CHAPTER 19
Dilvan
{Three Months Later}
Dilvan sat at the table in his dining room, Tuesday morning, waiting for his mother to show up.
Of course, Gabrielle would be the main topic of conversation, which suited him just fine because he missed her.
In three months, he’d seen Gabrielle three times – once while she was volunteering at his mother’s restaurant, again at the community garden, and lastly with his cousin Tyson.
He was furious when he saw them having lunch together at a café.
It pissed him off even more when he learned that she’d been living with him.
As usual, Beatrice had cooked a wide variety of breakfast foods and had everything on the table for them.
“Dilvan, how are you, son?” Padma asked, walking into the dining room.
“I’m good. How are you, Mother?” he asked, standing, greeting her with a kiss.
“I’m okay.”
Padma took the seat directly across from him. She hadn’t been to Tuesday brunch since Gabrielle left, and she wouldn’t be here now if Dilvan hadn’t called and practically begged to meet with her. He’d also invited his brothers, Heshan and Prasad who were due at any moment.
“This is a lot of food for two people,” Padma observed.
“Heshan and Prasad are supposed to be here–that is, if they’re still coming.”
“Oh–making this a family affair today, huh?”
“I need to talk to everybody. I figured this was the best way to do it.”
Dilvan heard commotion at the front door and moments later Prasad, Heshan, and Colin, their father, came walking into the dining room.
“You made it,” Padma said to her husband. She didn’t know whether he’d be back from Virginia in time.
“Yes, dear. I made it.” Colin placed a kiss on his wife’s puckered lips.
“Hey there, son,” Colin said to Dilvan.
Dilvan stood up and hugged his father tight. “I didn’t know you were coming, but I’m glad to see you, Dad.”
“You, too, Dilvan. You look good.”
“Thanks,” he said. He looked good, but he didn’t feel it – not after everything he had to go through over the last few months.
Once everyone was settled around the table with food on their plates, Dilvan cleared his throat.
“I wanted everyone here today so I could apologize to you all for the way I’ve been acting.
I’ve taken some time for self-reflection–to really examine myself as a person and think about who I want to be, and I don’t want to be the version of myself that I was. I know I’ve been a jerk—”
“That’s an understatement,” Heshan mumbled.
Dilvan continued, “I hurt all of you, and I’m sorry.”
Heshan shook his head. “Dilvan, man, you’re my brother, and I love you regardless. I just couldn’t come over here anymore and watch you mistreat Gabrielle.”
“What do you mean?” his father asked. Padma hadn’t made him aware of what had been going on between Dilvan and Gabrielle. Colin was busy recovering and working – she didn’t want him to be stressed by this drama.
“Mom didn’t tell you?” Prasad asked.
Colin looked at Padma. Padma rubbed her neck.
Heshan spoke up and said, “Basically, Dilvan had been torturing Gabrielle–”
Colin frowned. “What!”
“Let me explain,” Dilvan said. “And I wasn’t torturing her.”
“Then what do you call it when you make your wife eat off the floor?” he asked.
“What!” Colin said, beside himself.
“Why does everybody keep saying that? She wasn’t eating directly off the floor. She had a plate.”
“Oh my God,” Colin said. “Do you think that’s any better?”
“Exactly,” Heshan said. “He doesn’t get it. Prasad and I stopped coming over here because we both watched him disrespect her time and time again, and I just couldn’t watch it anymore.”
“Dilvan, what the heck are they talking about?”
“Dad, I made a mistake. That’s why I wanted to talk to—”
“You knew about this, dear?” Colin asked, looking at Padma.
“I didn’t initially, but when I found out, I made sure to take her out of this house.”
“And where is Gabrielle now?” Colin inquired.
“She’s staying with Tyson,” Prasad answered.
Colin shook his head. “Dilvan, I don’t believe this. What on earth were you thinking?”
“That’s just it. I wasn’t thinking, Dad. I was upset that Mother made me marry the girl. Prasad didn’t have to follow the traditional Sri Lankan marriage, and she didn’t force Heshan to marry anybody! Why did I have to follow this outdated, inhumane culture when we don’t even live there anymore?”
“First of all, don’t disrespect your culture.”
“I’m not being disrespectful,” Dilvan said. “I’m just stating facts. I’m also black. I’m more black than I am Sri Lankan, so where’s the culture where I get to choose my own wife? You chose Mother, didn’t you?”
Padma frowned. “Dilvan, if I thought you had the mental capacity to choose a decent wife for yourself, I would’ve allowed you to do so. The truth of the matter is, you don’t!”
