Daddy

by Jack Harbon

  All his life, Mateo had been a problem-solver. Sergio had raised him to handle things quickly and easily. Letting something fester wasn’t in his genes. He knew there’d be no way their relationship would last long if they didn’t speak and solve their problems whenever they arose.

  “What do you want for us?” he asked Arthur.

  Arthur fell silent. Mateo was on the brink of worrying that he wasn’t going to answer when Arthur spoke up.

  “I want us both to be happy. If that means we’re not doing this whole sugar situation anymore, then so be it. It’s just you and me. A lot of people ask me why I signed up for online dating in the first place, and I never really had an answer they liked, but I think I do now. It’s because there are people out there like you who I don’t think I’d ever come across if it weren’t for the website. Do you know how much different our lives would be if Valerie hadn’t signed you up?”

  Mateo nodded, trying not to think too deeply about how things would have played out. Where would his family be living if he hadn’t been able to pay rent? Would his father have lived as long as he did? He didn’t like these what if situations.

  “My answer to those questions,” Arthur continued, “is that I want to help people. I saw you, and I wanted to help you. Not in a pitying way, either, but in the way one person guides someone they care about in the right direction. All of this, the apartment, the car, I was given at birth. But for people like you, people who have to work every day of their life in this shitty economy... It doesn’t feel right to just keep it all to myself.

  “And I don’t want any praise or accolades or any of that shit, either. I just want you to be great. To be happy. And that will make me happy.”

  Mateo couldn’t help but smile at Arthur. It was sappy, and to the wrong person it might have been pretentious, but he knew just what Arthur meant. It was the feeling he got when he mentored his art students. The kind of pride that came from being a mentor or offering a helping hand.

  “That, and I want you in my arms all the time. I want your trust, and I’ll give you mine. I want to know that at the end of the day, my boy is kind. He cares about people—sometimes to a fault—and has a heart bigger than anyone else I’ve ever met. I want to tell people all about you, and when they look at the smile on my face, they’ll roll their eyes because I’ll be so proud of you it’ll look like I’m over-exaggerating.

  “They’ll call me cheesy because I fell for you so fast. They’ll call us the annoying couple that always spends time together. And I won’t care because as long as I get to see you look at me with that twinkle in your eyes, I won’t be able to hear a single word anyone else says.” Arthur reached across the table for his hand, and Mateo let him take it. He stood and walked towards the man, allowing himself to be guided into his lap.

  “You’re so fucking corny,” Mateo said, pressing his forehead to Arthur’s. He stared down into his eyes, examining every little variation in color.

  “Kiss me,” Arthur whispered.

  “We’re going slow,” Mateo said. He brought a finger up to trace over the lines in Arthur’s lips.

  “Please?”

  “Ask nicer.”

  “Kiss me, please? Baby...”

  Mateo leaned in just an inch and pressed their lips together. His stomach swelled with that familiar rumble of giddiness. He wanted to deepen the kiss, but for the sake of taking it slow, he pulled away. Arthur’s eyes opened after a minute, and he stared up at the boy in his lap.

  “I know I’ve messed up, but thank you. Thank you for caring about me enough to give me a second chance,” he murmured.

  “You’re welcome.” Mateo placed his head on Arthur’s shoulder. The two of them sat still and silent, comfortable in this closeness.

  27

  EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN

  Under the natural light of the sun, Mateo couldn’t help but notice the small patches of gray hair in the thickness of his mother’s auburn locks. He knew what had caused them, and he knew what would still cause them now that his father had passed.

  He glanced at his siblings across the park, watching them play without a worry in the world. Amira would always be stressed as long as she had four children to take care of, and Mateo knew that without a doubt, he’d always be there to help take some of the work load off, and would try his hardest to keep out of trouble. A single mother raising three young children was hard enough. She didn’t need him acting out and causing problems as well.

  She flipped a page on her notepad and began scribbling down something. Mateo wrapped an arm around her shoulders and scooted closer to her. The park bench creaked.

  “What are you writing?” he asked. She looked up from her paper and smiled at him.

  “I’m planning for your birthday party.”

  Mateo groaned internally. He always hated when his mother planned parties for him. She spoiled him too much and gave him too much attention for only being a year older. On top of that, it was wasted money. He’d be more than happy with fifty dollars and permission to get wasted with his friends at some house party.

  “You never listen.”

  “I don’t want to hear a word from you. You deserve a good party. You can even bring that boyfriend of yours.”

  Mateo’s stomach dropped. He blinked twice, struggling to find the proper response.

  “What, you thought I didn’t know? I know everything, mijo,” she said.

  “Who told you?” he asked. He scanned the park for Tomas. When he got the chance, he was going to knock him upside the head for snitching. They’d made a deal.

  “Nobody had to tell me, Mateo. You constantly go out on dates. You don’t come home some nights. You get this look on your face when your phone buzzes and it’s someone special. I’ve known for a while.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?”

  “Not my business. It never got in the way of your family. And I figured you’d talk to me about him when you were ready.” She underlined the word “food” on the pad of paper and began writing down items she’d need to feed the small group of people attending.

  Mateo looked at the grass in stunned silence. Here he thought he was being sneaky and secretive when in all actuality, Amira knew all along. It was impressive how nothing got past her, if not a bit frustrating. He still had to give her props. Sherlock Holmes who?

  “Well, I was going to tell you about him. Eventually.”

  “Mhm,” she said skeptically.

  “I was! I just... Things have been really weird.”

  “Did you fix everything with him?”

  “Yeah. We talked last week. I told him what I wanted, and he told me what he wanted.”

  “That’s good,” she said. “Invite him to your party. What I want is to meet him.”

  Mateo wasn’t so sure that was going to go over well. She didn’t know how they met, and Hell would have to freeze over twice before he told her they met on a sugar daddy website. He went through a mental checklist of all the lies they’d have to tell to seem as normal as possible.

  “I don’t know...”

  “What, is he ugly? You afraid I’ll make fun of him?” She laughed and looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

  “No, he’s not ugly at all. It’s just complicated. But... I’ll see what I can do. I know you’ll like him, but it’s weird. I don’t know.”

  “Okay,” she said. Mateo laughed at the look of confusion on her face.

  “I said I’ll see! No promises though.” That answer was enough to satisfy her, it seemed, because she created a new category for decorations, her focus back on her list.

  Mateo stood up, twisting to pop his back before he walked across the park and scooped up Salome. She let out a squeal and tried to wiggle from his grip.

  “No!” she cried, giggling and kicking out her legs. Victor, from the top of the slide, let out a battle cry and came running to her rescue. He jumped on Mateo’s back and tried to free her from his grasp. Victor then hit the backs of Mateo’s legs w
ith his foam sword.

  “Put her down, buttface!” he exclaimed. Mateo laughed and let out a dramatic howl before collapsing to the ground.

  “Nooooooo,” he yelled, gripping his legs like he’d really been injured. Salome took the sword from Victor and was about to finish Mateo off when Tomas cleared his throat and intervened.

  “We must spare his life,” he said in a terrible British accent. He pushed up his glasses and looked down at Mateo with disdain. “Tie him up! We’ll throw him in prison instead.”

  Mateo gasped and pretended to try and crawl away, but Salome and Victor sat on his back and tied him up with invisible rope. They tugged him to his feet, and the three marched him to the jungle gym.

  “You’ll all pay for this,” he said in his best villainous voice.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Victor mumbled.

  As they led him on his way, Mateo felt the wind kick up. He looked at the sky, a sudden warmth coming over him. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt safe, like someone was watching out for him at that very moment.

  He smiled to himself.

  *

  “So, that’s it?” Mateo asked once Arthur closed the door to his office. Through the windows, he could see Mr. Estes and his lawyer walking down the hall, talking to each other.

  Arthur eased into his desk chair with a groan, stretching out his legs. “That’s it.”

  Mateo didn’t know what to say. He wanted to be excited, but he couldn’t help feeling just slightly terrified about what the end of this meeting meant. Design Depot, Mr. Estes’ art store, now belonged to Alainment Enterprise. When Mateo had mentioned his dismay at Mr. Estes’ business falling apart, Arthur offered to buy it for more than three times what they planned on selling the space for.

  Mr. Estes jumped at the opportunity. From what Mateo had gathered, his family had planned on selling the space for an abysmally low price, and an opportunity like this was something they couldn’t pass up on. When the man broke down in tears seeing the amount Arthur offered, Mateo knew instantly that they were doing the right thing. But it wasn’t good enough for him.

  He didn’t want the store without Mr. Estes. The man had been a beacon of hope and opportunity in his life for years, and it wasn’t enough to see him make out with a large amount of money. Eventually that would run out and he’d be back on the hunt for a new job. No, Mateo wasn’t going to let this store exist without the person who’d inspired him and given him the chance to experience how good it felt to help.

  “I don’t just want his store,” Mateo said, leaning against the desk. He kept his eyes on Mr. Estes and his lawyer as they stepped into the elevator.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I want him to work at the new one. Whether we rename it or keep it the same, I want him to have a job, day one. I want him to have stock in the company too.” It was a lot to ask for, but Mateo didn’t care. He was willing to fight for this if Arthur seemed hesitant.

  But he didn’t. “If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll have.”

  Mateo turned to face him. “Really?”

  “Really. I didn’t buy this because I had a burning desire to own a craft store. I bought it because you asked. So, if you want me to put together a development team to help work on this new store and you want Ricky Estes there, then that’s what I’ll get you.”

  Mateo’s chest squeezed, and he walked around the desk to take a seat on the man’s lap, straddling him. “You’re so good to me. Why?”

  Arthur crinkled his face. “What do you mean, ‘why’? Look at you. Look at what you’re doing for him. For his family. It’s illegal for me not to give you everything under the sun.”

  Mateo leaned in to kiss him, but a new idea suddenly popped into his head. “Let’s make it the next big thing. Bring in all kinds of traffic, put that money back into the community—oh! We can even franchise it if it does well enough.”

  Arthur chuckled and ran a hand up and down the side of Mateo’s thigh. “Do you know how sexy you are when you talk business to me?”

  Mateo’s brow went up. “Oh yeah? How about this… Fiscal responsibility.”

  “I want to give you a baby. Right here and now.”

  “Yeah, right,” Mateo said, laughing. When he settled down, he cupped the side of Arthur’s face. “Thank you. For everything today.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and I want you there with me. I want this to be our project. Together.”

  “Then I’m there. So, where do we start first?” He was more than ready to get this thing going.

  “For now, we celebrate our success today. I’m taking you out to eat. Something gourmet, with expensive wine. What’s your schedule look like this weekend, by the way?”

  Mateo shrugged. “I have the weekend off. How come?”

  “Well, Roman’s having a party in New York, and I wanted to stop by. You could come if you wanted.”

  “Roman?”

  “Roman Li. One of my friends in advertising. He just landed the Chief Creative Director position at his agency. I thought we could stop by, have a few drinks, dance, have fun, and then head to a hotel for some alone time?”

  “That sounds better than anything I had planned,” Mateo shrugged. The mention of a party reminded him of Amira. “Uh, since we’re talking about parties, can I ask you a weird question?”

  “All ears.” Arthur sat back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. The action was enough to momentarily distract Mateo, his eyes glued to the way his white button-up shirt stretched across his arms.

  Finally, he said, “Well, my mom’s throwing a birthday party for me in two weeks. She does one every year, and they’re usually pretty lowkey. Me, a few close relatives, Val, Rob, the usual. Apparently, she’s known that I’ve been seeing someone for a while now and figured now would be a good time to meet that person. You can totally say no, and I won’t be upset or anything. I just wanted to ask in case you were interested in that kind of thing.” He realized he was rambling and pressed his lips tight.

  Meeting the parents wasn’t something he’d done with guys his own age. Introducing his mother to someone that was old enough to be a friend of hers was taking it to the next level.

  Arthur chuckled at his word vomit. “Of course, I’d like to go to your party. Unless you don’t want me there.”

  “No, it’s not that, it’s just that things will be super awkward, and I’m worried she’ll scare you off.”

  “She’s not going to scare me off. I’m dating you, not her.”

  “You don’t know how Hispanic moms are, then,” he laughed.

  Arthur shrugged. “Maybe not, but I’m here for you. If she wants to meet me, I want to meet her. And if things go horribly, just know that I’ll still be here for you. Okay?”

  Mateo looked up at Arthur through his lashes and smiled just a little. “Okay,” he mumbled. “I guess I should probably get packed up for the trip this weekend?”

  “Probably. Though, I wouldn’t mind just staying like this. You look good in my lap.”

  “If we get everything packed tonight, maybe I’ll have time to be in your lap again.”

  “Better not waste any time then,” Arthur said, sliding Mateo off of him and packing his briefcase up with exaggerated speed.

  “I can’t stand you,” Mateo giggled.

  After the two of them had collected their things, Arthur wrapped an arm around Mateo’s shoulder and led him out of the room.

  28

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY

  Mateo and Arthur sat outside of the apartment, debating whether or not it was time to get out. They’d been seated for almost seven minutes, listening to the radio. Finally, Mateo unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out. “It’s now or never,” he said, feigning confidence. By the time he was at the front door, Arthur was at his side. Mateo slipped his key in the lock and pretended to be shocked by the loud,

  “Surprise!”

  He smiled and gave one of his cousins a bear hug.
“You guys know you didn’t have to do this!”

  The room was decorated beautifully. Valerie hadn’t been discreet at all, telling him all about the color scheme she was thinking for the party. Amira asked her to decorate given her talent for party-throwing, and Valerie appeared more than happy to assume the role.

  She’d adorned the ceiling with green and blue streamers, replaced their usual white table cloth with a blue one, and somehow managed to find a small bubble machine that pumped out tiny soapy orbs that popped against the multicolored balloons tied to the furniture. It looked exactly like the “Under the Sea” theme she was going for.

  “Oh, hush,” his aunt Rosie said. She pecked him on the cheek and looked at Arthur. “Is this...”

  “This is my boyfriend, yes,” Mateo said, waving the man over. Arthur extended his hand and introduced himself.

  “Rosita,” she said, her smile a thin line. Mateo knew she was thinking the same thing as him. His mother was going to flip. It was going to be a big deal. He could already feel it.

  Before the whole party got shut down by Amira, he went looking for his friends. He found Valerie and Rob dancing in the kids’ bedroom with Victor, who appeared to be showing off all the cool moves he’d learned from his favorite video game.

  “Matty! I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this,” Valerie said. She wore a nice black dress and her hair sat in perfectly curled ringlets. She was dressed to kill, and he knew exactly why. He’d seen the way she looked at his cousin Miguel a few times before.

  “Don’t remind me. I’m about to have a fucking panic attack,” Mateo said.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Rob assured him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. The confidence was appreciated, but Mateo wasn’t sure if it would be enough. He knew how his mother could be, and he knew how petty she acted when she wasn’t happy. He recalled the time he forgot to do the dishes, and for the rest of the week his mother had washed everyone else’s dishes except his. When she was mad, she made sure to let everyone know, and the last thing he needed at the moment was more drama. He’d finally gotten Arthur back. He wasn’t going to lose him again.