BLINDSIDED. [g. torres]

gleyber t and tommy b

september 14th, 2016.
.before.

"his name is gleyber?" paula's analytic father raised an eyebrow.

"yes, and he is the sweetest boy i have ever met." she returned, almost defensively. her dad disliked every guy she brought home. she had to admit that he was right about most of them. "besides, mom liked him." paula added with a tiny plea.

her dad and mom had been separated for almost twenty years. they were never married, but they had both her and her younger brother jack in a five year time span before calling it quits. they were still cohesive co-parents, and loved each other in a platonic manner.

paula's mother, bridget was a lot more kind and supporting than her father when it came to dating. she believed paula needed to find what she loved and run with it. tom on the other hand, was quite protective and judged her boyfriends by digging out everything that could possibly go wrong with them.

"what is his job again?" he continued to interview.

"he's a yankee, dad." she rolled her eyes, assisting her step-mother by pulling the pecan pie out of the oven.

"have you never heard all the terrible things those guys do after their games? the new york night life is crazy, you should ask derek about that, he may have a story or two," her father advised.

"gleyber isn't like that," paula assured.

it constantly tired her having to deal with her dad's frequent interviews on almost everyone.

if he really wanted to, he could probably find everything about gleyber on the internet. including his serene personality and little involvement in the media. he was never photographed at parties or nightclubs except for when it was a team function.

"acalme-se, tommy!" gisele chirped in her mother tongue. she too was also tired of her husband being a pest.

"sorry," he mumbled lowly, immediately understanding his wife's orders.

paula on the other hand, was not around enough to understand portuguese. she looked to her brother for assistance.

"she said calm down," jack obliged.

paula nodded, as gisele let out a small chuckle. she couldn't have asked for a better stepmother. it was always hard welcoming someone new into your family knowing they were taking the place of someone else. but, gisele quickly became her best friend.

"pauly! i think your boyfriends here!" ben shouted from by the front door. him and little vivi had been anxiously watching out the window and waiting for him.

"coming!" paula exclaimed, taking off her oven mitt and shooting her father one last heedful look.

she quickly dusted her dress off as she scurried toward the door. ben and vivi ran back upstairs as she approached. jack was discreetly following his older sister with wariness over what the man at the door would be like.

paula opened the door calmly, smiling brightly. gleyber grinned back, happy to see it was her opening the door and not her scary dad. he had a bouquet of white flowers under his arm.

the girl stepped aside so he can come in. gisele was already rushing over to greet him, as her father trailed watchfully.

"hello!" gisele hallood, kindly enveloping him into a huge bear hug.

"hi!" gleyber softly responded, holding up his bouquet of flowers as she let go, "i got these for you and your family."

"how gorgeous!" she voiced, as paula grinned radiantly. she knew gleyber already had gisele wrapped around his finger with the flowers.

gisele took the flowers and jack back to the kitchen with her as a timer began to go off, leaving just paula, tom, and gleyber at the entrance.

"hello, i'm gleyber," he dubiously took the first step. his arm extended to shake his hand.

"tom," her father nodded back firmly, but also quite friendly.

"let's go eat!" paula declared energetically, saving the small awkward conversation for the dinner table.

she figured if anything it would be best for her father to interrogate poor gleyber with gisele there. she'd yell at him to stop, or make the conversation more fascinating with her chaotic energy.

gleyber and paula sat down in the dining room with the rest of her siblings. her dad and gisele were in a little scuffle about what food they should bring out first.

"so... are you a real yankee?" jack cautiously asked.

"no, i'm still playing in the minor leagues. i am a top prospect though," he explained.

"that's sick," jack grinned. he currently loved baseball.

"what's a prospect?" vivi queried inaudibly. she was only three, and was just barely starting to form sentences.

"it's like..." gleyber trailed, thinking for a moment. "it's like the children of the yankees," he described.

paula chuckled at his analogy, but stopped to let him keep going.

"once you grow up, you become an adult. just like once you get better as a prospect, you become a yankee."

"are you bad then?" ben jeered unknowingly.

"very bad," gleyber fibbed seriously, as him and paula fought to hold back their laughter. none of the children caught onto the joke, with the exception of jack who knew something was up by the look on their faces.

vivi and ben were eyeing one another with concern. did their sister just bring home a scrub?

"okay, let's eat!" tom declared, setting a platter of steak down on the table. his entire demeanor changed as he saw the roomful of his children. he was less stern.

gisele followed with a bowl of salad and a baguette.

"we also have pie for after," she promised, as everyone's mouths collectively watered at the delicious food.

paula's father sat down at the end of the table, as gisele took a seat in between him and gleyber.

*****

"thank you for having me!" gleyber expressed his gratitude. his kindness and darling energy impressed gisele, but he wasn't sure what kind of mark he made on tom.

"thank you for coming! it was great meeting you!" the woman hugged him once more.

"it was nice meeting you too," he answered, afterward turning to mr. brady. "thank you for having me, it was a pleasure meeting you sir." gleyber stated graciously.

"it was a pleasure meeting you too, gleyber," he responded with a polite expression.

paula beamed at the gesture. her father's words sounded quite mannerly. they were different from the ones he usually said to the other guys he'd met from her.

"c'mon, i'll walk you out." paula told, taking gleyber's hand and leading him out the door.

his rental car was parked in front of the driveway, just barely in view.

"i think they like you," she broadcasted as soon as they were out of earshot from her family.

"thank goodness," he sighed, relieved, "i wouldn't want the goat mad at me."

"please never call him that again," she playfully giggled.