“Still is, to be honest.” His gaze drifts, lost in the past. “Like most immigrants, he wanted to give us a better life. He worked long hours as an Account Executive—weekends, through vacations—so he could give us the nice house, the car, the neighborhood with good schools. But I would’ve traded it all for more time with him.” Chaz lets out a heavy exhale that hits my chest with an aching blow.
“My mother begged him to slow down, but he wouldn’t—couldn’t. He’d say,Un hombre afrolatino no puede tomárselo con calma—An Afro-Latino man cannot take it easy. He worked ten times as hard, and his bastard of a boss just kept pushing and pushing until he collapsed at work. A heart attack. At forty. He died on the way to the hospital. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. Damn.” Chaz drags a hand over his face as if trying to rub away the memory.
The rawness of his grief clings to me. I fall silent, the quiet pressing around us. I try to find the right words, but they all feel small compared to the enormity of his loss. “Your dad sounds like he was a good man and father, deeply committed to his family.”
“He was,” Chaz replies, his expression solemn, his voice rough. After a brief pause, he clears his throat, then asks, “What about your family? Do you still have your parents?”
“Yes,” I nod, a knot of guilt tightening in my gut. Here he is, missing his folks, while I’m desperate to escape mine. “They live in Chicago.”
“You don’t get along with them?”
I’m startled at his observation. “What makes you say that?”
“Your tone and expression.”
“We’re not close,” I admit, twisting my napkin. “My parents have certain expectations of me. My mother wants me to be a socialite like her, and my father values professional success. He saw my interest in art as frivolous and pushed me into business like him. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I didn’t have the courage to stand my ground.”
“But that’s changed?”
“It seems ridiculous to admit that at thirty-two, I’m finally trying to make my own way and live my own life.”
His face softens with a smile. “It sounds like a brave step to walk away from the life you know without knowing what’s on the other side. You’re giving yourself a second chance, and I think that says more about you now than anything else.”
“Thanks for saying that.”
“It’s true.” His look brooks no doubt. “How has your leaving affected your relationship with them?”
“They take the cold shoulder to an Arctic level.” We both laugh, finding humor in a bad situation. “I suppose they think icing me out will break my will like it has before. I’m a people pleaser. I hate being a disappointment, but I just can’t do what they want anymore. Even if it forever damages our relationship.”
“As bad as that?”
“It could be.”
“Damn, Lex. I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “You’re doing the right thing for yourself, but it comes at a cost.”
I nod, grateful for his understanding, and straighten the crab bowl. We fall into another silence. It’s not awkward—just pensive on his end.
“You seem deep in thought,” I say, noting his brow is creased and his mouth—usually ready with a smile—is pulled into a tight line.
“Hmm.” He sighs. “What you said has me thinking about Sophia.”
“In what way?”
He pours me more wine. “I was nineteen and Soph, seven, when my mom got sick. I was all set to follow my dream—go to Atlanta and pursue a recording contract. But my world fell apart. I lost the most important person in my life, and I didn’t know what to do. I was so fucking scared.” His tone is gritty. “What did I know about raising a kid? But I wasn’t going to let Soph or my parents down. I could hear my dad saying:La familia lo es todo—family is everything.”
The weight of his sacrifice has my eyes stinging with unshed tears. At that age, my biggest problem was being forced to change my college major while Chaz was navigating real-life responsibilities. The more I learn about him, the more I realize how amazing he is. “Out of tragedy, you’ve built an incredible life for you and your sister.”
“But I brought a lot of baggage into that life,” he confides. “Sophia recently got her marketing degree from UIC. She has her heart set on working for a big advertising firm. I know what it’s like to have dreams and what it’s like not to be able to pursue them. But I haven’t gotten behind hers. I don’t want her chasing the same life my father had—burning herself out, or worse, working for some big firm that takes advantage of her.”
I can feel the guilt gnawing at him. “It makes sense that you would worry, Chaz, after what you saw happen with your dad.”
“Yeah, but is that an excuse? I’ve asked Sophia—no, I’ve badgered her—to stay in Bayside and use her education to help run and grow the café with me. To build something of her own.” He blows out a breath. “I’ve been harping on it for months, even though it’s caused some friction between us. Now I realize that I’ve been doing to her what you said your father did to you.”
“No, you’re not,” I say adamantly. “There’s no comparison. Your concern for your sister is out of love, not an attempt to control her.”
“I’m not sure Sophia would see it that way. She’s headstrong. She’s going to do what she wants, but having me constantly in her ear on this could ruin our relationship.”
“It won’t.” Without thinking, I place my hand on his. “You care. Sophia knows your heart. She knows you want her to be happy.”
