Page 97 of A Lot Like Adiós
“It’s so much worse being the center of attention,” she agreed, sounding tired. “Did you buy your plane ticket?”
“Fuck. I forgot.” He exhaled heavily. “I’ll do it tomorrow. My parents asked me to come over to talk before I leave.”
It amazed him that he’d managed to put off this conversation as long as he had. His parents had been civil all evening, playing the charming hosts, but Gabe knew their patience was running out. They were going to want answers.
He still had no idea what to tell them.
Michelle stayed quiet, rubbing his bare chest in soothing circles. Gabe caught her hand and pulled her closer. And despite his bone-deep weariness, he didn’t drift off until she’d fallen asleep in his arms.
MICHELLE WAS ALREADYgone when Gabe woke the next morning. Before he could even stand from the bed, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was Fabian. Gabe subtracted three hours from the time and—fuck, it was super early in California. After nearly a week in New York, Gabe was just starting to acclimate to the time difference. Why the hell was Fabian even awake?
He quickly accepted the call and held the phone to his ear.
“Fabian? What’s up? Everything okay?”
On the other end, Fabian let out a long, slow sigh. “Man, you don’t even know...”
“Tell me. Is everything okay?”
“It’s Iris. She went into labor earlier than we expected. We went to the hospital, they did an emergency C-section, and the twins, they’re...”
“They’re what?” Gabe’s hand clenched around the phone as he waited to hear.
“They’re fine. More than fine, actually. They’re beautiful, they’re perfect, but they’rehere. Now.”
“Whoa. Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks. But now my wife is recovering from labor, my mom’s leg is in a cast, and my dad is still having heart surgery in a week. Plus I have two premature babies to take care of. The fucking nursery isn’t even done yet.”
“Shit. Is there anything I can do? Do you need help?”
“Thanks, man. My sister is flying in from Florida tonight. She’s going to stay for three months. We’ll make it. But Gabe—something’s gotta give.”
Gabe’s skin chilled at Fabian’s fatalistic tone. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I need more flexibility right now. More time. And not just right now, but for the foreseeable future. What I’m saying is—” Fabian took a deep breath, let it out. “I’m saying we should sell the gym. Powell is ready to buy us out. We’re already in over our heads with one location. How are we supposed to handle New York too? And I know you don’t want to be going out there all the time for every little thing. This is the best deal we’re going to get, and I think we should take it.”
“Wait.” Gabe pressed a hand to his forehead. “Powell already approached you about selling?”
“Dude, Powell’sbeenon me about selling. For, like, two years. He wants to turn it into a franchise. I told him we weren’t interested. But after meeting you and your girl last week, he called me and sweetened the deal. Sorry to spring all this on you at once. I should’ve told you about Powell’s offer as soon as it happened. With everything going on, I haven’t had a chance to think about it myself, let alone tell you the details.”
“What’s the offer?” Gabe asked numbly.
Fabian recited a number that made Gabe’s stomach drop.
“Holy shit,” he whispered.
“I know. He thinks the New York location is going to be a hit. He’s offered to buy me out and partner with you, or he’ll buy both of us out and take it from there. If you did that, you’d be free. No more New York trips. No more calendar alerts. No more emails.”
Gabe blinked, lost in his own thoughts. A week ago, that’s all he would have wanted, a reason not to manage the New York branch, a way out of coming back home.
But deep down, he’d also wanted for it to be a knockout success, so he could finally prove to his father that he didn’t need him.
And maybe, finally, receive the validation he’d always craved.
It was all slipping out of reach now, his dreams turning to sand and falling through his fingers. Part of Gabe wished he could tell Fabian to figure it out, that they were in this together, that they couldn’t give up.
Another part of him wished he were strong enough to do this on his own, without Fabian, without Powell. If he didn’t need them so much, he wouldn’t be proving that his father had been right all along.
