by Hunter Rose
“What was that tonight?” I start. “What did you think you were doing by inviting Violet here?”
“I thought I was giving you a chance to catch up with an old friend.”
“Please,” I grunt. “We both know that’s a load of shit.”
I scoff and stand up, walk over to the fireplace, and look at the pictures on the mantel. My blood is boiling with a barely-controlled rage. I keep my back to him, trying to keep from blowing up at him. When I feel sufficiently composed, I turn around. He’s got a smug smirk on his face as he sips his drink.
“You need to get it through your head; I’m with Scarlet. Nothing is going to change that,” I state flatly. “And Kinsey is my daughter. You can either accept that or not.”
“And if I don’t?”
I shrug. “Then I guess you don’t care to have a relationship with your granddaughter,” I say simply. “Or with me.”
He drains the last of his drink and goes back to the sidebar to refill his glass. He walks to the window and stares out at the rear grounds.
“Roman, you have always been impetuous. Impulsive. Defiant,” he starts, without turning around. “You’ve always wanted things done your way –”
“Oh, as opposed to you?”
He turns and leans against the small table beneath the window, taking a sip of his drink.
“I’m not your clone, Dad. My life is my own,” I try to keep my voice neutral. “You should want me to make my path and be my own man instead of being a carbon copy of you.”
“I want you to be successful, Roman. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he states.
“And apparently, you have the only blueprint for success?”
He sighs and shakes his head, yet again disappointed in me. In my father’s estimation, I can never do anything right. I get the feeling that in my father’s view, I’ve never been anything but a massive disappointment to him. I’ve never been able to live up to the bar he set, and I haven’t built on the Wheeler family legacy.
Which, to me, is preposterous. I’m a veteran, and I’m one of the youngest people to ever hold the office of Chief Trauma Surgeon in L.A. I have the most amazing girlfriend and daughter, both of whom I love with my entire being. My life could not be more perfect and successful. And yet, I’m still a disappointment in my father’s eyes. It’s something I’ve had to accept and get over long ago. It still bothers me from time to time, but for the most part, I let it roll off my back. It’s just who my dad is. I stopped needing his approval a long time ago.
“Violet is a good woman,” he states.
“And I’m sure she’ll find somebody who can appreciate her.”
The change of subject is so jarring, it almost gives me whiplash. I’ve come to realize this is just another one of his tactics, though – keep control of the conversation by trying to keep me off balance. The time and distance between he and I has helped me come to some realizations about him – and how to best combat them.
“She’s perfect for you, son,” he goes on, as if I hadn’t said anything. “And I feel like you broke things off with her just to make a point with me.”
A wry laugh escapes me. I just shake my head. “Not everything is about you, Dad,” I note. “Are you really so fucking arrogant to believe that everything I do is part of some plan to get back at you for something?”
He takes another sip of his drink and stares at me over the rim, his face darkening with anger.
“Roman, she comes from a good family. Violet is –”
“A bitch, Dad!” I shout. “She’s a rancid bitch. She’s only interested in money and status and, oh yeah, she thinks she can fuck anybody she wants to – and that I shouldn’t be upset about it.”
That brings him up short. He falls silent for a moment, seeming to deflate slightly. But he quickly regains his mojo and comes right back to himself.
“She comes from a good family, Roman –”
“You mean a rich family,” I snap. “That’s what this is really all about, isn’t it, Dad? Scarlet doesn’t come from a rich family, so to you, that automatically means she’s trying to scam me, right? That she’s somehow beneath me?”
“That’s ridiculous, Roman.”
“Is it?”
“Yes, this has nothing to do with her family.”
I round on him, fury in my face. “That’s bullshit and we both know it. What was the first goddamn thing you said to me when you met her? ‘Get a paternity test, Roman’,” I roar. “‘Be sure that’s actually your child, Roman’.”
“That’s not –”
“You just dismissed her like she was some panhandler on the street,” I growl. “She’s the woman I love, Dad. And like it or not, Kinsey is my daughter.”
His face etched with anger, he drains the last of his drink and goes for another refill. I stand on the other side of the room, not wanting to be anywhere near him with all the anger rushing through me. I don’t trust myself right now. But we need to have this out once and for all. By the time I leave this house, my father is either going to understand and accept Scarlet and Kinsey as my family, or we’re not going to have a relationship at all. And at this point, I don’t care which way we go.
“I’m going to ask Scarlet to marry me, Dad,” I announce. “She and Kinsey are my family –”
“Roman, I think you’re making a mistake. Somebody like Violet from a proper family –”
I grab a small crystal egg off the mantel and hurl it across the room with every ounce of strength and rage in me. It hits the far wall and sounds like a grenade going off when it shatters, sending shards of glass spraying everywhere. My father looks at me, eyes wide, a look of absolute shock on his face. I’m fighting the urge to knock him out.
The door to my father’s study flies open, and my mother rushes in, looking like she expected to find somebody dead in here. She looks to my father and then to me, her expression one of fear and confusion. The air around us is saturated with tension, anger, and an expectation of violence. I turn to my father, glaring hard at him.
