted out of the Poconos, which she usually loved, was a red flag.
I called her again, not wanting to scare her.
“Mama.” She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me.
“Milito, what are you doing here, papi? I thought you were at Tom’s house.”
I walked over so I could stand by the side of the bed, trying hard not to let her see how worried I’d been.
“Mama, Odette called worried about you. She said you’d skipped out on the trip to the Poconos. Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve come here and kept you company.”
She waved me off as she sat up on the bed.
“I just didn’t feel like being around people, baby. I’m fine. You know I like my alone time. Work’s been crazy and I just wanted to spend my time off in peace. That’s all. Everything’s okay.” She looked at me and must have noticed how stressed I was. “Come here.”
I went over and she gave me a hug. “You worry too much, papi. I’m always worrying you.”
I shook my head, my face pressed to hers. “That’s not even remotely true. I just want to make sure you’re all right. That’s all.”
“I know, and I’m fine.” She moved over and patted the spot next to her on the bed. “Come, tell me about Tom’s daughter. I’m sure she loved you. You’re so good with children.”
I knew she was trying to deflect, but I was just so glad to find her doing okay. I let her get away with it this time. I sat down and grabbed her hand.
“It was good.” I smiled remembering all of Libe’s antics at the zoo. “It was great actually. You’d love Libe, she’s so sassy and smart. Tom is so good with her, too.”
She smiled wistfully at that. “I’d love to meet them some time.” Right then I thought about how much fun I had with Libe and Tom, and how good it felt to be part of their little unit.
My mom was the most important person in my life and things with Tom were getting more serious every day.
Despite my hang ups and the very real complications, that fact was undeniable.
He’d been so gentle and strong with me tonight.
He’d given me exactly what I needed without smothering or taking charge.
But the most important thing was that he hadn’t tried to minimize or tell me I was overreacting about my mom. I decided then, I wanted them to meet.
Ayako was right, seeing me with Tom would make her happy.
“Mama, what do you think about inviting Tom to come to the Juan Luis concert with us?”
She perked up instantly at my suggestion.
“You should. I’m sure he’s a fan.” I already knew he was.
Juan Luis Guerra was practically a deity in the Dominican Republic.
Really, he was a big deal for the entire Spanish-speaking world, but he was from the DR. I doubted Tom didn’t know he’d be performing in town next weekend.
I put my arm around her, smiling at how excited she looked. “I’ll ask him if he wants to join us.”
She gave me a cheeky smile. “You’ve been hiding him from me, Milito.” I laughed at her glee. We both knew this was a big deal.
“I haven’t been hiding him; I talk to you about him all the time. I’ll let him know.”
I didn’t know if there were tickets left, but for all I knew he was already planning to go.
I’d bought ours a while ago and they’d been pricey, but my mom and I decided they could be our Christmas gift to each other.
It had been a long time since we did something like that and we’d been looking forward to it. It was a good idea to invite Tom.
“I can’t wait to meet him. So what did you do at the zoo?”
We chatted for a while about the day and I told her of Libe’s run-in with the lady at the puffin exhibit which my mom thought was hilarious.
After a while she stood up. “Do you want me to get you something? I’m going to make some tea and then we can watch a movie.”
“I’ll have some tea.” She nodded and walked out of the room. I exhaled heavily, trying to not whip myself up too much. My mom seemed fine, she just hadn’t been in the mood to be around people. I had to take her word for it and not put my stuff on her.
I took my phone out and quickly texted Odette. Then I called Tom, who picked up after one ring.
“Hey, is everything okay?” He sounded breathless and tense.
“Why do you sound out of breath?”
He grunted and I could hear him gulping down something. “I was a little on-edge when I got back to the house. I just put the car in the garage and went out for a run to clear my head.”
Now I felt like shit.
“Sorry I worried you.”
“You don’t have to apologize or make me feel better. You were concerned for your mom. I get that. We’re fine.” Those last two words I felt in my gut.
I exhaled again, feeling emotional. How did he know exactly what to say, every time? Whenever he fucked up—and I knew the time would come, because as far as I could tell he was a human being—it was going to rock my world.
“She’s okay, just didn’t feel up to being with people. She asked me to invite you to come and see Juan Luis Guerra with us. He’s playing at the United Palace next weekend.” I was a little self-conscious asking, but it wasn’t presumptuous to invite him. I’d already met his kid.
He answered almost immediately. “I’d love to. I’d forgotten about that, I’d seen it announced somewhere. Libe’s with Maxwell next weekend, and I’m sure I can find a ticket. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Well I don’t know if you can get tickets by us this late in the game, but we could still go together.”
“I’ll find something.” The delight in his voice made warmth spread to my chest. “Thanks for checking in, too. I’m sorry our night got cut short, but I’m glad your mom’s okay.”
“Thanks for driving me and being wonderful, again. I had an amazing time today, Tom.” I wanted to say more. That tonight for the first time I’d felt like I was with someone I could trust enough to let in to my life, all of it.
“I had an amazing day, too.” He paused then and I held my breath, wondering if like me this day had changed things for him, but after a few breaths we signed off, both sounding relieved.
I ended the call as my mom walked back into the room with two steaming mugs of tea.
“He’s in for Juan Luis.”
She beamed at me as she passed me my cup. “Que bueno. I can’t wait to meet him.”
She sat down and started flicking through Netflix looking for something to watch and I tried to let the stress of the last hour wash away and focus on the positive. My mom was okay, things with Tom were good and soon they’d meet.
Our worlds were coming together.