Page 57 of Naz & Roz

“There you go, then.”

Cross shifted a bit in his stance so that his shoulder rested to the brick, and he was staring sideways at his son. “It’s not like you to get overwhelmed with something, Naz.”

“Quite aware, yeah.”

“Tone down the attitude.”

“What do you want me to say? I fixed what I messed up, and I’ll handle the rest like you just told me to do. There’s nothing else to say. It’s done.”

“Mmm,” his father hummed noncommittedly. “I know this is all new to you—love. And like everything that’s new to you, and that fucking brain of yours, you need to throw yourself head first into it so that you know everything there possibly is to know. But here’s a secret for you, Naz. Love isn’t like everything else in life. You never stop learning with love, and that’s part of the beauty of it.”

He glanced over at his father, and wondered how Cross seemed to just know shit when it came to his son without needing to be told. Because fuck him for hitting the nail right on the head.

Cross continued on like Naz wasn’t staring at him as though a second head had sprouted out of his neck. “The woman you fell in love with the first time isn’t going to be the same woman when she’s twenty-five, or thirty-two. She’s going to change, and you’re going to change. There will be more things to learn because that’s what life does to you. So, I know this is hard for you to understand being your nature is just to absorb everything, and run with it … but you can’t learn everything about love. It teaches you on its own time, Naz. You’ll do well to figure that out. Find a balance. It’s the only way you’re going to make this work.”

Well, then …

“I’m sorry,” Naz muttered. “For screwing up.”

Cross chuckled, and reached up to slap his son’s cheek gently. “You’re not even the hundredth man to fuck up, son. You’re not going to be the last, either. It’s okay to fail sometimes. I told you that once, didn’t I? You don’t have to be perfect, Nazio. Just because you’re a goddamn genius doesn’t mean you have to be the first at everything.”

No, he just had to be him.

That’s what his father always told him.