Chapter 19: Parents
Allen
There was a knock on the door. That better not be Sarah or else I was going to be mad. After what she did to Mika the other day, I didn't trust her anymore. If she decided to show up tonight demanding to see Sam again, it wasn't going to happen.
Mika managed to get to the door first since I had just put Sammy to bed. I was just rounding the corner to the front entryway when I heard her voice, although not of the woman I was expecting.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. I think we have the wrong address. He would have told us if he moved, wouldn't he, Edwin?"
I stepped behind Mika before he said anything. "Ma?" I asked, too confused to say more. They weren't supposed to get here for another three days.
She smiled widely, glancing at my father behind her. "I knew we had the right place - it's the same as last year. This should teach you not to doubt me."
The next thing I knew, she was pushing past Mika and me, Dad right behind her and dumped their suitcases on the floor. Mika looked up at me, a hint of worry on his face. I was probably just as worried - maybe even more so - than him. We were supposed to have more time to prepare for this.
"I didn't realize you would have a friend over, Allen," Dad said, motioning towards Mika. "Your mother and I thought you were still hiding away in here, ruining you life by sulking over that Sarah girl."
Why did I never notice how loud his voice was before? If he kept talking, I'm sure he'd wake up Sam. "That was a long time ago," I said. "And can you please keep your v-"
"What's this?" Ma said, cutting me off as she peered into the living room. "Why are there toys?"
All eyes turned to me. If my parents had come when they were supposed to come, I would have made sure everything was cleaned up so I could tell them about Sam properly. Now that plan has flown straight out the window.
"Ma, I, uh, I didn't know how to tell you this over the phone," I started awkwardly. "I'm a father. I have a son."
Dad's mouth dropped open in silent exasperation. Ma shrieked. "I'm a grandmother? How could not tell me?"
And then, of course, Sam's cry started up from down the hallway. I sighed. Great. Just great.
Before I knew what was happening, my mother took off down the hall in search of her grandson who she barely even realized she had just woken up.
I ran after her. "Ma, stop," I said just as she reached the nursery. "He needs to sleep."
"He's crying. Let me sooth him."
I wasn't sure if I should have been more concerned with her newfound mothering instinct or the fact that she wasn't even questioning who his mother was or anything about him.
I didn't say anything, moving into the room to pick Sam up. He got quiet immediately, and this would normally be when I'd put him back in his crib, except I could tell he was wide awake now. Might as well meet his grandparents. It might tire him out.
"Let's go to the living room. All of us." Without waiting for her to respond - because I had a feeling she would agree anyway without question - I headed back to the entryway to inform my dad of the plan and make sure he didn't do anything to Mika.
"How exactly do you know Allen, Mika?" Dad was asking when I walked up. "You don't look capable of being one of his colleagues."
"Dad, enough," I cut in, making them both look at me - him with confusion and Mika with relief. "I'll explain everything. Come on."
He went into the living room, leaving me alone with Mika. "Don't take any of what they say personally, okay?"
He nodded but didn't say anything, so I leaned down and gave him a quick kiss. "It'll be fine," I said, even though I wasn't sure whether I was reassuring him or me. "Just... let me do most of the talking for now."
When we entered the room, the first thing I noticed was that my parents had both taken seats on opposite couches. Which meant Mika and I wouldn't be sitting next to each other like I had wanted. Ma immediately patted the open spot next to her while staring at Sam. I was debating having Mika sit there, but really having him sit next to either one of them wasn't the greatest idea.
I decided to let Mika sit next to my mother, ignoring the look she gave me when I sat on the other couch. Dad was already being a little too offensive and I'd rather Mika not get angry enough to do something rash. As much as I loved him, I knew that that was a possibility with him.
"Do you always bring your ragged-looking friends to important family meetings like these, son?" Dad asked.
"Yeah, actually," I started, facing him. "Because Mika is family."
