My destination was the campus was just outside of town. It had everything a person could ever want inside, so most students don't even leave the campus. The college was extremely well known. Most of the students were from wealthy households, they had sent their kids there when they honestly just didn't want to deal with them or if they couldn't buy their way or just weren't interested in an Ivy League University. It costs a fortune to operate so tuition wasn't cheap. The expenses were seemingly well spent. Looking back, this place wasn't all that bad, but at the time I found this place to be dull and boring.
"Identification please?" the guard asked as I stopped at the big golden gates
"Yeah, sure," I said, looking in my glove compartment
"Oh, shit" I cursed. I can't find them, I must have left them in the old car
"Is there a problem?" he asked
"I seem to have left my Identification"
"Sorry, but you have to leave the premises," he said
"Can you just let me call someone? She knows I'm coming"
"I'm sorry, that's not allowed"
"Just let me call her," I said, reaching for my phone
"Sorry, but that won't help. Please leave and come back tomorrow. It's already late" the guard said
"Just one call," I said before, the man sighed
"Young man, if you don't leave I'll have to call the cops," he said
"Alright. Alright, I'm leaving" I said
"Wait! That won't be necessary," a man came coming out from the campus
"Franklin it's okay, you can let him in"
"Yes, sir," The guard said before pressing a button opening the gate. I drove into the campus and quickly found a parking space before getting out of the car
"James Taylor, it's always a pleasure to have you around"
"Nice to see you too Dean Kane. I hadn't expected you to recognize me" I said
"Indeed if I hadn't been keeping track of you I might not have. Now that your head finally matches your body" Dean Kane said
"You've been watching me?" I said a bit crept out
"Of course, I wanted to make sure that you weren't led astray by bad influences so there will be no problem with administering you into the school," Dean Kane said as if it was a done deal
"Actually, Dean Kane I'm sort of exploring my options about college right now. I'm sure you know that other schools have also sent me acceptance letters" I said
'Even the ones I didn't apply to' I thought to myself
"Yes, yes. I hear even Ivy League schools are fighting to get you to attend, but you have a history with this school so I'm hoping you'll keep that in mind when considering" Dean Kane said
"Okay, Dean Kane I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the help," I said
"Speak nothing of it, I was just passing by when I happen to see you," he said
"Still, thanks," I shrugged
"So Mister Taylor, may I ask how your A.I. project is going"
"Quite well, thank you, your donation was a really big help"
"I'm glad to hear it. You know there is plenty more where that came from if you ever decide to come here next year," he offered
"I'll keep that in mind, but today I'm actually just here to pick someone up," I said
"Oh yes, I had almost forgotten to tell you. Miss Romanoff's dorm room is on the other side of the school. The girls' dorm room 5A" he said
"Thanks a lot. I'll be taking my leave" I said, getting back in my car quickly making my way over to the girls' dorm, and getting out. After the short elevator ride, I was in front of her door-knocking for five minutes before it finally opened. A girl with vibrant red hair and beautiful blue eyes opened the door
"And who are you handsome?" she, most likely Rebecca's roommate, asked
"James Taylor, I'm here to pick up Rebecca, is she here?" I asked
"Oh, you're here to see her." She said, disappointed before turning back around, "Hey Becca you're dates here!!!"
About five minutes later Rebecca came. She was beautiful, her long curly brown hair was let loose and fell all the way to her back, she had dazzling brown eyes, her lips looked incredibly soft and her figure was clearly shown from the t-shirt and short Jean shorts she was wearing
"Wow!" I said as my jaw dropping a little bit
"Yeah, you can thank my genius," the girl said, flashing her hair back proudly
"Rose don't you have an assignment or something," Rebecca said slightly embarrassed
"Oh crap I forgot," she said, rushing into their shared room
"Sorry about my roommate," she said
"It's fine. Um, you look... um... good," I said
"Thanks." She said with a charming smile making me blush a bit
"Careful lover boy, remember the reason I'm doing this," She said before she took up her bag
"Yeah, I know. You just look really good" I complimented
"Well, thank you for the compliment, but we should really get going," she said
"Oh yeah, but we're gonna take a little detour or two okay," I said before we walked out and to the car
"Sure where we going?" She asked
"A friend's," I said before we went in my car and drove away
First, we went to Betty-Ann's house
"Wait here, I'll be back," I said getting out and walking to her door, and knocked. It didn't take long for someone to open the door and it was Betty's mom who was dressed very well
"James, what brings you here?" she said with a tender smile
"I'm here to pick up Betty-Ann. Is she in there?" I asked
"I'm right here," she said walking out
"And where are you going, Betty-Ann?" Her mother asked
"Out"
"And where exactly is out?" Her mother asked
"Is that really any of your business?" Betty-Ann said
"I think as your mother it would be my business"
"Don't ruin my mood, Beth. Do you really even care?" Betty-Ann said before her mother simply smirked
"You two have a good night," she said, walking out of the house
"Um....you look good," I said, unsure of what else to say in this awkward situation
"Thank you. Shall we?" she said motioning to the car. We walked over to the car and Rebecca got out
"I'm guessing this is your friend," she said with a smile
"Huh-uh, this is Rebecca Romanoff. She works for my mom and she attends the university," I introduced
"Hello, nice to meet you. James here really likes you he's told me much," Rebecca said
"What exactly has he told you?" she said looking at me
"Don't worry, I'm not the talkative type," she said
"Well, I'm beginning to think he is," she said not removing her glance from me
"To be fair, I had told her before you set the rules. So I didn't exactly break it" I shrugged awkwardly
"Huh-uh," she said, rolling her eyes at my technicality
"Always we should get going. Rebecca, would you mind sitting in the back?"
