Ralph struggled to hold the grip of his steering wheel as he drove towards his parents’ house. Thoughts of how he would break the news to his father kept him up throughout the previous night. The wipers were constantly oscillating, but the rain rushed towards the windshield like shooting stars. He interlocked his green eyes for a moment with Benazir, who was in the passenger seat, and gained a surge of confidence that would ultimately help him muster the courage to tell his father about his profound love for her. He thought he had experienced natural beauty when he visited Iceland to witness the Northern Lights, but he was clearly wrong; this young woman had big beaver eyes, a rich sandy complexion that would carry you across the Sahara Desert in Egypt, and a radiant smile that made the stars in the summer nights of August jealous. “Hey, try not to lose hope. I will make things right today. After he sees what you’re carrying, I am sure he will accept our relationship,” said Ralph.

Benazir looked out the window to see the flash of lightening and understood the harsh reality: Ralph’s father, along with being a devout Catholic, was a man who put morals on a pedestal. He would definitely not approve of a child out of wedlock, especially without his permission. For the past 20 years, Ralph’s parents were living in a luxurious neighborhood in Long Beach, New York. She couldn’t fathom why Ralph’s father would make an exception for someone with a poor background as her.

After faintly pressing the doorbell, Ralph went back down the staircase and stood on the concrete ground, as his entire outfit was drenched from the storm. His parents took their time to open the door, but they came out with huge smiles across their faces. “Hey champ, what are you doing down there? Come on inside. Your mother just made your favorite chicken pot pie, and the Patriots game just started.”

“Yes, hurry up sweetie, you’re going to catch pneumonia if you stay out there any longer,” said his mother.

“Umm hey how’s it going guys. I will be up there in a minute, but before that I wanted you guys to meet someone special today.” He looked towards the car and gestured to Benazir to come forward. His father scratched his gray-haired head and lines formed between his mother’s eyes. Benazir walked up to her love as he took a deep breath and said to his parents, “This is the girl of my dreams, Benazir. I have decided to make her my life companion. I know she doesn’t wear the cross, but we are happy together.”

“Good God almighty. Son, you would tell me everything, but you have put disgrace on our family name.”

“Father, I was-“

“I don’t want to speak with you,” said Ralph’s father as he slowly walked back inside.

“Sweetie, when did this happen?” said Ralph’s mother.

“What can I say, Ma, for the past three years we just kept it to our ourselves. How long do you think before he’ll forgive us?”

“I am not sure. Only God knows what he’ll do if you stay longer. By the way, Benazir, you look very much like a diamond.”

“Thanks. I am sorry that we had to show up like this. We always wanted to tell you guys, but we didn’t know when would be the best time.”

“Worry not, my dear. I will find a way to make his father understand.”

Ralph understood what his mother meant. Through the open window you could hear the that game was turned off. The couple put their heads down as they slowly walked back to the car and drove away.

Two years later, out of the blue, Ralph visited his father with Benazir and this time they brought their 18-month old son, Cyrus. Surprisingly, when his father opened the door, the sight of Cyrus, who was a spitting image of his grandfather, made Ralph’s dad smile, but it vanished fast as quicksand.

“Father, you must have forgiven us by now. We desperately need your help. Benazir’s mother was recently diagnosed with an Astrocytoma and immediately needs to go through brain surgery, but the costs are weighing heavy on us. We will do anything to earn the amount from you,” begged Ralph. The father gave it a thought, and motioned them to come inside.

“Umm no I haven’t. First, I want to put you through a test. If you pass, I will forget that you ever did something behind my back and offer you a small loan,” said his father.

There was depressing opera music playing from the Spotify app on the desktop screen as they entered the house. It was the type of music that one would listen to when someone was recovering from a heartbreak. They passed by the gaming room where garbage was scattered everywhere, along with empty bottles of Jack Daniels, and the lights were dim. They then stopped at the living room where his father began to explain the test. “Look, its simple.  I am going to give you two options and you can decide how you want to go from there. I am leaving a blank check with my signature on this table counter. You can have it if you play along with the game: you must either sever all ties with your wife or marry someone with my consent.”

“But father, this is absolute insanity! There must be an alternative, please reconsider.”

“Son, Abraham didn’t question God when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac.”

Ralph pressed Benazir’s hand hard and leaned in to kiss her soft left cheek. He looked towards her and tried to mouth some words, but nothing came out. She stood in tears. Knowing that his adamant father wouldn’t change his mind, Ralph still dropped to the floor on his knees and folded his hands, pleading that there has to be another way.

The father ignored his son and walked next door to the bar for a drink.

“Hey, what is going on here? Why is Benazir crying?” said Ralph’s mother abruptly, as she moved towards Benazir to comfort her.

“Our son is going to learn today. Nothing to worry about.”

“Listen, stop this right now. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in this household.”

The father told her, “I said there’s nothing to worry about. Believe me.”  He calmly motioned her to come with him, leaving the young couple to themselves.

Ralph looked intensely at the symbol of their love: little Cyrus; he was just sitting on the couch with his toothless smile. The clock on the wall of the living room read 9 pm. It was past the baby boy’s bedtime so he yawned and crawled to his mother’s legs. Benazir’s black eyeliner was dripping down her face, but she managed to rock him back and forth until he went to sleep. Ralph began to pace the floor, as he opened the first few buttons of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. He felt as if he was in a checkmate position. The rooks and bishops had managed to trap him. There was only one way to continue this game: accept his inevitable defeat.

Ralph’s hands were trembling as the thoughts of losing Benazir ran through his mind. She wiped some of her tears and told Ralph, “You are the key to the lock in my heart. Without you, I will be a sailor in the deep waters without a map. I get that you respect your father, but this is ridiculous. I don’t think if you’ll ever be able to meet his conditions.”

“Worry not. Before getting married, we both vowed that we’ll stay true to ourselves forever. Nothing is going to change that.”

“But what are we going to do? We should talk to your Mom. She seems to be more reasonable.”

“Everything is going to be alright. Give me some time to think.

His father walked back inside. Ralph finally sat down on the living room chair and let out a huge sigh of stress. There were a few glasses and a jug of water resting on the table. After drinking a glass, he walked towards the check while looking straight into his father’s eyes.  As Ralph reached for the piece of paper, which would ultimately decide Benazir’s mother’s fate, he had a glimpse of the tattoo of Benazir’s name on his left hand. He began to reminisce of the sting that he felt from the needle. It finally struck him. He took the nearest item from the table and beamed it towards the marble floor.

“That’s enough! You listen to me right now, and listen to me carefully. I have had enough of this bullshit. For my entire life I listened to everything you said. I did what you wanted me to do. I went law school. Got my degree. And I worked for you. I make one decision by myself and you disown me?”

The father became speechless. Tears poured down from his long unorganized beard.

“How could you possibly think I disowned you? Did it ever occur to you that I waited for the past two years for you to come home? I just wanted my son to be with me.”

“You turned your back that day. I thought you didn’t love me.”

“How could you think that I didn’t love you? I brought you home with these hands. I wanted to tell you how much I love you, but I just couldn’t. Sometimes an older person’s anger is just love in disguise.”

“Father, I am sorry. I just want all of us to be together. I promise I won’t keep secrets from you anymore.”

Ralph’s father walked towards his son and gave him a bear hug. The dismal music that was playing earlier had come to a sudden stop, and Cyrus was laughing and smiling.