A New Dawn

Chapter 46 - Idris

Gareth and Thera handled the details when I told them I wanted to have dinner with my family. After I gave them the address to my parents' house, I hung out at A Quiet Café with Briar, Everett, and Marlowe for a while. When Gareth and Thera came back, they said my parents agreed to have dinner with us. It'll be on neutral ground at Tasting Symphony. I don't know who came up with that idea, but I'm guessing it was Gareth or Thera. They're probably hoping Briar will perform or something. I definitely am. It'll give me a moment to relax during dinner if she does.

But for now, Briar, her family, Marlowe, and I wait outside the restaurant for my family. They asked me over and over again if I wanted all of them here with me. Which—yes. I cannot face my parents on my own. I need as much support as I can get.

But I guess it also seems like I want to be on my own.

I lean against the wall with my hands in my pockets, hoping that'll stop me from fidgeting. Briar shoots me a worried look every once in a while. When I can't stop shifting from foot to foot or focus on one thing for more than five seconds, she comes to join me.

"Everything okay?" she asks, leaning against the wall next to me.

I nod, glancing down the street. "Yeah. I'm just nervous."

She hooks her arm through mine. "I know. We're all here if you need us, though. It won't just be you and your family."

I try to offer her a smile. "I know. And I appreciate it. I appreciate everything you and your family have done for me this summer."

Briar rests her head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry that we had to do any of this in the first place."

I rest my head on top of hers. "Yeah. Me too. But at least I got to meet you because of it."

She laughs softly, leaning closer into me. "I'm glad I got to meet you, too."

Neither of us says anything after that. Briar just stands with me, and that's conversation enough. It tells me she's here no matter what. That's almost enough to put me at ease.

If only it completely put me at ease.

After another ten minutes or so, Tatay's car finally pulls up. I pull my hand out of my pocket as I straighten, and Briar immediately interlaces our fingers. She puts her other hand on my arm and whispers something to me. I know it's a reassurance, but I don't process any of the words. Not when the people who chose to have me and were supposed to take care of me but kicked me out are a few feet away.

Everything around me completely disappears. I don't see anyone except for my family as they get out of the car. And I don't hear or feel anything except my racing heart, the blood rushing through my head, my slightly ragged breathing, and my sweaty hands.

I take a deep breath, and my tunnel vision slowly clears. Briar's family steps forward to shake my parents' hands. Nanay and Tatay smile and exchange formalities, but it's pretty obvious they'd rather get this over with.

"Idris," Tatay says, his expression cool. At this rate, he might as well have called me a traitor again. "How have you been?"

Briar squeezes my hand, grounding me in the moment. "I've been good, Tatay." Not that he would know. Or care.

He nods. "Good to hear. Good to hear from you in general."

I nod back. "Right." I tighten my free hand into a fist, digging my nails into my palm. "Thanks for agreeing to meet."

He gives me a tight-lipped smile and brushes past me. Nanay is a little more friendly, offering me a hug. But even this feels like she's greeting an acquaintance and not her child. Roman hardly even looks at me. We eye each other before he follows our parents into Tasting Symphony.

I guess that could've been worse.

The rest of us file inside, too, and the host seats us at a table for nine. I sit between Marlowe and Briar and across from Roman. Our parents are on either side of him, so I'm facing my entire family.

Not sure if this is a mistake or not, but we'll see.

For a second, we all focus on our menus. I'm starting to wish the background noise would be a little louder. But I know that won't do anything except amplify how silent we all are.

After the waiter gets our orders, we're forced to look at each other and try to start a conversation. Everett goes first and asks my parents and Roman about themselves. They go into detail about their jobs, their interests, how they got into their passions, and other things like that. I know all of it, but I hyperfocus on the conversation whenever Roman speaks.

"I've always liked numbers," Roman says, sitting back. "And I was good at economics in high school." He gives Marlowe a tentative smile. "I'm sure Marlowe can confirm."

Marlowe blinks like she didn't expect him to address her or even refer to her all night. She glances at me, and something flickers in her eyes. When she turns back to Roman, her expression doesn't soften, but she's not visibly irritated either.

"Right," she says with a single nod. "I wouldn't have passed without you."

Roman and Marlowe hold each other's gazes for a moment. Marlowe shifts, looking away first, her eyebrows drawn together. Roman's eyes sweep over her face one more time before he clears his throat and looks down at his plate. "Right. So it just seemed like the right thing for me to go into."

Thera nods, smiling. "I'm glad you found something you liked and wanted to do. Most kids aren't sure right out of high school."

Nanay adjusts her utensils around her plate. "It's a good thing he listened to us." Her eyes flicker to me. "He didn't argue with us once."

No. He didn't. I remember that.

Tatay nods his agreement. He eyes Briar. "So Briar—" Tatay pauses like saying Briar's name instead of "that girl" physically takes a lot out of him "—is your only child?" Gareth and Thera nod. "So your first and last child to raise. What's that like?"

Gareth and Thera glance at each other, uncertainty written on their faces like they're not sure what to make of Tatay's question. Gareth clears his throat, sitting forward. "I guess it's a lot like raising any child. I can't imagine having more than one kid, though."

Tatay swirls his water glass around, his eyes on Briar. "I can imagine just raising her is like raising at least three kids."

I'm 90% sure Briar already wants to stab him with a fork just for saying her name like it's disgusting. I can't imagine what she wants to do to him for that comment. I can practically see her swallowing any instinctive response and offer a smile instead. "I'm a theater kid. We're a handful."

Thera laughs, but she borderline glares at Tatay. Her voice is flat when she says, "That's for sure."

Nanay nods. "Right. You perform. What happens when that fails?"

Briar doesn't drop her smile, but there's a harsh undertone to her voice as she says, "If that happens, there are always other options. Like editing. I have experience from going over my dad's books for years."

Tatay narrows his eyes. "Decisive of you."

There's a shift at the table, and I know everyone is starting to lose patience with how passive-aggressive my parents are towards Briar. As for Briar... She's hiding it pretty well, but I know she's pissed. I take her hand under the table, hoping she knows how sorry I am for my parents in that gesture. She squeezes my hand and smiles at me.

Everett changes the subject again, making sure it's as far away from his granddaughter as possible. But that doesn't change the fact that my parents insulted Briar from the get-go. The food isn't even here yet, either. Not to mention we haven't even touched the fact that they kicked me out of the house.

It's about to be a long night. But, honestly, what else was I expecting?