Petrichor: Chapter 9

DANIEL

There were certain father and son traditions I witnessed but never experienced when I was a kid. Such as building a car from the ground up, riding your first horse, getting haircuts at the barber shop every Sunday. My mother tried to fit that role whenever she could get time off from working her two jobs. It was a rare occasion but she tried. I had to give her that.

I never pictured myself having kids before I met Serena. I'd always imagined being a big disappointment to them so I figured why not just save them the trouble and not have them to begin with. Now that I had two of them, who had different personalities and had different tastes, I had to figure out a way the three of us could have fun and not be miserable in the process. This is where the trial and error portion on my part began. I decided I'd take them to get their first haircut at my favorite barber shop in town. Pablo's Cuts set up shop in Pasadena long before my time. Mom had taken me here whenever she had the money for it. Until I grew older and figured out how to cut and shave my hair myself. I stopped coming to this place the day she died and haven't even looked in this direction since. Until today that is.

The front windows and the awning of Pablo's shop were still completely old school, and I could see he hadn't done much to this place over the years. It resembled a shop straight from the fifties, with the barber pole spinning out front and everything. The boys seemed excited to go in, but maybe it was because I had promised them we'd go to the ice cream shop afterwards. Either way, today was the day I started this tradition with them and I hoped they kept it going long after their mother and I were gone.

There were only two empty chairs left and the boys had already taken over them, climbing onto the seats before they could even introduce themselves to Pablo Martin, the owner of this place. The old man was still on his feet, a rag on his shoulder as he used an old school razor to shave Big Mike's goatee. Pablo noticed me first, a surprised expression on his wrinkled face as he looked at me through the rim of his glasses. The perfect slicked back dark hair I'd seen on him as a kid was now sprinkled with salt and pepper strands and his beard was trimmed to perfection. There was also a wedding band on his finger, which was something I never thought I'd see on him. He used to tell me and the rest of the guys stories about the adventures he and his high school sweetheart Camilla, used to have back when there was no internet and not much else to do but to run around Pasadena, and how he'd never picture himself running next to anyone else. I never understood what he meant until I fell in love with a restless and crazy woman, who did nothing but run wild and free and do whatever it is she felt like fucking doing.

"Daniel, welcome back," Pablo greeted me, a small smile on his weathered face as he lifted his razor up carefully up Big Mike's neck.

"Good to be back. I came for my usual. And whatever the boys want too," I replied, walking over to both spinning chairs, stopping them from ultimately breaking. I gave both my boys a warning glance before they both slammed me with their cheesy grins and I rolled my eyes at them. They were lucky they were so cute.

"I'd heard you got yourself some boys of your own. Took you long enough to bring them to me," Pablo began his teasing and I shoved my hands into my pockets as I took the next available empty seat next to my boys.

"It's a long story. How've you been old man?" I asked, while he finished up Big Mike and he waved his goodbyes towards the rest of us before he exited. Pablo had gestured towards his other barbers to tend to the boys while he took me, placing the barber cape around my neck. Looking in the mirror in front of me, I pictured the five year old version of me, who looked forward to coming here just to be with the guys, joking around, talking bullshit. It was the only place in town that didn't remind me of how much my mother and I had struggled to keep our heads above water. It was the last place she'd visited before she died and it pissed me off for a long time. She kept a lot of shit from me when I was younger and the fact that I still had no idea why still ticked me off.

I thought I'd let all that shit go until I sat in this damn chair.

"I'm getting by. Keeping yourself an honest man, Danny?" Pablo's words put me on edge, but it was only because I felt guilty for not keeping that promise I made to him when I was younger. I was an out of control shithead by the time I was 15, wearing gang colors, and flashing tattoo's the last time I came here. I guess the only thing that's really changed is that I no longer belonged to any gangs and that I had two boys of my own to raise. Maybe that was my mother's secret. Maybe she had been out of control and had to keep it hidden from me. Maybe there was something about her she didn't want me to know and took it to the grave with her.

"I'm doing my best. I see you got married. Who's the unlucky lady?" I joked, causing the rest of his workers to laugh, while I glanced over at the boys who seemed to be calm in their chairs as the barbers continued to cut their hair. No doubt their mother's training had taught them that. She had them on a tight leash but I knew it was because she was a worrier, now more so since she was a mother.

