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“Eddie! Your sister is calling!” Buck yelled from the kitchen, where he left his phone charging.
Eddie was with Theo, he had started head start and needed help to complete a small project they had.
Usually Buck was the one who was good with those types of things, always helping out Christopher when he needed to do a report or project, so it had caught him off guard when Theo had asked him, but he was happy nevertheless.
“Can you bring it here?” Eddie asked, holding a popsicle stick to make a stem for a flower.
Buck walked into the room and handed him his phone, “She wants to talk about the wedding.”
Oh, Eddie’s youngest sister, Adriana, was getting married. Which meant traveling back to Texas, thankfully they are holding the wedding in Austin instead of El Paso, but he’d still have to deal with his whole extended family.
“Hey, Adri, what do you need?” He asked, through the speaker.
“Eddie.” She simply said.
Something was wrong.
“What happened?”
She sighed, “Dad is not taking the news well.”
Adriana had decided not to have their father walk her down the aisle. She had told her parents that it was weird and old fashioned. But he and Sophia knew the truth.
Ramon was not the most present father, and now this is the consequence to that.
“What did he say?” Eddie asked.
“Just that it isn’t fair since he walked Sophia down the aisle and that he was looking forward to it.” She paused, “And I told him that I wanted you to do it.”
Eddie froze.
She wanted him.
“Adri, I’d love to.”
Adriana didn’t say anything for a moment and Eddie was about to change conversation when she started.
“Yeah, thanks.”
He wanted to ask her why. Why him? But he decided not to. Theo shouldn’t be in the room and it should be face to face, not over the phone.
“And now they are both mad at me since the wedding is in Austin and so far away and now dad isn’t walking me down the aisle. Mom isn’t able to help as much as she wanted to and you should’ve heard her when I said I only wanted Sophia to be there when I go wedding shopping.” Adriana rambled.
“Yeah, I remember all of that.” He replied, remembering his own wedding now over 15 years ago, “But they don’t come in until the week before so just push through but if you need me to call them-”
“No! I don’t need you fixing things. If I don’t deserve their shit, neither do you.” She replied. It wasn’t accusatory, just worry.
“Fine, just call me when you want to and we’ll be in Austin for your wedding.”
“About that, one of Cristian’s cousins isn’t going so I have two more seats at your table. If you want to bring Buck along that’d be fine.” She said, “And bring my new nephew, we’ve been wanting to meet him.”
“He’s actually right here. But as long as you tell me the date, so we can get our shifts covered and talk to the schools.” Eddie replied.
“Don’t worry about the schools it’s gonna be on July 9, we’re sending out invitations on Saturday. Hi, Theo!”
Theo looks at Eddie, “Adri?” He asked.
Eddie nodded and Theo screamed into the phone, “Hi Adri! I’m making flowers!”
“He’s doing a project for school, making his own garden with things all over the house.”
“Really? Send me a picture.” She replied.
“I’ll talk to Buck and see what I can do.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.” She replied and they hung up.
That night after Theo went to bed and Chris went to his room, Eddie sat down with Buck.
“What did your sister say?” Buck asked.
Eddie sighed, “Our dad is mad that she doesn’t want him to walk her down the aisle. And she has two more spots, she wants to know if you and Theo want to go to her wedding.”
“Do you want us to go?” Buck asked.
Eddie looked at him, “Of course I do, Buck. It’d make the week more bearable and everyone will love Theo.”
Buck raised his eyebrows, “Even your parents?”
“Uh, maybe not them but all the grandkids are a little older, my tios and tias are gonna be so happy.”
“We’ll need to talk to Chim and get the schedules aligned.”
“Thank you.” Eddie replied, cuddling into Buck’s side.
“Like I could ever say no to you.”
“She wants me to walk her down the aisle.” Eddie blurted out.
“Really?”
He nodded, “That’s why my parents are so mad.”
“Eddie, your sister deserves to do what she wants for her wedding and if she wants to have you walk her down the aisle then if you want to then you should.” Buck reasoned.
“I know I just, I’m getting used to not taking their thoughts into the decisions I make.” Eddie explained.
“So are you?”
