Chapter 387 - Anger is not a good counselor - mdfour
Daniel
As for Patricia... that was another story. She had benefited from stepping out of Alfredo's shadow. It was tough, but now she was empowered, raising her son and working alongside Maximo. Let's hope everything turns out well for each of them.
I saw my brother leave with a group of colleagues and sighed when he didn't head to his car. He's going to drink. My phone rang; it was Rat.
"Tell me." If he was calling, it was to alert me about something.
"The psychologist asked him to do it, but you know how he responds to changes."
"Now I understand why he went out with a group of friends. Give me the address where they're going. It can't be far from the clinic; they left on foot. If I follow in the truck, he'll notice."
"Perfect. Take care of him."
My butt was numb from waiting so long. I got out of the car when I saw people running out.
"What's this jerk done now?"
I couldn't go in earlier because the place was too small, and no matter what, we always stay alert and watch who enters the bar. But now I had to go in. I strapped on my knives and hid them under my shirt. Inside the bar, I saw Alfredo in full control, belt in hand, and three guys beaten but still standing, ready to fight.
"Brother."
To the side, a woman was crying with a bloody face. I could deduce that one of the jerks hit her, and we don't tolerate that. I walked towards Alfredo.
"Did they leave you alone?"
"They're doctors, not like us. Have they called the police?" he shouted to his colleagues.
"They're on their way!"
"Let's get out of here."
One of them said, and this time I was the one who kicked him down, knocking him out against the wall.
"If you're man enough to hit a woman, you'll be man enough to face the charges."
"No one is going to stop us!" another shouted.
"I think they will."
Each of us took care of one, while the one I had slammed against the wall was tied up by Alfredo's colleagues. The police arrived, we pressed charges, and one of the officers had been treated by Rino a few months ago. Thanks to that, we didn't have to go to the police station.
"I knew you were lurking around!" he said, laughing.
"I'm glad you didn't drink."
"I won't. I hate alcohol, but at that moment, I didn't see another way out. Where are you staying?"
"Across from your apartment. We take turns every fifteen days." He looked at me and nodded.
"Thanks." I could swear he was almost back to his old self. Roland was always right; the guy was a genius at human behavior. "Come on, I'll buy you dinner."
"It's the least you could do. I've had my butt glued to the car seat since five," I laughed.
"It feels good to know you're important. Thanks, brother."
"You are, you idiot. It's time you came back to your old self. We need you fully alert."
……
Kevin
I see Alfredo writing and writing. It was hard for him to start, but now he doesn't stop. We don't have to hide anymore; we stay in the same apartment as him, and socializing with us again has somehow comforted him.
Lately, he's been very anxious, and that made us nervous, though I admit he hasn't done anything stupid again.
"Wolf!" Today was his day off. "Come with me."
"Where to?" I turned on my audio, taking advantage when he looked out the window.
"Please, I need to do this."
"Do what?"
"As therapy, the psychologist asked me to write my feelings to the person I love. I've written a lot to Patricia, but my anxiety isn't about her. It's... it might seem strange, Kevin, but my need is for her baby.
"I want to hold him again. In a few weeks, he'll turn one, and... it's hard to believe that in three months, it'll be two years since I separated from her. I missed the twins' fifteenth birthday. I don't want to miss Ezequiel's graduation, Isaac's, Melisa's, Enrique's, and next year, the quadruplets'. I'm missing important moments with my family.
"Because of my self-imposed exile, I don't want to stay away from my family any longer. You guys are my family, and I want to close this chapter. That's why I want to buy something for Patricia's son and send the letter I wrote this morning."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"You have plenty of baby gifts in your office."
"You guys are so nosy!" he smiled. "I don't even know why I lock it."
"You're an idiot. We all know how to pick a lock. Let's go buy a gift for Amin."
"His name is Amin?"
"Yes. That's his name," he confirmed.
……
Patricia
I've been very busy with the preparations for my son's first birthday. Every day, he looked more like Alfredo... and it still hurt. I don't know if everything that happened saved me from not yet sharing a bed with Maximo, or if he avoids it to not demand intimacy from me. On my end, I don't want to sleep with him. I love him as the best friend he is. The few times we've spent together, we've had a great time.
