Danny
Only concerned only with Billy’s wellbeing, I marched downstairs and apologized to our guests, reassuring them that our boy will be fine and that the doctor was on his way.
He did, however, need his rest, I explained, politely asking them to all go home and thanking them for sharing our son’s fourth birthday with us.
As Michael escorted everyone to their cars, offering help and assistance whenever required, I saw Rita and Russ in the corner out on the porch. She was wiping what seemed like tears as he attempted to comfort her with hushed words I didn’t care to hear.
Turning back around, I aimed to walk into the house before getting into a futile argument with her. Unfortunately, she caught a glimpse of me and came hurrying behind me.
“You.” Her spite filled the air. “You turn to me when I’m talking to you!” she yelled.
I, once again, kept on walking as I proceeded to go upstairs.
She followed me, and I heard Russ’s desperate appeals for her to shut up.
“Too chicken shit to face me, aren’t you?” she screamed, the stomps of her feet pounding as she tailed me. “You know you’re not fit to be a father. You’re too rotten to raise a child.”
“Rita, that’s enough!” Russ yelled from behind her.
“You are irresponsible and useless,” she continued, hatred spewing sharp and stinging from her lips. She scoffed, banging her palm against the wall as I made it up to the last step. “I’m not surprised, considering your filthy roots.”
At that moment, Gigi opened the door and stepped outside, her face flushed and her chest rising and falling, visibly reeling with indescribable anger.
“That is enough outta you!” she screamed, shoving her index finger up in her mother’s face as I walked past them, silently going inside. “So help me God, if you don’t shut your mouth right now I will have Michael drag you out and into the guest house until you can get a fucking grip!”
“Calm down.” I heard Russ whisper. “Rita, c’mon.”
I sat down on the chair beside our son’s bed, resting my elbows upon my knees as I leaned forward, observing his breathing and eye movement underneath his soft, pale eyelids.
I listened to their few strained yelps, blurting out unrecognizable words. A ruckus ensued outside the room in what I imagined was Russ trying to break up their argument and pull Rita away.
A few seconds later, Gigi stormed back inside, shutting the door behind her as she sharply exhaled.
“Anything?” Her eyes fixated on the child.
Feeling awfully sorry for her, I pressed my lips into a thin line as I slightly shook my head and placed my chin on tight fists.
At that moment, I was utterly helpless.
Minutes passed in absolute silence, so deafening, I could almost hear our heartbeats in the quiet room. Gigi sat on the opposite edge of the bed, restlessly watching Billy and occasionally touching his face, forehead, hands, and chest.
I thought I saw his eyelids twitch before he began to move his feet and hands, turning to look at me as he lazily opened his eyes.
I held my breath, and my heart stopped.
“Oh my God.” Gigi began to simultaneously laugh and cry, tears running down her cheeks to meet the lifted corners of her flushed lips. “Baby, thank God.”
Launching from the chair, I approached him and gently touched his seemingly unaffected arm, planting small, soft kisses on his fingers, arm, and shoulder.
Gigi, from the other side, started to frantically kiss his face and neck in a mindless frenzy.
“Ow,” he winced, and we both immediately withdrew a few inches, lifting our hands up in the air. Groggily moving his hand toward the other arm, he moaned, “My arm hurts.”
Letting my shoulders finally relax, I breathed out in relief, placing both hands over my eyes before hastily leaving the room.
In the seclusion of our bedroom, I threw my weight down on the bed, finally allowing my knees to give in. As I tried to regulate my breathing with deep inhales and audible exhales, I stretched my arms and popped my knuckles in an attempt to regain composure.
It had been one of the scariest experiences of my life, and I was just gradually coming down.
My ears caught another round of commotion out in the corridor and across the hall before the voices and sounds became most distinct. Rita was back, and she had clearly joined Gigi in Billy’s room.
“Thank God you’re okay, sweetheart.” Rita’s obnoxious screech became understandable. “Gigi, Honey, this can’t go on.”
“Excuse me?” My wife’s tired voice pained me.
“This child—”
The sounds became muffled, and something clunked softly—my guess was the door—before their conversation moved outside, closer to my hearing.
“He needs a dependable father. A real man who can be accountable and keen on his wellbeing. Danny is none of those things; you have to listen to me.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Gigi strained, trying—and failing, out of enragement—to speak in whispers. “We don’t even know what’s wrong with him yet, and you’re using this as an opportunity to break us up?”
“No, you liste—”
“What are you? Seriously,” she huffed. “Where’s Dad?”
“Downstairs with Michael.”
“Dad?” She yelled out. “Daddy?”
“What do you think your father will do? Wipe away the voice of reason?”
She loudly scoffed, “Reason. Oh my God, I can’t believe how delusional you are right now. Please, go home, I beg you.”
“I will not leave you two alone with him. I can’t even trust him enough with a car right now for Christ’s sake!”
“Mother, you are completely out of li—”
Russ’s voice suddenly echoed through the stairway as he urged Rita to come with him. After negotiation, she finally agreed to go to the guest house until we knew what was wrong with Billy.
That was it.
