Chapter 8: Confession and Family Love

Catherine Rose P.O.V (mother of Stephen)

I was supposed to tell Stephen about his Dad changing jobs 2 weeks ago when I learned about it, but every time I was on the verge of doing so I would get cold feet and start giving myself numerous excuses for not telling him. The truth was that I was a hypocrite I had told my husband that our son was stronger than he seemed to be but deep down I was scared that Stephen's changes were not only because of this 'Brandy' from school but also because he wanted to prove something to Dan, so I was scared that if Stephen knew his Dad won't be his Baseball Coach starting next year he would just quit altogether and revert to his old self

But the real reason I felt this bad was that I betrayed his trust by telling his secret to my father (his grandfather) I needed someone to talk to I required good parental advice and I knew I could trust my father so when I arrived at my parent's house like every Sunday since I got married I had a good talk with my father. It helped me a lot but now I felt that I had betrayed Steph's trust. 'Catherine what are you doing this is not like you at all, no more excuses today I'll tell him everything ' I thought to myself while I was driving toward our home.

Today was Stephen's birthday so we went to pick up some things in town after that I dropped his gifts and my husband's at my parent's house the only gift we couldn't pack was the fact that with Dan's connection, Stephen would be able to have his Intermediate Restricted License as soon as tomorrow if he passes the road skills test. The guy giving the test to Stephen would be an Ex-Teammates of my husband I knew my son was eager to start his baseball practice

So I asked my husband what could be done if we wanted Steph to get his license as soon as possible, he didn't understand why I wanted to do that Stephen just had to wait approximately one month to get a spot for the test so I had to tell a white lie ' Honey he will get a car as a gift from my father how would you feel not being able to drive your gift for a month if it was you in his shoes you'd throw a tantrum I'm sure.' I said to him back when we talked about this and seems like this was enough for him as the very next day he came home with great news one of his friends was ready to make Stephen take his test the day after his birthday 'Hehe my husband is so dependable sometimes' i thought with a smile

In no time I was home I left the car running and made my way inside Stephen was probably in his room since I couldn't hear any sound coming from the basement so I made my way toward the bottom of the stairs leading upstairs and shouted from there

'' STEPHEN ARE YOU READY IT'S TIME TO GO'' I screamed 

''ONE SEC MOM'' screamed Stephen back to me

''I'LL WAIT IN THE CAR, YOU ARE DRIVING SO HURRY UP EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR US ALREADY'' I yelled back

With that said I stepped out of the house and re-entered my car as I was waiting for my son I thought about how should I tell him what I had been hiding from him ... better be honest with him and be as straightforward as possible I thought. Not long after Stephen stepped out of the house wearing the new pants and long-sleeve shirt we had bought together last week when we went shopping for his baseball gear we needed excuses to tell Dan about the shopping trip so we used the fact that Stephen had grown again this year as an excuse which wasn't really an excuse, to begin with since he did indeed needed new clothes

It has only been two weeks since Stephen started training and taking more care of himself but I could see the difference. For me, his mother who looked after him since day one the changes were much more obvious comparing him with what he used to look like was like comparing day and night. In my eyes, Stephen was like one of the many stars in the sky when night came before his transformation handsome and brilliant but one among the vast starry sky but now he was like the most beautiful star among them all 'The Sun' I did gave him the right nickname when he was a kid I thought while Stephen was buckling his seatbelt

''Took you long enough, Sunshine'' I told him with a smile

''Wow Mom are you feeling old because I grew one year older why are you using this nickname, you did call me that since I was ten I think'' said my son teasing me 

'' You're way off on that one smartass, anyway let's get going ...also I have things to talk to you about'' I said while Stephen was driving out of our driveway

'' If it's about the fact that Dad is changing jobs I'm already aware'' said Stephen with a tranquil smile like it didn't bother him at all which stunted me 

'' YOU KNEW... since when... but how'' I wasn't able to form a coherent sentence still shocked that he knew all along and still continued with his plan now I was really feeling like a bad mother I felt so many emotions that tears were threatening to fall any moment now.