I adore Amin. We call each other every day. During my pregnancy, he respected me intimately, then came the postpartum period. A week after my forty days ended, he got that specialization in Canada. We see each other every three months, and it’s only for a weekend.
Others who even refused to greet me were his parents. No matter how much I ask Maximo, he responds evasively. And don't even mention my mom; she’s been there, but not like before... I ended up being a lousy psychologist, good for the world but terrible with my own life.
I pressed my forehead against the window. It was night, and tomorrow was my son’s birthday. I looked at his crib, walked over to it, and watched him sleep deeply. I haven’t taken off his rosary; I never will.
What must Alfredo have felt when he saw him? I extended my hand, and the bracelet I got last Christmas made a sound. I grimaced; I didn’t want to wake him. I heard my phone ring; I had left it in my room. When I picked it up, I saw Maximo’s name.
“Hello.”
“Beautiful. I bought the ticket for tomorrow. I’ll be there around noon.”
“Perfect. Maximo, Amin is almost a year old, and we haven’t registered him... Are you having second thoughts?”
“Not me, beautiful; you did a long time ago. But if you want to talk, tomorrow is the day. See you, take care, and take care of Amin.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
I lay in my bed, but the emptiness remained. I got up, went to get my baby, brought him to the room, and lay down next to him. There wasn’t a day I didn’t cry over his absence. I still love him, while he’s probably out there, living the good life with her...
He never looked for me, never fought for me, never cared about me. Even if it doesn’t show, and I smile for people, I can’t deny that it hurts to realize every day that I was never important to him.
The good thing is that while my love life goes from bad to worse, my professional life is thriving. I’m left with a sad heart. When that happens, I cling to the only thing Alfredo left me, my son. For his birthday, I had a gold bracelet made with his name, Amin Alfredo. Maximo doesn’t know, but I’ll tell him tomorrow.
Important decisions shouldn’t be made lightly, no matter how angry you are. It doesn’t matter what you face; you must keep a cool head. It’s true that Alfredo never hit me, never insulted me. The only time he was a bit of a jerk was the morning he caught me taking a pregnancy test, when everything fell apart between us.
But the indifference, seeing that he doesn’t care, trying hard to get his attention to the point of degrading yourself, and nothing. I was degrading myself as a woman, waiting for scraps of affection.
Now that almost two years have passed, not a day has he come looking for me. The only closeness was when he met his son and left the rosary. He didn’t even visit me. Why do I still love him? Why can’t I erase him from my mind and heart? Why can’t he look for me and show me that he cared in some way?
“How pathetic I am,” he didn’t even bother to demand a paternity test. He never wanted commitments... For Alfredo, it must have been a huge relief to know that someone else was the father. And now it doesn’t matter; I’m married, and I can’t undo that.
At least for my patients, I can tell them not to make decisions out of anger, rage, or jealousy. He must be with that woman, the one he replaced me with, while I haven’t gone beyond a kiss with Maximo. The only hot moment was that morning when he kissed me for the first time.
It was true that our marriage was a farce, friendly, fun, because I can’t deny that I smile a lot with him. Very likely, tomorrow we’ll make drastic decisions about our future. The thing is, we got married in the church, and that’s what my mother can’t forgive. I don’t know when I fell asleep holding my baby.
The next morning, Amin’s babbling woke me up.
“Who’s having a birthday today?” I covered him with kisses. He wiggled his little feet and cooed, showing his four teeth. “I love you, my love!”
After bathing him, dressing him, and perfuming him, I gave him his bottle. In the afternoon, when Maximo arrives, we’ll go to La Reina, where we’ll celebrate his birthday. The godparents, who aren’t officially godparents yet because we haven’t baptized him, went all out.
Gladis and Gustavo were happy. I burped him, and he fell asleep again. I put him in the crib and was about to take a shower when the apartment doorbell rang. When I opened it, it was a delivery man. I smiled; the gifts for my prince had started to arrive. I signed and closed the door again. When I looked at who had sent the beautiful doctor teddy bear... I couldn’t believe it. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. There was a letter, and the sender was Alfredo Masa.