The Neighborhood (A Twin Estates Novel Book 2)

by Stylo Fantome

“No, calm down,” he urged, using the lever on his motorized wheelchair to turn himself around. “I need to get rid of something, but it's kinda big. I was wondering if you could deal with it.”

  “What is it?” she asked, glancing around.

  “That thing over there, under the tarp.”

  He pointed and she followed his finger to a large lump on the other side of the van. A motorcycle shaped lump, that happened to be under a motorcycle cover.

  “Your bike? You want to get rid of it?” she was confused.

  “Well, I can't exactly ride it,” he chuckled.

  “Well, not now, but who knows what you'll be able to do with the new leg?”

  “Funny thing – getting T-boned and almost dying made me a little hesitant to get back on the horse, as it were.”

  “Ooohhh, right,” she mumbled.

  “So I clearly don't need it anymore.”

  “I could sell it for you,” she suggested. “Put it on Craigslist. Just tell me the -”

  “But it was a gift!” he interrupted her. “I would feel bad about doing something awful like selling it.”

  “Then … give it to someone else?” she tried again.

  “That's even worse, regifting a gift,” he told her.

  “Then I'm sorry, Dad, but I'm not sure what you want me to do with it,” Katya held up her hands.

  “I might have an idea,” he said, rubbing thoughtfully at his chin.

  “What's that?”

  “We could call the bike's rightful owner, have him come pick it up.”

  “Dad, Wulf won't want a -”

  “And he could give you a ride home on it.”

  Her jaw dropped.

  “Dad!” she said, plunking her hands on her hips. “Okay, first of all – I keep telling everyone, I am home. And second of all, I am not calling Wulf. And third of all, even if we ignored all of that, I would not ride back to San Francisco on the back of a motorcycle!”

  “It could do you good, sweetheart. It's very liberating.”

  She was flabbergasted.

  “What's gotten into you!? Did you mix up your pills again?” she asked, looking him over carefully.

  “Nope. I just ...” he took a while to search for the right words. “I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done. I always knew you were strong, Katya, but these past few weeks ...”

  Both of them were working hard to keep the tears at bay, she could tell.

  “Daddy,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. “Of course I would do anything for you. You and Mom.”

  “I know that, but seeing it in action – not everyone gets to experience that. And I hope they don't, at least not like this, but everyday I feel so blessed to have you as a daughter,” he told her. She took deep fortifying breaths.

  “Thank you. I'm very lucky to have you for a dad,” she assured him. He smiled.

  “Good. Keep that in mind after what I do next.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I'm going to tell you what an idiot you're being.”

  That gave her a start. She glanced around, wondering if this was a prank.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your mom and I love you, and sure, deep down I wish you'd stayed our little girl forever. I wish I could keep you here, warm and safe, and we could all live together forever,” he said. “But that's not right. We're not children to be taken care of, and neither are you.”

  “I know you're not kids, I never thought -”

  “I know, sweetie. But we raised you to be an independent woman, and you are at that time in your life when you should be forging your own path. You had already started down a good one – now is not the time to derail it.”

  “Dad, I'm not going to stop my baking career,” she said. “I've even already spoken to a couple old clients, and there's a bakery downtown here that I could -”

  “Horse shit.”

  She gasped. She wasn't sure if she'd ever heard her father curse before, it was a little shocking.

  “What did you just say!?”

  “You are meant for more than some bakery in Carmel, California, and you know it,” he said, pointing sternly at her. “So we're not even going to discuss that.”

  “Okay, fine – I could go work in L.A., though. Sacramento. New York, New Orleans, lots of places. I just want to be sure you're okay, that both of you are good,” she told him.

  “Well then, we're good. And you aren't going to any of those places, because your heart is somewhere else.”

  “I swear to god, if you say I left my heart in San Francisco, I will hit you with one of those weird looking tool thingies,” she warned him. He burst out laughing.

