Page 17 of Perfectly Wrong

ELEVEN

BISHOP

My phone rings, surprising me when I see the name on the screen.

“Hey, Rocco. What’s up?”

“Is Tristan with you?”

“No. Why?”

“You’re telling the truth, cuz he’s not at his mom’s either.”

“Yeah, he’s not here. Did something happen?”

“We had a fight and he left.”

“A fight?”

“He quit school.” He exhales. “I fucked up, Bishop. Bad.”

I sit back on the couch. “What happened?”

“I criticized. I told him he had no direction or passion.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, and then he told me it was my fault. He’s been trying to live up to my expectations of him for so long he has no identity of his own. He’s right.”

“Shit, man.”

“And then he just left. He didn’t tell me where he was going, but it’s been over thirty minutes and he’s not at his mom’s and he won’t answer the phone. Can you try calling him? I just want to make sure he’s okay, and I’m sure he’ll answer for you.”

“Sure, Rocco. I’ll call him.”

“Do you need his number?”

I exhale slowly, choosing not to lie. “No.”

“Bishop?”

“Yeah?”

“I need your help. I need my boy back. Can you help him understand that I love him so much, I just wanted him to have a good life? I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“Of course, Rocco. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you.”

“Any time.”

“You care about him, don’t you?”

“I care about both of you.”

“I guess you and I need to talk too.”

“Yeah. Let’s get this part figured out first. I’ll call you when I talk to him.”

“Thanks, man.”

“No problem.”

I hang up and dial Tristan.

“Hi, Bishop.”

“Where are you?”

“Five minutes from you. Can I still come?”

“Yeah, definitely. Your dad just called me. He’s worried sick. What do you want me to tell him?”

“I don’t fucking care.”

“Okay. I’ll tell him I told you to come over here to talk. Cool?”

“Cool. I’ll be there soon.”

I hang up and dial Rocco, who answers quickly.

“Did you talk to him?”

“I did. He’s driving. I told him he could come over here and we would talk.”

“He’s okay?”

“He sounded fine. Hurt maybe. I’ll talk to him.”

“I know he’ll listen to you, Bishop, so just tell him I love him no matter what.”

“He knows that, Rocco. He does. You’re a good dad. This is just a stumbling block.”

“Thanks. It means a lot to me. Bishop?—”

I cut him off. “It’s okay, Rocco. We’ll talk about us later.”

“Okay.”

I hang up and walk to the kitchen to get wine. I have a feeling we’re going to need it. After returning to the couch, it’s only a minute later when Tristan rings the bell. I open the door and my heart sinks. His face is flushed, his cheeks covered in tears.

“I think he hates me, Bishop.”

“Ah, babe, come in.”

I pull him into my arms, holding him and kissing the top of his head as I rub his back. He cries into my chest, full sobbing, and I realize how hurt he is.

“I’m sorry,” he whimpers. “I shouldn’t cry. Men don’t cry.”

“Not true.” I lift his chin. “Men can cry if they’re hurt. It’s okay. You’re safe with me.”

Tristan nods. “He’s so disappointed. He looked at me like how could I even be his kid.”

“Come sit down.” I lead him to the couch and pour him a glass of wine. “He’s worried sick. He called me immediately looking for you. He asked me to talk to you for him.”

“You?”

“Yeah. He said he knows you’ll listen to me.”

Tristan sips some wine, calming himself. “He said I had no direction or passion in life. He thinks I’m gonna be some loser who does nothing. He doesn’t have any faith in me at all.”

“He understands where he went wrong. He said you were right about him pushing his ideas on you.”

“He said that?”

“Yeah. He loves you so much, Tristan. He just wanted you to have a good life. He didn’t see how hard he was pushing you in his own direction.”

Tristan wipes more tears. “But he’s right. I don’t know what to do with my life now.”

I cup his chin, smiling. “What do you want to do, babe? Sky’s the limit. What would you be if nothing was stopping you?”

“You’ll laugh at me.”