"No problem," she shrugged before we entered the car.
We drove to Carlos' house and walked up and knocked on the door for like ten minutes before Mister Estevez stumbled to the door
"Oh, James it's you" Carlos' dad said
His breath smelt of alcohol and his hair was a total mess, he hadn't shaved and he had a beer bottle placed firmly in his hand. It was truly a heartbreaking sight, especially because on any other day a drop of alcohol wouldn't touch his lips so casually
"Hey... Mister Estevez is Carlos here?" I asked, knowing he wasn't. Even though his dad was hurting, he never allowed Carlos to see it so since he was like this it was clear Carlos already left
"No.. he already left, he's there," Mister Estevez said and I knew full well what he meant
"Thanks," I said
"No problem, I heard about what you guys are planning and I hope it turns out for the best" Mister Estevez said
"You know, if you really want him to get better you shouldn't stay here and sulk all night. Maybe you could come to the party I think Carlos would like to see you there" I said
"I'll think about it, however, you've still got to get him there," Mister Estevez said
"I'll work on it, just promise you'll be there looking your best. If you're gonna come like that, you might as well stay home. Libby's words, not mine," I said
"Okay," he said before he closed the door
"Come on, let's go," I said
"Where?" Rebecca asked
"The cemetery," I said before we drove off.
I pulled up in the cemetery. It was a good walk, but I had managed to make it in time to see Carlos, dressed in a suit as he stood in front of a tombstone holding flowers in his hands
"Hey Mom, sorry I only visit you on this day. You know I've been busy lately since I'm in my senior year. Don't worry, I still find time to hang out with Libby and I'm still trying my best at school though I haven't learned much. I guess I'm just not that good at the whole stuffing thing. A bit anyway, did you hear Wonder woman just got greenlit for another live-action movie? It's coming out today. I was supposed to go, but you know. Anyways, I've been really good... Libby still nags me a lot and I'm still failing my classes, but I'm doing well medically at least. Dad? He's in a pretty bad place, but he'll be fine tomorrow. I wish he'd drink less though. Aside from that everything's fine. I wish you were here though. I really miss you and I'm... I'm really sorry Mom..." he said, tears in his eyes
"Carlos it's not your fault," I said making him aware of my presence.
"Yes, it is"
"No, it's not"
"Do you know the story?" he said as he gave a sad smile
"Carlos, I know. Your mom left town and got caught during the storm. It was unexpected, but she chose to go. It wasn't your fault"
"Do know why?"
"What?"
"Don't you want to know why she went in the storm"
"Whatever the reason it's not your fault"
"Yes, it is, it was the day before my birthday there was a new action figure on sale two towns over. I begged and pleaded that my mom buys it for me. Even though I knew full well that a storm was coming. I told her she could leave out that day and be back before the storm. Of course, she refused but then I told her I'd die if I didn't get it so she finally gave in and went. She never came back. I stay in the house with the babysitter cursing my mom on my birthday while she was racing a freaking storm. About a week later they found her car in a river with all her stuff inside it including the action figure. Even to this day, I haven't opened it," Carlos explained tears running down his face with a sad smile on his face, eyes filled with self-loathing
"Carlos...." I wanted to say something else but couldn't. I had no idea Carlos was carrying something like that on his chest for so long
"Anyway, after that, my Dad left the force and decided to stay in town with me. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't so neither did I. We both pretended everything was okay and continued on, neither of us willing to show the other our pain. Both putting up the charade of being okay. So tell me James is it my fault? Can you stand there and tell me it isn't my fault?"
"I think we should go," I said
"I've got you a gift," I added unable to say anything else. Words of condolence should be coming out of my mouth, but the only thing I could mention was the stupid gift. It was probably for the best anyways. He's probably heard every word of condolence a thousand times. I prayed for something, anything, to happen because I had no idea what I should do or even say now
"It's cool you can drop it off tomorrow," Carlos said before my phone rang and luckily it was Libby.
