Armando Dominguez
Pretty much after our night in that motel, we managed to return home in time for breakfast. I dropped Brian off at his home and then went to mine. Javi didn’t seem to mind that I was out for the night, as he patted my back and congratulated me. Meanwhile, I later was told by my boyfriend that he was given an earful for coming in late.
Though, they weren’t angry for long. According to Brian, they figured that he was just a teenager who needed to live before he goes off to college. But for now, they just need him to go home before midnight.
It had been a while since I'd last seen my dad. I made an appointment and asked Brian if he wanted to meet him. My dad’s been interested in meeting Brian. In his phone calls, he talks about wanting to meet the guy that’s taking his son away.
Brian, holding my hand, leaned into my ear. “I’m scared.” He whispered.
“Don’t be. You’ll be fine.” I assured him. Still, I could feel him shaking. “We’re just gonna take any metal things off. Then we’ll be fine.”
I went ahead first and passed through the metal detector. Next was Brian. He needed a bit of help, as he removed his belt and his pants almost fell on the floor. Though, it was a funny sight.
Here I was, back in the visitor’s room where I came a while back. Where I had seen my dad for the first time in many years. A loud buzzer rang out and the guard opened the door. My dad walked through and quickly smiled at me.
He walked over to our table. I stood up and gave my dad a huge hug. Even though we had only met face-to-face once before, it feels like I had only just seen him yesterday.
“My Mando!” My dad said. He pulled away and turned to Brian, who had stood up and was behind me. “Is this the Brian I’ve been hearing?” He asked.
“Yes!” I replied. “Dad, meet Brian Hazelwood. Brian, this is my dad.” I said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Brian said, extending his hand. I noticed a slight shiver in his hands.
“Come here!” My dad lunged forward and trapped him in a bear hug. “He’s so small!”
A loud whistle was blown. One of the guards warned my dad of too much contact. So my dad let go and made us sit down.
“Armando tells me that you’re going to USC. You must be smart.” My dad said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say I’m smart.” Brian said.
“You kidding? You’re crazy smart, Brian!” I said. “Don’t listen to him, dad. He’s being modest. But he really is smart!”
“I’ll tell you one thing, though. You’ve got some skills.” My dad told Brian. “I mean, you got into USC and managed to tame this wild bull here. Do you love each other?” My dad asked the both of us. We stopped talking and turned to him. My dad had a smirk on his face.
“Uhh…” Brian stuttered.
“Yes, we do.” I replied for us.
“I can tell by the way you two look at each other.” My dad said.
Brian decided to speak up. “Mr. Dominguez, have you ever heard of a furlough?”
“A furlough? I think so. They said I can apply, but that I’ll have to pay a lot of money.” Dad replied.
“Well, you might not have to.” Brian said. He pulled out an envelope that I asked earlier what it was. He opened it and displayed several pages of different documents. “It’s complicated to explain, but essentially, if you’ve been on good behavior for at least more than half your sentence, you can apply for a free furlough.”
“So I can get out temporarily for free?” Dad asked.
“Exactly! You’ll need a guard to verify your behavior. But I can fill out the form and send it in!” Bumblebee explained.
“Could I possibly be able to go to Armando’s graduation?”
“Yes, you can.” Brian said. A huge smile came on my dad’s face.
“I can’t wait until you two get married…” My dad muttered. Brian blushed and muttered something quietly.
“You can finally see Rosita. She’s been dying to meet you.” I told dad.
“She has? But she was too young when I went away.” Dad said.
“Well, we may or may not have been hyping you up to her.” I said. “Just saying things, like how you’re a fun person and that you care about us.”
Dad’s eyes began to fill with tears. But he sucked in a deep breath, acting like he wasn’t just on the verge of a breakdown.
“I can’t wait to meet my Rosita.” Dad muttered.
It was refreshing to talk to my dad again. Phone calls are great and all, but to see him is much better. It’s almost like seeing an older version of myself. And Brian got along great with my dad. The two of them instantly became friends. There’s nothing better than seeing your dad and the man you love get along…
I gave my dad a huge hug before I left. And Brian promised that he would send in the furlough application. Though, as we were walking back to the car, Brian did tell me that my dad wasn’t going to be there on the day we leave for California.
