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“That’s my boy!” He appeared nice and relaxed and in no hurry to actually get to the point. “See? This is why you’re my favorite.”
“I’m your favorite because not only do I run your businesses and make us all a lot of money, but you can call me in as backup whenever you need it. Don’t pretend to flatter me.”
“So curt,” he laughed and finally got down to business. “How is your lovely wife doing?”
Of course, he would be in here asking about her. Although I doubted she was the entire reason, because he could have just called me about that.
“I have no idea. I haven't seen her,” I said. “What is this really about?”
“What do you mean you haven't seen her?” he asked, sitting forward. He wasn’t relaxed anymore, and I had a feeling I was about to be lectured. I shifted in my seat too, leaning back against the back of the couch, trying to relax.
“I mean exactly that. I haven't seen her.”
“You haven't moved her in with you?”
“No, why would I?”
My father pinched the bridge of his nose exactly like I had done right before he came in. I had never noticed it, but it must have been one of those things I picked up from him.
“Jimmy… A husband lives in the same house as his wife. A husband takes care of his wife. Right now, you are being a poor excuse of a husband, and you are not upholding our part of the deal.”
“Our deal?” I questioned. “I seem to remember being thrown into this after the deal was made. This is not my deal. I did it to protect you and your interests, not for any gain of my own.”
“You gained a wife.”
“Oh sure, I did. A wife who hasn’t even reached out to me. A wife who would rather live with her father. A wife I know little to nothing about. Oh yeah, I got a big prize there, Dad, you’re right.”
“You aren't even giving her a chance,” my father accused, and I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Give her a chance to, what? Come into my life and disrupt everything?”
“To get to know you, son. And you aren't giving yourself a chance to get to know her either. Have you even tried to reach out to her? How do you know she isn’t waiting for you to take the lead? She was blindsided by all of this, Jimmy. You at least knew a week before to process what it all would mean. Besides, getting married means a lot more to women than it does to men. Most of them dream about it from a very young age. She probably had her dream wedding picked out in her head from the time she was ten, and I doubt it took place in a courthouse with a man she had never met before.”
He pointed his finger at me. “You need to be the bigger partner here, Jimmy. You need to have some compassion and some care. We did this to her, and it isn’t fair, but it works for us, so there isn’t going back on it because that’s how our world works. But she’s a bystander. This isn’t her world, and this wasn’t her plan.”
“If you were looking for someone to have compassion and care, you should have had her marry Daniel. He’s much better at that kind of thing,” I hedged. While my younger brother was much more sensitive, he actually would not have made a better husband, so I understood why it was me. But I really didn’t have patience for the emotional side of things. My life ran on numbers and facts, not feelings.
“It’s not about being good at it. It’s about trying, that's all. Think of it as a business deal if you have to, because that’s where it stems from. Ray and I need to get along for the time being. We have a few business deals that are going to coincide, and if there are issues between us, we won’t be able to get things done. And to keep Ray happy, you need to keep Natalia happy and be a good husband, whatever that looks like for the two of you. But you need to talk to her first in order to figure it out.”
I looked at the ceiling. What he was saying made sense, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
“I don’t even know where she lives,” I admitted. My father put his hand into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to me with a smirk on his face. He had won, and he knew it.
“Why don’t you ask her?” he said.
On the piece of paper was a phone number.
“I will, though I promise nothing,” I said.
My father stood up and walked to the door. When he opened it, he looked over his shoulder at me.
“Do your best. I’m counting on you. You have to make this work.”
“Yes, Father.”
He left, and I went to my desk. I sat down, staring at the little piece of paper in my hand. Part of me was hoping that this would just go away. I had figured if she never contacted me and I never contacted her, we could go on with our separate lives, yet still uphold the contract. Ray and my father would still be considered family, and that would keep their deals from falling apart.
But I knew it was too good to be true.