  “I should have!” he guffawed. “It's true.”

  “Dad.”

  “What?”

  “Just stop it,” she urged him.

  “Just listen to me, okay?” he asked. She sighed and nodded.

  “Okay. But listening doesn't equal automatic agreement.”

  “You came down here to take care of me. To make sure I wasn't struggling or in constant pain,” he said, and she nodded. “Well, I have Nurse Laney to take care of me, and I'm not struggling and I'm managing my pain.”

  “Oookkaaayy ...”

  “But I am witnessing my baby girl deal with both those issues.”

  “I'm not -”

  “You are,” he interrupted her. “I've talked with Wulf, and I've talked with Tori.”

  “You're a regular chatty cathy,” she mumbled.

  “Wulf is keeping his mouth shut about you – just asks that you're okay, and that's it. Won't engage in any conversation involving you.”

  “Good.”

  “Tori, however, is my new best friend.”

  What a scary thought.

  “Oh god. Don't believe anything she says!”

  “We both happen to agree that your heart is with Wulfric. Sweetie, you may be confused, and you may be hurting, but one thing I've always been proud of about you is your heart,” he told her.

  “My heart?” she asked, confused.

  “Yes. You follow it, always. Loyally and without question. I tried to mold you into a doctor, and your mother wanted a lawyer, but even as a little girl, you followed your heart into baking. I wanted you to go to Los Angeles, and your mother wanted you to stay here, but you said no, and you followed your heart to San Francisco.”

  She wasn't sure where this was all leading, or what any of that had to do with Wulf.

  “Kiddo, most of us are scared to follow our hearts,” he told her. “Of what people think and how they'll react, but not you. When it comes to the heart, you, Katya, are fearless. You trust in it fully and you love with it wholly. I've always been so proud of you for that, and so impressed, and even a little envious.”

  “Wow, Dad. Thank you,” she said, staring down at him with wide eyes.

  “And like I said – it's quite obvious to anyone with eyeballs that your heart is with Wulf.”

  “Sometimes that's just not enough. We went through some rough patches. A lot of lying, a lot of fighting.”

  “So? Now you know what not to do,” he told her.

  “I'm just not ...” she didn't know how to articulate her feelings. “It's one thing to follow my heart to pursue my dreams – it's quite another to follow it over a cliff into a disastrous relationship. I don't want to give something to him if it's just going to get broken.”

  “That's how love goes, sweetie. You have to have faith.”

  “I do not -”

  “Oh, hush. You're so in love with him, it's turned you stupid,” he called her out. She started laughing.

  “You turn mean when you talk about love.”

  “Well, I've had a lot of experience. Did I ever tell you how your mother and I got started?”

  “Yes, you met in school – took one look at her across the track field, and it was love at first sight,” she replied. She'd been told the story many times.

  “That's how we met �
� how we actually got started, though, is quite a different story. I never wanted to tell you before because, to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing,” he sighed. She raised her eyebrows. She couldn't imagine her parents doing anything embarrassing.

  “What happened?”

  “Because she was dating my best friend when I saw her at that track meet,” he said in a simple voice. Katya gasped and pressed a hand to her chest.

  “What!? You never said that! But … but … but I thought you guys went out that same night!?” she asked.

  “We did. They'd only been dating a short while, I'd never met Herb's girlfriend, and she'd never met Herb's roommate. I asked her out and she said yes, that's all I cared about.”

  “Okay … so you guys didn't know, I guess that's not such a big deal.”

  “Well, it wouldn't be, if she'd stopped dating Herb to date me.”

  “She must have, though.”

  “No. You know how we went to dinner and went dancing and parked at the air field to talk,” he continued.

  “Yes, I remember that part.”

  “Well, we didn't just talk.”

  “I'm going to be ill, oh god.”

