Rico and Adam shared an uneasy glance. “Yeah, of course.” Rico took the chair next to his father, while Adam hovered in the background.
“That’s no longer an issue.”
A tingle of nerves shot down Rico’s spine. “What’re you talking about?”
“The party withdrew my nomination for State Chair about half an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.” And he was. He might not have agreed with their principles, but Rico knew how hard his father worked. “But are you here because you want to get back at them, or do you really accept Adam and me together? Does any of this truly matter to you, or is it only because I’m your son and it now affects you personally? You’ve been with the party all these years; you don’t change overnight.”
His father’s lips quirked in a grin. “Sometimes I wish you weren’t so smart. Look,” he said, bracing his elbows on his knees as his grin faded. “You can belong to a group and not agree with everything they stand for. You think I’m hard and fast in my beliefs, but I know I have some serious thinking to do. And yes, if by affecting me personally, it gets me to soul-searching, is that so wrong if I come out on the other side ready to listen and learn? I have to start somewhere.”
Although he could pretend not to care, the party’s withdrawal of nomination for State Party leader was a devastating blow to his father.
“I don’t know what to say to you.”
“There’s not much to say. I’ve made the decision to resign from the party completely, but not because I’m ashamed of you or want to hide.” The fierceness in his father’s voice left no doubt he spoke from his heart.
“If they could so easily dismiss all my years of service to them, I need to reevaluate my life and where I belong. But I certainly can’t and won’t support a group who’ll deny my son the right to be treated equally. It all opened up to me like I’d been living behind a curtain, not seeing what was going on in front of me.”
“Politics is an ugly game.” It had never held any appeal to Rico. He preferred to spend his time with real friends who cared about him.
“Exactly. A game for which I refuse to throw away my child. To what end? A few years of power?” His father pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. “I kept thinking of your mother and how she was forever telling me the true measure of a man isn’t how much money he has or how powerful his job is. It’s how he treats his family. I’ve been sorely lacking in that department for years, but if you give me the chance, I’d like to be in your life a bit more. After I figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of mine.”
His father’s watery smile broke down the last of Rico’s walls, and he hugged his father close for a moment. “I’d like that too.”
“I’m sorry,” his father whispered. “I don’t ever want to hurt you again.”
“Don’t deny me, then. Don’t deny people their basic human rights.” Their eyes locked. “We’re human, and hurting each other is inevitable.” He glanced over at Adam. “And I know I’m not perfect, that’s for sure.”
Adam smiled at him. “I don’t know about that. You’re pretty much perfect for me.”
After basking in the glow of Adam’s smile for a moment, he became serious again. “So you’re going to be okay with this now? Adam and I are together; we don’t hide our relationship. And if you’re truly going to change, it’s not enough to change only for me. You have to believe in our life together. In our right to love each other.”
From the flicker in his father’s eyes at Rico’s words, it wasn’t going to be an instant turnaround. But the most important things are worth the pain and uncertainty.
“I’m not saying it won’t take me time to get used to it, and I’m sure I’ll make mistakes. I guess what I’m saying here is that I’m willing to learn. And I stand by you. As my son and as a man who has the right to live the way he wants. Like I do.”
“Thank you, Dad.”
“Now.” He rubbed his hands together like a little kid. “Maybe Adam knows where I can get one of those FDNY hats? They’re pretty cool.”
Maybe this could eventually work. Maybe they could be a family.
Maybe.
Epilogue
Two months later
Rico sat inhis office, sipping a cup of coffee, enjoying the respite. Gideon was off catering a lunch at some garden party farther into Brooklyn, and he was preparing menus for the fall. Checking his watch, he saw Adam was due to come over soon. They had an appointment to sign the lease for an apartment only two blocks away. With Adam living out in Bay Ridge and Rico in Red Hook, they needed a spot closer to both their work locations, so they decided not to renew their respective leases and look for an apartment together. He took another sip of coffee. They’d already seen five other apartments and none seemed quite right, but this one had a good feeling as soon as they walked inside.
“Hey.”
His lips curved around the edge of his coffee cup. “Hi. Finished for the day?”
“Nope. One more thing I gotta do.”
“Oh?” Rico quirked a brow. “What’s that?”
