Edith’s spine straightens, and Mamá opens her mouth, I hope to come to her defense, but Edie doesn’t seem to need it.
“And you’d do well to keep my mother and threats against me out of your mouth, Alonso. You might be business partners with my father, but in my house ‘family first’ carries a different meaning.”
Papá grunts, muttering something under his breath. “And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Edith doesn’t blink, she doesn’t look away. I’ve never loved her more than I do in this moment. My family collectively holds their breath. Athena’s staring at Edith like she’s seeing her for the first time, and Abuelita is grinning like the cat who got the fucking cream.
“It means one phone call to daddy about how much of acabrónyou’re being to me, and who knows what that might mean for your business agreements? How do you think he’d react if I told him you made me cry?” She sniffs theatrically, and I swear to fucking God tears well in her eyes.
Papá’s face is turning purple. “Who do you think you are, Edith? Coming into my house, disrespecting me?Threateningme?”
The corner of her lip twitches. “I am my father’s daughter, Alonso. And if you got your head out of your ass for more than a hot minute you’d see that Apollo is his father’s son. As such, he needs to find his own way. Just. Like. You. Did. He needs to blaze a trail of his own, in the sunshine, not follow along in his father’s shadow.”
My chest cracks in two. The ballet world thrives on conformity, on gaslighting girls and women into doing what they're told. Edith has a famous quote from Balanchine pinned on her mirror that says,"Don't think, dear, just do."
Her words are such a contrast with the fuckery of the ballet world mentality, and I couldn’t be prouder. Mamá looks like she’s fighting hard to fan her cheeks as her eyes shine with unshed tears.
I’ve known for years that Edith has had issues with Papá, but I guess because I wasn’t ready to step into my own power, to find my own path, she kept her ire tapped down. My lioness is roaring. And it’s so fucking hot.
“We aren’t done with this.” He stands, waving the page at me again.
“Sí, Papá.Wearedone with this. I quit. I’m pursuing a career in professional hockey, and I won’t have time to work with you anymore.”
Edie squeezes my hand under the table.
“Was this the reason for the meeting? To try to scold me in front of my siblings? In front of Mamá and Abuelita? To have themtalk senseinto me? To make me see the error of my ways? To manipulate me into staying in a role that makes me unhappy? That causes me stress?”
Papá rolls his eyes. “What the fuck do you know about stress? You’re a boy.” He sneers at me. “And what do you plan to do when you get too old to play hockey?” He purses his lips like he thinks he’s thrown the winning hand onto the table.
Edith pipes up again. “By then I’ll probably have taken over from daddy, Alonso. I think we’ll be fine.”
Papá pales as the realization of the fact that Edith will inherit her father’s half of the business in the future. She’s never expressed an interest in taking the reins of the family business before, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she does it now, out of sheer spite.
From the sparkle of glee in Ares’s eyes, he’s totally on board with her choosing violence. And without looking at her, I know Athena is as well. She’s queen of choosing violence.
“You’ll hand back your shares.”
I snort. “I’ll do no such thing.”
“I’ll buy them from you,” he counters.
“I’m not selling.”
Abuelita’s head bounces side to side like she’s watching a ping pong game, except instead of a ball, Papá and I are batting words back and forth.
He glances at Edith, as if to sayreason with this idiot, except she grins at me. “Maybe I’ll gift you my shares for your birthday.”
It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Ares bursts into peals of laughter, Abuelita doubles over, giggles shaking her entire body, and Papá bounds to his feet, mumbling to himself in Spanish.
None of us have ever stood up to him before. I bet he has no fucking clue what to do with it, or how to react, either. He looks to Mamá, but the only thing on her face is disappointment. “Are you going to let him disrespect me like this?”
She nods her head. “Even if I considered Apollo to be disrespecting you, I would. Yes, Alonso. Because he is right. It isn’t for us to tell our children how to live their dreams. As their parents, we just have to support them where we can and hope they reach them.” She turns to me. “You’ve always been so talented on the ice,mijo. Your siblings never stop talking about how amazing you are, they are so proud of you. And your statistics speak for themselves.”
I thought she’d stopped watching our games when we went to college. I don’t quite know what to do with that information, but she isn’t stopping for long enough to let me process what she said.
“I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t listen to the call of your heart.” She leans across the table and takes the hand Edith isn’t holding in her own before patting my cheek. “Clearly it took someone with a solid foot to kick you in the rear. And I can’t wait to see you fly,mijo.”
By the time Edith and I get back into my car and are waving to Mamá and Abuelita standing on the porch, my muscles are relaxed, my heart is happy. And with the support of my girl, and my family, I’m renewed in my determination to make it to the NHL. Now I have to bust my ass to make it happen.
