Page 76 of Straightened Out

“Hey, I was just leaving,” I say as I tear my eyes away from her. I walk toward the flats and slide my feet into them. She doesn’t say anything, so I continue to go about my business, fixing the tennis bracelet to my wrist and spritzing my favorite perfume behind my ears.

“Yes, I saw Rocco outside,” she finally comments. That gets my attention and I turn to face her. To my surprise she doesn’t look disgusted, if anything she looks more defeated than anything else. “Can we talk? I won’t keep you for long.”

“Not if you’re going to tell me I’m making a mistake. I don’t want to hear it.”

She stares at me for a beat before sighing and taking another step closer.

“I know you care about him and if I’m being honest, I think he cares about you too. But, Violet, he’s in over his head and so is Joaquin.” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “Violet, I didn’t almost lose the restaurant because business was bad, I got into that situation because I was trying to protect my son.”

Confusion mars my face as I try to decide whether she’s bluffing or not. If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that my mother is a master manipulator and everything I thought I knew about her is just wishful thinking on my behalf.

“A couple of months before I took that loan from Mitch a man came to see me at the restaurant. Your brother was in New York for the weekend and this man—Vladimir Yankovich—propositioned me. He showed me pictures of your brother…things he had done…people he had….” She shakes her head and I narrow my eyes.

Here we go again with another episodeMy Son Is A Rotten Criminal, starring Flora Cabrera as the martyr.

“Spit it out!” I demand.

Shocked at my tone, she lifts her head and that’s when I spot the sheen of tears glossing her eyes. I cross my arms against my chest and fight the urge to roll my eyes. If Joaquin were here, he’d have walked away already.

“Anyway, this Yankovich fellow wanted me to set up your brother.”

Not really buying any of her bullshit, I play along.

“Set him up how?”

“A meeting, he wanted me to arrange for Joaquin to be at the restaurant,” she explains. “He told me that if I didn’t comply, my son was either going to wind up dead or in prison and after looking at those photos, I didn’t think either option seemed so farfetched.”

I uncross my arms and drop them to my sides. That last part resonates with me. I’ve been doing a good job at blocking it out, but every now and then, my mind wanders to the night Pilar was murdered and I struggle. Accepting the man you’re falling in love with—as well as your brother—both, have a price tag on their heads, is a hard feat. As much as I want to discredit everything my mother is saying, I can’t.

I force a swallow.

“Back up,” I say, meeting her gaze. “This Yankovich guy—was he a cop?”

She shakes her head.

“According to Mitch he’s a rival of Victor’s or someone trying to move in on his territory.”

Victor doesn’t have any territory—not anymore—everything is Rocco’s. I stare at my mother as I let that sink in.

Sensing that she has my attention now, she continues, “After Yankovich left the restaurant, your brother showed up and I threw him out. I told him he wasn’t my son anymore and that I didn’t want anything to do with him. I panicked but I thought I was doing him a favor. He went back to Miami the next morning and I was relieved because I figured if he wasn’t here, Yankovich couldn’t demand anything from me or even him. When Yankovich came back I told him Joaquin had left and that I couldn’t set up the meeting. He saw right through my lies and soon enough he got his revenge. The health inspectors started showing up at the restaurant, fining me for things that weren’t even out of code. The freezer blew and the ovens all miraculously needed to be replaced.”

I remember when everything started to go. At the time, I chalked it up to bad luck and watched her fall apart. Then Mitch swooped in with his loan and things started to look up…well, at least until he came looking for his money.

“Wait a minute, you’re saying he was responsible for all that? Why didn’t you say something?”

“You’re missing the point. The only reason I’m telling you this is because you’re about to suffer the same fate.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Violet think about what I just told you. If you think this is over, that there aren’t a dozen men just like Yankovich looking to stick it to Rocco and Joaquin, you’re naïve. They’re going to get wind of you and they’re going to try to use you to get to him.”

I think about that for a second. I’m sure there is some truth to that, but if my mother can handle a man like Yankovich, so can I.

“I never want you to have to choose between your heart and your life.” She pauses for a beat. “Now, do you understand? It’s not that I don’t want to see you happy, I don’t want to see you be destroyed.”

My head spins as I stare at her blankly. There’s so much to dissect—so many questions. Suddenly my phone rings, pulling me out of my trance. I walk across the room to snatch it from my dresser and glance down at the screen, noting it’s Rocco. Silencing it, I shove the phone inside my purse and look back at my mother.

“I’ve got to go,” I say.

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