Sparks Fly (An Aleheather Story/AU)

Chapter 19

Alejandro sat on the bench at a playground near his old house, tightly clutching onto his coat as he waited for his father to join him.

As he took a few deep breaths, he heard brisk footsteps coming closer towards him and immediately knew that it was his father. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the cold, strong wind against his face and skin. I can do this.

"Why here? Why couldn't we just talk at home or at the office?" Javier grumbled as he appeared and sat down on the bench next to Alejandro.

"I want to do this as father and son, and not as businessmen," Alejandro said, as he stared blankly into the distance at the swings in the playground, not meeting his father's gaze.

"Just cut to the chase, I have other matters to attend to," Javier muttered.

Alejandro took another deep breath and closed his eyes again, before reopening them. He then slowly took out an envelope from inside his coat with his right hand and handed it to his father, whilst still avoiding eye contact with him.

"What the fuck is this?" Javier grumbled as he grabbed the envelope out of Alejandro's hand.

Alejandro didn't say anything in response. He continued to focus on the swings in the playground.

"Feels like I'm talking to a wall here," Javier muttered as he opened the envelope and took out the letter inside. He raised a brow as he read the text.

"Letter of resignation? Is this some joke?" Javier grumbled.

"We used to come to this playground all the time when we first moved to Canada. You, me, Mamá, Carlos and José," Alejandro began, ignoring his father's remark.

"And I still vividly remember, this one time José aggressively pushed me off the swings. I was in so much pain and thought I had broken a bone. You yelled at José so hard until he started crying and then told me everything would be fine," he continued.

He then took another deep breath and finally forced himself to turn around and face his father.

"You were always my hero growing up, Papá. I've always admired and respected and looked up to you. Truth be told, I still do. And from when I was a kid, I always thought that I wanted to follow in your footsteps, and be a successful businessman like you. But lately, I've realized that I've been chasing a version of success and happiness this whole time that ultimately isn't where I want to be. And I only realized that after I met Heather," Alejandro said in one breath as he let that all out.

His father stared at the ground, not saying anything and not looking at Alejandro.

Alejandro turned back around to look at the swings again.

"I can't lie to myself any longer," he continued and then hesitated for a moment.

"And I know that if Mamá were still here, she'd want this for me too. She'd want me to be happy."

His father finally flinched and slightly tilted his head, although he still didn't say anything.

Alejandro stared blankly into the distance for a few moments, waiting to see if his father would respond, hoping that his father would say something to him. Anything.

After several minutes, he gave up. He took another deep breath and then stood up.

"Take care, Papá."

Javier still didn't reply.

Alejandro shook his head and then began walking away, before he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He hesitated and then slowly spun back around. There was just something else he needed to get off his chest.