Into You

by Sheena Binkley

  “And she busted his windows out. Your woman is ruthless.”

  “That’s how I like it.”

  “I’m sure. But when I saw him grabbing Vanessa’s arm, I snapped. It didn’t matter if I was at Suds or anywhere else, I wanted to protect my girl.”

  “Which I completely understand, but that’s the problem, Mateo. You were in the public. People are going to look at you like you’re the bad guy because you started the fight.”

  “People can think what they want. I don’t care.”

  “Is that how you’ll be when you take ownership at corporate? T Will it be okay to react first and think about the consequences later?”

  “I thought about my actions very clearly.”

  We sat in silence as I stared ahead. A few minutes later, I saw Vanessa and Simone walk in. Instead of coming to me, though, she went straight to Hamilton. I was about to say something, but my dad shook his head.

  “Let them have their talk, just like we’re about to do.”

  “At the police station?”

  “Yes; you weren’t returning my calls, so this is the perfect time.”

  I leaned back in the seat, hoping an officer would just come and take me to a cell.

  “Why should we talk?”

  “Because you need to know the truth.”

  “What, exactly, is the truth? That my mother’s a whore? As you claim?”

  “Please, let me explain, Mateo.”

  I sighed as my dad cleared his throat. “When we first started the business, your mom and I had our entire lives ahead of us. We had this vision to do something wonderful, especially since we both grew up pretty poor. We had little money to start the business, but we didn’t care; we were determined to make it successful.

  “When we started, we wanted someone who was reliable to run our first store, so we chose Hector to head up Harrison. At first, I didn’t have a problem with anything; why would I when business was booming, and we had money in our pockets? That all changed a year later when I noticed a change in your mama. She became more distant with me; she always wanted to be at the store and never wanted to take off. She was out late –

  “Always saying she was at the restaurant,” I interrupted. I did remember those times when she would disappear. I didn’t really notice it until one day, I asked to come with her to help her cook. She quickly told me no then left. For some reason, I always found that moment strange. Now, I know why.

  “One night, I wanted to surprise her by taking her out, so I showed up at the store. I was the surprised one when I saw her and Hector in the office together.”

  “So you decided to do the same with her best friend? Wow, you’re both supposed to be adults and acted like teenagers.”

  “It wasn’t like that, Mateo.”

  “Then what was it?! You both played with fire and got burned, but Mama got the worst of it.”

  “How?! When she was the one who cheated first?”

  “It doesn’t matter who cheated first; no one should have been cheating. But when you slept with Lucy, it literally killed mama. She was so depressed that she didn’t want to live anymore.”

  “And that’s my fault? I wasn’t the issue. She was so consumed with guilt that she didn’t want to live. What she’d done was tearing her up inside. That’s how you would feel if someone caught you cheating.

  “I never wanted you kids to know the truth about your mother, because I didn’t want you all to view her in a bad light; that’s why I never said anything. You probably wouldn’t have even known about me if you hadn’t caught me.”

  “You wanted to get caught, just not by me.”

  “We've all made mistakes, Mateo; I just wish you would find it in your heart to forgive me.”

  “This isn’t just about you and Mom; you have put me down for years because I didn’t want to be the man you wanted me to be. You wanted me to follow in your footsteps and be this big businessman, but that’s not me.”

  “But you are one with you opening your restaurant.”

  “And I plan to do what I love. At first, I wasn’t going to cook and just focus on the business aspect, but I miss being in the kitchen. I miss being able to put a smile on people’s faces by providing them good food. Even though that’s not what you want for me, it’s my passion, and I shouldn’t let you, or anyone else, discourage me from that.”

  “Is that why you went to Austin?”

  “I had to, so I could get away from the negativity, mainly you.”

  My dad dropped his head, and I turned to the clerk desk. Vanessa and Hamilton weren’t there anymore.

  “In Austin, I was able to just be there and do things without you putting me down. Now that I know what happened back then, I understand the real reason why you didn’t approve of my profession. Were you that jealous of my relationship with my own mother that you would punish me for it?”

  “What makes you think that?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

  “It’s not a thought; it’s a fact. You hated the amount of time I spent with her. It's sad that you even thought like that.”

  “Maybe I did want that same bond with you. You’re my oldest, Mateo; I wanted you to see what I'd went through and for you to carry the Fernandez name with pride, and that was by taking the reins at Suds. I also want to spend more time with Simone and live my life to the fullest while I still have the chance.”

