by Ancelli
Alicia didn’t say anything.
“I know you still love him. It’s all over your face. I remember when you two were younger, ditching school together, disappearing after work, and how happy you two were, even when you had nothing. Imagine what you two can accomplish together now. I don’t want to see you two suffer apart, when you can be so happy together. You’ve accepted his child, and I know that was a big step, but you did it and you are, as you put it, only friends.”
She watched the older woman that resembled Perry. Lola was always looking out for her, even when they’d gone their separate ways. It was Lola who’d truly convinced her to come back home and let Mia have her dad in her life, beyond gadgets and visits.
“I have to get going.” Alicia picked up her car keys. “I have a meeting at work.”
“Are you dismissing me?” Lola asked, playing around. “Think about what I told you. Come on, girls, let’s go see Daddy.”
“Bye, Mommy.” Mia picked up her overnight bag and money.
“Bye, Mrs. Alicia. Love you!” Tiffany followed her older sister.
“Oh, I love you too,” Mia added, opening the door and waiting for Lola.
“Love you too, princesses. Behave, Mia.”
“Always!” Mia chuckled.
“I’ll have her back on Sunday.” Lola touched Alicia’s arm. “You’re the daughter I never had, and I want you to be happy again,” she said, leading the girls out the front door.
Alicia was emotionally drained. Everyone around her had something to say about her past, present, and future. Byron was behaving like a jerk. Perry was distant. She’d told him to give her time, but he’d taken it to another level. The temptation was too strong.
***
Lola hoped Alicia would dump that fool and give Perry a second chance. Those two belonged together after everything they’d shared. She normally didn’t meddle in Perry’s choices, but she couldn’t continue seeing him just go through life the way he had been the last couple of years. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he saw his two little girls together.
“Aunty,” Mia said.
“Yes, darling?” Lola watched her through the rearview mirror. “Can I get Daddy a present? My mommy’s friend gave me some money.” She showed her twenty-dollar bill.
“He gave you money?” Lola asked. “Why?”
“He was trying to butter me up.” Mia smirked, making Lola laugh. She was a combination of her parents, which meant that she was a handful. The things she came up with, and now she had a little follower who worshiped the ground she walked on.
“We can do anything you want to.” She smiled, turning the radio to a kid’s channel, and then picked her phone and dialed. “Meet me at my house.”
“Is everything okay?” Perry asked, concerned.
“Yes, I have a surprise for you,” she said before she hung up and pulled into a department store. Mia unbuckled Tiffany, and they jumped out of the truck.
Lola loved spending time with the girls. She watched them closely. They didn’t resemble each other a bit, but they sure had the same personality. Mia was overprotective of her baby sister, always making sure she was taken care of first. Mia reminded her of Perry when he was younger, always saying what was on her mind. Tiffany was a sweet angel: you would never think that devil had given birth to her.
“Come on, let’s get your daddy a gift.” Lola placed them in a shopping cart and ran up to the store, making them giggle.
***
“Bendición,” Perry said, kissing his aunt on her forehead.
“Que dios te bendiga.” She hugged him tight and then released him.
“What’s up?” He looked at her. She’d sounded extremely happy on the phone.
“Your surprise is in the back yard.” Lola opened the door wider.
“You finally got me a puppy!” Perry joked, entering her house. “It’s a little too late for that.”
Lola chuckled, closing the door. “You seem in better spirits.”
“I am.” He took his shoes off before stepping on her rugs. As a child, he’d learned his lesson about dirtying her carpet. “I’m taking life one day at a time. I can’t wait to be divorced.”
“You don’t have to wait.” She grabbed his arm. “Alicia has never stopped loving you. Take back what’s yours, son. Get down on bended knee and ask for forgiveness, and tell her how you feel.”
Perry smiled. “You like her.”
“I love that girl. She stuck by you through thick and thin, and after all is said and done, she is still standing beside you.”
