Page 63 of A Coffee Away

Esteban

“There’s nothing we can do. The restraining order is clear.” Dad folded the letter I brought to his law office.

I stared at it, then at his unwavering gaze. “Fuck!” I took the letter from him.

Dad intertwined his hands and leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry. You’re banned from the hospital. You need to stay away from Dr. Fernández. Otherwise, you’ll be arrested.”

I clenched my fist over the paper. “And you’re sure there’s nothing we can do?”

Dad exhaled and shook his head. “No, son. That man knew what he was doing. The moment you lost it, he got exactly what he wanted.”

I punched the desk. “How stupid could I be? How could I fall for such a dumb trick?”

Dad stood. “I’m not condoning the way you handled it, but I would have done the same or worse.”

I rubbed my eyes. “I’m tired of his shit.” I looked to heaven for strength, then pocketed the wrinkled letter. I leaned forward, palms on his desk. “Help me figure something out.”

Dad nodded. “We won’t stop fighting. From what you told me, he verbally assaulted you. We can use that, but for now, we need to keep calm.” He came to my side and gripped my shoulder. “Listen to me. Maybe the best thing you can do is stay away for now.”

I stepped away from him, my nails biting into my palms. “So I just stop visiting? Is that what you’re saying?”

Dad straightened. “I am.”

I paced around the office. “He’s my husband-to-be. I can’t just abandon him.”

My heart thundered. There had to be a way.

“I’m on your side, but you need to lie low.”

I stopped and willed my body to relax. “I won’t give up, Dad. I won’t let his father win. I’ll find a way to Robbie.” I left without looking back.

“These are so good.” The guava sauce hit my taste buds with a wave of sweetness that made me close my eyes. I thought mixing sweet and salty flavors would be dreadful, but it wasn’t. It was quite good.

Stephany raised an eyebrow. “Robbie told you a million times, and you never believed him.”

My heart stammered.

I dropped the wing but quickly picked it up. After months of Robbie’s pressuring me to try these wings, I only did so after the accident. Now I’d give anything to share this moment with him.

“Fuck. I’m sorry.” Steph fidgeted with her cleaning cloth. “I’m such an idiot.”

I shook my head. “It’s true, you know, what they say. You never know what you have until you lose it.” I raked a rebel hair away from my forehead. I hadn’t cut it since the accident, and it was becoming a nuisance.

“No. That won’t do,” Eva said from the truck. “You’re fucking wrong, and you know it. You haven’t lost him. He will wake up. Robbie will be here with us before we know it.”

A beam of hope. That’s what Eva was. If there was something she hated, it was pessimism. I guess that’s why she married Stephany, the happiest person on the planet.

I grabbed my beer and took a sip, remembering all the times I’d sat in this same spot with Robbie, just chilling out and drinking beer. A floating sensation took over me, and, for a moment, I let myself think he’d soon be sitting right here with me as if nothing had happened.

Then his father’s face flashed through my mind, crumbling my newfound hope. I stood. “I should leave.”

Stephany grabbed my arm. “You seem off. Did something happen at the hospital?”

I breathed hard and fast, not because of the intense heat wave that was hitting the island, but because whatever hope Eva was talking about was vanishing before my eyes. I kicked the floor. “It’s his father. I…attacked him.”

Eva was out of the kitchen in a second. “What the fuck did he do now?”

If there was someone who wanted to teach Robbie’s father a lesson, it was Eva. She hated his guts. He’d always act like she didn’t exist when she visited. He slipped homophobic comments here and there to fuck with her. The man was a bully.