'' The president of your university called last week at first I thought he was calling for you but he then asked me if he could talk with Dad and since he wasn't home I asked him if I could take a message and that's how I got to know he will be coaching in university starting next year, it shouldn't be a secret why are you so agitated to know that I knew there's nothing to fuss about right?'' asked Steph with a puzzled look 

'' And it doesn't bother you at all knowing that you won't be able to surprise your father since he won't coach your high school team anymore '' I asked him in disbelief

'' Who said I can't surprise him if he doesn't coach me I bet that when hell realize that he missed the chance to coach me hell turn green hahaha don't tell me you didn't think about it, in fact, I think I like this situation a lot more now that I think about it. If I make the team it will be because of my skills and not because my Dad is the coach. Nobody will be able to say 'Oh he is just here because his father is the coach' Now I just need to ask Terrence to not spill the bean until our first game to really surprise Dad, HAHAHA this is great'' said my son laughing out loud

That was all it took for me to burst into tears which of course took my son by surprise those were not tears of sadness but more of relief and joy my son was such an amazing young man how could I as his mother even doubt my son resolve even for a moment 

''MOM are you alright? do you want me to stop somewhere... what is going on?'' said Steph distressed by my outburst

''Sniff... Sniff, I'm alright I'm just... sigh, I was scared that if I told you about your Dad your motivation would wane and you would drop your plan of playing baseball and I see just how much it made you change for the past 2 weeks and these changes are all positive you are more outspoken you look healthier you laugh more you smile more I just .. just didn't want to be the one that would have to crush your motivation but now I realize just how foolish my thinking was and I feel bad. I even thought that this would have made you go back to your old ways I was so stressed about all this that I even went to your grandfather for advice, I'm sorry I spilled the beans about your secret to him but he promised me to tell no one ... did you know what he told me when I asked him what I should do ... he said ' You think to much just come clean with him, tell him everything and also how you feel. The women in this family are all the same he said before telling me to go back home'' I let everything out in one go I could feel a weight lifted off my chest when I was done speaking 

Stephen Rose P.O.V

'' Haha that sounds like something Granpa would say and he was right but I understand why you were scared I lived my life trying to not bother others for 15 years after all, I was so scared of being judged and laughed at that I didn't even try making friends I just wanted to be the guy at the back that no one notice, of course, you'll be scared that I'll go right back to my old habits. But I'm telling you this right now I won't ever go back to that, this Branbitch woked up the beast that was sleeping inside me and after sleeping for 15 years he doesn't want to go back to sleep.'' ' Her and my system' I thought with a grin

''I'm glad you think that way, do you forgive your mother for thinking like that'' Asked my mother coyly

'' HAHAHA stop this act this doesn't suit you at all keep that for Dad but yes, even if there's nothing to forgive I do forgive you and I don't blame you for telling Grandpa about this I was planning to tell him myself today anyway'' I said to my mother 

'' Thank you Sunshine, but why would you tell your Grandfather about this?'' asked my Mom not understanding why I would tell my plans to my Grandfather with no apparent reason

''Sigh you will really continue calling me that, please don't call me that when there are other people around I'm begging you, and for your question I plan on asking him for the money I would need for training. Since you clearly can't pay for it Dad would see that something is amiss so I was planning to use my ' I'm your favorite Grandson and this could be my Christmas gift in advance card ' especially since I'm the only one he has, good plan right hahaha'' I said before bursting into laughter

'' Maybe you won't need to ask him for money Sunshine, I almost forgot about this nut here take this'' said my mother taking a red card from her purse and handing it to me 

The first thing that came to my mind when seeing the card was that my Mom opened me another banking account but my Dad would probably find out so I ruled it out as soon as the idea popped into my head

''You know that I'm driving right I can't take it hehe, can you just tell me what it is?'' I asked her with a wry smile. As much as my Mom can be a cold logical and smart person she can also be a big goofball sometimes

'' Oh right silly me sorry hehe, you know when you talked about the sports center it got me thinking about a job offer your dad had refused 5 or 6 years ago it's a place where you can practice pitching, fielding, or batting called Showtime Sports Academy and I took a memberships card for you and since it's in Franklin there's less chance for your father to know what you are doing. This card gives you 1 hour of free training per day but now that I said this out loud I realize that you won't be satisfied with just an hour of training a day if you're anything like your father you'll probably spend most of your day there... you know what you do not need to ask your Grandfather for money I'll talk to him in your stead and I'll give you this card later it will still be useful to save money and the price is almost cut in half for people with a membership card'' said my mother putting the card back into her purse

