Chapter Ten – The Goodbye Night

My rest of the morning was fulfill with my mom and the beach.

We walked in the places we used to make our meals or sit to watch the waves crash and read books. And then we stop by in the famous restaurant Sea Hills beach house.

There my mom told me all about her relationship with Carl. That she was tired of him, but he was really aggressive, and had hurt her so much in this past months.

I told her that I was going to talk to him and help her, and she started crying and said to me to don’t do this. She was scary of what he’d do.

“He is a strange man, son. He can lose his mind so quick.”

When I heard those words I could barely stand sit. That man was a monster. My mom wasn’t a bad person and didn’t had to be with him, for God sake she wasn’t even married with him.

I told her that tonight I’d have a talk with Carl. And she didn’t had to worry about nothing as Josh would be there too.

Josh found our home quicker then I thought, and he came really earlier. I introduce him to my mom and they started talking about me, really weird, though was nice see that she was laughing with Josh.

When Carl got home, was already almost 19:30. The food was placed in the table and the smell of home was in the air. He looked really surprised to see another man in the house, but didn’t asked a thing.

“So, Carl, this is Josh, Dan’s boyfriend.” She said to Carl.

His eyes pop-out so fast that looked like in those cartoons. Absolutely he just find out about me.

“Boyfriend?” He asked to my mom.

“Yeah. You didn’t understand?”

“No. I just heard perfectly.” He said eating his fat pork ribs.

The dinner was quiet after that. Just the sound of forks in the plate in the air.

After everybody finished, I walked into the kitchen to grab the pudim. Soon I was surprised with Carl.

“Look boy, I don’t want to say this one more time, just grab your dirt things and get out of my house, and take with you your dirt friend. I don’t want people like you here.” He said so faster and so angry that was difficult to understand. But I got the message. I wasn’t welcome in my mom’s house.

I just turned my head down, and started talking.

“Look, old man. – I said pausing. – For your information, this is my mom’s house. Not yours. And I won’t go away, like you said.

You’ve been treating my mom like shit and I known that. She was afraid what you’d do with her, if she left you. You can believe how scared she is? And now you want me to go away? So you can hurt her again? I won’t let you do this. Is better you go to your old place, and left us her.” I finished, with tears in my eyes.

He turned his head and left the kitchen. When I got in the dinner table, Josh was hugging my mom. She was crying. Looks like they’ve heard my talk with Carl.

And then I saw Carl packing his clothes.

The silence was quiet then ever, you could only hear the sound of Carl’s movement in the bedroom.

After ten minutes he yelled “Goodbye Ab, I hope you find your happiness”

Neither my mom nor I saw him again.

The rest of the night was weird. We just sat in the sofa and looked each other’s face. The sadness was gone. And the wonder of the new was there now.

©Leonardo Martins