He sat down with his hands behind his head. “She’s seeing some goofball. She said she has feelings for him.”
Lola chuckled.
Perry shook his head, and then hearing giggles, he glanced toward the back yard.
“Why did you sit down? Your girls are waiting for you!”
“How?” He slowly stood and grinned when he saw Tiffany and Mia.
“Does it matter?” Lola smiled.
He shook his head, kissed her cheek, and ran through the house to the back and out the door.
“Daddy!” Tiffany ran up to him when she finally saw him, and Mia just smiled, playing on the swing set. Perry had seen Mia every afternoon since he’d moved out. He lived closer to Alicia so he’d pick her up after school. That way, Alicia didn’t have to rush home to get her after work. Mia was probably tired of seeing him and hearing his lectures on life. Now he understood what his aunt used to say: wait until you become a parent.
He picked up his girl and showered her with kisses. “How are you doing, princess?” He hugged her tight and Tiffany wrapped her small hands around his neck, not letting him go.
“I missed you, Daddy,” she whispered in his ear.
“I missed you more.” He kissed her again.
“When are you coming home?”
“Daddy, won’t be living in the same house as you anymore.” He rubbed her back.
“Why? I miss you.” She leaned back, staring at him. “You don’t love me anymore.”
“I will always love you, Tiffany.” He knew she was too young to understand what was going on. “You are my reason for…” He was going to say leaving, but decided against that. She was just a child. He gave her a peck on her nose. “How much do I love you?”
She opened her hands as wide as she could. “This much.”
“To the moon and back.” Perry walked up to the swing near Mia. “Hi, mamita.”
“Hi Daddy. Bendición.” Mia pushed her feet against the dirt, making her swing go higher.
“Que Dios te bendiga mi muñeca,” Perry replied. His aunt had taught Mia to say Bendición to her and Perry when she was a baby. It was a Puerto Rican tradition, a sign of respect to one’s elders. It was like asking for blessing, and then the reply would be “May God bless you.”
“I got you a little present.” She pointed at a blue gift bag on the picnic table.
“For me?” He sounded surprised as he placed Tiffany on the ground. “It’s not even my birthday.” He walked over to the table and picked it up.
“It’s a gift for being my number one.” Mia used the same line he’d used on her.
He opened the bag and slowly pulled out a figurine of a father with three kids, and chuckled. Mia was one determined child. The words “#1 DAD” were painted on the base.
“Do you like it, Daddy?” Mia ran up to him. “I bought it with my allowance money. You deserved something nice.”
“I love it, Mia. When did your mom start giving you an allowance?” He sat in front of her and hugged her.
“Today.” She smiled. Mia was always up to something. Her little mind ran a mile a minute.
“Let me guess who this is.” He pointed at the baby on the figurine.
“My baby brother,” she said nonchalantly. “Come on, Tiffany, let me push you.” She grabbed her baby sister’s hand and guided her back to the swing. Gently picking her up, she placed her on the swing and slowly pushed her, m
aking her laugh.
“Higher, Mia!”
Perry smiled, staring at his princesses playing and laughing and not caring about the things that almost kept them part. Lorie had never intervened with the girls having a relationship. Perry wondered why. Maybe it was because she was the only daughter. She would request Mia come over and spend time with their daughter. He actually thought that Lorie loved his daughter with Alicia. Tiffany’s and Mia’s love for each other grew stronger every time they were in each other’s presence. Mia was with him when he’d seen and held Tiffany for the first time, and since then, they’d had a bond that could not be broken. Alicia never held Mia back from him; she even encouraged their relationship from day one. He wasn’t going to lose either of his daughters.
Perry sprinted up to Mia and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around, which made her giggle loudly. Tiffany jogged after him. These were the moments he lived for. He watched Lola wiping her eyes as she stared at them.
