SEVENTEEN
Stanley Duffy stopped Victor Del Toro on his way to his office Monday morning. He knew exactly what he would do with Del Toro now.
“Uh, Mister Del Toro,” Stan called gruffly as Victor walked briskly over to his office.
Victor turned around to face his boss. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to see Stan Duffy’s red and blemished face so early in the morning.
“Good morning headmaster,” Victor replied, flashing the headmaster a big smile.
Stan Duffy coughed and waddled over to where Victor was standing.
“I… I have to tell you, Victor, heh, it’s hard to catch up with a young man like you,” He began. Victor folded his arms. He wanted Stan Duffy to get to the point already.
Stan continued, “Yes… I want to tell you that I’ve been considering your words the other day in my office and I’m wondering if that’s the type of thing that should get a teacher’s position...terminated. After all, you are involved in some kind of relationship with the parent of a student. And I’m not.”
He looked at Victor with a twinkle in his eye as if to say, “I’ve won.”
Victor smiled.
"I don't care, Stan. Fire me if you'd like."
Perplexed, Stan gawked at him, huffing like a bull dog.
"What are you playing at Del Toro?"
"I'm a man who is going to marry a single mother and make an honest woman out of her. You're the man having affairs with soccer moms. We'll see what the public decides. You can fire me Stan Duffy, but it will haunt you."
"Is that a threat?"
Victor could feel rage rising in his chest. He wasn't going to let a small man like that speak to him. That puny man had no idea who he was... who he really was beneath the Spanish teacher exterior.
"Perhaps it is," Victor replied.
"Watch yourself Del Toro."
"I'll advise you to do the same."
"Puta!" Stan Duffy hissed, as if it were the only word he knew in Spanish, he stumbled over it.
“Do you have anything to say Mister Duffy?” Victor asked.
Stan just stood there blinking like a fool.
“I think I’ll head to my first class now. If you have any business with me, you know where to find me,” Victor retorted.
He turned his back to the headmaster and returned to his class.
Victor beamed, greeting his students in booming Spanish with a victorious smirk plastered on his face. It was in that moment he decided that he was going to ask Tammy Powers to marry him. He didn’t care what happened; he didn’t even care if he lost his job. Victor arrived on time for his first class feeling like he was in a movie. His entire day was surreal. Victor would catch himself lost in thought, smiling about the gorgeous woman he was going to propose to. Victor wasn’t prepared, but he knew that he had to propose that very day. He needed her...
He needed no one to get between them, to force them to skulk in the shadows when he wanted to sing her praises from the rooftops. No more secrets.
He told her he was coming over and she'd asked him to meet her son. Of course Victor agreed. That meshed with his plans perfectly. He was done waiting, done wasting time doing what he should have done a while ago. Life was short and he knew that better than anyone. He was knowing it more and more the older he grew. Time wasn't on his side and while haste didn't make love any better or worse, it would prevent him from living many more years alone, growing wearier without a partner at his side.
Once work was over, Victor drove to the vintage jewelry store he’d been eyeing when he thought about marriage in the past. Victor had never imagined finding the perfect woman, far less the perfect ring at that point. With Tammy, Victor knew exactly how to satisfy her. He had the exact ring in mind and Marco’s Vintage Jewelry was the place to get it.
Victor walked into the store and was overwhelmed by the sterile scent. A peppy brunette shop assistant sprung to attention. After giving Victor a once-over, she did a double take. Ah yes, Victor was used to that sign of attraction from women. For some reason, women in America seemed to find him irresistible in a way he hadn’t been in Spain.
“Can I help you?” the brunette asked.
Victor sighed, “Yes. I’m looking for a very specific type of ring. I’m about to propose to the woman of my dreams.”
The brunette looked noticeably disappointed to find out that Victor was here for a special someone. She pursed her lips.
“She’s a very lucky woman,” the brunette mumbled. She then asked Victor to describe the ring he wanted in detail. After presenting him with fifteen options, they finally managed to narrow it down to two. After twenty minutes of debating and explaining why this ring had to be perfect, Victor finally had the instrument he would use to propose to Tammy Powers.
He had been waiting to find the right woman for most of his life; Tammy was better than any dream girl he could concoct. She wasn’t a perfect woman, but that was what made her so desirable. She was real. She wasn’t a fictitious woman obsessed with trivialities of life. She was a compassionate woman whose heart was filled with love for the people around her. Victor couldn’t wait to see her that evening.
Victor arranged to meet Tammy and her son Jabari at their home at six in the afternoon. Victor and Tammy had sorted out their differences and parsed through Stephanie’s lies… Victor was forced to face the fact that he needed to trust Tammy more and trust her love for him. Tammy had confessed to Victor that she told her son everything, the entire truth. With that confession, Victor knew he had chosen the right woman. Whether or not their romance was taboo, it was meant to be. Regardless of their age difference, everyone would have to accept it. After all, if the boy Tammy loved most in the world could handle it, why couldn’t everyone else.