'' You don't need to Mom I want to talk to him myself if I need more help convincing him I'll count on you then but I want to do this alone first also thank you for the gift I love it''

After the heavy discussion, we just had it was my turn to feel a little bad about hiding things from my Mom but I couldn't tell her about my plans to get tattooed so I made up my mind that I would make it up to her sometimes in the future just as I was thinking that we finally were about to arrive at my grandparent's house I could see numerous car already parked in their driveway ' The whole family seems to be here ' I thought before pulling the car right behind my aunt's car I know she will hesitate to leave early if she as to bother someone with moving their car ... maybe my shy personality of before wasn't so foreign in the family after all I thought while a little laugh escaped m lips

''You did that on purpose didn't you?'' said my Mom with a fake admonishing tone

'' Sure did hahahahaha!'' Before bursting laughing again and turning off the car 

Antonio Romano P.O.V (maternal grandfather of Stephen)

Seeing the house with so many family members always made me remember my younger days when the family from Italy would come to visit my grandfather here in the US my grandfather had come to the US in the early 1900s and started his own restaurant when my father took over it had already expanded tenfold what was only a small neighborhood restaurant at the beginning was now a franchise with more than 10 restaurants across the city.

Then it was my turn to take over and I wasn't satisfied with the family restaurants being only known in Tennesse so I started expanding in other states it wasn't always easy and I stumbled more than once on the way but after more than 40 years I was proud to say that we had about 200 restaurants in more than twenty states. For the last 2 years, I had left the family business to my eldest daughter she had been helping me for more than 10 years already I knew what she was capable of so I wasn't worried about her falling and I was still helping her on the side

I always wanted a son unfortunately for me my wife only gave me a daughter Don't misunderstand me here I love all my children and I'm proud of them i couldn't have asked for better children's than them but there things a father can only do with his son. When I realized I was too old to get another child and you not have a son I thought that it wasn't a big deal i could always do those things with my grandsons i knew I would have plenty of grandchildren because all three of my daughters wanted a family on their own. My eldest daughter Mira, married an Italian chef who is now working in one of our most popular restaurants here in Nashville and got pregnant pretty early in their relationship I was a little disappointed when she gave birth to two lovely little girls who I love to death don't get me wrong

Then my Second daughter Catherine, got pregnant with Stephen when I learned I'd finally have a grandson I was ecstatic I remember going there every 2 or 3 days to get some news about their well-being at some point my wife had to stop me because I was clearly being more of a source of stress than I was being helpful to my daughter I wished she could have gave me one or two more grandson but with her husband playing baseball all over the country they hadn't the chance to spent a lot of time together and when he got hurt she was taking care of him plus a young child of 2 years old. 3 years later when he finally got back to his feet my daughter got an offer to teach at university and he got a baseball coaching job the time never seemed to be right and before they knew it Stephen was already 12 years old and they didn't want to have another child this late into their lives

3 years after Stephen's birth my youngest daughter Emily, gave birth to two beautiful twin girls but the childbirth didn't go as planned and they had to do heavy surgery on her which made her unable to have more children she hadn't been the same since then I knew she wanted a big family and that made the cheerful and always optimistic girl that I knew becoming shy and afraid to talk louder than the others 

As a result of this, I had a really close relationship with my grandson, every year I would take him on a fishing trip, a hunting trip, and at least one MLB game of course I would do the same with my granddaughters but with different activity well except Aria the second daughter of Mira who was a total tomboy, I wonder how she will react when she realize that she can't tease Stephen as much as before due to his recent change from what I heard from Catherine this should be fun to see hehe I thought before hearing Catherine car pulling into the driving 

'' EVERYONE SILENCE THE BIRTHDAY BOY IS HERE BE READY TO SING AS SOON AS HE ENTER'' I shouted loud enough so that every family member and even the woman talking in the kitchen could hear me