  “But who’s to say I won’t carry the Fernandez name with pride as a chef, a lawyer, or even a doctor? Papa, you can’t expect us to do what you did. Yes, it’s a great story, how you came from nothing and succeeded, but you have to let us follow our own paths.”

  “What does this mean for Suds?”

  “What do you mean? We'll still do our own thing, but we’ll still keep Suds in the family. You and Mama worked hard to see the business prosper. More than anything, we want to pass it down to our children and so on, but if they don’t want it, we won’t force it on them.”

  “Like you think I did with you all?” he asked sadly.

  “We just didn’t want to see it tarnished if it had gone to Avery. The man is bad news. We know about the lawsuits that were settled, but there are other things I don’t think you know about. Or do you?”

  My dad put a hand to his forehead and took a deep breath. “What else do you think is going on?”

  “Aren’t the lawsuits bad enough?”

  “What else, Mateo?”

  “It’s really bad.”

  When I finished explaining what Carmen had found out from Maya, my dad took another deep breath. “Just let me take it from here; thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  We sat in silence as I watched several officers pass by and wondered why I hadn’t been booked yet. I’ve never been arrested, but I knew it shouldn’t take this long.

  Thirty minutes later, an officer finally came over, uncuffed me, and told me I was free to go. I looked at my dad, and he shrugged.

  “Your accuser decided not to press charges,” the officer explained then walked off.

  I looked up and saw Vanessa coming towards me. I got up, and she hugged me tightly.

  “What happened? Hamilton didn’t press charges?” I asked.

  “Thank your girlfriend. She convinced him not to,” Simone answered as she approached us. She put an arm around my dad, which made me cringed. That’s something I’d have to get used to.

  “How did you do that?”

  “Actually, it was his wife,” Vanessa pointed out. “She's known about Hamilton and my affair for a while. She even slapped him with divorce papers just now. She's tired of his lies and cheating.”

  “So why did she stay with him for so long?” I asked.

  “It’s that same old story: She loves him and thought she could change him.”

  “Does this mean he’ll finally leave you alone?”

  “Oh, that’s a definite. I already told him that if he comes near me again, he’ll be back here being arrested since I’ll be filing a restraining o
rder.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I was just yanking his chain, but it’s a possibility,” she said.

  “I think you should, because don't think for a second that he’s just going to stop,” Simone suggested.

  “I’ll think about it; right now, I just want this day to be over with,” Vanessa replied.

  “There’s one good thing that happened, though; we’re back together,” I said.

  She smiled. “We never broke up, just had some time apart.”

  “Regardless, I've missed being around you. I love you, V.”

  She came closer and kissed me. When we pulled away, we noticed my dad and Simone staring at us.

  “We’re not saying a word,” my dad teased as Simone laughed.

  “Why don’t we go out to eat? My treat. I’ll see if Carmen and Sebastian want to come, too,” my dad offered.

  “Why not?” I said then shook my head. “Why don’t I make dinner for everyone? I can whip up arroz con pollo.”

  “That’s my favorite,” my dad replied.

  “It might not be like Mama’s, but –”

  “I’m sure it'll be great, Mateo.”

  “You've never tried Mark’s cooking? I have, and it’s fantastic,” Simone interjected.

  “He did learn from the best,” he said.

  I glanced at him and nodded, and he came up to me.

  “I’m really sorry, son. You’re right: I never gave you a chance to be your own person and live your life. It was my dream for you to take over the business, but you had your own to fulfill. I shouldn’t have stepped in the way of that. I’m proud that you had dreams of your own and of what you’ve accomplished. Honestly, I’m just proud of you period.”

  I nodded again, because I was speechless. He’d never told me this, and it feels pretty good.

  He suddenly embraced me, catching me by surprise. Maybe Simone really was having a positive effect on him.

  When we let go, I heard Simone sniffling. We looked at her and smiled.

  “That’s so beautiful. It’s good to see you two putting your differences to the side.”

  “It is,” I agreed. “Now, let’s go; I have a lot to do for our dinner.”

  My dad and Simone walked in front of us, and I took Vanessa’s hand in mine.

  “I’m with Simone. I think it’s wonderful that you’ve put your feelings to the side.”

  “I guess it is. I’m just tired of fighting with him. It's still going to take time for me to adjust to him and Simone's relationship, but I think I’ll manage.”

  “Now that you know the truth about your mom, maybe you’ll be able to accept it more easily.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe, but like I said, it’s going to take some time.”

  She nodded. “But the good things is we can be out in the open now.”

  “Yes, and no one can say anything about it.”

