While Bella and Daphne got lost in the frog figurine, night after night, day after day, Hancho had a small awakening. Having his father crash out on the couch had been boring. The man was either munching junk on the sofa or running out to the bodega for a quick 2,000-calorie snack.
It was time to spice things up. Literally.
There was a park several blocks from the apartment with a barbecue grill. Hancho picked up a pound and a half of steak, tossed that in a cooler along with some ice, plastic plates, two steak knives, two forks, bottles of water, several 8-ounce cans of tomato juice, a few lemons, vodka, and a container of this instant Bloody Mary mix (not an affiliate link. Just shouting out a friend’s killer product.)
“Where are you taking me?” his father whined the whole way to the park.
“Don’t worry, pops,” Hancho reassured his father. Hancho knew that each time he told his pops not to worry, it only increased the man’s anxiety.
Finally, at the park, Hancho’s father acted like he’d never seen a place like this. Benches, trees, basketball courts, and several rusted-out public barbeque grills. The man couldn’t get comfortable until Hancho served the Bloody Mary.
“This is kinda nice,” his old man said. “Too bad Bella couldn’t join us.”
“Let’s not talk about her right now,” Hancho said, then took a big gulp of Bloody Mary.
They stayed at the park until the police kicked them out. By then, the two men could barely walk straight. The police officer was kind enough to drive them home. He walked them up to the apartment and handed the two drunkards off to Bella.
Hancho awoke with the most god awful hangover. He had a memory of fighting with Bella, or was that his father? Bella blinked open her eyes. She leaned in to kiss Hancho.
Minutes later, Hancho had a letter in his hands. In his father’s terrible chicken scratch handwriting, he was able to make out the following:
Hancho, it was only a matter of time before it cracked between us. Thank you for the stay. I appreciated the food and the drinks yesterday. I’m out of your hair as you requested. Until next time…or not. Love, Pops
SaaS Onboarding Storyteller 