A Good Dude (32 page)

The elder Hendrickses took their daughter and grandchild to lunch, and afterwards Candace showed them a few sights in the big city. By the time they got home, it was time to get ready for their dinner with Tino. Candace called her boyfriend and arranged for him to come to her apartment at six so they could all ride together. Her parents went back to their hotel to change, and Candace was left alone in her apartment for a little more than an hour. That was plenty of time to take a shower, get dressed, and ponder all of the things that could go wrong on this evening.

At six o’clock sharp someone knocked on her door. “It’s me,” Tino called from outside.

Candace sighed. “I shouldn’t have told so many lies, huh?” she asked Leila.

No, you shouldn’t have
, Leila said. She didn’t actually say it, but Candace knew what she was thinking.

For his date with Candace and her parents, Tino wore a long-sleeved white button-down with black slacks and black loafers. And he had on a tie. It was black and wide and knotted perfectly. He was as strikingly handsome as ever. His hair was tied back, his face clean-shaven, and his dimples aglow.

And while all of this black and white played well with his dark hair and fair skin tone, Candace thought he might be a little over the top.

“A
tie
, Tino?” Candace wore slim blue jeans with a blue blouse and black sandals.

He looked around nervously. “Are they here?”

“No. They went back to the hotel to change.” He put a hand on his chest and sighed. He looked seriously spooked. “Man, this is stressful.”

Candace shook her head. “Tino, you’re the one who wanted to meet them so bad.”

He sat hesitantly on the couch. “I know, but I’ve been thinking. Maybe you were right about not telling them about me until they went back to New York.”

Candace rolled her eyes and grinned. “What are you worried about?”

He looked up at her frightfully. “You know I’m going to take a lot of heat because of Rilla.”

Candace did know that. “You’re nothing like him. You said so yourself.”

“Yeah, but it’s always harder for the next guy. Your father’s going to put me through the ringer.”

“No,” Candace said. “Once he sees your tie, you’re home free.”

Tino smiled sheepishly. “You don’t like my tie?”

She chuckled. “I’m just kidding. You know you look handsome.”

He rubbed his temples like his brain was about to explode. “He’s big, right? A lot of muscles?”

Candace shook her head. “Give me a kiss,” she said. “This is still a date for us too, you know.”

“Oh.” Tino shot to his feet and stood before her. He put a hand on her waist and smiled pleasantly. “You look gorgeous tonight.”

“Why, thank you,” Candace said. She batted her big brown eyes. Tino seemed to get lost in them.

“Oh,
man
,” he said. “You make me feel weird.”

“What do you mean
weird
?”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. Just the way you look at me sometimes. I get a feeling. And when you touch me . . . .”

Candace knew exactly what that felt like.

Tino leaned in for their pre-date kiss, but someone rang Candace’s doorbell. Tino’s eyes were getting low and sexy, but they flashed open like an alarm clock went off.

“That’s them!” he hissed.

“So hurry up and kiss me,” Candace said.

He did, but it wasn’t a sultry one like she wanted.

* * *

Tino’s tie turned out to be a good idea. Gerald Hendricks showed up wearing a tan suit, and Katherine looked equally dressed for church. Candace was the one left feeling inadequate, but she had the home-field advantage; her parents didn’t care what she looked like. They walked into her apartment and stared at Tino like he was an art exhibit. Instead of greeting him head-on, Gerald put his hands on his hips and began to circle the boy. Tino didn’t know whether he should follow with his eyes or remain sculpture-still, so he froze up.

Candace felt so bad for him, she rushed in for the rescue. She put her arm around Tino’s waist and turned him so they could remain face to face with her circling father.

“Um, Dad, this is Tino.”

Gerald stopped, stared him down, and then began to circle the other way. “I see ’em.”

Candace went the other way with Tino, too. It was turning to a bizarre dance.

“Gerald! What are you doing?” Katherine called from the doorway.

“I’m getting a good look at the boy,” Mr. Hendricks said. He stopped again, and Candace positioned Tino for another face-off. Tino was very rigid by then. It was like trying to maneuver the Tin Man.

Gerald finally stuck out his large, strong hand. “I’m Gerald Hendricks.”

Tino didn’t do anything, so Candace bumped him with her hip.

“I’m—I’m Tino. Celestino DeLeon.” His hand shot out and was swallowed up in the handshake. His face was as white as a cotton ball. “Hel-hello. Hello, Mr. Hendricks.”

Their arms pumped once, twice, but no one let go. Candace knew her boyfriend was trapped.

“Dad, you’re scaring him!”

“
Stop that
, Gerald!” her mom called. She rushed forward and pulled them apart. She then cradled Tino’s hand in her far more delicate grip.