"Dada!" Sam screeched, his eyes finally landing on Mika in front of him. He reached out his arms, wanting him, so I placed him gently on the floor to let him crawl over. He giggled wildly when he got close enough to the couch for Mika to pick him up.
"Allen, what's going on?" Ma asked, staring at Sam in Mika's arms with a horrified look on her face.
I shrugged. "Mika's my boyfriend, and probably a better father to Sammy than I am, if I'm to be honest."
"Don't lie to me!" Then my father actually slapped me and it was at that moment that I knew I made the right decision to sit next to him. Otherwise he probably would have hit Mika.
I rubbed my cheek where he had hit me. "Jesus, Dad. I'm not a kid anymore. You can't control my life or who I choose to love."
"Edwin," my mother said, unnaturally calm. I looked over at her and Mika - who was sitting there seething because he had just watched my father slap me. "What was that for?"
"Eliza," he grunted. "Do you not realize how many times he has disappointed us? He has given us nothing, Eliza. And now he pulls this shit?"
Ma rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up."
That made Mika smirk. I sort of smiled at her words too. She seemed like a completely different person from the woman I grew up with. Maybe it was Sam; it was like he had an affect on her from the moment she knew he existed.
She then reached for her grandson, asking Mika with her eyes if she could hold him. He looked to me and I nodded. When she was holding Sam, she turned back to her husband. "Will you look past your own selfish needs for once, Edwin? Look at this precious baby - your grandson. I don't know about you, but I think I want to stay around our son's life and our grandson's life more often now. We've missed so much that he felt like he couldn't tell us about the family he's built here." When she said that last part, she looked over at Mika with a smile.
Dad huffed, but didn't say anything else. Knowing him, he'd be quiet for a while, but he'd get over it. They've had this argument before, not quite to this extreme, but it has happened. They would dislike something that I've done that doesn't live up to their standards, Ma would back off then try to convince Dad to stop pestering me. By the way this conversation was going, I had no doubts that it would turn out the same way. Eventually he'd give in and back off until the next thing came up. Just that thought alone was a huge relief taken off my back.
Mika, on the other hand, didn't look convinced that everything would be fine. He was looking back and forth between my parents, probably wondering what their next move would be. Dad was sitting silently and Ma was talking softly to Sammy, who seemed to like her. Neither were attacking each other anymore, but I could see how he could be worried about it.
His eyes finally landed on mine, so I gave him the most reassuring smile I could muster. He visibly relaxed and I couldn't help but laugh.
Dad looked over at me then, the first time since he hit me. "You're happy?" he asked. "With this life?"
I wasn't expecting the question at all, but I tried not to show it. I nodded. "Very. Probably the happiest I've ever been in my life."
He gave a single nod before looking at Mika. "Are you happy?"
Mika smiled. "You wouldn't believe how grateful I am to your son, sir. He's done so much for me, even made me realize that I'm not who I thought I was and he taught me that I can love another person, because I'm so in love with him."
I didn't hear what was Dad said after that. All I could hear was Mika's voice repeating over and over in my head: I'm so in love with him. I think Dad was still saying something or maybe the room had gone quiet, I wasn't sure. But I stood up anyway, grabbed Mika's hand and pulled him out of the room.
As soon as we were in the hallway, I pushed him gently against the wall and hungrily kissed him. I had to control myself to keep the kiss from getting too heated right now, but I just needed to show him how much what he said meant to me.
When we finally broke the kiss, we stayed close to each other for a moment. Mika was the first to break the silence. "So I guess you heard what I said."
I smiled. "I love you, too, Mika."
"Only took me long enough to realize it. I don't think I knew until I realized how much Sam meant to me the other day. And if I love Sammy, I definitely love you."
I leaned in for another kiss, but my mother's voice stopped me. "If you two are done making out over there," she called, "I think we might have a dirty diaper situation in here."
I sighed. Of course. But Mika told me he loved me, and even a dirty diaper wasn't about to get my mood down any time soon.