“Of course I am, she’s my baby sister.”
~
Eddie remembers the day Adriana came home, she was so small and quiet at first.
His father was still not home and his mother insisted that his abuela not help, so it was him, Sophia, his mom and baby Adriana.
Adriana wouldn’t stop crying, his mom didn’t know what to do.
So she gave her newborn to her nine year old son. He managed to calm her down and he was the only one who ever was able to.
Between school, his ballroom dancing practices and taking care of both Adriana and Sophia, he was exhausted.
His dad came back three days after Adriana and his mom were released from the hospital.
Adriana was sleeping and Eddie was making sandwiches for himself and Sophia so his mom could sleep.
He remembers giving his sandwich to his dad and eating Sophia’s leftovers since there wasn’t any more bread. His abuela came with dinner that night.
She saw how every time the baby would fuss, Eddie was the only one out of his seat.
“Edmundo, siéntate. I’ll get the little princesa." She told him and patted his shoulder.
And for the first time in three days he was able to have a meal without worrying.
Then his dad had to leave again, the day of his flight he sat him down.
“Eddie, we need to talk.”
Eddie didn’t say anything, just sat down on the front porch.
“I’m going to be gone a little longer and I need you to do something for me.” Ramon said.
“Okay.”
“I need you to be the man of the house when I’m gone. Take care of your sisters and your mom. Help her when she needs you to, we will all be counting on you.”
Eddie nodded, he was going to be the man of the house.
~
Their flight landed in Austin on July first. They went to the hotel and collapsed into bed.
Well all of them except Theo.
They had decided that Chris was going to stay with Sophia and all the older cousins, but Theo was too young and he didn’t know any of them. So they had to find ways to entertain him and deal with the jet lag.
The pressure that he was always under while in Texas wasn’t so heavy, thank god they weren’t in El Paso, but it was still there. Being in the same state as his parents does that.
“Have your parents called you?”Buck asked.
Theo was now in front of the TV watching Bluey as Eddie and Buck laid on the bed.
“Not yet, but my mom wants to have dinner, just the five of us.” Eddie replied.
“Are you going to go?”
“Yeah, I can’t leave my sisters to the wolves.”
~
Eddie knew that dinner was a bad idea, he was aware that his parents resented the fact that he took Chris and ran out of Texas and of the fact that he and his sisters have an amazing relationship even though they are all located in different places.
“Hey, you’re getting old.” Adriana said and hugged him.
“So are you. You’re finally getting married.” He replied.
She scoffed, “Okay, Mr. ran away to the army.”
He smiled, “I was providing.”
She laughed as their parents got there with Sophia.
Eddie was always envious of the way that Sophia got along with their parents. She was the one who got married, had kids with a decent man and lived not too far from them.
Adriana had gone to university and then grad school. She wasn’t interested in getting married or starting a family quite yet.
“¿El tren te esta pasando? Really, the train is leaving, I don’t even want to get on that train, why can’t they leave me alone.” Adriana cried, it was the day after she got her master’s degree from Stanford. Eddie and Chris made their way north with an airhorn.
Then she met her future husband, an economist, at a conference and his mother couldn’t be happier.
Well, only if Adriana did as she was told, but they all knew that Adriana was the most stubborn of the three.
“Hey, Mom, dad. How are you Sophia?” He asked, giving her a big hug.
“I’m here, the kids are old enough to watch themselves, so I’m hoping I’ll get a break too.” She replied, “How’s the kids?”
“Good, Chris loves the fact that he gets to stay with his cousins and Theo is full of energy as always.”
“Who’s Theo?” Helena asked.
Eddie had not been in regular contact with his parents since leaving Texas, so they didn’t know about Buck and Theo. Much less about Buck and Eddie.
“Theo is Buck’s son.” Eddie replied.
Helena looked surprised, “Your friend got married?”
“No, Theo’s dad was friends with Buck and after his parents died, Buck took him in.”
Ramon shook his head, “Poor kid, but why are they here?”
“I invited them here, I’ve been wanting to meet Theo for months.” Adriana replied.
