I nodded.
“Yeah, okay. I’ll tell you.” He sighed. “My mom moved here from the Philippines before I was born. She became, like, all involved with the Filipino community here, and used to go to church a lot. She met a man there. Whirlwind affair, or so she says. I love my mother, but she has terrible taste in men.”
“He wasn’t a nice man?”
“He was married. Mom said she didn’t know, but my aunt told me that Mom knew the whole time. Anyway, he was, like, an important man in the church or something, so Mom hid the pregnancy. And then some people found out, so she stopped going to church and, like ... left the community. She kept in contact with my aunt, Tita Maria, the one with the bakery, but no one else. She’s actually Mom’s cousin, but insisted I call her Tita. Anyway, the man denied I was his. It was apparently a mess.”
“Ugh, that’s horrible. How did your mom get by? With a baby?”
“She worked as a home care nurse for this agency. But yeah, it had to be hard when I was little. When I was five, she got a permanent job in a family’s house caring for the wife’s mother. We both moved inthere. The Browns. They were cool—and super rich. They were great to me and Mom. They even paid to put me in hockey with their own son. But then the couple split up, and it was messy. The wife couldn’t afford live-in care for her mother anymore.” He shifted a bit, so I took the opportunity to rest my cheek against his chest so I could hear his voice reverberate through his body.
“Mom and I moved in with Tita Maria, and Mom got a job in a nursing home. Tita Maria tried to convince Mom to go to church again, but Mom was stubborn. The man, technically my father, was still, like, important there. She thought she’d be shunned. When I was old enough, I helped out at my aunt’s bakery.
“Then Mom met another man—this white widower. He promised her he’d take care of us both, and she wouldn’t need to work. And he promised he’d pay for my college when I was ready. We left Tita Maria’s to live with him. But ... he also turned out to be not so nice. He was abusive.” Daniel’s arms tightened around me.
“Oh, Daniel. I’m sorry.”
He sighed. “We were stuck there, though. We couldn’t go back to Tita Maria’s. She and Mom had gotten into a huge fight when Tita Maria tried to warn Mom about her new boyfriend. One night things got scary and I called the police. A social worker eventually helped us get out of his house. But since we had nowhere to go, we ended up at the shelter.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged, looking over to the front door of the shelter. “You’ve seen the place—it could have been so much worse. Because of my cooking background, I started helping Andre in the kitchen. We came up with the farmers’ market idea together. And I became close to some of the residents. Muniba connected me with the hockey charity so I could start playing again. After a while Mom reached out to Tita Maria again and started going to a Filipino church near here—one where people didn’t know her history. That’s where she met Edwin Uncle.He’s Filipino, too. His mother has a disability, and he needed a live-in caregiver. Mom can speak to her in Tagalog. It’s been working well for Mom.”
“Are they ... good to you?”
Daniel shrugged. “Edwin is a bit ... controlling. No, that’s not the right word. He’s very religious, and sometimes I think he sees helping us as some sort of service. I don’t know.”
“And he wants you to be something you’re not.”
“Yes. He said he can help me with engineering jobs. Mentor me.”
“Why don’t you tell him you don’t want to do that?” I asked.
He sighed. “It’s easier to just keep the peace. Mom’s happy there. She loves caring for a Filipino patient. She’s started getting involved with the Filipino community here. She has new friends. It’s a good place for her to land, after everything she went through.”
I got the impression things were a lot worse for him and his mother before they ended up at the shelter than he was letting on. “And what about you?”
“After everything Mom and I went through, it’s nice to have someone other than Mom who actually cares about my success.” He chuckled. “I’m not used to that. Also, I’m seventeen. My situation there is short term. Mom’s more important. If he doesn’t let me stay after high school, it’s not that big a deal. I’ll get a job. Or maybe after I show him my excellent calculus mark, he’ll be so happy he’ll get off my back.” He hugged me tighter. “Mom and I are taking one day at a time. And right now I just want to hold you like this.”
I liked that idea, too. It had been a heavy night for him. And if holding me comforted him, I’d happily be there for him.
Eventually, of course, we had to go home. To avoid inconveniencing Cass, I texted my sister. She was leaving a party and said she and Rowan could pick us up and they’d drop off Daniel, too.
Daniel and I went in and said good night to everyone who was still in the common room. Tahira and Rowan arrived soon after. WhenRowan dropped him off, I saw Daniel’s, or his uncle’s, house for the first time. It was a small, standard Scarborough bungalow. Kind of similar to ours before we renovated.
When I finally got home, utterly exhausted after the long and emotional day, I changed into a T-shirt and flannel pants and got into bed right away. My phone buzzed with a text.
Daniel: I’ve never texted you good night before. But there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you.
I grinned.What?
Daniel:Do you count sheep to help you sleep, or are numbers way too exciting for you to relax to?
I laughed.
Me:Sometimes I practice pi to help me sleep. But I don’t think I’ll have trouble falling asleep tonight.
Daniel:I don’t know if I should feel insulted by that. Don’t tell me I bored you?