“Never. I mean, maybe if you said you want to be a stripper or a circus performer, but anything else, no laughing. Promise.”

Tristan grins, shaking his head. “Still hilarious.”

“It’s important to laugh at life. It’s important to laugh in love too.”

Tristan searches my eyes. “Your laugh is the best sound in the world, Bishop. It’s my favorite sound. Even more than that growl you give me when you’re pounding my ass.” He grins. “But that’s a runner up.”

“You’re so sexy, baby.” I lean in and kiss him. “But don’t distract me. What would you be?”

Tristan takes a sip of wine before meeting my eyes again. “Trinity and I talked about starting a flipping business.”

“Flipping? Like house flipping?”

“Yeah. She loves design, and I’m good with my hands. I could learn what I need to make it happen.”

“What’s holding you back?”

“I have no idea where to start. I have no money. Trinity is still in school, and I was supposed to be. I don’t know where I’m living or what to do for money in the meantime. My dad will shit. Just those things.”

I chuckle, pulling his hand into mine and kissing the back of it. “Well lucky for you, I happen to have a few connections in the construction business.” He starts to speak but I shake my head. “If you’re open to a third business partner, I can be your investor.”

“You would do that?”

“I’ve been interested in flipping for a long time, but I don’t have time to do the labor myself. We can work out a deal that financially benefits all parties involved.”

“Why would you take a chance on me when I just told you I don’t know what I’m doing?”

“Because I needed someone to take a chance on me, and they did. I needed to learn my way through life, and I did. I needed someone in my corner to believe me in, but I didn’t have that. I only had myself, but you, you have me.”

“Fuck. I’m gonna cry again.”

“Happy tears this time?”

“Yeah.” He wipes his eyes. “You’re so amazing.”

“I’m not. I see a strong, smart, intuitive man in front of me. You’ll figure it out, and I’ll be here to help you.” I scoot closer, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck. “You can stay with me as long as you want. In fact, I want you to stay here.”

“You do?”

I nod. “I do. And I want to come clean to your dad.” His eyes open wide.

“At first, I thought we should let the dust settle from this situation, but on some level, he knows. He called me looking for you. He knew I would know how to contact you. Now with me helping you get going and staying here, it’s just obvious. ”

“You’re sure about this?”

“He told me if I could come to him and tell him it was love he would try to understand. I think we need more time to know if we’re in love, but I can look him in the eye and tell him…

” I pause, surprised when emotion chokes my words.

I clear my throat. “I want to tell him that I want a relationship with you. One where we’re not hiding.

And I hope, god I hope, we do fall in love, but we need the time and space to do that. ”

“You need it, Bishop. I don’t. I was already falling, but since I walked back in this morning, I finished it. I’m done. I was done the day I kissed you.”

“Are you telling me you love me, Tristan?”

He nods. “Yeah.”

“Say the words.”

He exhales. “I’m in love with you, Bishop. Completely. I want to spend my life with you. I don’t care what I have to do to make that happen. Now I just need you to finish falling for me.”

I lean in and kiss him softly. “Almost there.”

Tristan smiles, just soaking in the moment. “Are you going to call him?”

“I’m going to see him. You relax, take a bath, make yourself at home. I’ll be back soon.”

“I don’t know if I’m excited or terrified.”

I offer a slight smile. “Same.”

I knock on Rocco’s door, not letting myself in like I normally do. We’ve been distant since our last talk about Tristan. After this, I don’t know if I’m even welcome here anymore.

He looks surprised to see me. “Is Tristan okay?”

“Yeah. Can I come in? It’s time we talked.”

“Of course.”

I follow him to the couch and sit down, wringing my hands. It just has to be done. “I don’t know how to say this, so I guess I’ll just say it.”

“What?”

“I’m in a relationship with Tristan.”

Rocco is silent, staring at the floor. Several minutes pass, and I don’t know what to do, so I just sit, waiting for him to react.

“I know, Bishop.”

“What?”

“I know. I have known since Thanksgiving.”