Remembering what she told me to do, I let out a sigh of relief and answered before putting it on speaker
"JAMES!! OH MY GOD, I NEED YOUR HELP! IT WON'T STOP CHASING ME PLEASE. GET CARLOS HELP ME PLEASE----" she said frantically before the call disconnected
"Carlos?" I said, but he had already gotten up
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING ON? LET'S GO!!" He yelled before we ran to the car
"Carlos this is Rebecca," I said as he entered the back
"I don't care who it is. Drive James! Drive!!" Carlos rushed before I drove off.
"Alright, just let me track her phone," I said, pretending to do just that. After that, I rushed to the beach
It was silent and dark as we ran through the sand rushing to where the party
As we turned the corner and Carlos stepped out an explosion of party favors and chili pepper lights went off
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" Everyone exploded at Carlos before the music started then Libby, Carl, Betty-Ann , Sophie, Finn, and Fred came running up to us out of the crowd
"What. The. Hell?" Carlos said
(Carlos)
"What's all this?" I asked, wanting to shout out in anger
"A surprise, Libby planned all of this" James said
"Oh," I said still a bit saddened. I couldn't shout now. Whatever the reason, I often found it hard to yell at Libby. So I just withheld my rage
"Okay, Sophie and I are gonna go do our project. Betty-Ann, you wanna tag along" James said
"Sorry, but not interested," She said before turning towards Rebecca
"Wanna get a drink?" Betty-Ann asked
"Sure," Rebecca answered before they left
"I guess it's just the two of us," James said before he and Sophie left
"Well, I'm gonna head over to the snack bar," Carl said
"You shouldn't do that?" Brittney said
"Why not?" Carl asked
"Because we're going on the water slide silly and we wouldn't want you to puke on yourself again."
"No way! No way! I'm not going on one of those ever again" Carl protested
"Come on, It would be like our first date," She said
"That part of the date was horrible"
"There's a Ferris wheel as well"
"Well, see you later Carlos and happy birthday, I got you an action figure. It's a figure from the Superman and Batman crossover I have guts to go puke out," Carl said while Brittney pulled him away
"I got you a model calendar with twelve of my best pictures," Brittney said before they vanished in the crowd.
"That was a dirty trick Libby," I said
"Sorry I know, but I had no choice," she said
"One-day Libbs. It's just one day I just wanted one day to grieve you. Tomorrow I would have been back to normal. Couldn't you have just given me today? I just really..... hate today," I said, tears running down my face
She smiled at me before wiping the tears from my eyes
"And that's why I couldn't. You can hate any other day, but not today. Not this day," she said, smiling as she put her hands around my neck
"Why not?" I asked
"Because today is my favorite day. Do you wanna know why?" She asked and I nodded
"Because it is the day you, my Comic book King, the man that I love, were born and any day that can do something like that has to be the best day ever," she said before trying to kiss me but I eased back out of her hug before turning my back to her
"What's so great about me, huh? I'm just a sad pathetic loser that got his mom killed over some stupid toy" I said, holding back the tears in my eyes, but then she turned me around and gave me one slap across my face. I was stunned. I couldn't believe it, she had hit me. Even now I can't believe it happened
"Don't you ever let me hear you say anything like that ever again? Carlos Antonio Estévez you are not a loser. You are a sweet, kind, and funny person that would go anywhere for his friends and don't dare call those things some stupid toy. Yeah to everyone else it may be less than worthless, but it is the most important thing in the world to you. It's the reason you are you. And stop saying you killed your mom"
"Libby you don't know. I was the one that-"`
"I do know Carlos," she said interrupting me
"She was the one that decided to go out knowing a storm was coming. She could have just found some hotel and stayed there, but instead, she tried racing against a storm to make it back here. Do you know why? Because she wanted to be there for her child's birthday. Even though there's a chance that she wouldn't beat the storm, she still tried because she wanted you to be happy she wanted to see your face light up"
"Happy? Libby if she wanted me to be happy she should have come back. She should have stayed safe. She should have been there to tell me happy birthday. She should have put her health first if she really wanted me to be happy" I said bursting into tears
"But that's not how real mothers think. To mothers, their child's happiness is much more than anything. They put their child's happiness above their dreams, love life, and even their own health. Sometimes they hurt the child because they love them. Your hurting right now Carlos and blaming yourself, do you really think that's what your mom would have wanted Carlos?" she said hugging me tightly
"She doesn't want anything Libby she's gone"
"That's bullshit Carlos and you know it. Your mom would have wanted you to enjoy your birthday. Not spend it in some cemetery. She'd want you to enjoy your life, not mourn her death"
"You're... " I wanted to retort, but I couldn't think of anything. I knew she was right, I knew this wasn't what my mother would have wanted. Unable to hold back any longer I started crying into her shoulder.
