Chapter 47 47: The Wronged Rights

Chapter 47 47: The Wronged Rights


OAXACA, MEXICO



\[ R Y D E R \]

I never thought that fish tacos would save my life.

It was quite the story. It went something like this, once upon a time, there was a man named Pedro Gonzalez who owned a small taco shack by the beach. He made the meanest fish tacos, the best I ever had in my life. Every morning I went out to surf, at around 6 or 7 AM, and I usually came back to the shore at around 12 PM. I would make my way to Pedro's shack and order two plates of fish tacos for lunch. And I did the same thing every day for a month now.

Pedro wasn't a man of many words. He didn't speak English well, and my Spanish was... well, I knew ‘hola’ and 'gracias', but that was about it.

But Pedro knew me, or at least, he knew of me. I was his most loyal customer for the past month. He knew exactly when I was coming, so he would prepare the fish tacos in advance, and by 12 PM, the plates would be on the table waiting for me.

Until one day, Pedro made the usual two plates of fish tacos and served it on my usual table. But the day went along and I never showed up. Pedro got a bit worried, so he started asking around. The locals told him there was a big tidal wave, and all the surfers had gone home. But he knew he didn't saw me walking home, so he was concerned. He tipped off the coast guard Search and Rescue team, and eighteen hours later, I was found.

I was certain I would die. I had made my peace with God and everything. But I guess the universe had other plans. And I owed it all to some goddamned fish tacos.



"Buenas tardes Mr. Williams, how are you feeling today?" said the nurse as she came into my room, doing her usual rounds.

"Very good, gracias," I replied.

Considering I had almost died out at sea, lying on this hospital bed with an IV tube stuck on me wasn't really the worst thing out there.

"Your familia is here to see you, they just arrived this morning from America," she said once she was finished checking my vitals.

My family, she said. Does that mean...?

"Hey son," dad beamed as he walked in.

I was never happier to see him in my life. I smiled so wide, my cheeks were hurting.

"Dad!" I opened my arms weakly and he came right in to hug me. "Am I glad to see you," I laughed.

"Boy, I could say the same thing," he was chuckling, but his voice was somewhat cracking.

"I told you all that surfing wasn't gonna do you good," he said jokingly as he pulled away. "You think you, uh, gonna go back out there again someday?"

"Heck yeah! As soon as they discharge me," I smirked.

"Crazy fool. You really are my son," he snorted, ruffling my hair in the process.

"So, uh... you came alone, huh? Is Lacey at home?"

When the nurse said 'familia', I was actually hoping for more... people.

"Lacey was supposed to come with me. But, she had to stay in New York," he explained.

"Oh, with... Kara?" I said it cautiously.

I wondered if Kara had heard about me. I wondered if she was worried... or if she'd wanted to see me at all.

"Ry... something’s happened. Kara's been in a car accident," dad said suddenly, pausing for a second before saying, "After she heard about your accident, she was trying to get to the airport to meet us... and then..."

"What? And then what?!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry, Ry, but it wasn't your fault,"

"What the f— is she ok?” I stammered. “I, I have to go see her,"

"She's in surgery right now. Lacey's with her, she'll keep us updated,"

"Fuck! I have to go see her, dad!" I started frantically moving around, trying to get my weak-ass self off the bed.

"Hold on, you're not allowed to leave the hospital just yet, they're still running tests," dad was holding onto me, trying to calm me down.

"I don't give a fuck! I need to get out of here! Take me to her!" I shouted in response.

"Ryder!"

"Dad! Please!" I wouldn't stop moving, no matter how hard he tried to pin me down.

"What is wrong with you, boy? Nurse! Nurse!" he called out.

"Dad... I love her... please take me to her," I begged.

Dad’s eyes shot up in shock, but I didn't care about anything anymore. The only thing I cared about right now was to see her face.

Two male nurses quickly came in and held me down to the bed. Then the lady nurse walked in and she gave me a shot through my IV. I was still struggling as hard as I could...

Until everything faded to black.



When I opened my eyes next, my dad was sitting on the chair next to the bed.

"Ry? Son?" he said, when he had noticed I was waking up.

"Dad..." I croaked.

"I spoke to your doctor. They've agreed to let you go in the morning. But once we got to the hospital in New York, they'd want you to do some more examinations,"

"Sure, anything, I don't care... How's she doing? Any news?"

"Lacey said the surgery went well,” dad said reassuringly. “Kara's stable, they're just waiting for her to wake up. She's gonna be okay,"

I let out a heavy sigh of relief. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I was never more relieved in my life.

