Hidden Heart (40 page)

Adrian was the first to
break the silence. “Cristian, I didn’t expect you here, but since
you came, this is Tessa…the daughter I never knew I had.” He
cleared his voice then continued, “Tessa, this is my son,
Cristian.”

Chapter 22

“How
could you, huh? How could you?” Cristian screamed at his
father.

They looked like two lions
ready to rip each other apart. Cristian took a step closer to his
father, so close their faces almost touched.

Tessa sat speechless,
unable to move, helpless at the drama unfolding right before her
eyes. She feared Cristian would strike first; his jaw clenched, his
fists at his side, his muscles twitching. When she looked at Adrian
she saw pain, but something else. His green eyes turned to steel,
his spine straight and his chest raised; no remorse
whatsoever.

“
Jesus Christ, this can’t
be true, it can’t…” Cristian shook his head and backed off. He
paced the room, rubbing his neck, his face contorted with rage, his
breath heavy.

“
I told you, I had no idea
she existed. And I also told you I loved her mother. Yes, I hurt
yours, and I’m sorry, but I can’t undo the past. She is here now
and you chose not to meet her. Why did you change your mind?”
Adrian spoke each word clear and slow, his voice holding back
anger.

“
I didn’t change my mind. I
just forgot you told me she’d come today.” Cristian stopped briefly
on the other side of the room then turned around and with big steps
he closed on his father, yelling and pointing an accusatory finger
at him, “I will never
ever
forgive you for this!”

Adrian took a step back. He
rested his palms on Tessa’s chair and closed his eyes. He sighed
and opening his eyes, he looked at his son and said, “I understand
it causes you pain and I hate hurting you…If hitting me is what
would help you release some of your anger, go ahead, hit me, I
deserve it.” Adrian faced his son and lifted his palms slightly,
spreading his fingers.

Tessa jumped to her feet
and positioned herself between the two men. As if seeing her for
the first time, Cristian’s eyes focused on her. He put both hands
on her upper arms and moved her aside, saying, “You stay out of
this, Tessa. This is between my father and me.”

“
You’re wrong, Cristian.
I’m in it as much as you are.” She spoke softly and, tilting her
head, she patted him on the hand that still held onto her. If she
could’ve, she would’ve taken all his pain away. If she could’ve,
she would’ve held him in her arms, telling him everything would be
all right.

Cristian took her in his
arms, holding tight and leaning against her. She hugged him too and
caressed the back of his head. He seemed to relax, then without
warning, he pushed her away and turned to his father, shoving at
him.

“
You don’t have the
slightest idea what you’ve done! You’ll never see me again!”
Cristian said and walked away.

Tessa hurried to stop him
and caught his wrist before he walked over the threshold.
“Cristian, please come back. You can’t walk away; let’s talk this
through.”

“
What is there to talk
about, huh?” he replied, but stopped and looked back at her with a
bitter smile. “Why my father, who in his own way of being a selfish
cheating bastard not only hurt my mother, but also crushed my
dreams of ever being with you? The woman I’m falling for, the woman
I almost slept with, my own
sister
?”

“
Oh, no,” Adrian said
before slumping on the chair nearby. He caught his head in his
palms and rested his elbows on his knees. His son’s words seemed to
have shocked him.

“
Yeah, go ahead and feel
sorry, like that will change anything,” Cristian said and then
towards Tessa, “Come on, Tessa, let’s get out of here. The only
thing my father is good at is hurting the people around him. You
better stay out of his life.”

Tessa didn’t move. She felt
torn, between finding out that Cristian was her half-brother and
finding her biological father. Emotions overwhelmed her as she
stood between them, both staring at her; Adrian imploring her to
stay and Cristian imploring her to go.

“
I think you two have a lot
to discuss,” she said, raising a hand to stop Cristian from
interrupting her. “I know what it means to be hurt by one family
member, but I also know what it means to be lonely.” She swallowed
hard a few times, her tears threatening to spill. She sighed and
continued, “I can choose to be mad or accept what is thrown at me
and live with it.”

She walked back to Adrian
and when he stood, she faced him and said, “Your son is one of the
kindest, most generous people I’ve ever met. You’ve raised him
well. It might take a while, but you two have to make peace.” She
stood on her tippy toes, placed a hand on his cheek and kissed the
other.

Tessa returned to
Cristian’s side, took his left hand and held it between hers. She
looked at him, tears pouring down her face. “I do have feelings for
you, but not the same kind you do for me. My heart belongs to
someone else and I’m glad the night you came to my house…I’m
relieved nothing happened. Lovers come and go, but I’d rather have
you as my friend. I know what it means to be an orphan; don’t let
this get in the way of your relationship with your
father.”

She stood again on her
toes, placed a hand on Cristian’s face and kissed his other cheek.
She walked into the hall entry, retrieved her purse and walked out
the door. She walked down the alley to her car, got inside and
drove away.

***

“
I’ve tried to get a hold
of him for the past week and nothing. It’s like he disappeared from
the face of earth,” Tessa said, drumming a pen on her office
desk.

“
What do the people at work
say? Did he make contact with anyone?” Adrian asked.

“
He didn’t and no one knows
where he is. He never misses work, whether sick or bad weather;
nothing stops him from coming in.” Tessa stood, unable to sit
still. She was so worried about Cristian, but no matter how hard
she tried to find him, he was nowhere to be found.

“
Like I said, I haven’t
heard from or seen him ever since you two were at my house,” Adrian
said, sighing at the other end of the line. “I’m worried that he
did something stupid, although that’s not his nature. I’ve called
several times and I even went to his door, but to no avail. He
avoids me.”

Tessa went to the window
and closed the wooden blinds, then walked back to her
desk.

“
Okay. I need his home
address, I’ll go and see if his neighbors know anything.” She wrote
down Cristian’s address and said, “I’ll call you afterwards,” and
then hung up.

She walked out the
door.

A week ago she’d met her
biological father for the first time. A week ago she’d found out
she had a half-brother—
Cristian,
no less. It couldn’t get any crazier than that, as
if the world were conspiring and evil put the three of them under
the same roof at the same time. She felt hurt and betrayed once
again, but she kept reminding herself that she did like Cristian,
as a friend does, not as a lover. She knew now more than ever that
there was no future for the two of them, other than good friends,
and hopefully, one day siblings who accepted each other. Would she
feel different if they had slept together that night? Hard to say
now, but she couldn’t keep tormenting herself with
ifs
and
hows
and
whys
.

On her way to Cristian’s
house, she called Eva.

“
Hey girl, are you still at
work?”

“
Tessa, hi, no, I left
already. I have to take my little princess to ballet. What’s
up?”

“
Well, I kind of need your
help with something and I was wondering if you have time to meet me
for lunch or dinner.”

“
Anytime for you, boss,”
Eva replied.

“
Silly, I’m not your boss
anymore. How about tomorrow?”

“
That’s great. I’ll ask my
mama to babysit Iulia and I could come to your house, since I
haven’t seen the complete renovation. What do you
think?”

“
That’s great. I’ll cook
something special for you,” Tessa said. “See you
tomorrow.”

She stopped at a Chinese
restaurant, and picked up food before driving to Cristian’s place.
He lived in an old, ten-story building facing a large park to the
south and surrounded by other similar buildings on the east and
west side. She took the elevator to the ninth floor and knocked on
the door with the nameplate C. Mincu on it. No answer. She knocked
again and pressed her ear onto the door, hoping to hear a noise.
Nothing. She called his cell; she called the landline. She heard
the phone ringing, but no one picked up.

She heard the elevator
stopping on the same floor and saw an older lady opening the door,
caring heavy plastic bags in both hands.

“
May I help you?” Tessa
asked and held onto the elevator’s door while the lady stepped out
of it.

“
Sure, honey,” the lady
said and handed Tessa one of the bags. She walked slowly to the
door next to Cristian’s and placing the other bag on the floor, she
looked for her keys. “It’s hard to be alone and old,” she turned
slightly toward Tessa. She then unlocked her door, picked up the
bag from the floor and entered her apartment. Tessa followed and
placed the other bag on the table in the kitchen. She smiled at the
old lady and walked back to the hall entry.

“
Thank you for helping,
young lady. Would you like a glass of lemonade?” the elderly woman
said, following Tessa.

“
Thanks, but I’m trying to
find my bro—my friend, your next-door neighbor and I don’t want to
miss him in case he returns home.” Tessa saw the smile fading from
the lady’s face and added quickly, “You know what? I’m actually
really thirsty; I’d love some lemonade.”

They walked back into the
woman’s apartment and within seconds, Tessa found herself sitting
on the sofa in the living room, a glass of cold lemonade in her
hand. The place had the aura of an antique store, with old
furniture, lots of handmade macramé and a strong lavender
smell.

“
Mr. Mincu should be home,
I saw his car parked downstairs,” the old woman joined Tessa on the
sofa. “I promised him yesterday I’d bake his favorite cherry-pie
for helping me with the cold-water faucet. It’s leaking in the
bathroom, driving me crazy. I had a plumber fix it the other day,
but a few hours later, the faucet began dripping again
and…”

The elderly woman talked
non-stop, jumping from one subject to another, from her health
problems to the horrible treatment old people received at the
doctor, to the confused young generation and hopeless status of the
country.

Tessa finished her
lemonade, stood and picked up the Chinese food bag.

“
Ma’am, thank you for the
lemonade. I have to go now.”

“
Oh, yes, you’re waiting
for Mr. Mincu. Why don’t I try reaching him,” she said winking at
Tessa. She walked to the wall separating her apartment from
Cristian’s, and whispered, “We have this little secret; whenever I
need him, I pound three times on the wall and he comes right away.
Watch this.” The woman chuckled and vigorously hit the wall with
her little fist.

Tessa held her breath. For
a few seconds nothing happened, but then she heard the doorbell
ringing.

“
And here he is,” the lady
said, opening the door.

“
What’s the emergency, Mrs.
Voinea? Is the pie ready?” he said, entering the
apartment.

“
Mr. Mincu you have a
guest,” she said, stepping aside to make room for Tessa.

Cristian looked baffled,
“What are you doing here?”

Tessa lifted the bag with
takeout food and said, “I brought dinner.” She turned to the
elderly woman and said, “That’s a great trick. I’ll use it, too.
Thank you for all your help.”

The old lady shooed them
out of her apartment and said, “You kids have fun. I have a pie to
bake. Stop by anytime.”

Cristian turned on his
heels and opened the door to his apartment. He held it for Tessa to
enter, then locked it behind her. He shoved his hands in his
pockets, looking anything but friendly; a scruffy beard, messy
hair, wrinkled t-shirt hanging ill-fitting on his wide
shoulders.

She pretended not to see
the leave-me-alone grimace on his face and took a few steps. She
saw an open door to the right side and, walking right into the
kitchen, she placed the bag with food on the table.

Cristian followed her,
leaning against the doorframe.

“
I’m starving, let’s eat,”
she said, unpacking the boxes of food. “It must be cold already; do
you have any bowls?”

He motioned behind her.
Tessa retrieved several bowls, spooned fried-rice and noodles,
orange chicken and spicy mandarin beef and placed them one by one
in the microwave. Once warmed, she set everything on the table,
handed him chopsticks and began eating.