“Dad, it’s not like that.” Rain pelts the window next to us. With the exception of this morning, it’s been raining non-stop for three days now and I’m ready for more than a brief reprieve from the gloom. Somehow, all of this would be a little easier to bear if it was sunny. “I actually ran away from him, too, but I’m not sure you want to hear the details.”
“I want to hear whatever you’re willing to share. I’m done with work, and unless I’m mistaken, the dictator and his wife are upstairs with your special man right now, so we have time.” My dad really has been tracking my movements through the hospital. I wonder if anyone knows that I’m his son. If they don’t, it’s because they haven’t looked at the striking similarities. I’d imagine I will look nearly identical to how he does now in twenty years. My dad leans back in his chair, cradling his coffee cup the same way I am.
For the next two hours, I tell my dad things I’ve held in for years. He stiffens when I admit that Brandon was more than a friend and that we moved to Rhode Island together tobe together.He apologizes for being a prick to me when I withdrew from everyone after Brandon’s death.
When he says he’s proud of me for getting Pinnacle off the ground, my chest swells. Four simple little words that I didn’t realize I needed to hear mean everything to me. He’s also eager to listen when I tell him about the company we’re looking to buy out that brought us to Rochester for the weekend from hell.
By the time I have to go back to Tony’s room, my father knows everything there is to know about my life. “Look, Dom… I know we’ve had our issues, but if you want you’re more than welcome to stay at the house.”
“Thanks, Dad. I may take you up on that.” He hugs me tightly and I’m sure we’re drawing attention to ourselves, but I don’t care. I finally have my father back in my life and Tony’s prognosis is good. Nothing could get me down today. “Hey, would you like to meet Tony so you’re not a creepy stalker?”
My dad runs his fingers along the collar of his uniform shirt. It’s amusing to see him struggling to keep his nerves in check. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’m sure you’ve said some less than stellar things to him about me and I’d hate to cause any more drama than that boy likely deals with every time his family comes in.”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I just figured I’d introduce you to the man I’m going to marry as soon as he’s able.” My father goes white as a ghost, but manages to keep from passing out. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone so far, but I’m pretty sure Cara said as much the other day in the hall. And I’m not going to hide any piece of my relationship with Tony from anyone. They can either deal with us or not. Their choice.
“Marry, huh?” Dad scratches his chin. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but wow. I tell you what… I need to run to the house and change. Give me about an hour and I’ll be back up. Out of curiosity, does your sister know about any of this?”
Rach does know that I moved in with Tony, but I haven’t talked to her in over a month. I need to find time to call her. “Uh, no. I’ll call her tomorrow when I’m banished from the room.”
“Do you want me to bring her back with me? She came home last week and I might have told her about what’s going on.” Dad kicks at the leg of the chair, avoiding my gaze. I’m not sure how I feel about him talking to Rachael about Tony, but it does prove to me that he sincerely sees that I’m happier now than ever before. “Look, Dominic, please don’t be mad. At first, I tried to keep my mouth shut, but you know how she can be. She pressed and pressed until I told her about the day Tony came in. Then, after meeting his sad excuse for parents, I needed someone to talk to. I think I was hoping she’d tell me I had been a piece of shit to you, but she didn’t. Now, she asks me every day how you two are doing. The only reason she hasn’t called is because then you’d know that I told her.”
Wow. Talk about information overload. This isn’t the family I grew up in. “Yeah, that’d be cool. I’ll give Tony a heads up so he’s not quite so shocked.”
I walk my dad to the front lobby and say goodbye, watching him dash through the parking lot before I make my way up to Tony’s room. My body wanders the halls by memory, giving me time for my mind to process everything Dad and I talked about. For the first time in years, I’m hopeful that my relationship with my birth family can be repaired.
“April, where did you go?” I can hear Tony’s voice the moment I step off the elevator. As I jog down the hall, freaking out that something’s very wrong, I hear him calling for April again, this time drawing out each word to be several syllables long. I pick up my pace to a sprint. When I walk into the room, Tony’s face breaks into a brilliant smile. “April, I missed you!” he squeals.
I turn to look behind me and scratch my head when I see no one else in the area. “Baby, is everything okay?” As soon as I reach him, I start taking stock of every injury, every cut, trying to figure out what’s going on.
Tony’s head lolls to the side. “I’m not a baby, I’m a turtle,” he protests.A turtle?“You can call me Donatello.” He laughs hard enough that it causes him to wince from the pain.
If I didn’t know that the hospital has strict dosing procedures, I’d worry that he’s taken far too many pain pills. “Donatello?” I question, taking the seat next to him.
“Yep, I have turtle power,” he informs me in a mock whisper. His face has turned serious, which only makes it harder for me to keep a straight face.
“If we’re going to use turtle names, shouldn’t I be Donatello?” I ask, deciding it’s easier to play along than argue with him. Tony’s entire face contorts in confusion as if I’ve just said the most ridiculous thing ever. “Oh, come on it’s not that much of a stretch since my name is Dom.”
“No, that’s stupid,” he responds. “You’re not a turtle. You don’t have a half shell. You don’t get a turtle name.I’mthe one with the shell so I get the name.”
Tony’s eyelids get heavy and I sit back, waiting for him to go to sleep. It amazes me that he’s the one cracking jokes while the rest of us worry about how he’s going to handle all the ways his life is going to change.
“Hey, you okay?” Tony asks when he wakes up. I consider asking if he remembers his little episode from earlier, but file it away. I’d much rather hang onto that golden morsel for some day long after he’s out of the hospital. Preferably once he’s healed enough that I can tease him mercilessly about all the goofy things he’s done while doped up.
“Long day,” I admit. I scoot my chair closer to Tony’s bed, running my hands along his arm. “How about you?”
“Told my parents off today. You won’t have to run and hide anymore.” I lay my head on the side of the mattress so Tony can run his fingers through my hair. He has good upper body mobility, but any sort of stretching hurts, so I wind up spending part of every day nuzzling his hand like a lap dog. “What’s going on, Dom? Something’s bugging you.”
Without lifting my head, I fill in the blanks regarding my dad. He keeps stroking my hair as I release the mess of emotions I’ve bottled up for the past few days. He’s the one stuck in a hospital bed, but he’s still comforting me. And to think I almost turned my back on all of this before it even started.
“He’s going to come up here tonight to meet you,” I tell him when silence lingers between us. “He’ll probably bring my sister with him.”
Tony doesn’t flinch at the news. The timing could have been better, but I’m holding out hope that my dad will stay true to his word and work on accepting Tony into his life because if I have my way, there won’t be another day of my life that Tony’s not part of mine.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tony
“They finally gotsick of your scrawny ass, huh?” Kennedy bursts into my hospital room with her arms overflowing with clothes and a pair of shiny black loafers. “Probably sick of watching you lay around all day in your sweats. You look like shit, buddy!”