But at least my dad will get to see his son graduating from high school. A first for this family.
“D’you ever want to meet your mom?” Brian asked me.
“No, not really.” I replied.
“Why?” He asked.
I took a deep sigh. “My mom wasn’t really a mom, if you get what I mean.” I told him. Brian just gave me a confused glance. “She kinda did the bare minimum. When my dad went to jail, Javi ended up becoming the parent for us. He stayed up all night, making sure Rosita got cleaned and that we were all fed.” I explained.
“Poor Javi. He must’ve really had to step up.” Brian said.
“For sure. He’s still basically our parent. At least until my dad gets out.” I said.
The rest of the drive home was quiet. I made a quick stop and got Brian some food. He was happy to eat it and shared some pieces with me. Before I dropped him at his house, he gave me a run down of some things that were upcoming. Graduation practice, buying the yearbook, and GradNite.
When I got home, I told Javi what happened. Javi had a slight smile on his face, excited that our dad might come out and get to see us again. I could feel nothing but excitement for my future.
The next few weeks went by quickly. We were at the point of the year when teachers barely gave out work. We took our finals and did nothing else in class.
GradNite was approaching. I’ve never been to Six Flags before, since we could never afford it. I promised to bring some gifts to Rosita. I didn’t know what to bring. I just got a small backpack and packed some essentials.
Brian was ready for me in the afternoon. I picked him up and we parked at the school parking lot. The buses were all there with everyone waiting to get in.
“Sit next to me.” Brian told me.
“Of course. Where else am I going to sit?” I asked him.
“But no funny business on the bus. Got it?” He asked.
“Sure…” I teased him.
“Armando. What are you planning? Armando?” He said. I just walked away from him and went to get us signed in.
My Bumblebee was tired just on the way there. He slept on my shoulder until we arrived at Six Flags. But his energy came right back. I just sat back and watched as his eyes filled with happiness.
He truly is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Beautiful Bumblebee Brian. A beautiful boy. God, I’m just so obsessed with him. What did I do to deserve this boy? I haven’t been the most virtuous person. I’ve stolen, beat people up, and lied.
But for some reason, the universe came and handed me him on a silver platter.
“Armando!” Brian said. I snapped back to reality. His blue eyes were looking back at me. It wasn’t a dream. He really is real.
I grabbed Brian’s face and just planted a huge kiss on his lips. He leaned back on the window and held me tightly.
“Get a room, you two!” I heard Veronica yell.
I let go of his face and just smiled at him. Brian’s face was flushed a bright red. He scanned around him and saw people looking at us.
“What was that for?” He asked.
“Can’t a guy just kiss his boyfriend?” I asked back.
“Y-Yeah. But you never do those things in front of other people.” He replied.
“Maybe I just want them to see me now.”
“Well, we’re here now. So can we go have fun?” He asked.
“Of course. We’ll do whatever you want tonight.”
He placed a kiss on my cheek and we waited for the buses to stop. Once the buses were parked, everyone was told to carefully get out. But we were too excited and caused havoc. I temporarily lost Brian but managed to find him in the sea of people.
“Hold my hand.” I told him. He grabbed me and I led him out of the crowd and away.
“Do you have my location?” He asked.
“Yup! If we lose each other, we’ll find each other.” I replied. I wanted to pull out the dog leach I bought and wanted to tie him, but I just realized how incredibly weird that would be to treat him like an animal.
“But I don’t plan to separate from you.”
“My Bumblebee is too attached to me.” I ruffled his hair. “That’s good.”
“Shall we go in and have fun tonight?” Brian asked.
“Let’s go! Our last night as high schoolers!”
“Wait!” He called before we went back to the group. “I love you.” He said.
“And I love you too.” I replied. He gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.
Then we walked back to the group and joined everyone as we got ready to have one last night of fun before we become adults.