Chapter26
A WEEK HAD PASSED, AND THEPT Cruiser had not shown up. Angela had not made another surprise attack in the grocery store and Zona’s tires were still intact. Alec had paid to replace the one Angela had slashed, and Zona had thanked him by taking him enchiladas, which she’d stayed to help him eat. Everything was working out.
They sat by the pool, enjoying both the enchiladas and the margaritas he’d made to go with them. The early evening was still hot but not unbearably so, since Zona was in shorts, and the sunshine felt good on her shoulders. So did being with this relaxed, happier version of Alec that she’d been coming to know.
“I could get used to this,” he said, and smiled at her before forking in another bite.
“Getting meals delivered?” she teased.
“Yeah, that’s good, too. But I was thinking more about the company.”
She smiled and took a sip of her drink. Crossed one leg over the other and let it swing, admiring her self-administered pedi.
“Do that enough and I’m gonna forget about food,” he said, pointing to her bare leg.
“Taking it slow,” she reminded him.
“Slow and steady wins the race. That’s what my old man used to say.” His easy smile turned wistful.
“You miss him.”
Alec nodded. “Yeah. He was a great guy. He worked his whole life as a welder. Eventually wound up with lung cancer. He and Mom were savers, and he sent me to college hoping I’d come out and get a high-paying white-collar job. Wanted me to be a lawyer.”
“What did you want?”
“Not that. I started working construction the summer after my freshman year. Bagged the whole lawyer thing and decided to get a business degree instead.”
“He had to be proud in the end that you built your own business,” said Zona.
“Yeah, he was. He got it in his head that I’d build him and Myrna their dream house, but she died before I could.”
“That was your stepmom, right? What did she die of?”
“Aneurysm. It broke Dad’s heart.”
“What happened to your mom?”
“Breast cancer. Lost her when I was eight. Dad made it until I hit middle school and my brother was in grade school, then he got lonely and went looking.”
“Wait. What? You have a brother?”
“He’s a purser on a cruise ship. We hang out whenever he’s in LA.”
“So he’s not involved with...”
“The girls?” Alec gave a bitter chuckle. “No, he was smart. Pulled away and stayed away. Poor Dad. If the cancer hadn’t killed him, the stress the steps laid on him would have. Especially Angela. She was out of control even as a kid. But Dad loved Myrna, maybe even more than he loved Mom, so he gave what was left of his heart to the steps.”
“That’s so... tragic,” Zona mused.
“Tragic is the mess Dad left me with. The girls were in their teens when their mom died and out of school when Dad packed it in. Ariel got it together, but Angela never did. Obviously. Idid what I could for her, footed the bill for her traffic tickets, paid overdue rent, got her out of a bad relationship, you name it, I did it. But now I’m done. She’s sucked me dry. Sorry, Dad.” Alec downed the last of his drink. “I need another one of these. Want one?”
“No, thanks,” she said. One drink was enough. Just being with Alec went to her head. She didn’t need to add more alcohol to the equation.
He went back inside the house and left her still trying to digest the sad family saga he’d shared. It was a messy, tragic one, and the responsibility he’d shouldered had left its mark on him. Cost him his marriage.
“What would you do differently if you could go back in time?” she asked when he returned.
“I’d have taken my wife and moved far away. You know what they say on planes, put your own oxygen mask on first. I never did.”