“You’ve tried to control me for my entire life. You’ve tried to tell me what to do and how to do it,” I hiss. “You’ve threatened to cut me off when I didn’t follow your prescribed plan more times than I can count –”
“That’s not true, son –”
“That ends here and now, Dad. I’m done letting you try to control my life,” I shout. “You may not want to acknowledge it, but I’ve made something of myself. I’ve been successful in my life without you. I’ve done it on my own and in my own way.”
I pause to take a breath. The room around me is silent. My mother is watching us, and my father’s face looks like it’s made of stone, betraying not one hint of emotion. I’m not done, though, and figure since I’m already halfway here, I might as well go the rest of the way. It’s time to say everything on my mind and be done with it once and for all.
“I don’t need you, Dad. I don’t need you, and I don’t want Violet. It’s never going to fucking happen, so get it out of your head,” I sneer. “I’m going to marry Scarlet, and we’re going to raise Kinsey together. If you don’t think you can deal with that then when I leave this house, you’ll never have to see me and my family again. No skin off my nose. I’m done letting you try to control me. That shit is done. Period.”
My father opens his mouth, ready to deliver a scathing reply, I’m sure. But it’s my mother who steps into the breach, putting her hands on her hips and staring my father down.
“Close your mouth, Orson. Shut it right now,” she hisses. “It’s time we talk.”
My mother turns to me, puts her hand on my shoulder, and guides me out of my father’s study. She walks me down the hall to the foyer and turns to face me, her expression serious. I can tell by the look in her eye that something happened.
“What is it?” I ask.
She sighs. “I just spoke with Merrick, and he told me that he called a car for Scarlet.”
I cock my head and look at her. “W
hat? Called a car for her? For what?”
“To take her to the airport.”
I look at her, totally confused. I have no idea what happened or why she’d go to the airport. None of it makes sense to me.
“What happened?” I press.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know for certain. But Merrick said that he saw Violet speaking with her in the kitchen,” she informs me. “He wasn’t sure what they were saying, but it was shortly after that she had him call a car for her.”
I rock back on my heels, still trying to process what she told me. “Why didn’t Merrick stop her or tell us beforehand?”
“This isn’t his fault, honey,” she tells me. “He was only doing what was asked of him.”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “I can’t believe she left without telling me,” I growl. “I don’t know what Violet said, but I’m going to kill her.”
My mom looks at me, her expression serious. “Do you love her, Roman?”
“With everything in me.”
“Then go after her,” she urges. “Do not let her get on that plane, Roman. Fight for your family.”
I grit my teeth. She’s right. I don’t know what Violet said to her, but ultimately, that doesn’t matter. Violet doesn’t matter. My father and what he said doesn’t matter. Let him cut me out of his will; I don’t give a fuck. The only thing that matters in this world is getting Scarlet and Kinsey back.
My mother presses a small black velvet bag into my hand and tightens my fist around it. I don’t need to open it to know what’s in it. I shake my head. I open my mouth to tell her I can’t take this, but she puts a finger to my lips and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“This is your mother’s,” I manage to say anyway.
“She’s the best thing to happen to you, Roman. I see how happy she makes you and I would be proud for her to have it,” she smiles, tears lighting up her eyes. “I see how happy you make her and that little girl. I love them both, so don’t let them get away, honey.”
I give her a firm nod and slip the bag into my pocket, then lean forward and give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Of course, sweetheart,” she says. “And don’t worry about your father. It’s time I have a word with him.”
I run upstairs and throw all my things into my bag, then dash out the door and jump into the rental. I fire up the engine and speed out of the parking lot, racing against the clock to get to the airport before she can get on that plane.
The trip from my parent’s home to O’Hare International Airport is roughly thirty minutes. But Scarlet has a thirty-minute head start on me, meaning that she’s probably already there. Our return tickets to L.A. were open ended, so she’s going to have to go to the ticket counter, which will hopefully give me enough time to get there before she gets past security. If not, it’s going to get a lot dicier, timewise.
Traffic is light, and I keep a heavy foot on the accelerator, weaving in and out through the cars. I earn a few angry honks, but I brush them off. I manage to make the trip in just under twenty minutes. I’m taking that as a good sign.
I throw the rental into the first parking lot I come to, throw my bags to a skycap, and dash into the terminals.
I’m sure I must look crazy, but my entire body is crackling with energy. I have to get to Scarlet. I have to. There is no other option. I keep checking my watch. It’s been twenty-four minutes since I left the house. Every second counts.
I dash to the counters for American Airlines, frantically searching for Scarlet and Kinsey in line. Even at this time of night, there are about eighty people in line waiting, and with only one person working the counter, traffic is moving slow. I let out a sigh of relief when I see the next flight out isn’t for a few hours yet, so I have time. I scan the faces in the crowd and am starting to lose hope when I finally spot them among the crowd.
“Scarlet!” I call out as I run toward her. “Scarlet!”
