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“Asking me all kinds of questions about you. Why you don’t visit more often. What you do back in LA. Is it true that you and I don’t get along. Did I think you held a grudge for all my drinking and pushing your mom away.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him that I didn’t remember anything about the night of the attack, and that anything else was none of his goddamn business.”
His loyalty to me almost makes me choke up. “Do you remember anything?”
“I waited in the bar for thirty minutes. I saw a few faces I recognized and I said hi to Jimmy Bird. We spoke about some new mares he just bought. Then I figured the guy with the crib wasn’t showing and I left. I was walking to my truck and they came out of nowhere. They just started beating on me and telling me that you wanted me gone.”
“Can you describe any of them?”
He shakes his head sadly. “Not really, son. It was dark. I had my arms over my head, trying to protect myself. But you know, they never went for my head. Now ain’t that strange? They said you wanted me gone. And the easiest way to kill a man is a blow to the head. So, why not do that? You break a man’s arms and legs, well he’s gonna be in a whole lotta pain, but he’s not going to die.”
I nod my agreement. “You don’t think they wanted you dead then?”
“Nope. I think they wanted you in jail. Who the hell have you pissed off that much, son?” he asks, but he’s grinning at me.
“Way too many people to count, Dad,” I admit.
“You know, one of them had a red cap on with something on it, though. Motor Oil or something?” he squeezes his eyes shut as though he’s desperately trying to remember. “I’m sorry I’m not a lot of help.”
“Yeah, well I’m sorry I got you stuck in the middle of all this.”
He stares at me and sucks in a deep breath before he speaks. “I haven’t been a part of your life for such a long time.”
“I know…” I start to say but he holds up a hand and I stop talking. I got to say my piece to him and I suppose I should allow him the same.
“And I didn’t deserve to be, son…” he says, his voice thick with emotion. “But all I could think about when those assholes were beating the hell out of me, was that you never knew how truly sorry I was for everything. It is my greatest regret in life that I didn’t get sober for you and your mom. And now, I get to tell you to your face that I’m sorry.” He holds a hand over his heart. “That even though I have no right to be, I am so proud of the man you’ve become.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I whisper.
He nods his head and a tear rolls down his face. “I thought I’d never hear you call me that again. I’d let those punks kick my ass every damn day to hear you say that word.”
I don’t speak because I can’t. There is so much hurt and pain between us. So many things that have been left unsaid for too long. Right now, words aren’t needed. We both know.
So, we sit in silence, easy in each other’s company while we wait for Lucia and Matthias to return.
We left my father resting and with a supply of candy and comics that would keep a kindergarten class busy for a week. He loves comics. I didn’t know that about him, but Matthias did. He’s an amazing kid and the fact that he calls me Dad is a fucking honor. I see now why it means so much to my own father that I finally call him dad again. In my head, he’s always been Dad, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of saying it to his face for so long.
As we reach my truck, a huge SUV pulls up beside us. The window rolls down to reveal Alejandro’s face. I mean, of course he hired a giant black SUV. No truck for him.
“I have a lead, amigo,” he says and then he opens the door and climbs out.
“From the bar?”
“Hmm,” he flashes his eyebrows at me. “The owner was a little more receptive without his buddy, the sheriff around.”
“And your boot on his face,” Raoul adds as he climbs out of the back seat.
Alejandro shrugs before he stoops and picks up his grandson. “You want to go back to the house with your mom? I think that dog needs a walk. And Tomás and Dario are desperate for you to show them around the place.”
“Yeah,” Matthias agrees. “What about you, Papa?”
“I just got to go somewhere with your Dad, but we’ll be back before dinner. Okay?”
“Okay,” he agrees and then hands Matthias to Raoul, who straps him into the child seat in the back.
“Your mom is still looking into Ed back at the house, but she could use a little help,” he says to Lucia.
