“Thanks. We plan to have a seating area over here.” He pointed to the small alcove by the front window. “Before, if people bought a cookie or coffee, they had to sit on the benches outside. Which is nice in the spring and summer, but now they can stay here, and maybe before they leave, they’ll decide to pick up something for lunch or dinner.”
Admiration lit his father’s eyes. “You never cease to amaze me with your business sense. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.”
“What about me, Mr. Estevez?” With a bright smile, Gideon poked his head out from the back of the store. “Are you proud of me too?”
Watching them hug, Rico looked for any sign that his father, knowing Gideon was gay and getting married, would act differently toward him. Luckily, he saw nothing and relaxed.
“Gideon, how are you? No need to answer. You look wonderful. I guess running your own business agrees with you. I’ve never seen you happier.”
“Uh, well, yeah. I’m thrilled the business is doing well, we both are. Has Rico told you my news? That I’m getting married?”
“Uh, yes, he did. Nice to hear.”
Not the joyful, heartfelt wishes Rico had hoped for, but better than he expected.
“Thanks. If you stick around long enough, you’ll meet my fiancé, Jonah. He’s wrapping up a meeting and should be here soon.”
About to agree, Rico was cut off.
“Maybe another time? Rico and I were about to leave. You know, get some dinner and catch up.”
Sadly, his father hadn’t changed all that much in other ways, and Rico watched Gideon’s brows scrunch together in confusion.
“Uh, sure. We’ll see you later, then.” Gideon faced Rico and gave him a troubled smile. “Talk to you later, okay? Let me know.”
Giving him a nod, Rico beckoned his father, and they left the store. “Ready for your pizza? There’s a good old-fashioned place we can pick up from, or we can go to my apartment and order in a pie. I have beer, and we can hang out and relax.”
“Let’s go to your place and order. My driver can take us.”
Rico slid into the waiting car, his father following. After giving the driver directions and traveling several minutes in silence, his father sighed.
“What’s wrong? That was a heavy sigh.”
“You don’t think you lose business because Gideon is gay?”
Anger choked him, but Rico managed to hold back and not attack his father.
“Why would we? For the record, people love him, and Jonah, his fiancé, is the rabbi of the synagogue where we get most of our business referrals. So no. It doesn’t hurt us; it helps us. But saying someone’s sexuality is a detriment to their ability to do their job is one of the worst forms of discrimination. Don’t you get that?”
They’d stopped at a red light, and Rico happened to catch the driver’s expression in the rearview mirror. When their eyes met, they lingered, with the driver giving him a tiny nod of respect. That show of support from a stranger bolstered Rico’s courage.
They reached his apartment without further incident, and after his father gave the driver instructions to take the evening off and be back around nine p.m. so he could catch his plane back to Miami, they went inside.
“This is the one thing I don’t understand,” said his father, scanning the apartment with dismay. “How can you spend so much on rent and live in a tiny shoebox? My God, this whole apartment would fit into our living room at home.”
And yet Rico had few good memories of that house. His mother’s death had left a void so dark and deep, it remained an impossible mountain to climb. And grief pulled his father away to where work became his only solace, instead of his lost and lonely child. His happiest times resided here, in the short time he and Adam had been together, than any other place.
“Well, it’s the price we pay for living here. You know what they say: ‘location, location, location.’ And this is a hot, up-and-coming location.”
His father draped his suit jacket over one of the spindly chairs. “I’d hate to see what you consider a not-so-good location.” He held up a hand. “No, strike that. I’m fine. Shall we order the pizza?”
“Sure.” Rico grabbed his laptop and pulled up the delivery app. “Pepperoni and mushrooms?”
“You remembered.”
“Yeah.” Giving his father a crooked smile, he placed the order, then went to the refrigerator and took out two beers. “Here. Plenty more where they came from.”
They clinked bottles and took a sip. Rico stretched out on the sofa while his father settled in the club chair with a satisfied sigh.