Mia started dancing the JuJu on the Beat, showing Tiffany the moves. Mia stopped, looking at Perry, who crossed his feet, bouncing with his thumbs and pinky finger up and swinging his arms up and down.
“Daddy!” Mia said, amused, mimicking his moves and now crossing her arms. “Walk in the club…” She smoothed her hands down her pants, “Skinny jeans on…”
“You didn’t think Daddy had it in him.” Perry took Tiffany’s hand in his and began teaching her the dance steps. They danced and played the night away, and then they ate dinner with his aunt—and at the end of the night, he took his daughters home with him for the weekend.
Chapter Eleven
Perry was in a meeting with his boss, Kevin, and prospective clients, when someone swung the conference room door open, making them all look up. He clenched his jaw as Lorie stepped into the room with documents in her hand.
“Perry, I need to talk to you.” She stared at him.
“Lorie, I’m in the middle of a meeting.” He stood. “We can talk afterward,” Perry said, hoping she would just leave.
“We’re going to talk now!
“Lorie, can you give us a couple of minutes?” Kevin asked his former employee.
“You think I’m going to sign this?” She threw the papers and they scattered on the table and floor. “You’re not getting shared custody of my daughter, and I’m not divorcing you so you can marry that bitch!”
“Excuse me.” Perry strode toward her and grabbed her upper arm, forcing her out of the conference room. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He released her. “Coming to my workplace, starting shit. Don’t you get it? I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“Why did you change your number?” She glared at him. “Where are you staying? I know you haven’t been by that bitch’s house, so who are you staying with?”
“Where I live is not your concern.” Perry began to walk away.
“I can’t believe you sent your aunt over to my house to threaten me.” Lorie narrowed her eyes, but he didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. “Why can’t you handle your own battles like a fucking man? First, you sent Alicia claiming I abuse you and now your aunty… She assaulted me and then threatened me if I wouldn’t let you see our daughter. If I denied you, she was going to make me pay!”
“Did you touch my aunt?” Still confused, Perry raised his eyebrow.
“No,” she blurted out. “She slapped me and pulled my hair.”
“Why would she touch you, unless you hit her first?” He’d asked his aunt how she’d convinced Lorie to let him see Tiffany, and her reply had been “it doesn’t matter”. At that moment, it hadn’t.
“I didn’t touch that witch!”
Perry stared at the mother of his child. His aunt wouldn’t act out in front of Tiffany. Something was off. Lorie had to be lying.
“If you wanted to spend time with Tiffany, all you had to do was ask me.” Lorie’s face was turning bright red, signaling she was about to blow. “What’s your address? I’ll drop her off.”
She must think Perry was stupid. “You can bring her here, if you don’t want my aunt to pick her up.” He stared at her. “Sign the damn divorce papers, because no matter what you try, you and I will be getting divorce, and I will get shared custody of Tiffany.”
“Fuck you!” she yelled, as the new clients walked out the room. “You will never get my daughter!”
“My apologies,” Perry said, embarrassed.
“We were almost done,” said Kevin. “We’ll talk later.” The team continued down the hallway.
“You’ve cost me a lot already.” He inched closer to her. The vein in his neck throbbed. “You won’t mess up my career, too.”
Lorie grabbed his suit jacket. “I’m not letting you go. You belong to me.”
Perry chuckled, smacking her hand away from his clothing. “I don’t and have never belonged to you. Where’s your dignity?”
“Where’s yours, you punk?”
“I married you because of my dignity, but I was liberated the moment I signed those divorce papers. I warned you before: leave me alone.”
The security guard came around the corner. “Perry, is everything okay?”
“No. Can you escort Ms. Valentin out of the building?” He stepped back into the conference room as she screamed.
“You’re having me kicked out,” she yelled. “Don’t touch me.”
He bent down and picked up the papers she’d thrown. “My apologies,” he said to Kevin. “This won’t happen again.”
“It better not.” He closed his organizer.
