“Mama.” She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me.
“Milito, what are you doing here, papi? I thought you were at Tom’s house.”
I walked over so I could stand by the side of the bed, trying hard not to let her see how worried I’d been.
“Mama, Odette called worried about you. She said you’d skipped out on the trip to the Poconos. Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve come here and kept you company.”
She waved me off as she sat up on the bed.
“I just didn’t feel like being around people, baby. I’m fine. You know I like my alone time. Work’s been crazy and I just wanted to spend my time off in peace. That’s all. Everything’s okay.” She looked at me and must have noticed how stressed I was. “Come here.”
I went over and she gave me a hug. “You worry too much, papi. I’m always worrying you.”
I shook my head, my face pressed to hers. “That’s not even remotely true. I just want to make sure you’re all right. That’s all.”
“I know, and I’m fine.” She moved over and patted the spot next to her on the bed. “Come, tell me about Tom’s daughter. I’m sure she loved you. You’re so good with children.”
I knew she was trying to deflect, but I was just so glad to find her doing okay. I let her get away with it this time. I sat down and grabbed her hand.
“It was good.” I smiled remembering all of Libe’s antics at the zoo. “It was great actually. You’d love Libe, she’s so sassy and smart. Tom is so good with her, too.”
She smiled wistfully at that. “I’d love to meet them some time.” Right then I thought about how much fun I had with Libe and Tom, and how good it felt to be part of their little unit.
My mom was the most important person in my life and things with Tom were getting more serious every day. Despite my hang ups and the very real complications, that fact was undeniable. He’d been so gentle and strong with me tonight. He’d given me exactly what I needed without smothering or taking charge. But the most important thing was that he hadn’ttried to minimize or tell me I was overreacting about my mom. I decided then, I wanted them to meet.
Ayako was right, seeing me with Tomwouldmake her happy.
“Mama, what do you think about inviting Tom to come to the Juan Luis concert with us?”
She perked up instantly at my suggestion. “You should. I’m sure he’s a fan.” I already knew he was. Juan Luis Guerra was practically a deity in the Dominican Republic. Really, he was a big deal for the entire Spanish-speaking world, but hewasfromthe DR. I doubted Tom didn’t know he’d be performing in town next weekend.
I put my arm around her, smiling at how excited she looked. “I’ll ask him if he wants to join us.”
She gave me a cheeky smile. “You’ve been hiding him from me, Milito.” I laughed at her glee. We both knew this was a big deal.
“I haven’t been hiding him; I talk to you about him all the time. I’ll let him know.”
I didn’t know if there were tickets left, but for all I knew he was already planning to go. I’d bought ours a while ago and they’d been pricey, but my mom and I decided they could be our Christmas gift to each other. It had been a long time since we did something like that and we’d been looking forward to it. It was a good idea to invite Tom.
“I can’t wait to meet him. So what did you do at the zoo?”
We chatted for a while about the day and I told her of Libe’s run-in with the lady at the puffin exhibit which my mom thought was hilarious.
After a while she stood up. “Do you want me to get you something? I’m going to make some tea and then we can watch a movie.”
“I’ll have some tea.” She nodded and walked out of the room. I exhaled heavily, trying to not whip myself up too much. Mymom seemed fine, she just hadn’t been in the mood to be around people. I had to take her word for it and not put my stuff on her.
I took my phone out and quickly texted Odette. Then I called Tom, who picked up after one ring.
“Hey, is everything okay?” He sounded breathless and tense.
“Why do you sound out of breath?”
He grunted and I could hear him gulping down something. “I was a little on-edge when I got back to the house. I just put the car in the garage and went out for a run to clear my head.”
Now I felt like shit.
“Sorry I worried you.”