  “Oh, stop it,” he rolled his eyes. “I was swept away by her! Here was this tall, gorgeous, auburn haired goddess. So funny, with these big beautiful blue eyes, and so smart, I could barely keep up with her. I told you, for me, it was love at first sight. Didn't matter if we were sinning in the back seat of an old Pontiac – I already had plans to marry her.”

  Katya groaned and pressed her hand against her forehead.

  “So Mom cheated on her boyfriend with you the first night she met you.”

  “Yes. And for several weeks after.”

  “Seriously. Vomit. Everywhere.”

  “See, it may have been love at first sight for me,” he continued. “But it wasn't for her. She thought we were just having fun. How do you kids say it? I was her side-chick.”

  Katya burst out laughing, “close enough, Dad.”

  “It took her a little longer to fall in love with me, and right about the time it finally happened, Herb and I found out about each other. I was so mad – that she would come between me and my friend, that she didn't care about my feelings, and that she didn't seem to love me back. After she came clean, I kicked her out of my car on the side of the street, just left her there in the middle of the night,” he told her.

  “Jesus, Dad. You're a stone cold badass.”

  “It wasn't very nice,” he admitted. “But I was fairly convinced that I hated her. I cried on the way home, and then had to tell Herb, who wanted to kick me out. It was awful.”

  “Sounds awful,” she said. “I can't believe this! Mom was some … crazy, sex-fiend coed!”

  “Crazy is going a bit far.”

  “Oh, but sex-fiend isn't?”

  “Well ...”

  She made a retching noise and covered her mouth.

  “I wish I could unhear most of this. I can't believe it. The woman who used to measure my skirts before I left the house was a wild child in college.”

  “That's why she went so overboard – I think she was scared you'd make the same mistakes she made.”

  “Well, obviously you forgave her. What did she have to do to get back in your good graces?” Katya asked. He shrugged.

  “Nothing, really.”

  “What!? No, I don't believe that,” she shook her head.

  “She apologized, of course. There were lots of tears and lots of phone calls. She showed up at my parents' country club one time, when I was playing a round with my father. I'll never forget that fight – I'm still banned from the club.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Language, young lady!” her dad said sternly. “But no, it wasn't easy. I was so angry at her. But you know what? I really did love her. And when you love someone, forgiveness comes easier.”

  “But how did you know she wouldn't just hurt you again? I mean, if she was so thoughtless and selfish before … how were you so sure she'd changed?” Katya was curious.

  “I couldn't be sure. I could only be sure that I loved her.”

  “So that's it? You were in love, so you just blindly forgave everything? I'm sorry, but that's not how it works, Dad,” she said.

  “I didn't say that, did I? But you act like trust is something that happens overnight. That trust should be given the first time you meet someone, and then it gets chipped away at with every mistake they make. No. Trust isn't something that's gained OR rebuilt over night.

  “If you truly care about someone, then it takes work. Hard, tough, difficult, and sometimes just plain god awful work. Your mistake isn't thinking you can't forgive Wulf, because clearly, you already have. Your mistake is thinking that forgiving someone automatically takes away all the hard work that goes into the relationship. You think saying 'I'm sorry' should magically make the hurt and heartache go away. Well, it doesn't – 'I'm sorry' are just the first two words at the very beginning of a lot of conversations and a very long road of work. Welcome to love, sweetie.”

  Katya blinked her eyes, feeling like she'd just gotten hit in the head with a baseball bat. He'd nailed it, because she really had thought that way. Wulf had said “I'm sorry” and she'd said “I forgive you”, and when feelings of relief hadn't instantly replaced feelings of hurt, she'd figured it meant those words weren't enough.

  “But I just ...” she mumbled. “I just don't know if I believe all that.”

  “Then maybe you don't care about him as much as I thought you did,” her dad sighed, then his chair started rolling away from her. “But I'll tell you what – if I had behaved the way you are, and if I had held onto the hurt your mother had caused, and had refused to work through the pain and anger with her, you wouldn't be here, and I would've missed out on twenty-five years with the most amazing human being I've ever known.”

