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“But what about your business deal with him?”
“What about it?” He shrugged, and I almost fell off the couch. My father was not a man prone to shrugging; I couldn’t believe he even knew how. “There will be other business deals. Granted, this one was a big one. We could’ve made a lot of money off the guy. But I didn’t like interacting with him either, so for that, it’s not a big loss.”
“But what about the bad press he’s threatening? And did you see the video?”
My father grinned then; the expression was more threatening than jovial. “I’ve had bad press before. I’ll manage.”
“But Mother made it seem that I would tank the entire business if I didn’t keep him happy and encourage the relationship.”
He sighed a long sigh, as if continuing a long-standing argument. “Your mother still operates in the mindset that we are want for money. She’s not used to having it.” He leaned forward as if telling me a secret. “She used to be poor, you know.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
“Really. It’s why her mom encouraged her to marry me.” A small smile played on his lips as he stared off into the distance. “She practically begged me to marry her only daughter. Funny, because I was going to do it anyway, approval or not.”
I laughed. “Mother did tell me that her mother begged you to marry her.” I sobered as I thought about the rest of what he said. About her being poor. “But she didn’t tell me it was because she was poor.”
“Of course she didn’t,” he said. His smile was gentle as he thought of his wife. “She probably also didn’t tell you that my parents didn’t want me to marry her. They saw her as precisely the type of woman that didn’t belong in our world.”
I raised my eyebrows so high that I thought it would hit my hairline. “What? Why?”
“Not only was she poor, but her family was involved in gang activity and drugs.” Father grimaced. “When her father died, her mother had to do some questionable things to make ends meet. I found out one day after overhearing a business deal between her mother and one of her associates. When I looked to my parents for advice, they told me to leave her. But I knew in that moment that no matter what her mother was involved in, I couldn’t risk leaving your mother. I had fallen head over heels in love with her and I knew that I had to marry her.
“When I proposed, I told her as much. I told her I’d give it all up—access to my parents’ money and resources—if it meant that she would marry me.” My father’s laugh was a small chuff of a sound, the evidence of years of fighting against my mother’s practical ideas of marriage. “But I know she won’t tell you that. That would require her to admit a few things that she doesn’t care to admit.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that it’s okay to marry for love, and that sometimes, it works out. Our marriage started with it and it still has it now.
“She would also have to admit that she’s afraid for you. She doesn’t want to admit that because it would require her to also tell you that she has been affected all these years about your lack of closeness. And God forbid she admit to being hurt in any way.”
I felt the tears in the corners of my eyes and tried to ignore them. My mother, afraid for me? What a novel concept. “I could’ve really used that information. From either of you.”
Father nodded, a weariness seeping into his shoulders. “I know. It wasn’t until I was laid up in a hospital bed that I realized how far off the mark I was with both you and your brother.” He threaded his fingers together and propped his arms on his thighs. “You needed more from me and, misguidedly, I thought financial provision would be enough.”
When he looked up, a newfound fierceness, so like Dante’s, filled his face. It took my breath away to see that like my brother, my father would do anything to protect the ones he loves. “But that stops here. You are my only daughter, my only living child. And she’s my wife. I have to make it right.”
* * *
Though my dad didn’t seem worried about Michael’s threat, I had to confront him anyway. The fact was that no one should suffer for my mistakes. Not even my parents.
As I walked into the store, I steeled myself for the second time that day. One of the things that had attracted me to Michael was how formidable he was—on and off the field. When he was interacting with his employees, you could tell that there was a healthy distance between them, both physical and psychological, that was borne from deference and a tiny bit of fear. It was an attitude I was used to seeing in reference to white men, but the sheer size of Michael also kept many at bay.
I finally found him in the shoe department, giving instructions to a guy with tousled black hair and insolent green eyes. He couldn’t have been older than twenty-one. His posture indicated that he wasn’t bothered by anything in life, particularly this job, and judging by the firmness in Michael’s voice, this was not the first time this particular employee needed to be spoken to.
“Now, Rafael, if I have to ask you to do this again, we will have to discuss if this is the right department—or even the right job—for you. Do you understand?”
“Aye, aye, captain.” Rafael gave Michael a mock salute. His eyes rested on mine. “Looks like we have company, so can I get back to it?”
Michael sighed. “Sure.” It was only then that he turned, his turbulent hazel eyes meeting mine. “Hey, Alicia, what a surprise.” He pulled on his beard. “I didn’t think you knew where the store was.”
I laughed, the merriment not quite reaching my voice. “I did have to put it into the GPS,” I said, a tinge of chagrin in my voice. Michael had been working at the store since before we met, but I couldn’t recall a time I had actually even visited him there. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
“Sure,” he agreed, steering me toward a door off to the side. He pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked it, ushering me in. “What’s up?”
I straightened my spine, looked him in the eye. “I wanted to talk about the threat you made.” I crossed my arms. “It’s one thing to punish me, but another to bring my family into this.”
Michael sighed, cupping the back of his neck with his hand. “Yeah, ignore that. When I saw the leaked footage of our fight, I knew I couldn’t do it. I knew I shouldn’t have spoken out of anger, but I was furious with you and didn’t know how to handle it. I mean, how could you be in love with another guy for a whole fucking—” Michael’s eyes widened to almost comical levels and I giggled. “Oops.”
