The next day, I woke up early, did my hygiene routine, and then went to the kitchen to eat, but when I was almost there, I remembered my father and the previous night, so I went back down the hall to the room where he slept, and he was sitting on the bed with his hand on his head.
"Morning, I hope you slept well and remember the embarrassment you put yourself through last night," I said.
"Don't start, son, I have a splitting headache, leave me alone," Robert said.
"Take this medicine in the desk drawer; I bet Paula left it for you."
Then, I went back to the kitchen, and when I got there, Paula was just finishing her coffee.
"Good morning, Paula, did you sleep well?" I asked.
"As much as possible," she replied.
"And you didn't see my father last night?" I asked.
"No, is he okay?" she asked.
"Funny, because when I went to his room, there was a glass of water and medicine for headaches and nausea by the bed, and I don't remember them being there yesterday. And to answer your question, he is fine, just hungover, of course, after yesterday's binge," I replied.
Paula looked at me with a guilty face; she understood that I knew she had left medicine and water for him. There was no point in hiding it, her heart was huge, and she wouldn't be able to let him suffer from a hangover, even though he deserved it.
Soon, my father entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, everyone. Is there any black coffee left?" Robert asked.
"There might be some at the coffee shop on the corner," I said, stepping in front of Paula, who already had the mug in her hands.
"You don't give me a minute, son. All I ask for is a break," Robert said.
"And you think you're going to get a break by coming here drunk and bothering us?" I said.
"What do you want me to say? You want me to apologize? I apologize," Robert said.
"Apologies don't cut it for me. I like actions, you showing that you've really changed, and what I saw yesterday was not someone who has changed. And I also want you to know that you only slept here because of Paula. If it were up to me, I would have thrown you out on the street drunk," I replied.
He looked me in the eye and walked out the door without saying a word.
"You're too hard on your father, dear. He makes mistakes like any human being, and you take on too much pain that's not yours and take it out on him. He's been trying to be a good father since you were born; his biggest goal is to be the best for you, and every time you treat him like that, he feels terrible. He just needs a chance to change," Paula said as she walked out the door.
I don't know if she went after him, but I don't think so because she was all dressed up, apparently, she just had her coffee and was going to leave anyway.
She left me thinking about everything she said; was I being too hard on my father? I had always been stressed with him, and maybe I never gave him time to change, not even to get close to me. Maybe I really did need to change.
I walked out the door after him, not even knowing where to look for him, but I went out anyway. It was freezing, and when I got downstairs, I remembered telling him to get coffee at the coffee shop on the corner, so it was worth a try to go there, and even if he wasn't there, at least it was warm there because it was freezing. I got there, and as soon as I walked in, I saw him sitting at a table in the corner, staring at the wall while he drank his coffee. I ordered a cappuccino for myself and sat down at his table.
"Have you come to finish kicking me while I'm down?" Robert said.
"No, I came to apologize," I said.
He looked at me confused, not understanding.
"I haven't given you any space to change, let alone get close to me. I was wrong to kick you out of the house and rub it in your face that the house was mine, not yours," I explained.
"That house really is yours, son, but you know, your mother and I had some incredible times in there, and Paula and I did too; we had some wonderful times in there. You know, when you kicked me out of the house, I got to thinking, and you were right. I can't just break up with Paula and kick her out of the house and then show up with someone else. That was a completely idiotic thing for me to do, and I shouldn't have done it," Robert said.
"Look, Dad, we can try to change, for each other, but unfortunately, I'm not going to give up having Paula at home. I love her; I love her like a mother, and I don't want her out of my life like that. I understand that you have your life, and if it's not okay for you anymore, but I really want to continue living with her," I replied.
"I respect that, son. You two have a bond that we never had; you were always very closed off with me. And it's fine if you stay living with Paula; I'll find an apartment for myself," Robert said.
"I never gave you a chance for us to have that bond, but I promise to try harder so we can be real father and son, without fighting and blaming each other for things," I replied.
"Thank you, son; I'll try to change too. One day, we'll be very close father and son, and maybe even friends. You can count on me, son; I'll change, and you'll have a better father," Robert said.
I nodded and gave him a hug, then finished my cappuccino and went home while he stayed there thinking some more. Paula was right; I was being too hard on him, and maybe he could be a much better person than I imagined if I gave him the space.
I went back home and ran into Rafa as soon as the elevator door opened on my floor.
"Hey, I was ringing your doorbell for ages; I was about to go back down. Where were you in those thin clothes, in this cold?" Rafa asked.
"It's a long story, come on in."
We went inside, and I told her everything. She agreed with Paula that I wasn't giving my father a chance, so I told her about the coffee shop, and she loved knowing that we were understanding each other.
"Okay, but I didn't come here to hear about any of that, although I loved knowing. I came to ask you out today," Rafa said.
"It might be good to go out and have some fun. It's been a long time since I've known what it's like to go out," I said.
"So, there's just one small thing," Rafa said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Marcos is coming with us," she replied.
"On second thought, I don't really feel like going out anymore," I said.
"Ugh, you two need to get along. He's a good person; he's just misunderstood," Rafa said.
"Misunderstood? I'm the one who's misunderstood. He's just an idiot, and a handful," I replied.
"Okay, Luan, if you don't want to go, then don't go. What a drag. I just wanted you two to get along. I like him, and I love you, so it's important to me that you two get along," she said.
Ugh, she pleaded and even pouted. I hate it when she does that.
"Fine, I'll go. But if he starts anything, I'm leaving, you hear?" I said.
She ran to hug me.
"Yay! Thank you, bestie! I love you!" she said.
"Bestie? Seriously? What a ridiculous nickname," I said, laughing.
"Oh, come on, idiot, what's wrong with bestie?" she said.
"If you call me that on the street, I'm ignoring you and leaving you talking to yourself," I replied.
"Ugh, you're such a pain. But I'm happy, so screw it. I'm going to go home and start thinking about what I'm going to wear. Pick me up at 7 pm, okay?" she said.
"It's 7 pm now, and you're going to decide on your outfit at 7 pm tonight? I'm the crazy one?" I said.
"Stop being impossible, boy."
I laughed, and she left and went to the elevator, and I went to lie down. I needed to think more about everything my father and I had talked about; it was the most honest conversation we had ever had.
After a while, I got up and made scrambled eggs and ate them with bread. I was dying of laziness to make lunch, and Paula had left that morning and hadn't come back, so these scrambled eggs would have to sustain me for the time being.
Then, I went to the living room to play video games; I played for hours and then watched TV. When I looked at the time, it was already 6 pm, so I thought it best to go take a shower since Rafa loves to be late, but if I'm late, she freaks out.
I took a nice, long shower and went to my room to get ready. I had no idea what to wear, so I grabbed the first thing I saw. I'm not too fussy about clothes, just sometimes; in general, I wear what's in front of me. And so, I ended up with a maroon polo shirt, dark blue jeans, and black Adidas sneakers with red details. I even liked it. I combed my hair, and it was already 7 pm, so I grabbed my jacket because it was still cold and went down to Rafa's house. Paula still hadn't come back, so I left without telling her, but it wasn't like she worried too much. She was super relaxed with me; she knew I was of age and always said that I was at the age to enjoy myself, and if anything, she knew I was probably with Rafa.
The elevator doors opened on Rafa's floor, and I almost wanted to turn around and go home as soon as I saw him. The unbearable one was at her front door, waiting for me. Ugh, honestly, I don't know why I agreed to go out with them; such a drag.
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