"I'm sorry for overacting earlier. I was just... really worried about her,"

"That's alright..."

"I'm glad Lacey's with her, though. At least she's not alone,"

"Yeah... we uh, we were visiting her in New York, it was her graduation,"

"Oh, that's good. How is she doing?"

"She's doing great. She got a great job at a magazine. She uh, has a boyfriend,"

Boyfriend?

The doctors said my internal organs were fine, but I swear, I felt like my heart had just been punctured.

"And son..." suddenly dad spoke again. "I don't know when's the right time to tell you this... but I have to tell you... Lacey and I are getting a divorce,"

"What? Why?" my eyes widened instantly, "Dad, it's not because..."

"We've just been having some problem. Especially after... the miscarriage... we just couldn't go back to the way things were... we'd been trying to make it work ever since, but we knew it wasn't working... we knew it for a while now. It just took us a long time to finally admit it to ourselves. And when we finally did, we knew we needed to tell you kids, but we just haven't found the right time yet,"

There were so many thoughts running through my head. I felt bad for my dad and Lacey, it was terrible what happened. But this also meant that... Kara and I... We...

"We were having lunch with Kara after her graduation. We wanted to tell her then too, but we just couldn't. We were so proud of her, seeing how good she was doing. We didn't want to burden her, we didn't want to burden you too. Lacey and I... we both had such high hopes for this family. But I think we both wanted it for all the wrong reasons. She wanted a family because she's never had one, and I wanted a family because I wanted to re-live what we had with your mother..." dad said again.

"Dad, I'm really sorry," I said, but to be completely honest, I didn't know how to feel about this.

Does that make me a terrible person?

I never would have seen this one coming in a million years. I really thought that they were happy together. And I wanted my dad to be happy, really.

"It's alright. It wasn't anyone's fault. It just wasn't meant to be," dad exhaled a long sigh. "Times like these I really missed your mother,"

"Me too,"

"I miss her all the time,"

"Me too," I said, and we shared a knowing smile with each other.

For a good minute, my dad and I just stared at each other. It was a nice moment, but he found it a bit too awkward soon enough. He started clearing his throat and changing the subject, saying, "So... uh, you love Kara, huh?"

"Ah shit, I said it out loud, didn't I?"

"Why don't you ever tell me about it?" he asked.

"Dad, it's not something I can just chat you up about,"

"How long have you been in love with her?"

"I don't know,” I shrugged. “Maybe since the first time I saw her,"

"Well, wow," he flinched.

"Yeah..."

"Did you guys... when we were— never mind, I don't want to know," he shook his head quickly.

"We tried to fight it, we did. We've stayed away. But I just can't do it anymore, dad," I sighed. "I love her so much it hurts,"

Dad didn't say anything. He was trying to take it all in. His face was stoic, I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Dad, please don't be mad," I said again.

"I'm not mad. Why would I be? My son's in love..." he snorted. "I was just shocked. I never thought it'd be with someone so close to home... that's all,"

He paused for a second, and a frown appeared on his face. "But this is... Kara we're talking about. This is Lacey's daughter. Are you sure about this, Ry?"

"Dad, I'd die for her... no, more than that, I'd live for her," I couldn't hide this anymore. And that was the truth.

A small smile appeared on my dad's face, but he quickly coughed and wrinkled his nose to hide it.

"It ain't gonna be easy, though. You'd still have to talk to Lacey..."

"Yes! Wait, does that mean? Are you...?"

"Come on, let's get packing,” he nodded his head. “We have to go get your girl back,"

I never realized how cool my dad was until today. This man deserved the whole fucking world and more.

I held onto my dad's hand and pulled myself up the bed. I was still feeling weak, but I got this fire burning in my heart now. I was never more certain of anything in my life.

Funny how I thought my life was over, and suddenly I was given a second chance at life. Funny how I thought our love was doomed, but now maybe, just maybe, there was hope for us still. Not only I wasn't given a second chance at life, but I was also given a second chance at love. Finally, Kara and I got a chance that we deserved. We were so close before, but barely enough wasn't enough for me after all.

I had a smile on my face as I was packing up my things, but then the reality hit me. Dad said that she had boyfriend. I didn't know where we stand right now, and maybe she had moved on...

Crap.

Well, I wouldn't know how I was going to live with myself if I didn't stay true to what I believe in. And I only ever believed in us. So...

Dear K,

I'm coming for you.

I'll win you back.

Just let me.

Yours,

Ry.







\- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -