21.
R IN
I stuck the label I’d been writing on the shelf in front of a pair of AFOs I’d picked up at the hospital today.
I gathered up the supplies I needed for the pair I planned to start painting today.
After I scrolled through my phone and found the audiobook I’d been listening to, I turned on my airbrush compressor and got to work.
I loved getting to know my clients while I was working on them, but sometimes, I enjoyed working alone in the back room even more.
It gave me time to clear my mind and get in the zone while I created art that would make people happy.
I appreciated the differences in the art mediums I worked with.
Tattoos required attention to varied details and following the color scheme the customer had chosen, whereas the AFOs I designed were more freestyle and easy to redo if I made an error or wanted to change something.
Today, I was going to work on AFOs for twin girls who were patients in the children’s wing of the hospital. They’d almost outgrown the last pair I created for them based on their mother’s request, and this time, they were old enough to give me an idea for the artwork they wanted.
The girls may look identical, but they were very different in personality and taste, just like the other sets of twins that I knew.
One little girl wanted swirls of pastels with glitter and hearts while her sister wanted a darker pallet with shades of purple and gray with black accents.
I let my creative juices flow and was finished before I knew it.
I looked over my work and thought they’d be very happy with the outcome.
I took pictures from different angles and sent them to the girls’ mom so she could get their approval and then put them on the shelf so I could start on another pair.
I still had a few hours before it was time to go to Stan’s to meet her family for dinner, and I wasn’t going to waste a minute.
Since the braces I painted for patients at the hospital were needed as soon as possible, I tried to get them finished as quickly as I could without compromising my work.
I had just finished sketching the pattern I was working on for a teenager’s AFOs when I sensed someone walk into the room behind me. I pulled out one of my earbuds before I asked, “Hey, will you grab a roll of paper towels off that shelf for me? Just set them right there. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I looked up to find Mr. Romano taking in the different braces lined up on the shelf. “What’s all this?”
“These are orthotic braces for some patients at the hospital,” I explained.
“They hire you to customize them?”
“It’s a volunteer thing. I don’t charge them.”
“Why not?”
“Well, most of them wouldn’t be able to afford to get them customized, especially the kids. Their parents already have enough to deal with. Besides, seeing how proud they are to wear something that would otherwise just be a boring medical device is payment enough.”
Mr. Romano walked over to stand in front of the smallest pair on the shelf. He started to touch one of the braces and then hesitated.
“You can pick them up if you want. They’re dry.”
“They’re so damn small,” Mr. Romano said quietly as he compared the braces to the size of his hand. “Just a baby.”
I chuckled before I said, “He’s a wild one. He’ll be walking soon, and my guess is he’ll wear them out before he outgrows them.”
“And then what?”
“Then he’ll get another pair, and I’ll paint those with something different.”
“How did you get started doing this?” Mr. Romano asked as he set the braces back on the shelf.
“The hospital has helped several members of my family over the years. Uncle Thorn lost his leg in an accident, but they got him a prosthetic and taught him how to walk again. Same thing with Aunt Jenna.”
“Well, not quite the same. Thorn lost his leg after your grandfather shot him, but Jenna lost hers after a targeted hit-and-run.”
It didn’t surprise me that Stan’s father had gathered intel on my family, but I still swallowed hard before I nodded. “Either way, my family is eternally grateful and we do what we can to pay it forward and help others.”
“I’ve never been able to do anything like what you’re doing here as I lack creative skills.”
"That doesn’t mean you can’t still do good things.”
Mr. Romano smiled before he said, “I can do good things, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do bad things when the situation warrants it.”
“That sounds like a veiled threat, although I don’t see any reason for you to try to disguise them. I know who you are and what you do.” I shrugged before I added, “For the most part.”
“When my investigator said he hadn’t found anything bad about you, I told him to look harder.”
“I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“That’s what he said after the second time of scrutinizing your background.”
“And guessing from what you said earlier, he didn’t just look into me but the rest of my family too.”
“I think he became curious after a search into your parents brought back information about your grandfather.”