“Hi. I’m Katherine, Candace’s mom.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tino said. He met Katherine’s eyes for a second, but his gaze kept floating back to her taller, more frightening husband.

“Dad, stop looking at him like that,” Candace said. “Here, hold her.” She thrust Leila into his arms, and Gerald reluctantly accepted the baby.

“What, wait, Candace. Hold on.” But once he had her, the magic started to work. Gerald looked down at his granddaughter, and his stern expression slipped into a doting smile. He looked back to Tino and tried to bring the animosity back, but it was too late.

Katherine ogled her grandchild, too, and Tino took that moment of distraction to remove Candace’s arm from his waist. He took a healthy two steps away from her as well.

By the time Gerald looked down at Tino again, his venom was gone. But he found it quickly. “Here,” he said, passing Leila off to her grandmother. “Let’s get a move on, everybody.” He stepped forward and put a hand on Tino’s shoulder. “You ride up front with me.”

And that set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Candace was worried Tino would be the one with the hard questions like
Why did you take Leila away so soon
, and
Why did you fly down here twice in one week
, but Tino scarcely asked any questions at all; he stayed on the defensive the whole time.

On the way to the restaurant, Gerald drilled him thoroughly.

“Where are you from, Celestino?”

“I’m from here, Overbrook Meadows. I’ve lived here all my life.”

“In this city?”

“Yessir.”

“Your parents live here?”

“Yessir.”

“What do they do?”

“My mom’s a history teacher. My dad’s a construction worker.”

“They still together?”

“Yessir.”

“Where do they live?”

“Here, sir. On the north side.”

“What street?”

“
Dad!
” Candace called from the backseat.

“All right,” Gerald said and then asked, “I understand you go to school with my daughter. What’s your major?”

“I’m pre-med,” Tino said with a smile.

Candace thought her father would be proud of that, but Gerald
hmphed
, and Tino’s smile faded away.

And that was just the beginning. At the restaurant, things picked up pace.

“What high school did you go to?” Gerald asked Tino.

“Diamond Park.”

“
Diamond Park?
Is that a school or a part of town?”

“It’s both,” Tino said with a curious expression. “I think the school was named after the part of town.”

“How’d you know that?” Candace asked her father. “I did my research,” Gerald said. “Diamond Park’s on the north side of town, isn’t it?” he asked Tino.

Again Candace was taken aback. Tino was equally surprised.

“Um, yeah. It’s near the stockyards.”

“A lot of gangs up there, aren’t there?” Gerald asked. “Yeah, there are,” Tino admitted.

“Mexican gangs,” Gerald specified.

“The north side is mostly Hispanic,” Tino said. “That’s the only reason the gangs there are Mexican. The gangs on the south side are black.”

“Are you in a gang?” Gerald asked.

Candace finally got a chance to laugh.

“No,” Tino said with a grin. “I’m not in a gang, sir.”

“So what’s up with the hair?” Gerald asked.

“Mama, make him stop,” Candace pleaded.

“Gerald, you’re not going to interrogate the boy during the whole meal,” Katherine said.

“All right, all right,” Gerald said. “Just one more question.” He paused to let the magnitude of his final query sink in. “What do you want with my daughter?”

Candace couldn’t believe he asked that, but Tino was prepared for the question.

“Your daughter is a great girl,” he said. “She’s smart. She’s nice. She’s the most determined person I know. Everything about her is different from the other girls I go to school with. Candace cares about her future. Everything she does, she does it on her own. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

Candace didn’t know Tino felt that way. His words made her warm inside.

“She’s pretty, too,” Gerald said with a big smile. Tino stared across the table at his girlfriend and smiled dreamily. “Yeah. She is pretty.”

“Hmph,” Gerald said.

Tino looked back and saw that he wasn’t smiling anymore. Tino’s grin went away, too. “But she’s pretty inside and out,” he said. “Her looks are the last thing I care about. I didn’t even bring it up. All that other stuff comes first.”

“
All right
,” Candace said and picked up her menu. “Can we eat now, Dad?”

Mr. Hendricks gave Tino one last glare and then picked up his menu.

“All right,” he said. “What do you want to order, princess?”

* * *

With the Q & A over, they went on to enjoy a great meal. For this special dinner, Candace’s father took them to one of the nicest Italian restaurants in the city, Chez Panini. Gerald spoke fluent Italian, so he ordered for everyone except Tino. Tino was stuck on
impress-the-parents
mode, so he struggled through the difficult pronun
-
ciations himself. And he didn’t do a bad job. The waiter knew exactly what he wanted, and Gerald nodded his approval at Tino’s meal selection.