Sophia nodded, “Yeah, sometimes he takes the phone and just starts talking to us. And he calls Adriana, Adri.”
Silence falls but Adriana interrupts it, “Let’s sit down, I’m hungry.”
So they did, they managed to make small talk as they ordered and it seemed like it would be okay.
Until his father starts talking.
“Look, I know you didn’t want any traditions at your wedding but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t walk you down the aisle, Adriana.” Ramon said.
Adriana let out a sigh, “I already told you dad, I want Eddie to walk me down the aisle.”
“Why? Why let your brother walk you down, but not your father? That’s absurd.”
“Just cause I want him to.”
Helena was mad, “That is not an answer.”
“Why don’t we just calm down-” Eddie intervened.
“Stay out of this, Edmundo, it has nothing to do with you.” His mom warned.
“Yes it does, and we are trying to have a meal so let's just eat, please.”
Ramon groaned, “No, we have to talk about this.”
“Fine, you want to talk about it? Eddie was more of a dad than you ever were. He was the reason I finished my bachelor’s, he’s the reason I went to California for my master’s. He would even send me money ‘just in case I needed anything’.” She replied, “He was the one who took care of me. I was his first kid because you didn’t want to!”
“I was working!” Ramon responded.
“So was he! And even though he still made his own life, he still checked in on me. You haven’t called me in a year!”
Eddie sighed, he wanted to say something but what could he say? He knew that Adriana was right.
“No, sure he took care of you from time to time, but not nearly enough for this, Adriana. Right Eddie?” His mom interjected.
Everyone’s eyes were on him, he had to say something.
“You really think that.” He laughed, “You handed me Adriana when you couldn’t calm her down, the first day she went home from the hospital. I was nine and you made me take care of a newborn.”
“Eddie, don’t star-”
“No.” He replied, he was tired of this, “I did everything you needed me to do. I took care of her and Sophia while you were home. Dad just left, but at least he was working. We needed a mom but you didn’t want to be our mom.”
“I needed help Eddie.” Helena replied, “You might be a dad, but you don’t know how it is to be a mother. It’s hard. You’ll never understand.”
“I don’t understand! You made me a mother and a father! I had to learn everything on my own! Abuela was the only one who noticed, but you didn’t want her there!” Eddie yelled.
“Edmundo, don’t yell at me. Even if you don’t like it, I am still your mother.”
Eddie didn’t reply. He had had enough.
“Exactly, you were my mother. And I needed you but you were never there. I did everything you wanted me to do but it still wasn’t enough.”
“Edmundo, your mother-”
“You don’t get to talk about it, you weren’t there!” Eddie yelled, “I was there! I was there for every school pick up and for every presentation and every graduation! You didn’t even go to my high school graduation!”
Ramon chuckled, “Why would I go? You weren’t going to do anything after you got that girl pregnant.”
“I could’ve done things even with Chris. I graduated with honors, don’t you remember that? But no, you said that I made a mistake and needed to step up. And I did. I did what I needed to do.”
“And then you weren’t there for your son.” Helena commented.
“You know what, I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.” Eddie said, standing up.
“Eddie, sit back down, we need to finish talking.” Helena said.
“No, I would never let my children feel the way you made me feel, so why should I let you do it to me?”
“Children?” Helena asked.
“Chris and Theo, my children.”
He let out a breath and said, “Do you know why it never worked out with anyone? Or why I had to talk to a fucking doppelganger of my dead wife? Because I’m gay and you have fuck me up so much that it took me so many years to finally realize.”
Ramon scoffed, “That coworker of yours-”
Eddie didn’t let him finish, “Buck is my boyfriend, his kid is my kid and Chris is as much his son as he is mine. You don’t get to talk about my relationships and my life anymore, I’m done.”
Eddie left, he walked to Adriana’s car and realized he had to wait.
Adriana came out of the restaurant a couple of minutes later, their parents nowhere in sight.
“How mad are they?” He asked.
“I mean at least they’re more mad at you than they are at me.” She replied and unlocked the car.
“You know, what I said was true. That’s why I wanted you to walk me down the aisle.” Adriana started, “It wouldn’t have felt right if dad did, he didn’t earn it, but you’ve been taking care of me since the day was born.”
