“I'm sorry, Mom and Dad,” I said, my head hanging low. “I promise to pay y'all back my full tuition.”
My mom smacked her lips and waved a dismissive hand at me. “I don't want to hear any of that foolishness. Your dad and I will always do what we can to ensure you have an education. It doesn't matter what degree you decide to pursue.”
“Your mother is right. While I am a little disappointed that you don't want to take over Green Tech, I admire your passion, and I apologize for not listening to you before when you tried totell us. Do you know I had that same type of passion and drive to start Green Tech when your grandfather was against it?”
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“Oh yeah! Your grandfather wanted me to work with my hands. You know, he was a blue-collar worker like his dad. He didn't understand how rapidly technology was growing, and refused to learn more about it. He expected me to take over his landscaping business, but against his wishes, I got my degree in information technology. After finding out that you were not working with us, I can admit that I was upset, but then I quickly realized that I was turning into my dad. I never want to hold you back, son. Had I not followed my heart, we wouldn’t be here in this house today. Anyway, son, go after your passions. If you don't want to work in Green Tech, that's okay as long as you are pursuing your passion.”
Standing up, I walked up to my dad and hugged him. As I walked back to my seat, I kissed my mother on the cheek. I felt extremely grateful that things turned out the way they did because I stressed that my parents would have disowned me.
“So,” my mom chimed. “What have you been doing this whole time? You're usually gone early in the morning and not back until after ten in the evening.”
“I, uh, found a part-time job across town at a bookstore. I wanted to be somewhere y'all wouldn't run into me, and I wanted to make sure I was out of the house during the day in case y’all came home early.”
My dad burst into laughter. “Clever.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, but I messed that up.”
“How?” my mom asked.
“Well, I fell hard for the boss.”
“Oh,” my mom gasped.
“And the boss happens to be my best friend's sister.”
“Gotdamn boy!” my dad chortled. “Lydia, baby, let me talk to him.”
“Gladly!” my mom said, standing up from the couch. Leaning down, she kissed the top of my head. “I'll get us some more coffee.”
As my mother walked away towards the kitchen, my dad stood up and sat next to me on the couch.
“Looks like you've got yourself into a dilemma.”
I nodded. “I know. Things are really a mess.”
“It doesn't seem that big of a mess.”
I shook my head. “There's more to it, Dad. Long story short, we aren't on speaking terms, but I miss her. Not to mention, I need to find a way to tell my best friend the truth.”
My dad hummed as he folded his hands over his lap. He clicked his tongue before clapping a hand on my shoulder. “If you really care about this woman, then go after her. Whatever argument or disagreement you two had, go squash it. I promise this will be your biggest regret if you choose to let her go. Trust me.”
I arched an eyebrow at my dad as he stared off at nothing in particular.
“Dad?”
“I never told you this story, but I lost someone I truly loved once upon a time. Understand that I love your mother, but she wasn’t my first love.”
My eyes widened as I stared at his profile. “What are you saying?”
“I was a stubborn, cocky man when I was your age. Thankfully, you didn't get any of those traits. Anyway, I was so bull-headed over something so trivial that I left the woman I was madly in love with. I tried to live my life without her by filling my desires with money and random women, but I soon learned that leaving her was the worst mistake of my life. At the time, I didn'trealize how much I loved her because my pride was blinding me, and every day that I went on without her crushed a part of me. When I finally snapped out of it and tried to get her back, it was too late.”
We sat in silence for a beat as I pondered over my father’s words. I wasn’t listening to him from a son’s point of view, but from a man’s perspective. He allowed pride and anger to keep him away from the woman he truly loved. A part of me wanted to not care because he had my mother, but the other part understood.
“What were you two arguing about?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.
He shook his head. “That's the crazy thing; I still can’t remember. Like I said, I love your mother, and without her, we wouldn’t have you. However, if you love this woman, you should do everything you can to win her back.”
