Page 19 of Unfinished

In fact, the only time he’d been an asshole was when he found out his ex was cheating on him and he took it public. I found out last night, at the party, his mom continued to try to convince him to marry his ex. She even had her show up for an ambush dinner. What kind of mother does that? Probably the same type who had a child and forced them into running a generational company.

His parents made me grateful my mom ran off. At least I didn’t have that bullshit to put up with. My dad loved me and did everything he could for me, but I always made my own decisions. He had always wanted me to be strong and independent, encouraging me to chase after my dreams. This was why I almost always went to him for advice.

“Hey! How’s the job going?” I answered my dad's phone call. He typically checked in on me every couple of days when he was on jobs out of town.

“It’s good, I’ll be home late Friday night. How are you? Did you have fun at that party?”

“Yeah, I left a little early because I had to work the next morning. But … I met someone.”

“Oh really?” My dad asked, struggling to be casual about it.

“Yeah … Liam Teresi.”

“John Teresi’s kid?" He hesitated, "How was that?”

“Well, he approached me and we talked, then he made sure I got home okay when I called for a ride share. He came by the next morning with my favorite coffee and came to my work for breakfast. He ordered an insane number of orchids and had them delivered. Each one had the same note with Liam asking me on a date.”

“Okay?”

“He’s planned a date for today.”

“I don’t like it,” my dad blurted and I winced.

“I figured you wouldn’t,” I mumbled, not that it would stop me from going on the date. Talking to my dad about boys was always a little weird.

“That family has a history, Firefly, and I don’t want you getting caught up in something.”

“What history? His dad runs an advertising company.” What the hell was he talking about? I’d never heard anything bad about the Teresi Family.

“Now he does, but the entire family has a long history of organized crime and ties to it.”

“Come on, if they did they don’t anymore, what type of mob family has a worldwide ad company as a front?”

“All I’m saying is I don’t like it,” he sighed.

“I hung out with him after work yesterday and he was sweet. We walked along the beach. He didn’t try anything. He was clear that he had zero expectations but also told me that I am more than some summer fling and even said that any man would be stupid to let me go.”

“Well, I … uh … can’t disagree with him on that. But boys his age, they say a lot of things without meaning them.”

“I know what boys his age are like. I’m not stupid, I’m not going to give my heart away anyway.”

“Hannah, fall in love, but fall in love with someone who falls as hard as you,” he argued with sadness in his voice.

“We’ll see.”

My dad got like this whenever we talked about relationships. He didn’t want me to end up like he did with my mom, he loved her deeply and when she took off he was heartbroken. He didn’t chase after her but he didn’t lose himself in his heartbreak. Instead, he did what needed to be done for me.

My dad told me about the job he was on and when he’d likely be home. I planned on making him a good dinner since he’d be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in his hotel room all week. I was grateful the hotel room was covered by his company.

The company he worked for had always been good to him, even if there had been a few shady dealings that we didn’t talk about. Seeing nothing and saying nothing was a motto my dad and I lived by for awhile.

I remembered being around fourteen and going to a job site with my dad to pick up something he’d forgotten. When we arrived, there were a few men there getting ready to pour concrete and I remember the foreman, Rick, pulled my dad to the side and talked to him.

After that, my dad got a bit of a promotion and started taking jobs in other parts of California. That was when our finances started changing too. Things weren’t as bad for us, still tight, but we weren’t as worried about everything.

Liam: I’m on my way. Dress for the outdoors, not the beach.

The text came through and pulled me from my memories. I was a bit surprised to see it so early in the morning.

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