Page 114 of Ours
“Seriously?Seriously?!” Derek put down his fork and looked his father in the eye as he spoke. “I dunno. Maybe having to live alone in an empty house while my parents were gone forhalf a fucking yearhas something to do with it. What do you think,Dad?”
“Derek, I…” Robert had to turn to his wife to break the intense eye contact. “We had no idea you felt that way.”
“But that’s no reason to speak to us—or anyone—that way,” Linda sternly corrected.
“Sorry, Mom and Dad.” Derek took a deep breath.
“Derek…” Robert started. “Your mother and I, we thought you liked the level of independence we were giving you. You seemed to thrive under it.”
“When your brother was your age, he couldn’t wait to get as far away from us as he could,” Linda continued. “You’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, so we thought you’d love having the house to yourself. We hadn’t planned on staying away as long as we did, but more work kept coming in, and when wespoke, you seemed to be doing alright, so we just kept extending our stay.”
“Yeah, I wanted space from you guys like any kid, but I didn’t want to not see you for half a year.” Derek’s voice was softer than before. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to. Ate every dinner and breakfast alone.” Derek’s voice dropped even lower. “Would you have even made it to my graduation if it wasn’t for the phone call in the hospital?”
Derek’s parents looked at each other silently for a moment, which was all the answer Derek needed.
“I’m so sorry, sweetie.” Linda stood from her chair and walked to her son, hugging him.
“You’re right.” Robert soon joined his wife, hugging Derek from the other side. “We weren’t thinking about you when we stayed away for so long, and we weren’t here when you needed us. We are so, so sorry.”
“Derek, when we thought you were lost or hurt,” Linda pulled back to look at Derek’s face, “we were beside ourselves. I walked right out in the middle of a meeting with a client.”
“We dropped everything. Found the first flight out that we could,” Robert added. “We are so happy you are safe.”
“I just… I know I’m growing up and stuff, but I’m always going to need my parents.”It’s a start,Derek thought as he was hugged. “There’s still things I don’t know how to figure out on my own.”
“We’re sorry, son.” Robert put his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “I know we’ve missed a lot, but I promise, we’re going to be here for you when you need us.”
“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.” Derek watched his parents returned to their seats. He wasn’t exactly sold, but it was still nice to hear his parents apologize. He hoped things would be better now.
“So, Derek, tell us about whathasbeen going on.” Linda wanted her son to update her as much as he was willing. “What about colleges? I know you were thinking of applying to a few schools… Did you hear back?”
“Yeah, Derek. What about University of Columbia?” Robert jumped in, bringing up his and Linda’s Alma Mater. “You’re a legacy. They have to let you in there.”
“No, Dad. I didn’t even apply there.” Derek sighed. He figured this would come up.
“What! Why not!?” Robert was incredulous.
“Because I don’t want to go to business school like you guys.” Derek was ready to fight them on this if he had to.
“Okay, Derek.” Linda fixed her flustered husband with a gaze. “What do you want to go to school for then?”
“I honestly have no idea.” Derek was smiling, mostly to himself. “But I can’t wait to find out. So, some of the places I did get in…”
“Okay, so we have it narrowed down to these four, right?” Raphael looked over his son’s shoulder at the computer screen.
“Yeah, Dad. I think these four are good.” Nic clicked through the tabs he had open, each looking at a different college he had gotten an offer from. All four had decent football teams, but what interested Nic more was that all four had great athletic training and physical therapy majors, which Nic was starting to seriously consider for his future. He could still be involved in sports, but not running himself ragged doing it. He was actually glad he and his dad had that fight weeks ago now. Unlike his friends, he was feeling a little more confident about his future, at least educationally.
“Come on. Your mother is almost done with dinner. We can set the table.” Raph patted his son’s shoulder and led the way out of the room.
Before long, Nic’s sisters had joined them, and the four of them were seated when Luciana entered the room carrying a large serving bowl ofropa vieja. Knowing there was more, Nic and his sisters ducked into the kitchen quickly to retrieve the rice and other side dishes, placing them around the bowl of meat and taking their seats.
Nic’s mother said grace as she always did before everyone quickly went about filling their plates and eating. Dinners in the Herrera household were a traditional affair, something that was very important to Nic’s mother and father. Not that they were quiet by any means, as the argument Nic’s sisters were having to his right would attest.
“I amnotdriving her to school next year!” Gabriella was incensed. “You didn’t make Nic drive me!”
“I don’t want to take the bus anymore!” Next year would be Daniella’s first year of high school, and her parents were expecting her to ride with her sister.
“By the time I got a car, you didn’twantto ride to school with me,” Nic pointed out. “You thought I was embarrassing.”