“I’m going through a nasty divorce.” Perry sighed. “You remember Lorie?”
“She’s always had a missing screw,” Kevin stated. “That’s why I had to let her go.”
“I thought she quit.” Perry sat back down.
“She slept with one of her married clients and things got out of hand,” Kevin revealed. “Lorie was stalking him, even showed up at his house. He reported her and the next day she was given her walking papers.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Perry raked his fingers through his hair.
“You’ve been very private about your personal life,” he replied. “By the time I knew who you married, it was too late to warn you, don’t you think?”
“She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Perry thinned his lips. What else had she lied about?
“She certainly is.” Kevin stood, patting him on his back. “I’ve seen you grow from a boy to a talented young man. Don’t let a woman like her get you down. You’ve helped this company thrive. You can do a lot better than that woman.” Kevin walked out, leaving Perry alone with his thoughts. Who had he really married?
He wanted to pick up the phone and call Alicia, but he’d told her he would keep his distance. He grabbed his phone off the table and dialed the next best thing.
“Marco, what are you doing tonight?”
“She did what?” Marco asked, taking a sip of his cola and whiskey.
Perry smirked. “Yep, she’s fucking crazy. She threw the divorce papers at me, and said she wasn’t settling for shared custody.”
“You know that won’t happen,” his friend said, looking over the dinner menu. “You have Alicia on your side.”
“I know. That damn woman almost cost me an account.” Perry took a gulp of his scotch. “She doesn’t seem to get that we are over.”
“Well, friend.” Marco patted his back. “It doesn’t matter what she wants or doesn’t want, you two will be divorced soon.”
“She had the nerve to tell me that my aunt assaulted her.” He rubbed his nose.
“Lola?” Marco half-laughed. “I’ve never seen her bad side.”
“Growing up, my aunt never whooped my ass.” He snickered. “She has thrown a few chancletas at me.”
“What?”
He watched his friend’s reaction to the Spanish word. “She threw slippers at me.”
“Why didn’t you just say slippers?” Marco shook his head.
> “Chancletas—you know, chanclas—sound much better.” When it came to his aunt, he didn’t believe a word that came out of Lorie’s mouth. He decided to change the subject. Perry combed his hair with his fingers. “Alicia asked me for time.”
“Time for what?” Marco placed the menu down.
“She’s confused.” He looked over at the door, and for a split second he thought he saw Lorie.
“What?” Marco turned back, also looking over at the entrance.
“I thought I saw Lorie, but it’s just my mind playing tricks on me.” Perry sat back in his seat. “Shit.”
“Do you think she’d stalk you?”
“Nah.” He picked up his glass and finished his drink, knowing that he was lying to himself. He wouldn’t put it past his soon-to-be ex-wife. “Alicia thinks she might have feelings for that fool.”
Marco chuckled and slapped the table.
What the fuck was so funny? thought Perry
“Byron is just a booty call,” said Marco.
He clenched his jaw. “Really, like I want to hear that shit.”
“You’re right,” Marco flagged down the waiter and they both ordered their meals. “You’ve missed five of our mutual sessions, what’s up? It was my turn to vent.”
“Go ahead. Vent.” Perry said sarcastically. “How’s Milan and Carlson?”
“I heard you spoiled him when you were staying at my in-laws’.”
“Correction: our in-laws.” They both laughed. “One day, Alicia will be holding my son.”
“Okay. Milan is starting to get out more. Her speech has improved a lot.”
“That’s great. Have you two, you know…” Perry didn’t want to ask his friend such a personal question, but he was acting like the therapist now.
Marco beamed. “Yes, and it was…” he puffed.
“TMI.” Perry shook his head. “It was about time.”
“Who are you telling?” Marco leaned forward. “It was well worth it, though. My life is back to normal.”
“I guess you don’t need Mr. Ortiz anymore?” Perry joked, as his phone rang. He looked at the screen: it was Alicia. “This is a surprise.”