“Dear.” Colin placed a hand on Padma’s forearm to calm her down.
“Gabrielle has been nothing but good to you and this family,” Padma said. “She’s the reason your father is still sitting here right now. You ever think about that?”
“I’ve had three long months to think about that, Mother.
Yes. I thought about it thoroughly. I’m sorry.
I wanted you all to know that. I’m sorry for being a jerk, for being the family member everyone hates.
I’m sorry for not joining the family business, and I’m sorry I’m not the man you wanted me to be. I’m not perfect.”
“Nobody’s perfect,” Colin said. “That’s no excuse for treating Gabrielle the way everyone is saying you did.”
“I know, Dad, and I’m going to talk to her.”
Prasad crossed his arms. “And she agreed to talk to you?”
“Yes. This evening for dinner.”
“Ain’t no need for you to talk to her,” Padma said. “Just let her be.”
“No. I need to apologize, and after trying to talk to her for the last three months, she finally agreed to meet me, so I’m going to meet her.”
“Well, you should know that you and Gabrielle were never officially married to start with,” Padma revealed.
“What?” everyone asked in blended confusion.
Padma explained, “The ceremony we did was real. However, the license was never filed. I just found out about it last month.”
“Wow,” Heshan said. “This is a hot mess.”
“I don’t believe this,” Dilvan said.
Padma continued, “In the eyes of the state, you are not married. So, like I said, let her be.”
“I can’t.”
“You can. It’s what you’ve wanted all along. Now you’re free, Dilvan. Free to go get yourself a wife. Leave Gabrielle alone.”
“I can’t, Mother.”
“Why not?” Padma asked, her irritation growing by the second.
“Because I think I love her,” Dilvan answered.
Heshan shook his head. “This dude is twisted.”
“Shut up, Heshan!” Dilvan snapped. “You’re not helping.”
Prasad said, “The problem is, you don’t know what love is.”
“I do know what love–”
“Come on, man,” Prasad said. “You said you did some self-reflecting, and if that’s true, then it’s time you be real with yourself. If you love Gabrielle, why treat her the way that you did?”
“Because I’m stupid. There! Is that what you all want to hear? I’m stupid, and I didn’t realize what I had until I didn’t have it anymore.”
“Well, thanks for the delayed apology, but actions speak louder than words,” Prasad said, standing.
After giving his parents a hug, he left. Heshan followed soon after. So did Padma. She was so upset, she couldn’t eat or listen to another word from him.
Alone with his Father now, Dilvan asked, “So, what should I do, Dad. I admit, I made a mistake with Gabrielle, but I don’t feel that I can walk away from her after I apologize to her tonight. I want to try to make things work.”
“You heard your mother. You and Gabrielle weren’t even married.”
“Then maybe, if she forgives me, we can get married and start over.”
“That’s not up to you, Dilvan. You can’t make her give you a second chance. And what exactly did you do to her? How bad was it? You didn’t hit her, did you?”
“No. I pushed her a few times, but I never hit her.”
Colin gasped and shook his head. “What else?”
“I won’t go into detail, but I did some bad things, Dad.” His lips trembled, and he almost broke down in tears. “She had two miscarriages because of me.”
Colin stood up from the table and slid his hands into his pockets to prevent himself from choking his son. He wanted to grab him by the throat. Hadn’t he raised him better than that? He said, “So you did hit her.”
“No. I pushed her, but—”
“And what makes you think it’s ever okay to put your hands on a woman, Dilvan? I didn’t raise you that way, boy! I have never laid a hand on your mother!”
“I know, Dad.”
“Then what were you thinking?”
“I was angry…I didn’t want to be married to Gabrielle.”
“But all of a sudden, you want her now?”
“I’ve had time to think about it. After learning she donated that bone marrow to you, it made me realize that she’s a good, genuine woman. And I need to get her back, Dad. Tell me what to do to get her back.”
“Why would she want you back after everything you put her through? She lost two babies behind you. You should be locked up–not out here trying to get a second chance with the very woman you abused. She’s a victim–your victim. Boy, you done–you lost your mind.”
Dilvan hung his head in shame while Colin paced the floor.
“You need to apologize to her, that’s for darn sure, but don’t think that just because you offer her an apology, she’s going to come running back to you. Just apologize and move on. Ain’t no getting her back. Move on with your life. That’s my advice to you.”
Dilvan dabbed his eyes and nodded, but he had no intention of giving up on Gabrielle. Maybe, just maybe if she had a tiny bit of emotion left for him, she’d come back to him. It was a stretch, but nothing was impossible, right?