That was the moment I decided that Rita absolutely had to go. Her spending another day in our house guaranteed nothing but the end of Gigi and I, and the termination of this marriage.
It was a scenario I could not even stomach. I loved Gigi and Billy with my heart, and I wasn’t about to let malevolent little Rita destroy what we had.
Getting up, I started to pace across the room, my legs too restless to settle, and my mind too edgy to quit storming in my head.
Only when my eyes caught sight of Michael’s car pulling over outside with the doctor in the passenger’s seat was I able to push my resolute deliberations aside and scram out of the room.
Before I made it halfway downstairs, Michael was already ushering the physician upward.
“Hello, Doc,” I exhaled before leading the way. “Thank you for comin’ so fast.”
“I’m sure everythin’s fine. Let’s see what we have here.”
We stepped into the room where Gigi was alone at Billy’s side.
Thankfully, Rita and Russ were nowhere to be seen.
“Howdy, little buddy.” The doctor cheerfully approached Billy.
“Are you the doctor?” He grimaced.
“Yep. What’s the matter now, Cowboy?”
“My arm hurts.”
“Oh,” he chuckled in sympathy, “lemme see.”
He began to examine him while Gigi slowly made her way toward me, automatically nestling between my arms as we watched closely.
“This hurt?” He moved his elbow.
He nodded without making a sound.
“Wow, you’re the bravest patient I ever had.”
He giggled. “Why?”
“You ain’t makin’ a fuss.”
“I’m four today!” he enthusiastically announced before wincing as the doctor moved his arm again.
“Oh, you’re a big man.”
“Yes. Like Daddy.”
The doctor chortled before turning to us. “Yeah, it’s a broken arm.”
“Oh my gosh,” Gigi whispered with a shudder.
“No, no.” He raised a hand while the other proceeded to open his bulky bag. “It’s pretty common in children his age, especially those with an active life.”
She took a step closer, touching Billy’s foot with her fingers. “Will it heal quickly?”
“Quickly, yes.” He pulled out a couple of smaller bags. “Properly? Needs a cast.”
She audibly sighed.
“Please come closer and help me.”
We both immediately launched forward. While Gigi settled next to Billy and held his hand from the opposite side, she whispered encouraging words into his ears.
I moved forth to the doctor’s side, holding Billy’s broken arm in place while the expert began to wrap it up.
Paying slight attention to what my wife said, I heard her mutter, “You’re so brave, I’m so proud of you. You’re just like Daddy.”
Her words seemed to be effective since he fixed his eyes on what the doctor was doing without flinching. Instead, he smiled proudly as he watched the delicate task in action.
Glancing in her direction, I took a deep breath and mentally counted my blessings. Her reassuring phrases weren’t only working on him, but much to my surprise, they lifted me up as well.
My wife said that our son was ‘just like me’ with a gratified smile on her face.
That had to count for something.
For as long as I had lived, I had never dreamed of having such a loving and supportive partner, and a child who looked up to me and wanted to imitate my behaviors.
The entire situation served as a delicious reminder of where I was in life, what I had, and what I needed to do to keep it.
“Can you move your fingers for me?” the doctor grinned.
Billy wiggled his fingers with ease and nodded.
“We’re all done.” He stood up, ruffling the boy’s hair with one hand. “See you in four weeks, Cowboy.”
Ushering him into the hallway, I left Gigi with Billy and closed the door as I stepped out of the room.
“Four weeks, huh?” I smiled politely.
“Y’know the drill, Danny. It’s not a complex fracture, so his arm should be as good as new after that period.”
“That’s great.”
“He does need to lay low for the rest of the day, though. Not a lotta movin’ around, let alone runnin’. Trips to the bathroom and changing his clothes are enough.”
“Gotcha.”
“He’ll be fine, Danny. You did a great job moving him without injury to the nerves.”
I sharply exhaled. “Yeah.”
He then pulled a little pad and pen from his pocket and jotted down something. “If the pain returns, and it most likely will, don’t panic. It’s normal. The kid’s bone is broken. Give him a pill o’ this with a glass o’ water after a light snack.”
He handed me the prescription.
In spite of my courteous smile, I knew that my face remained tense. He patted me on the shoulder.
“Relax, will yah?” He nodded with another grin before turning to make his way downstairs.
As I escorted him out, my eyes found Michael waiting in the living room, wringing his hand as he paced. His face, however, retained its usual calm.
“All good?” He looked up at us.
“Yes,” I turned to the doctor, “thanks again, Doc.”
“Let me take you back.” Michael took it from there, headed for the door. Before he closed it behind him, he peeked in. “Need anything on my way back?”
“Uh.” I looked around aimlessly before realizing that I still had the prescription in my hand. “Yeah, this.” I gave it to him. “And a couple o’ more six-packs?”
He chuckled. “You got it.”
Recognizing that I only had a few minutes before Hurricane Rita returned for more of the same, I let gravity pull my weight down as I slumped down on the couch.
I pushed my torso backward to relax for a minute, remembering what life was like when it was only Gigi and I in the house.
Sadly, I couldn’t recall a fully peaceful day with Billy, with Rita’s noxious presence hovering since he was born.