My heart races. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because you were so against it. I tried, but you shut me down. He tried, but you shut him down.”

“Because I didn’t want to hear about you fucking him. He’s my kid, Bishop. I get that to you he’s an adult, but to me, he’s my baby. I was scared for him.”

“Has that changed?”

“No.”

I stand up, pacing in front of the coffee table. “The last time we spoke you told me if I could look you in the eyes and tell you it was love, you would try to understand.”

His eyes widen. “Are you in love with him?”

“I don’t know, Rocco, but what I do know is I haven’t stopped thinking about him once since we met. I tried, desperately to leave him alone out of respect for you, but I can’t. I want to be around him and with him constantly, and I can’t remember the last time I felt that way about anyone.”

“Bishop…”

“I want to fall in love with him. I want to.”

Rocco is silent for a moment. “Does he love you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know he quit school before he did it?”

“No. We didn’t talk much while he was there. I didn’t want to be a distraction to him and he didn’t want to want me. We both tried very hard to stay away from each other, but we just can’t. It’s like we’re magnets, constantly drawn to each other.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“I wanted to tell you, but I honestly believed you. I believed I wasn’t capable of loving him or anyone else, and I worried you were right, and I would hurt him.”

“But?”

“You’re wrong. My heart is completely open to Tristan. I can be everything he wants and needs in a man.”

Rocco nods. “And you? Is he everything you want and need?”

“We need time, Rocco. We need to date and spend time together, and talk and really get to know each other, but here’s what I know.

I love you and value your friendship, and you know it.

I feel strongly enough about Tristan to risk that.

If you know me as well as you think you do, then that’s all the proof you need. ”

Rocco lowers his head, and when he looks up, he has tears in his eyes. “How did I fuck up so much? I tried to protect him, and instead, I caused him nothing but grief. I made him go to school. I kept him from you. Does he fucking hate me now?”

“No, Rocco, he loves you. So much. He wants to make you proud. He wants you to be happy, but he wants to be happy too doing his own thing.”

“Do you hate me?”

I sit next to him. “That’s just stupid. I should’ve told you the first night. I’m so sorry I lied to you. I really thought maybe it was one drunken night, but it wasn’t.”

“The first night was his going away party?”

“Yeah.”

“He pursued you, didn’t he?”

I nod. “I would never have gone after him no matter how strong the attraction.”

“I already know his age doesn’t bother you. He’s pretty mature in a lot of ways.”

“He is.”

“What now?”

“I need your blessing, man.” I take his hand in mine. “I need you to tell me it’s okay for me to love your son.”

“This is what I needed. I needed you to come to me as a man and tell me it was real and it wasn’t just sex.”

“It’s real. I asked him to stay with me while he figures out his next steps. I’m going to help him get started.”

“Doing what?”

“He can tell you.” I smile. “He has some ideas.”

“I was so hard on him. I feel terrible.”

“It’s okay. Give him a little time. Let him come to you.”

“You don’t think I should call and apologize?”

“Not yet. He needs to be prepared to tell you what he wants to do with his life, but he knows you love him. He knows you pushed because you want the best for him.”

“Because you told him that?”

“I reminded him. He already knew.”

Rocco puts his arms around my neck and I hug him back.

“Do you forgive me, Rocco?”

“Of course.” He pulls back, wiping his eyes. “You have my blessing. You’re one of my favorite people on this planet, and if you’re willing to open your heart to my son, he’s a lucky man. I’m actually proud of you for letting him in despite the odds.”

“Thank you. It means the world to me.”

“We’re good then, right? You forgive me for the things I said?”

“Nothing to forgive. You made me explore my heart, and I needed to do that to get to this point with Tristan.”

“You know he wants the fairy tale ending? He wants marriage and maybe kids and shit.”

I nod. “I know. We’ll need to talk about all that. I’ve never been against marriage. I just never had a reason to consider it.”

“Take care of him, Bishop. He’s got a big heart.”

“I know. I’ll be careful with it.”