“Adriana, I didn’t say that to make you feel bad.” He told her.
“I know and it didn’t, I have so many more memories with you than I do with dad. I remember the days you’d take us to the park, just so you could do your homework. Or take us to get fries after the last day of school. Dad was never there, he literally retired after I started undergrad.”
“Yeah, but he’s still your dad.” Eddie said, “I don’t want you to regret it one day.”
“Eddie, he might’ve been my biological dad, but you’ve been my actual dad since day one.”
~
The Diaz siblings didn’t talk about their parents for the rest of the week, at least not until the day of the wedding.
Buck, Eddie, Chris and Theo went to a couple of different things in Austin and met up with their family.
Adriana and Sophia loved Theo, now he says he has three aunts.
Eddie was rushing to leave early to the venue, getting Theo ready, as Chris was still with Sophia and was getting a ride with her.
“Eddie, calm, we still have half an hour.” Buck told him.
“I know but my sister is getting married.” He replied.
“I know, but she has everything ready, we already practiced during the rehearsal.”
Eddie knew Buck was right, he needed to chill out.
“Fine.” Eddie replied and sat down on the bed.
They were already dressed, well mostly, Theo still needed his jacket and tie, but they were waiting to get to the venue first.
They were still about twenty minutes early. Buck had Theo as Eddie went to find his sisters.
Sophia was the one who opened the door.
“You’re here, Adriana is getting ready, come in.” She said and pulled him in.
The room was a control chaos, women in robes or their dresses and getting makeup done.
Adriana was in her dress, makeup done but still in slippers.
“You look beautiful.” Eddie told her.
“Yeah, I paid a lot too. I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She mumbled.
“I don’t know if someone has said this, but we can always take off in the rental car. Hell, we can take you to LA.”
She laughed, “Thanks but I think I’m good.”
Their mom went into the room, tension instantly started to radiate from the siblings.
“Oh, Adriana, you look so pretty, I’m glad you decided to go with a big wedding.” She said, “And you dress… It's nice.”
“Thanks mom.” Adriana replied.
Everyone finished up getting ready and then it was time.
Eddie and Adriana waited for her bridesmaids to walk down the aisle.
He held her hand and she smiled at him.
Adriana put her hand over his arm and they walked down.
He didn’t pay much attention to his parents.
Instead, Eddie watched as Buck recorded and Theo waved. Chris was there just smiling. These were his family.
He shook Cristian’s hand and went to sit down.
~
The reception was loud and crazy, just as Adriana wanted. Buck and Sophia danced as Eddie was watching Theo from afar.
His parents hadn’t really talked to him, which he expected, but it still hurt.
“Hay mi niño, te ves muy feliz.” His Tia paper said, hugging him.
He smiled, “I am. I figured it out.”
“Your dad told me about the fight.”
“Mmh, what did he say?” Eddie asked.
“That you blame him for everything.” She responded.
“I don-”
Pepa interrupted him, “I know you, Eddie. But you should let him feel the consequences. I remember you so stressed out even as a little kid. They put so much on you, and you didn’t deserve it.”
Eddie just nodded as he saw Adriana, Buck, and Sophia dancing in the middle of the makeshift dance floor.
She was right. Who does that to their child?
“I’m happy, tia.”
“Well, you are right, you figured it out.” She said, “I just wished you figured it out when your abuela was in the hospital when she broke her hip.”
Eddie smiled, “So when I had just moved to Los Angeles.”
“I’m just saying, he has been the one for you before any of us knew it.”
“He is. He’s going to be my husband one day. I just wish abuela was here to see it too.”
Pepa laughed, “Mijo, she knew. She’s the one who told me to watch out for when it happened. To make sure to give you your abuelo’s ring.”
Eddie looked at her, “You have it?”
Eddie had been told that it was buried with his abuelo, no one had seen that ring in years.
“Oh yes, after the funeral your abuela took it back. She kept it safe, said that she would know who to give it to.”
Eddie felt his vision get blurry.
“She really did know.” He whispered.
“When you need it, tell me.”
“I think it will be pretty soon.”