"Ain't none of your damn business boy," Pablo scolded playfully and I smirked as he continued to snap at my overgrown hair.

"What about Camilla? Did she ever come back?" I asked him, and the entire room went silent. With a raised eyebrow, I looked at them all through the mirrors and Pablo kept his eyes on the back of my head.

"She passed away a while back. News damn near broke me at first, but I suppose she's up there resting in peace now," he answered and I realized it hurt him to talk about her, the pain in his seasoned eyes told me as much. But he seemed at peace with it. So I let it go.

The boys and I were done after 20 minutes, and I nodded in approval at the newly trimmed hair and shaved face. Reaching into my pocket to pay the man, some of the shit I kept in there fell onto the floor and Zander was the first one to hop off his chair to help me gather them up. He picked up an old picture I carried around of my mother and cocked his head to the side, probably trying to figure out who it was.

"She's a pretty lady! Who is she?" he asked, handing me the picture and I suddenly remembered it was the only picture I had left of her. I'd burned the rest the day she died during one of my angry fits and I regretted it ever since.

"That's your abuelita. Her name was Carmen and she was my mother," I explained to him and handed it back to him so he could show his brother. Turning over to Pablo, I noticed how pale he'd gotten and reached to touched his arm.

"Are you good old man?"

"I'm fine. Just fine," he answered stubbornly, his jaw quivering as he took the money I owed him and disappeared to the back of shop. Glancing over at the rest of the guys, they all seemed to have weird looks on their faces, as if they wanted to say something but were forbidden to even think about it.

"Come on boys," I ordered, both of them taking my hands as I lead them out of Pablo's shop.

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When we pulled up to the farmhouse later that afternoon, I saw my ex-wife talking to an old enemy of mine, Aaron Cartegena out on the front porch. I never liked that asshole and the fact that he thought it was a good idea to show up here, only made the blood in my veins boil. But the boys were in the backseat, and Serena would never allow me to give him one good punch right in the fucking nose.

"Ya'll ready to surprise your mother with the flowers we got her?" I asked the boys, trying to keep calm and they nodded as I killed the engine and they unbuckled their seatbelts. We had a nice garden out back but it was mostly for fruits and vegetables, the flowers that grew around here only worsened Serena's allergies.

"She's going to love my flowers!" Zander exclaimed as he made a run for his mother, Zach trailing behind him, trying to keep up. The boy had been trying his best to keep his eyes open all day and I was sure he was about ready to pass out.

Their mother smiled brightly as they surrounded her and gave her the flowers they had bought with their own allowance money. Serena had assigned them chores to do around the house to keep them busy and in her line of vision, while she worked from home. She'd been back a month and she was already looking into properties she could get her hands on. Maybe this meant she was ready to stay this time.

"Can you boys find some vases for me and put these in water? Yell if you need help, okay?" Serena suggested and covered their faces with kisses before they turned to shake Aaron's hand and turned to run into the house. Her face lit up when she saw my new haircut and smooth face, and she immediately swallowed hard, avoiding my gaze. The woman was obviously depriving herself of another roll in the hay and she was about ready to give in.

"Thanks again, Aaron. I really appreciate it," she claimed, waving goodbye as he sent her a wink before he turned towards his truck. I stepped away, tempted to show him just how stupid that mistake was, but Serena pulled at my arm again, long enough for Aaron to make his escape.

"What was he doing at my house?"

"Relax. He was handing over the keys to the sanctuary. I'm overseeing things there from now on," she explained and I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering if there was something else she wasn't telling me.

"Does this mean you're staying?" I asked her, not being able to keep myself from touching her soft cheek. We haven't spent any time alone since Marley's wedding, as if she planned it that way and I was growing tired of it. Freddy had agreed to take the boys tonight, so they'd be able to have fun with the animals on his farm and I sure as hell was going to take the opportunity to take Serena out on a date.

"Nobody wants me here, Daniel. And they're right. We cause too much trouble together. It's better if we just keep things—" I stopped her from saying something that would piss me off by pulling her closer to me, planting a kiss on her full and soft pink lips, tempting her tongue to come out and play with mine.

"You were saying about nobody wanting you here?" I grinned against her now swollen lips, and she grabbed me by the collar, glaring at me before she pulled away, mumbling something in Spanish underneath her breath. This meant I was finally breaking through that wall of hers, giving me the opportunity I needed to bring her back home where she belonged.