I liked Russ. As a matter of fact, I loved the man. It was his wife that made me want them both to leave us alone.
Her vicious remark came back to haunt me, “considering your filthy roots.”
Years had passed with her making those backbiting statements without offering explanations or clarifications of what she exactly meant.
What did she mean? And how would she know about my family?
Did Gigi tell her something? Had she let out the one secret I had confided?
No. It couldn’t be.
I shook my head, desperately trying to get the devastating thought out of my mind.
She couldn’t have possibly betrayed her husband’s most personal confidences like that. Gigi was a good woman, and she would never backstab me.
Then what was it?
Regardless of the reason, Rita needed to leave as soon as possible.
Just as I suspected, as Michael returned with a couple of shopping bags, he had an apologetic look on his face while he opened the door wider for Rita and Russ to follow.
“Where is he now?” she rhetorically asked without looking at either of us, directly marching toward the stairs. “Gigi? Billy?” she yelled out.
“I’m sorry.” Russ remorsefully approached me. “I could only keep her away for so long.”
“It’s okay, Russ.” I leaned forward, pinching the bridge of my nose. “She’s his grandmother, and she must be worried.”
“You’re such a good man, Danny.” He sat down beside me, his hand gently landing on my back in a genuine fatherly gesture. “Is there anything else I can do?”
I shook my head, gazing downward.
“Here’s the medication.” Michael handed me one bag. “I’m gonna put these in the fridge.”
“Oh, more beer,” Russ cheerfully gleamed. “We’re gonna need those,” he chortled.
Michael scoffed, tilting his head with a knowing expression on his face before walking away.
“We’d better go back up there before she eats Gigi’s ear off,” Russ joked as he slowly pushed himself up, visibly suffering from his bad knee.
I swiftly stood up to help him, and we both went upstairs.
As we approached the room, Rita’s scathing tone reached our ears.
“That’s not a proper cast,” she mocked. “What kind of doctor is he?”
“Okay, let’s get outta here.” Gigi pulled her out, and we saw them both leave the room. “He’s asleep now,” she reassured me before gently pushing her mother, by the shoulders, back downstairs.
“I wanna stay with him,” Rita objected.
“Well, you can’t. He needs to rest, and you get him all riled up.”
“Me?” she yelled.
“Lower your voice.”
“Now, you all listen to me.” She turned to us as she took a stance in the middle of the living room. “That’s not an appropriate way to handle a broken arm. First, they need to do an X-ray, then—
“With all due respect, Ma’am.” I raised a hand since I had about enough of her nonsense. “You’re not a specialist on the matter.”
“Who are you calling Ma’am?”
“You.” I sternly pointed a finger. “I’ve known that doctor for over a decade now, and I trust his opinion more than anyone else. If you’re gonna stand there and run your mouth about shit you don’t understand, don’t be surprised when it’s met with mockery.”
“Oh, there it is,” she mocked with a sarcastic laugh. “How could anyone expect any better from someone like you?”
“I am not going to sit here and let you insult me in my own house!” I raised my voice.
“Danny,” Gigi begged, “Mom!”
“No. No, Honey, this is enough. Someone needs to teach her a little somethin’ about boundaries, which she’s clearly lacking.”
“Well, someone needed to teach you to respect your elders, but I guess your parents didn’t know any better, did they?”
“Rita, back to the house, now!” Russ yelled, his hand flailing to get a hold of her arm.
“What do you know of my parents, huh?” I took a step closer, leaning forward as I sensed the heat burn through my chest and rise to my cheeks.
“What I’m witnessing is just about enough, Mister! They didn’t know how to raise a man, just like you’re failing now with my little Billy.”
“Your Billy? Oh, I must’ve missed the part where you were here while she labored for hours after she begged you to come visit!”
“Don’t you dare—” She narrowed her eyes as she launched in my direction, barely caught by Russ’ arm.
Without hesitation, Gigi suddenly bolted toward the door, swinging it open as she screamed. “Get out! Go home, right now, and don’t come back!”
“You’re kicking me out?” Her eyebrows shot up as her index finger poked through her shirt in a dramatic theatrical gesture.
Gigi’s breathing was now audible while her eyes blasted enough glare to burn through her mother if she could.
Silently, Russ escorted Rita out into the garden before they walked off in the direction of the guest cottage.
Slamming the door, Gigi closed her eyes as her shoulders drooped.
God, how heartbroken she must have been.
I launched toward her, opening my arms and receiving her searing body as she silently wept onto my chest. Not knowing what to say, I quietly stroked her hair as I let her cry it out.
“I’m sorry,” she snuffled.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I don’t understand why she treats me this way, and I hate putting you in this position.”
“This is ridiculous.” She looked up, wiping her tears with one hand. “We shouldn’t be apologizing to each other. She should be apologizing to us.”
Her red nose, bloodshot eyes, and matted eyelashes gave her a sweet, sad glow. I wished I could kiss all her pain and anger away, but I couldn’t. And she was right. Rita was the source of all that wretchedness, and neither of us was at fault.
Agreeing to take turns tending to Billy through the night, Gigi and I spent the following hours apart, yet somehow together.