“I don’t blame him. I’ve always been interested in what made him the way he was, but I’m afraid the answer to that question and many others died with him.”
“I don’t know that there’s any reasoning behind the behavior of people like him. Evil defies logic at every turn.”
“That’s pretty much the conclusion I’ve come up with too.”
“I’m living proof that a person’s character may be shaped by his parents, but it’s not created by them. That’s up to the person themself.”
“I agree, although I’d like to think that I’ve gotten all of my good qualities from mine.”
“And that may be true. On paper, your fathers seem like good men. I’m eager to meet them along with the rest of your family.”
I chuckled before I said, “Be careful what you wish for. There are a lot of people in my family.”
“We should make arrangements for all of us to get together. Do you know of a restaurant that I can rent for an evening?”
“We don’t need to rent a restaurant. We have a few places that we like to hang out.”
“Let’s do it then. I was planning to cook this evening, but I can see about finding a last-minute caterer . . . “
“We don’t do that either. If you want to meet my family, I’ll make arrangements to get the majority of them together for dinner.”
“What about food?”
I grabbed my phone and scrolled to find one of the group texts we used to organize get-togethers before I typed out a quick message. Within seconds, I was flooded by replies from family members, aunts, uncles, and cousins, listing out the dishes they could bring over.
After a minute or two, I looked up at Mr. Romano and said, “Side dishes are covered, so I’ll stop by the store for meat to grill.”
“That sounds fun. My sons told me about a few cookouts they’ve been to with your family. They really enjoyed them.”
“I’m sure a potluck isn’t what you expected, but that’s what you get when you’re dining with the natives.”
“Let’s talk about your relationship with my daughter,” Mr. Romano said as he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.
It was sheer insanity to have a crime boss that was a multi-millionaire standing a few feet away in my family’s tattoo shop. It felt even more unhinged to know that I’d just invited him to witness my family’s potluck shenanigans at the clubhouse of an apartment complex, yet here we were.
I decided that there was no time like the present, and the carefully worded speech I’d been practicing incessantly came out in a rush.
“Mr. Romano, I’m in love with your daughter and want to spend the rest of my life making her happy.
” Mr. Romano’s face remained impassive, with no change of expression, and I hurried on to say, “I may be jumping the gun here because I haven’t told her that yet, but I think she knows how I feel about her.
She’s a wonderful woman with a great sense of humor and the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met.
Her loyalty to Park and Sully shows a dedication that most people could never begin to fathom, but it makes me love her all the more.
Constance has my heart, and someday, I hope to marry her and start a family. ”
“Why are you telling me all of this if you haven’t yet spoken to her about it?”
“Because she loves you and measures every man she meets against what she’s learned from you. She likes to pretend she’s a rebel, but your opinion matters to her more than anything. I would like to think that once you get to know me, you’ll see that I’m the one for her.”
“I believe I already know enough about you to be able to form my opinion.”
I exhaled slowly before I admitted, “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
Mr. Romano stuck his hand out toward me, and I stood up to take it as he said, “I’d be happy to have a young man like you join our family, and I know in my heart that when you say you want my daughter to be happy, you mean it and will do everything in your power to make it happen.”
“That’s the truth.”
“Can I give you a word of advice?”
“Please.”
Mr. Romano smiled before he said, “Don’t tell her you talked to me first. She may take offense.”
I chuckled before I said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I guess I should find a way to entertain myself for the next few hours since I won’t be cooking after all. Do you have any suggestions?”
“I do. Let’s go break Park and Sully out of the hospital for a bit so they can help me pick out an engagement ring for your daughter, and then I’ll take you over to meet my family.”
Rico cocked his head and smiled quizzically. “You’re going to take her exes with you to shop for a ring?”
“Why not? Nothing about our relationship is normal.”
“I’m quickly realizing that.”
“You’ll soon see that we’re all pretty out there.”
“It’s hard to believe that your family can so easily welcome people with our background.”
“Mr. Romano, compared to some of the people my family loves, your lifestyle won’t so much as raise an eyebrow.”