Page 63 of Perfectly Wrong
“Yeah, definitely. Your dad just called me. He’s worried sick. What do you want me to tell him?”
“I don’t fucking care.”
“Okay. I’ll tell him I told you to come over here to talk. Cool?”
“Cool. I’ll be there soon.”
I hang up and dial Rocco, who answers quickly.
“Did you talk to him?”
“I did. He’s driving. I told him he could come over here and we would talk.”
“He’s okay?”
“He sounded fine. Hurt maybe. I’ll talk to him.”
“I know he’ll listen to you, Bishop, so just tell him I love him no matter what.”
“He knows that, Rocco. He does. You’re a good dad. This is just a stumbling block.”
“Thanks. It means a lot to me. Bishop?—”
I cut him off. “It’s okay, Rocco. We’ll talk about us later.”
“Okay.”
I hang up and walk to the kitchen to get wine. I have a feeling we’re going to need it. After returning to the couch, it’s only a minute later when Tristan rings the bell. I open the door and my heart sinks. His face is flushed, his cheeks covered in tears.
“I think he hates me, Bishop.”
“Ah, babe, come in.”
I pull him into my arms, holding him and kissing the top of his head as I rub his back. He cries into my chest, full sobbing, and I realize how hurt he is.
“I’m sorry,” he whimpers. “I shouldn’t cry. Men don’t cry.”
“Not true.” I lift his chin. “Men can cry if they’re hurt. It’s okay. You’re safe with me.”
Tristan nods. “He’s so disappointed. He looked at me like how could I even be his kid.”
“Come sit down.” I lead him to the couch and pour him a glass of wine. “He’s worried sick. He called me immediately looking for you. He asked me to talk to you for him.”
“You?”
“Yeah. He said he knows you’ll listen to me.”
Tristan sips some wine, calming himself. “He said I had no direction or passion in life. He thinks I’m gonna be some loser who does nothing. He doesn’t have any faith in me at all.”
“He understands where he went wrong. He said you were right about him pushing his ideas on you.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah. He loves you so much, Tristan. He just wanted you to have a good life. He didn’t see how hard he was pushing you in his own direction.”
Tristan wipes more tears. “But he’s right. I don’t know what to do with my life now.”
I cup his chin, smiling. “What do you want to do, babe? Sky’s the limit. What would you be if nothing was stopping you?”
