“You can’t leave,” Dad says as if I were an eight-year-old boy who’s asking to go to a sleepover, but he won’t allow it.
Abuelo shakes his head. “This is what we discussed. You can’t impose your wishes on your children. If I had done that, you’d be running the brewery and all the businesses I own.” Then, he looks at me. “Are you sure that’s what you wish?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You spent three years rebuilding the town. It’s still a work in progress, and you’re just leaving without giving it a second glance. It’s—” he pauses, giving me a look that says I’m a disappointment to our family.
I want him to finish that sentence, but he doesn’t. He just sighs as if saying, this-is-a-moot-point-why-do-I-even-bother-with-you-boy.
“Well then, I’ll probably leave a week after Manelik’s wedding.” I wrap up this conversation because I don’t see any reason to continue it.
“Just make sure not to take any of my employees with you,” Abuelo warns me.
I lift both arms in surrender. “You can keep them.”
Okay, they’re not happy with me. I wasn’t expecting them to throw a goodbye party and claim to be grateful for dedicating three years of my life to them. Well, mostly Abuelo. The moment he was in remission and he and Uncle Gary decided to take a long vacation so he could recover and enjoy life, Dad went back to work on his business. The last I heard, he’s moving it here to Luna Harbor.
I should ask about his plans, but I don’t want him to confuse the question for some hidden interest in his company.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m heading to Seattle with Siobhan for the weekend.”
Abuelo gives me another look, and this time I don’t know if it’s anger, disappointment, or what. He thinks I’m playing with her, that I’ll leave her behind brokenhearted. Dad hasn’t told me much, but I’m sure he shares the same opinion. It’s a generational thing. They can’t possibly understand that two people can enjoy each other without messy entanglements.
Siobhan and I are the perfect examples of what a healthy… what are we? I wouldn’t call it a relationship, but what we’ve had works pretty well.
We know the score, keep our boundaries, and don’t play dirty games like my mother did with my father. There are more people in the world with failed relationships than successful ones. If I base this on statistics, forty percent of the Cantús have already found the love of their life. Therefore, the last three are doomed—I’m part of those three.
Why take the risk?
I plan to enjoy my last days in town with Siobhan Walters and go back to my life. Will it be hard to find someone like her? Probably. But I can settle with a woman who understands that I’d rather chew my foot than be tied down in a relationship.
* * *
Today feels like the last day of school when there’s not much to do and every interaction is borderline awkward. No one knows if we should say goodbye, I hope life brings you everything you wish for, or I hope we see each other during the next reunion. Will there be a reunion?
Every year, my family and I used to spend one month together by the beach. We rent a house in Fiji, Cozumel, or any other paradise and just catch up without worrying about anything else. Since Abuelo got sick and we moved to Luna Harbor, we stopped doing that.
I’m tempted to ask if we’ll try again next year or if it’s over since Manelik is about to get married and start a family. It’s hard to tell what will happen with the Cantú family. Do any of them care if we all go our separate ways?
“Oh, you’re here early,” Siobhan says as I enter her room.
In theory, this is hers, but ever since we moved into this house a few years back, we’ve been sleeping in the same bed. We don’t share a closet or a bathroom—unless it’s shower time.
“Where are you going?”
She looks at the lilac dress and then at me. “Like?”
“It’s gorgeous, just like you. Do I want to rip it off your body and fuck you? Yes, but not if you’re going to have to wear it later.”
She gives me a mischievous grin while sucking on her bottom lip.
“You’re tempted, huh?”
“Yeah, but Nydia wouldn’t like it if I have to find a new dress for her wedding.”
“I have a solution,” I wink at her.
“You do, huh?”