Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dad barked my way.
“Nothing. Never mind.”
Dad’s nose began to flare. “No, it seems you have something to get off your chest. So, get it off, Kai. Tell us what kind of parents you got versus Mano.”
“Dad, let it go,” Mano whispered.
“He’s right. Let’s change the subject,” I said, trying to compose myself. “Let’s just get through dinner.”
“Get through dinner,” Dad huffed. “As if we are a chore to you. You are so ungrateful, and it sickens me.”
“Ungrateful?” I sat back, stunned by his words. I could’ve gone off. I could’ve told him about himself and my mother, but I knew no good would come from it. For years, I’d told those two the damage they’d caused me, but they weren’t trying to hear me. You couldn’t speak the truth to those who chose to be deaf to your words. There was nothing I could say that would ever make them admit fault. They were too driven by their pride to ever admit any wrongdoing. In their eyes, I’d always be the villain, and they’d be the ones who struggled with their son not wanting anything to do with them.
“I’m sorry, Mano, I can’t do this,” I whispered, pushing myself away from the table. I stood and looked at my parents. “I hope you have safe travels.”
I turned to walk away, and my heart split in half when I heard Mom say, “You are such a disappointment.”
“What’s wrong with you?!” Mano shouted, making my footsteps pause. I looked over my shoulder and saw my little brother red in the face. At first, I thought he was calling me out for leaving the dinner, but it was the opposite. He was standing up to our parents for me.
“Mano, sit down immediately,” Dad ordered, but my brother stood taller. “And lower your voice.”
“No. I don’t know what your problem is, but how you treat Kai is completely different from how you treat me. I love you both, but you’re so mean. You belittle him every second you get. You judge every choice he makes. You haven’t even congratulated him on his new restaurant, which is amazing. You didn’t even ask to see it, and it’s literally around the corner from the apartment you invited yourself to stay at. You invaded his life and made snood remarks to him for the past five days, and he didn’t fight you back. He didn’t even raise his voice at you, and you have the nerve to call him a disappointment and ungrateful?!”
“Mano.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine.”
“No. It’s not. They are jerks to you as if they weren’t the ones who gave you a crap childhood,” Mano cried out. Emotions were bursting at his seams as he gestured toward them. “Why is that so hard for you, huh? Why is it so hard for you to admit that you made mistakes? That your mistakes might’ve hurt other people? Why are your egos so big that you can’t confess that you screwed up with Kai? Because you did. You screwed up, and he deserved more than you gave him.”
Our parents sat there with their mouths tightly pressed together, not saying a word.
Mano swallowed hard and shook his head. “Kai didn’t get what I got growing up. He didn’t get the same love, the same support, and the same parents. Yet he became the best brother I could’ve ever asked for. So, I’m sorry, I’m not going to sit here and listen to you talk down to one of the greatest people I know because your pride is too big to admit fault.” He cleared his throat. “I love you, Mom and Dad, I do. But I’m not going to stay here and watch you badmouth my best friend. So, have a safe flight. We’ll talk later.”
Mano turned my way and gave me a half grin.
I gave him one back.
“Let’s go,” he told me, walking toward the exit.
I followed him, a bit speechless at what just took place. Never in my life did I think Mano would stand up to our parents in my honor. He was always the peacemaker, the one who kept everything balanced. Yet, that afternoon, I felt more love than I’d ever felt.
As we got to my car, Mano climbed into the passenger seat.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I told him as I drove the car away from the curb.
“Yeah, I did.” He shook off his emotions and gave me a bright smile. “So, are we going to get wasted for New Year’s Eve or what?”
I snickered. “In your dreams, kid. But we can stop by the grocery store for some nonalcoholic sparkling champagne to ring in the new year.”
“I would fight against that, but sparkling champagne slaps so I won’t go against it.”
“Slaps?”
“It means it’s good, grandpa.”