Page 71 of Crossing the Brooklyn Briggs
I thought I was getting better. Turns out I just didn’t have enough to keep me busy.
“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen,” Rick says, getting to his feet.
My burger is already gone, and I look up at him with a literal handful of fries poking out of my mouth.
He chuckles. “You’re going to go home and go to bed. You’re exhausted, Torres.”
“Mmf.”
“No. I don’t care if people are still calling. There’s a thing called business hours, and if they’re calling outside of that, that’s on them.”
I finally finish chewing the fries and swallow, though I need a giant gulp of water to go with it so I don’t choke on cold potato. “We need the business,” I remind him.
“And that business will still be here tomorrow. You have to remember that you’re human, and you need a break.”
His words sound like what my mom told me the other day, and they hit hard. Is that what she was trying to say? Probably. Deep down, I know they’re right, and I’ve already seen what happens when I let my job take over my life.
I don’t know why it’s so hard to let go, but it is.
I clasp my hand on Rick’s shoulder and try to give him a look that tells him how grateful I am to have him. “Sorry,” I say. “This is exactly why I got out of California, but I can’t…”
He smiles. “We all have our demons, Torres. Turn off your phone, okay?”
I do it right now, where he can see. Otherwise, it probably wouldn’t happen. “Thanks. Hopefully tomorrow isn’t so chaotic.”
“If it is, we’ll deal.We.”
When I get back to the house, Mom is still awake, lightly sleeping in her armchair in front of the TV. Whatever she was watching on Netflix, the screen is asking if she’s still watching, so she’s probably been asleep for a while. Dad must not be home yet or he would have carried her up to bed.
I brush my finger across her cheek to wake her.
It takes her a second, but her eyelids flutter open and then she smiles. “Where have you been, Danny?”
I crouch beside her. “Houston sent some business my way, so I was trying to get that all organized.” Trying and failing.
“He’s such a good boy. Who’s he dating now?”
“No one, at the moment.”
“Hmm. And you’re not dating anyone.”
My heart throbs in my chest, and I have to resist the urge to rub my sternum to try to ease the tension. No, I’m not dating anyone, but I did fall asleep with Brooklyn last night. She probably moved to her bed sometime in the night, but I never noticed her leaving. I must have been dead asleep, which is new for me.
“I’m not ready to date yet,” I tell Mom, even if that feels less true than it did a week ago. Still, today was a good test of how I handle the pressure of work, and I failed.
Smiling sadly, she pats my cheek. “Handsome man like you? I know things didn’t work with Natalie, but you can’t let fear hold you back. You’re a good man, Danny, and anyone would be lucky to have your love.”
I can’t love anyone like they deserve if I can’t stop myself from working without someone intervening.
Mom frowns. Whatever she sees in my face, she doesn’t like it. “Mateo skipped some of his classes yesterday.”
That’s not what I expected her to say. “What?”
“Can you talk to him? He won’t listen to me.”
If he won’t listen to his mom, a literal angel, there’s no way he’ll listen to me. But I nod and kiss her forehead. “I’ll talk to him. You should go to bed.”
“I’ll wait for your father.”
