Going Solo

Part 28

Tony

"What are you doing here?!"

"Hijo, they called me, just like they called you."

It was way too early in the morning for me to be dealing with this. 3 AM and my mom was still in surgery. Then this guy walks in and I can feel my blood boil. I stood, balling my fists in the process

"Why? It's not like you care. At least you haven't for the last 19 years." I spat.

I felt Nicole's hand grab my arm, and I sat down. She always was the one to keep me out of trouble. In high school, when I had nothing else to do, but start fights and break laws, she was the one to push me towards a career. Towards a life that would keep me alive. A life that I always imagined included her.

He sat at my right, drumming his fingers against his knee. 19 years ago, I saw him do the same thing. 19 years ago, at 5 years of age, I saw from the shadows of the dimly lit kitchen of our house, my father deliberating what to do as he drummed his thick fingers on the table. Leave his wife and kid? Or be with the woman he picked up on the street. The next day I watched him get in that woman's car and drive off.

"I never thought something like this could happen to your mother." he said, still drumming his fingers nervously. "She never got sick. Never even caught a cold, or the flu. She was as strong as a horse."

"Shut up." I sighed, head in my hands as I massaged my temples. 

He paused. "How've you been Antonio?"

"Stop trying to conversate with me!" I exploded. "Don't act like you care, don't call me Antonio, and don't you ever compare my mother to a horse again."I stood, balling my fists.

"Antonio, I do care." he said, standing to face me.

"No! You don't. Not about me and certainly not about my mother. Why are you here? What are you after? There's nothing here for you to gain."

"Hijo-"

"Don't call me that! You're not my father." I said, my voice breaking as I continued. "I have a daughter. And you know that, but not once have you seen her."

"I've seen pictures..." he said weakly.

"Do you even know her name?"

He didn't answer, just stood as he watched the floor. I knew my mother had kept in contact with him. So, she wouldn't have kept it to herself when she found out about her new grandchild. As much as I regretted to admit it and as much as I hated to acknowledge it, my mother was still in love with him. 

"Did you know you have a brother?" he asked. "Two, in fact and a little sister too." he said, searching my face for a reaction.

"Don't you dare talk to me about your new family, or that witch you left us for."

"¡Basta ya! (That's enough!)"

"Why? It's the truth, is it not? You're both disgusting." I growled.

That was the end of our conversation. I felt his fist on my face before I could say any more. 

"Perfect." I thought.

I swung at him, and socked him right in the eye. I'd been waiting to do this for so long. He deserved it. He asked for it. Who did he think he was showing up like this, while my mother was fighting for her life? 

I kept swinging. I vaguely felt Nicole grasp at my arm, telling me to stop. Doctors ran to her aide, trying to get a grip of my arms. In a desperate attempt to escape them, I flung my arms from side to side, wanting to get one last punch in. In my haste, in my rage, I knocked my fist against something hard. I heard a sharp gasp, and then footsteps.

I turned my head to see Nicole, in the arms of her new boyfriend, with doctors and nurses rushing to her side. I'd hit her. I'd knocked her right into his arms. She was unconscious.

He swooped her up, carrying her down the hallway as the doctors directed him to the nearest hospital room. I turned back to my father. Disgusted with him, his wife, and now most importantly with myself. I couldn't stand looking at him anymore. I turned back around walking back towards the front of the waiting area in front of the operating rooms. He stopped me.

"I just couldn't listen to you talk about my family like that." he shouted after me.

"Yeah. You're a real family man now. Father of the year." I scoffed, wiping the blood from my lip as I walked away.