The traffic was light this morning. Ramón was grateful that he never had much in the way of a commute.
He finally arrived back at his place, parked in his own garage, retrieved his board, and then walked to the beach.
Papá stood under a palapa in the sand, clutching his own board.
“Ramón, we need to talk.”
Ramón shook his head. “We can talk after we surf. Let’s go.”
Father and son ran to the water. The surf was calm, and the water was warm for this winter day.
As the waves crashed on him, Ramón marveled that the company that had provided him with such wealth and opportunity had started on Papá’s surfing trip.
They finally exited the water and parked their boards in the sand.
They both sat on the beach.
“Fine, Papá. Let’s talk.”
“Ramón, I know you are crazy about this girl. And I’m happy for you. But I’m not going to allow you to run my business into the ground.”
“I thought it wasourbusiness? I mean, what more do you want?We are wealthy beyond our wildest imagination when so many people struggle. Julieta and her family work so hard for everything. They save each penny they make. And you want to put them out of business? Why, Papá?”
Papá sighed. “It’s not about the money, Ramón—it’s about respect. And the land. That street has value. We can’t just give it away for free.”
“Apá. Why won’t you listen to me? There is another way. We don’t have to do this.”
“What are you talking about? What is the other option?”
“We can invest in the stores. Her restaurant can be operated by us, but it doesn’t have to be a Taco King. We can help the community with business plans. We can take a percentage of the profits. We can grow our portfolio. We have enough money—we don’t need any more. Why is it so important to you? You have everything including restaurants throughout the United States. Why do you need this one?”
“Because that is the Chicano area of the city. You don’t get it. In the seventies, when they created the murals, that was the place that we could go to be safe. I fought for Chicano Park. Brown Power.”
Papá made no sense. Did he realize how ridiculous he sounded?
“So what? Now you want to tear the community down? The culture you claim to love so much? That you fought for? Do you not remember what it was like to taste Linda’s tacos? How fresh the fish was, how you never had anything like that, how you wanted to bring that experience to the people in San Diego? You told me about your ex-girlfriend Penny. About how she made those god-awful tacos with American cheese and hard-shell tortillas, and she used tomatoes from the can. News flash—that’s whatweuse now. Don’t you get it? We are making all these disgusting tacos that you hated, which is the exact opposite reason why you started this business in the first place.”
“I’m not going to discuss this anymore with you, Ramón.”
Ramón didn’t know where he could go from here. He didn’t see a future as part of Taco King. But he couldn’t quit now. If he did, Papá would fire Julieta and ruin the street even more.
“Fine. We’ll open the restaurant. But after that, I’m done.”
Ramón walked away from his father. He gazed toward the sky, which was as clear as his conscience.
Chapter Thirty-One
Julieta turned the bathwater on and filled up the tub with warm water. Staying at this place was like staying at a hotel. Even so, she was grateful there wasn’t a maid service.
That would make her feel very uncomfortable.
As the bubbles surrounded her, she tried to stay present in the moment and not worry about the future.
She got out of the bathtub, made herself an espresso, and sat on the balcony of the condo. She sipped her coffee while the Navy SEALs trained below. She was mesmerized. These young men were facing their fears, running through the water with waves crashing over them. Seeing the BUD/S candidates gave her a great sense of peace and hope. They were from all walks of life and all races. It didn’t matter if they had college degrees, or high school educations, if they were rich or poor, black, brown, or white—the only thing that mattered in Navy SEALs selection training was who refused to never give up. It was their grit. None of them had it handed to them. It was so refreshing to be watching them up close.
Julieta found a new resolve. Instead of constantly wondering about what would happen with Ramón and the community, she would try to take life day by day. Just work as hard as she could.
Her phone rang. It was Tiburón.
