She nodded, knowing all too well how that type of shit went over with me. “I know, papi. I think he was just trying to show us a nice night out. Give him the benefit of the doubt, Milito. He may have gone a little overboard, but we still had a good evening.”
I exhaled, still struggling with how frustrated I felt. “You’re right. It was nice and I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
“I did. I’m going up now, so we don’t keep him waiting too long. Go easy on him okay, papi?”
I smiled at that, “Okay, mama, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I went back to the car once she was in the building, trying to let go of some of my bad mood. My mother was right. Tom had been trying to be nice. Even though he pissed me off, I could at least acknowledge he was coming from a good place.
We drove off and were on the road for a while before Tom flashed me a worried look.
“Camilo, did I do something wrong?”
I looked out the window and tried to organize my thoughts, so I didn’t jump down his throat. The alcohol from dinnerhadgone to my head, and I knew how nasty I could get when I was drunk and pissed.
I sighed, trying to center myself, afraid I’d cross the line and say something I could not take back. “I understand you were trying to show my mom a nice evening, and she did have a lovely time, so thank you for that. However, I don’t appreciate what you did tonight.”
He didn’t respond right away and I could tell he was trying to figure out where he’d fucked up.
“You mean the tickets? I’m sorry I got those without asking, but I figured it would be nice for all of us to sit together. In the end it turned out to be such a great show.”
Okay. He was missing the point, so I was just going to have to explain it.
“The seats were great and the food was delicious. What I didn’t like was the fact you made decisionsfor meall night long,” I said in the calmest tone I could manage. “You even decided what I was going to eat and drink for fuck’s sake. I know how to read a menu and order my own damn meal, Tom.”
His face got serious, like he was getting pissed off, too. This wasn’t going to end well.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what is so bad about me planning a nice evening for us.” He was careful to use a neutral tone, but I could hear the frustration beneath it. “Sure, I did make some decisions without consulting you, but it worked out in the end. Right? Dinorah had a nice time.”
I gripped my hands together on my lap, so I wouldn’t start waving them all over the car.
“That’s not the point though,” I said leaning into the space between our seats. “The issue is that all of it could havestillbeen amazing, if you’d asked me whether I wanted whatever fucking meal that isn’t even on the menu you decided we would eat.” His face was stony, but I was on a roll and there was no stopping me now. “I don’t like people making decisions for me, Tom. I don’t like people taking awaymy choices.” I tapped my chest as I spoke. “That is my problem, not the grilled octopus you ordered.”
“Okay.” He said it like he was trying to talk down a raging tiger. “I understand. In the future I’ll try to be mindful of that.”
Tom stayed quiet for a minute like he was deciding whether or not he should say whatever he was thinking. We stayed like that for a few minutes until we were at the garage by his house. We parked and got out of the car with a heavy silence between us. Neither of us had spoken a word by the time we came up to his house.
“You could have said something at the restaurant, Camilo.”
I stopped so I could look at him. Because if he wasn’t done, if he wanted to do this here, on the sidewalk…okay we’d do it here.
“Said what?” I snarled at him, “Don’t order my food for me because I’m an adult and I can read? I thought that was pretty fucking obvious.”
He put his hands up, exasperation clear on his face. “Okay I think we should probably have this conversation at another time when we’re both in a better head space. I’m tired and we had some wine?—”
Oh he didnotjust fucking imply this was about me being a drunken mess. That “we” sounded a lot like he meant so say “you” and I was so close to losing my patience. I forced myself to stay where I was instead of getting right up on his damn face like I wanted to.
“So now you’re making it about me being a shitty drunk? You know what, Tom? I think you’re right. I think we just need to call this a night. Nothing good is going to come out of this conversation.” I turned to go get myself a cab home.
“Camilo, that’s not what I meant.” He sounded so desperate I stopped to look at him, the panic on his face making it seem like he finally realized how bad he was fucking up with me. “I wanted this night to be perfect and I clearly missed the mark. I’m sorry I didn’t consider how you’d feel about me making all these arrangements without asking.”
The genuine concern in his voice and the way he cautiously held back from touching me diffused my anger a little bit. I was still frustrated, but at least I felt like he was finally hearing me. I was about to suggest we go in when his phone rang with Maxwell’s ringtone.
He looked annoyed as he pulled it out of his suit jacket.
“I’m sorry but it could be about Libe.”
I just waved my hand and turned to go up the steps to his house.