Victor arrived ten minutes late. He had forgotten to get a bouquet of flowers and needed to make a last minute stop at a florist. Victor had envisioned showing up on Tammy’s doorstep with a bouquet of red roses. When he arrived at the store, the only flowers left were expensive pink and white peonies. Some orders had been canceled so the flowers were being sold at a twenty percent discount. Victor hated the idea of proposing to his soulmate with discounted flowers but he figured that they were better than nothing.
Tammy let Victor into her house and gave him a huge hug. Jabari was peeking over from the dining room table trying his best to suppress his disgust. Was his mom going to kiss this guy too?! Tammy spared her son the horror.
“Jabari, you already know Victor but I want you to meet each other outside of the student teacher context,” Tammy did her best to make the situation less painfully awkward than it inherently was. She'd never expected to be in this position but with Victor, a relationship had sort of... happened.
There was no explanation for what had transpired, just the truth of it. As Victor greeted her son, Tammy envisioned him spending a long time in her life. He looked after her. He treated her the way she'd always wished a man could. Their age and what people would say about them didn't really matter. They wanted to be together.
Jabari mumbled, “Good evening Victor. I’ve done my Spanish homework.”
Victor smiled.
“I know this may be weird for you… But I hope that soon we can get along and be closer,” Victor said.
Jabari could tell Victor was a little uneasy and was desperately seeking approval. That meant a lot to the boy. Jabari warmed up just a little bit and offered Victor a glass of water as he sat down. Soon, Tammy’s dinner was ready. Spaghetti and meatballs, her favorite. Throughout dinner, Tammy was pleased to notice that her son was getting along better and better with Victor throughout the night. Even if Victor and Jabari were at odds when it came to the Spanish language, they did have something in common.
What they had in common was news to Tammy too. Apparently, when Victor was Jabari’s age, he was a math genius. He’d won a number of competitions across Europe. Before long, Victor and Jabari were talking about theorems and famous mathematicians that Tammy had never even heard of.
Once dinner was long over, Victor finally paused his conversation with Jabari.
“Tammy, Jabari… I have a question to ask you both, but it’s mostly a question for Tammy,” Victor started.
Right there in Tammy’s living room, Victor dropped down to one knee and began to propose.
“Tammy. I love you. I'm a man of few words, but I have to speak from the heart. I want to marry you. I want to take you with me to Spain. I want to be in your lives and I don't care what anyone else thinks of it.” Victor said.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. The 18 karat white gold shone brilliantly even in the dim living room light. Tammy slapped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming in joy. This was the perfect ring. A robust emerald was in the center of the ring, surrounded by diamond pavée. The exquisite luxury of the jeweled piece sent Tammy into a squealing fit that couldn't be contained.
“Tammy Powers… Will you marry me? And Jabari… Will you accept me into your family?” Victor finished.
Jabari’s eyes were glued to the ring Victor had just given his mother. If someone could love his mother that much, he must be worthwhile. Jabari was completely ready to give in to Victor’s request and scream: yes! yes! yes! He just nodded and waited for his mother to give her answer.
Tammy burst into tears and nodded. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Her dream of getting married to the man of dreams was actually going to happen. Tammy couldn’t stop her hand from shaking as Victor slipped the one of a kind vintage ring on her finger.
“I love you,” Tammy blurted out through her tears.
Victor couldn’t stop himself from tearing up too. “I love you too,” Victor said.
Jabari took his phone out, snapping a picture of their beautiful moment. Tammy looked over and saw his smile, the approval written all over his face. As long as Jabari was okay with it, she could do this. Her son wanted what was best for her. He always had. She'd put him first and he'd always put her first the same way.
Victor stood up from his knees and pulled Tammy close for a kiss.
“Okay, that’s enough! There’s a kid here remember!” Jabari announced.
Maybe he wasn't okay with everything just yet.
Tammy and Victor broke apart from their embrace and gestured for Jabari to join in their hug. Jabari joined them and for once in his life felt like he had a chance of having a complete family. Sure it would be a long time before he could consider Victor his “father”, but at least he would have someone besides his mom to talk to about the… awkward stuff. Jabari had plenty of awkward stuff to talk about these days.
That night, Victor stayed over at the Powers’ house and for the first time, Jabari knew what was going on. Tammy and Victor lay nestled in each other’s arms the entire night. The only thing that hadn’t been discussed was the fact that Tammy was certain she was pregnant. She didn’t know how on earth she would break the news to her new fiancé. How would he react?