to mine.”
“Again, I didn’t see another way and maybe he didn’t either. I was full of adolescent rage at what Pa did. And the rage kept up. I hated staying in the dorms over holidays, though sometimes one of the guys asked me home. When I got my own place, it was better.”
“How long did you stay away?”
“Until Saturday night.”
She clapped one hand over her mouth. “W-what happened?”
He explained how he went to see his father. “He disowned me all over again.”
She felt bad for him, and put her hands on his chest. “What about your mother?”
“She wasn’t home. And he didn’t seem to know she came to see me, so I didn’t tell him. I just left.”
“Paul…That must have been horrid.”
He waited.
She didn’t say anything more.
“Hayley, I have to know where your head’s at. I know this is parallel to your own family.”
“I can’t help it, Paul, I’m sorry. This story, your background, changes things for me.”
After a long while, he said, “I was afraid it might.”
* * *
Immobilized when Hayley left the hotel room, Paul turned over and went to sleep. He couldn’t face the world. After a few hours, he was able to get up and take a shower to revive himself. He made his way home like a zombie, steeling himself against the emotions of being disowned again by his father and rejected by Hayley. He got off at the subway stop, and walked two blocks to his complex. As he reached the door to his condo, he heard, “Pawel.” His name in Polish.
Turning, he saw two men standing on the sidewalk, staring at him. It took him a few seconds to recognize them. Please don’t let his happen. I can’t take any more rejection.
Paul lifted his chin as his two brothers, Jakub and Aleksander, crossed the street and walked to the front of his house. “Did you come to tell me off, too?”
Instead of answering, Jakub leaned forward and hugged Paul. Always the most sensitive, his older brother eked out, “Witaj w domu.” Welcome home.
And Paul’s eyes filled.
Alek, too, hugged him. Then they moved inside.
Paul took off his suitcoat and rolled up his sleeves. The guys wore nice jeans and T-shirts. “You want anything? I have beer.”
Jakub said, “I’ll take one of those.”
“I don’t drink,” Aleksander told him. “I’ll have a soda.”
“Let’s sit at the table.”
Once they were served and seated, Paul took a long pull on his Heineken and looked over at them. “So.”
Aleksander smiled. “Yeah, so. Here we are.”
Jakub leaned over. “We came to see you because Matka called us. Pa told her what he did, and all hell broke loose.”
Alek grinned, making Paul remember how the girls used to love him. “She’s not as demure as she used to be.”
“Why did she call you?”
“She wanted us to come get her. She still doesn’t drive. She’s staying with Zofia.”
“She left Pa?”
“For now.”
“We’re pissed, Paul,” Alek said. “We were hoping you’d come home and right things with Pa. When we found out you tried, and he did the same fucking thing all over again, we were both furious.”
“So, after we dropped Matka off, we came here.”
Jakub smiled. “We’ve been waiting an hour in that café where we could see your condo.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Paul, we miss you.” Alek again. “We want to know about your life.”
“How did you know where I lived.”
“You told Matka when she tracked you down through the medal ceremony.” Jakub again.
Alek said, “Now tell us about your personal life. Are you married?”
He explained about his brief marriage and that he had no children. Then he smiled. “I saw all your kids.”
“What?”
“When?”
“I drove by the street every so often after I got back here.”
“Why didn’t you stop?” Alek sounded horrified.
“I didn’t know if anyone would want me to. Tell me about the kids. And you.”
Jakub told Paul he was a construction worker and his oldest son, J.J. was on his crew. The boy would take over the company from him like he’d taken over from Pa. He had two other sons, both teenagers.
Aleksander was a teacher, married to one of his colleagues. He had three girls.
“What about Lena and Zofia?”
Jakub smiled. “They did good. Lena owns a successful shop in town. She isn’t married, and still lives with Ma and Pa, mostly to take care of them. Zofia’s married with three kids and is a paralegal.”
“I missed so much.” He looked at them. “I thought you’d all hate me.”
“As I said,” Alek put in, “we were pissed as hell