  She giggled. “You know they will.”

  “Let them; I couldn't care less. The only thing that matters is that you and I are happy.”

  “Definitely,” she said kissed me.

  Even though my dad and I had sort of buried the hatchet, it would still take some time to work through our issues, but I was willing to make things work. I want to be happy, not angry all the time. Vanessa had made it easier for me to embrace everything in my life and had even helped me get back into the kitchen. I’d always be grateful for that and for her.

  Vanessa

  With everything that's been happening, I haven't had a chance to deal with my struggles with my own family. After being around Mark’s family, I realized I needed to set things straight with my own father. I still hadn’t spoken to him since I found out about my mom; but I think it was time I did.

  Two days after the incidents at Suds, I called my dad to see if I could come over to talk. He decided we could over dinner. I asked Mark if he could come, too, so I wouldn’t be too nervous. Now we were sitting in the driveway, and I was trying to get myself together. Mark squeezed my hand as I took slow breaths.

  “It’s going to be okay. Just talk to your dad like you always do.”

  “I know, but not only will I be confronting him about my mom, this will also be his first time meeting you.”

  “Everything will be okay.”

  I nodded and opened the door to Mark’s truck. We walked to the front door, and I rang the doorbell. Vivica opened the door with a smile.

  “Hey, sweetie. How is everything?” she asked, hugging me.

  “It’s good for the most part.”

  I introduced Mark and Vivica, and she hugged him. We walked into the living room and saw my dad sitting in his favorite chair, watching TV. He got up and embraced me.

  “Hi, V. Good to see you.”

  “Likewise, Dad,” I greeted with a small smile.

  “Dad, this is my boyfriend, Mark. Mark, this is my dad.”

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” Mark said, shaking his hand.

  “Likewise, Mark.” He turned to me, “Is this the guy you met at work?”

  I looked at Vivica, who shrugged. “Yes, it is.”

  My dad nodded. “I heard my daughter is pretty hung up on you.”

  Mark smiled. “And I'm hung up on her.”

  I blushed, wishing my body didn't react that way. I was supposed to be in a serious mood right now.

  "I'm glad to hear it. You're not married, are you?”

  Mark shook his head. “No, sir.”

  “Well, you’re already a winner in my book.”

  Vivica walked into the living room to let us know that dinner was ready. We filed into the dining room, and I saw my favorite meal laid out on the table. Mark waited for me to sit down then did the same as my dad prepared to say grace. Once he finished, we helped ourselves to the food.

  I sat in silence, while my dad and Vivica grilled Mark about his professional and personal life. My dad was impressed with Mark’s business and him taking over Suds.

  I squeezed his hand underneath the table, he smiled.

  My dad turned to me with a concerned look. “Is everything okay, Vanessa? You’ve been very quiet.”

  I looked at my dad, not sure how to start this conversation. “There’s something that’s been bothering me for some time now.”

  “What is it?”

  “Why have you never told me about my mother? Why didn't you ever tell me that she’d been trying to contact me for years before she died?”

  My dad put down his drink and glared at Vivica. She mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ before turning to me.

  “Please, don’t be upset with Vivica. She's the one who had the guts to tell me the truth.”

  “V, please let me explain –”

  I interrupted him, “Explain what, Dad? That you kept information from me about my biological mom? I get why you did it, but you still should have told me the truth. You should have given me the information so I could've decided how I wanted to handle it.”

  “I didn’t think you could handle it. She vanished when you were five; how could I tell you that the mother you barely knew wanted a relationship with you, when she was the one who didn’t want one in the first place?” he tried to reason.

  “It was still my decision to make, Dad! Whether you liked it or not, I should have known!”

  “Your mother’s priorities weren't in order. She only cared about herself. Why would I have told you about her when she probably would have disappeared again? I just didn’t want you to get our hopes up. I’m sorry, but I don't regret what I did.”

  I blew out a harsh breath and leaned back in my chair. Even though a part of me was still upset, I’m kind of glad he didn’t tell me anything, because she could have just taken off like she did before.

  “V, I know how much you wanted a relationship with your mother; the two of you had a special bond before she decided it was too much for her. I can’t explain why she decided to create the same life with someone new; I guess only she and God know. All I know is that things turned out great wit
h our lives. You and I both pushed through, and we met a wonderful woman along the way.

  “Yes, you probably had the right to know about her, and I probably should've let you decide whether you wanted a relationship with her. But I also felt that, as a parent, I was protecting you. I couldn’t bear to see you hurt again.”