  “And what if I do all this – I talk to him and I put in the work and I go through the pain, and it all turns to shit, anyway?”

  “Then at least you can say you tried. Never took you for a quitter, sweetie. I'm a little surprised, to be honest, you're usually such a fighter. Wulf clearly tried his damnedest to work something out with you – maybe he just loved you more.”

  “That's grossly unfair,” she snapped.

  “Maybe. Love is rarely fair,” he sighed and started rolling up the ramp to the door. “It's messy and it's difficult and it's painful and it's a whole heap of hard work. I guess it's a good thing you found that out now.”

  He disappeared into the house after that, but Katya stayed in the garage. She glared at the stupid motorcycle and tried to think mean thoughts about her dad.

  Of course, she wasn't able to. Instead, she thought some mean things about herself. Was he right? She felt like using his logic meant that any time a man did anything shitty, she should just be expected to forgive and forget.

  But of course, that wasn't what he'd been saying at all. He'd said forgiveness and trust took work. Had she put any work into forgiving Wulf? Into actually trusting him? No, she'd been too busy playing her silly game. Too busy expecting some fairy tale romance where magic words could just erase any kind of damage and pain. She almost felt stupid now as the realization came upon her.

  That wasn't how life worked. That wasn't how anything worked, she knew. It would be a long time before she could ever fully trust Wulf, before she would trust that they wouldn't hurt each other again. It would take a lot of work. So much work. Work, if she was honest, he'd tried to do. He'd been trying all along, in his own Wulfric way. He'd still be trying, if she hadn't asked him to leave. Even his final act had been to grant her wishes.

  What work had she done? She'd fretted and worried and dallied about between two men. Expecting blind trust and acceptance of her actions, but not giving the same back. She'd ignored her feelings and Wulf's and she'd made everyone's life miserable in the process. All because she hadn't been willing to do a little hard work.

  She was pissed o
ff. Katya Tocci had never been afraid of hard work. She'd been a straight A student in high school, graduated at the top of her culinary class, and had relentlessly pursued her dream career, making herself one of the most sought after bakers in all of San Francisco.

  Goddammit, she wasn't scared of hard work. And she wasn't afraid of Wulf, and she wasn't afraid of what the future held for them. She would roll up her sleeves and she would fight and she would yell and she would get confused and she would be misunderstood and she would let herself fall so much further in love with him, there would be no going back.

  Don't ever tell me I can't do something, because then I will do it better than it's ever been done before.

  As she ran through the house and dashed upstairs, she willed away the doubts that were already creeping in. Twice now, she'd walked away from him. This last time had been particularly painful and hard, and it had already been a month since then. Such a short amount of time, he would think she was a ridiculous. That she was playing with him. That she was a flip flopper who would just leave him again.

  No. Stop assuming. Just talk to him. You've never ever once just told him exactly how you feel. Do the work.

  She flew around her room, shoving a couple pairs of pants and t-shirts into a bag. As she searched for shoes, more doubts swirled through the air.

  A month is also a long time. He hasn't contacted you once. Hasn't talked about you with your father. He's a very strong-headed man – he could have already shut you out. Moved on. Gotten over you. You could just be going back and ripping open old wounds and only succeed in upsetting him. He could take one look at you and wonder what the hell he'd ever been thinking.

  “Stop it!”

  She jerked upright and actually yelled out loud at herself.

  Just because you don't believe in yourself, DOES NOT mean he doesn't believe in you. Remember – you said you'd fight for him. Now is the time to prove it. Do the work.

  She hurried down the stairs so fast, her father yelled to remind her there was no running in the house. She kept running, though, straight outside to where her mother was watering some plants and Katya hugged her from behind.

  “I love you, Mom,” she whispered.

  “Good lord, what is this!?” her mom asked, startled.

  “Nothing, just had a really good talk with Dad.”