Page 54 of Seasoned
“What do you mean your mother was lonely? She had you at the house, and I was home every night.”
“Come on, Dad, you didn’t know she wanted to spend more time with you?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“It was obvious to me, but not to you, I guess. She said certain things that made me realize how she felt. Like, if you came home late and she’d cooked a nice dinner, she’d say something to me like, ‘Well, at least I get to see you appreciate this meal.’ Or if I ended up playing checkers with her, ‘Your father and I used to play checkers, and he absolutely hated to lose.’ I felt kind of bad leaving her alone when I went off to school—with the two of you getting separated last summer and that whole empty-nest thing. Then you got divorced, and I knew it would be really hard on her.”
Had he really been that obtuse? Did her withdrawal happen because he ignored her? This was definitely news to him. He worked a lot, yes, but that was to provide for his family. Besides, he and Adelaide had been married long enough that she knew to be direct with him. If she wanted something, she told him outright. Not only did he not like hints, he didn’t have time to play games.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Hector said. His eyes trailed back to the house where he’d spent several glorious minutes kissing and humping his ex-wife.
“So, about the job?” Daniel looked expectantly at him.
“Listen, if you’re going to work with me, I need to discuss this with Martin first. We’re equal partners. If he says it’s a go, we’ll start you small. Working on the sales floor and maybe shadowing the guys when they go out on installs.”
“Cool.” Daniel’s eyes brightened.
“How long have you wanted to work at Solar Beams?”
Daniel shrugged. “A while.”
Silence fell between them for several seconds.
“Danny, I want you to work with me. But I need you to take this seriously.”
Daniel straightened like a soldier in front of a commanding officer. “I will. I promise, I won’t let you down.”
“Okay. No special treatment.”
“I don’t expect any.”
It dawned on Hector that he’d never seen him so ready to tackle a task in a long time. If his son really had wanted to work with him for a while, he regretted not noticing sooner. He was a firm believer that his kids should go to college, and he wasn’t completely on board with Daniel choosing to leave school. But working at Solar Beams might not be so bad. Major changes were coming to the company. They were opening another store and Hector was planning to buy out his partner Martin’s share of the business so Martin and his wife could move to Jamaica to look after his mother-in-law.
Hector squeezed his shoulder. “All right. I’ll call you tomorrow with our decision.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Daniel grinned.
“By the way, do me a favor and help out your mother around the house, all right?”
“I will. I promise.”
“Good. I’ll see you later.”
Hector waved goodbye as he backed out the driveway, his head fixed on thoughts of his son…and his ex-wife.
7
“What are you doing?”
Adelaide loved the sound of his voice, and after their make-out session earlier today, that enticing bass brought a smile to her face. He’d made her feel alive again. Got her blood pumping. The short time they spent together had been unexpectedly thrilling, and her body still throbbed with the memory of that kiss. The heat between them was still very much alive.
“I just finished rubbing lotion on my feet and hands,” she answered.
“Vanilla-lemon lotion?” Hector asked.
“Yes.” Adelaide slid under the covers and rested against the pillows.
“My favorite. I can smell it now.”