She turns, and I see her eyes widen as she sees me coming. My heart thunders in my chest, but relief is washing through me. Thank God I made it in time.
35
Scarlet
Kinsey immediately grabs onto Roman, burying her face in his side and smiling wide. I just stand there, completely dumbfounded that he’s standing in front of me. I figured he’d be upset that I left without saying anything. I knew we were going to have a very uncomfortable conversation once he got home and found me looking for a way to move out of his house, but I never thought he’d come chasing after me.
“Roman, what are you doing here?”
He gives me a crooked grin. “Oh, I thought we decided to leave tonight, and you just forgot to tell me.”
An older couple is standing in line behind me, and when I glance back, the woman is smiling at me from behind her thick glasses. Kinsey looks up at Roman with a sweet smile.
“We going on a pwane,” she beams.
Roman ruffles her hair. “Yes we are, sweetheart.”
The line moves up another spot and Roman stays by our side. The people around us are looking at him, a few angry faces in the crowd as they stare at somebody they think is trying to jump the line. Never one who enjoys being the center of attention, I feel my cheeks flush.
“Look, with everything happening, I thought it might be best if we left,” I explain.
“Best for who?” he fires back.
I let out a quiet breath and become more conscious of the eyes on me, deepening my feeling of unease beneath all that scrutiny. If it fazes Roman at all, he doesn’t show it. I don’t know how to explain all of this to him – I don’t know that I understand it all myself. Not entirely. All I know is that I feel like it would be best for him if I wasn’t around. It would make things better between him and his father, between him and Violet – and just better in his life overall. If I’m not around, he’s not going to have to decide between me and his inheritance.
“Violet told me what your father is going to do to you if we stay together, Roman,” I tell him. “I’m not going to be the cause of that.”
“What are you talking about?” he shakes his head.
I look at the older woman behind me. She tries to play it off like she’s not listening, but I know she’s hearing every single word I say. I pitch my voice lower, trying to avoid being overheard – though with everybody crowded together in line; I don’t know if that’s going to be possible. But I do the best I can.
“She told me if you stay with me, your father is going to strip you of your inheritance,” I explain. “I can’t be the cause of that, Roman. I won’t.”
“Didn’t I tell you that I don’t care about any of that?”
“Yes, you said that you didn’t –”
“I’m telling you again – I don’t care about any of that,” he says more sternly. “He can take the house, the boat, the money – everything – and he can give it all to charity for all I care.”
The older woman smiles wide, making my cheeks flush even more as I realize how this must all sound to her. I’m sure this has to sound like the plot of some cheesy Hallmark channel melodrama. If I were standing on the outside listening in, I’d probably be looking around for the film crews, too. And given that time is moving so slowly in here, I’m sure that everybody is enjoying this sappy made-for-TV moment, since there’s nothing better to do to pass the time.
“I can’t let you do that, Roman,” I insist. “I can’t let you give it all up. Not for me.”
“It’s my choice.”
I shake my head. “It’s not. I’m not going to give you a choice,” I say. “I can’t let you do that. I won’t.”
He growls in frustration as he looks at me. Kinsey is looking between us and yawns. She’s exhausted. I feel terrible for waking her up in the middle of the night and dragging her all the way down here.
“You do realize that you’re doing exactly what my father does, don’t you?” he states bluntly.
“No, I’m really not,” I pr
otest, upset by the comparison.
“Both of you think you know what’s best for me,” he declares. “Both of you take away my choices and try to control what I do.”
“Roman, that’s not fair. I’m doing this for you,” I try to explain. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to be with me. Nor do I want you to lose out on your rightful inheritance because of me.”
His bark of laughter is sharp and brittle. “You should know me well enough by now to know I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I never feel obligated to do anything,” he says. “And I don’t know how many different ways I can explain that I don’t give a shit about my inheritance. He can keep it. Nothing matters to me but being with you, Scarlet. And I am not going to let him keep me from you.”
The older woman behind me murmurs, “Awwwww that’s so sweet,” to her husband, embarrassing me even further.
I look around and see people casting furtive glances in my direction, everybody hanging on our every word, intensifying the heat flaring in my face. I can’t tell if Roman notices or just doesn’t care. His attention is riveted on me.
“Mama, wanna go home,” Kinsey says in a weary voice.
I look down as she wraps her arms around my leg again and my hand drifts down to her unconsciously, stroking her hair.
“I know, baby,” I tell her. “We’ll be getting on the plane soon, and then we can go home.”
I look up again and see a mixture of emotion in his eyes. Anger. Frustration. Even fear. But the one emotion that outshines them all is love. When Roman looks at me, I have no doubts whatsoever in my mind that this man loves me. That this man is more than willing to sacrifice everything in his life. For me.
It’s a realization that both makes my heart swell like a balloon and fills me with the most intense fear I’ve ever known. That he’d be willing to cut himself off from his family and from his rightful inheritance, all because he loves me and my daughter is a powerful statement. The kind of concrete, tangible declaration of love I never thought I’d experience in my lifetime. And that I never thought Roman capable of when I met him all those years ago in the desert.