I was crying out a river unto Libby's shoulder, but she just smiled while hushing me tenderly
"Are you finished crying?" she asked as I broke out of the hug and wiped my tears
"Yeah, thank you... Shining one," I said, noticing her face light up. Without a single word she tackled me to the ground kissing me
We kissed for five minutes before breaking for air
"Well, let's go celebrate my favorite day my King," she said, getting up before I smiled lifting her bridal style
"I love you," I said, spinning her around
"I love you more," she said before we could continue I heard someone clear their throat so I turned around to see my dad.
He looked great. I mean he looked like he normally looked, but for today that was great
"Dad?" I said, shocked he was out of the house
"Mister Estevez," she said as I put her down
"Hey, Libby... Carlos, I came here to apologize" Dad said
"Um, I'm gonna go give you two some privacy. When you're finished come by the snack table" Libby said before she left
"Apologize for what?" I asked
"I know you've been going to the graveyard every day on your birthday to talk to your mom. I know you do it because you don't feel you can talk to me. I know it's my fault I should have sat you down and we should have talked about what happened. It was just that I didn't know what to say to you. I couldn't find the words to convince you it wasn't your fault so I made the mistake of thinking not talking about it was the better idea, so I didn't. I know that was wrong now so I'm here and I'll talk to you whenever you want" Dad said
"Dad...."
"Well, go on. Don't you have anything to say?" he asked, smiling
"Do you..."
"Do I?"
"Miss her. Do you miss her, Dad?"
"Carlos I cared for your mother very much and I miss her a lot. I think about her whenever I have the chance and sometimes I get sad when I see you. Because I know she would never see the wonderful young man you're turning into"
"I'm sorry Dad"
"What for?"
"Being impatient, maybe if I had just waited-"
"No Carlos, None of that. No more blaming yourself to be completely honest, I blame myself sometimes too"
"You do?"
"Of course, I think stuff like what if I wasn't away at the time. I probably would have been the one to go. I don't think I've ever been a good husband to her I left both you and her here alone countless times. I practically forced her to raise a child alone while simultaneously making her give up her dream"
"Her dream?"
"Yeah before you were born your mom used to have a dream she would always talk about"
"How come she never talked about it again?"
"Because she decided you were more important to her than any dream"
"What was it?"
"What?"
"Her dream what was it?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"I'm gonna do it for her, one day when I go to mom on my birthday, I'm going to tell her that I did it" I smiled
"To travel the world. Your mom wanted to see and experience as much of the world as possible. But that night we had sex the condom broke and she lost that chance. I messed up your mother's chance at living her dream. I guess I unconsciously thought that maybe I didn't deserve anyone else after that."
"Wait, is that why you still wear the wedding ring?"
"I guess," he said somberly
"Dad, you had no control over that," I said
"Neither did you"
"Then maybe we should stop blaming ourselves"
"I think so too"
"Then let's make a deal"
"A deal?"
"Yeah. Well, more of a pact. You're gonna remove that ring from your finger right now and give it to me"
"I don't think I can"
"Dad, it's time, she's been gone for over a decade. You need to move on, find a nice woman Dad. She'd want you to be happy"
"Okay, so what about you?"
"I'm going to open it"
"What?"
"The present. When I get home, I want to open her last gift to me"
"Carlos, are you sure you're ready?"
"Probably not, but it's not gonna get any easier with time. We already made that clear."
"Just know I'll be right there when you do" he smiled
"Glad to hear now give me the ring," I said before, he sighed and looked at his ring one last time
"Here goes," he said, reaching for the ring and gripping tightly. His hands trembled and he closed his eyes. He was going to take his hand off but I grabbed it before he could
"Dad," I said before, he released the breath he was holding and opened his eyes.
"Here," he said, taking the ring off and giving it to me
"Thanks, Dad," I smiled
"No thank you," he said
"I honestly have no idea what I should do with this ring though" I admitted. I had wanted to throw it away in the sea like I was in a movie or something, but the ring looked expensive and was really beautiful
"Keep it safe"
"Why?" I asked before he pointed towards the snack table. I turned and saw Libby
"You mean-"
"Just to be clear, I'm not saying you should get married right away"
"I love you dad"
"I love you too. Now go enjoy your party" Dad said before I turned started walking away
"Oh, and Carlos Happy birthday," Dad said before I smiled. It had been over a decade since he had last told me happy birthday
"Thanks, Dad," I said before returning to Libby's side and hugging her from behind
"Hey, you finished talking with your dad?" she said
"Yeah, thank you," I said, kissing her cheek
"Anything for you," she said
"Now I only have one question for you my Shining One," I said
"And what would that be?" She asked
"Am I seeing a thing or does Carl actually have a girlfriend?"