Page 68 of Flawless
“Let’s go!” I cry out to him as the man struggles, holding his nose and trying to pick his camera up.
“Leave!” Zenon tells Larisa who turns and runs back to her car.
Zenon hops into the front seat and starts the car just as the man says, “Zenon, is it? I’ll find out who you are!”
Zenon pulls out of his parking spot and takes off down the street following Larisa. The streets are pretty crowded as it is a weekend day in the summer when everyone seems to be going to the market.
Zenon manages to maneuver his way through the crowd. After a while, we lose sight of Larisa, and we make our way back to the island.
When we arrive at the house, he turns around in his seat and looks at his daughter. Placing his hands on her face, he asks, “Are you okay?”
Her large, watery eyes stare at him and then nod. “Sim, Papai,” she affirms.
Relieved at her saying yes, Zenon releases her face and then gets out of the car.
“What happened back there?” she asks.
“Ask, Dani,” he says.
Slamming his door, he heads into the house. He slams that door as well without bothering to look back at us.
I inhale deeply and turn to look at her.
“I’m so sorry that that happened to you. I also know that your father is very upset right now that you were not only exposed to that, but that your picture was also taken. That guy was paparazzi.”
“No, I know who he was. They hound my father the same way at times. There’s only been one time, that I was with him when it happened, though. It was my dad, my aunt Uxia, and me. She was knocked down to the ground. She had been holding my hand at the time and she was forced to release my hand because of the crowd.
“We were separated by a crowd, and Papai and Aunt Uxia were both trying to reach me, but they couldn’t. I was scared and crying, and later, he told me that he felt that he hadn’t been able to protect me. It made him feel helpless, and he never wanted to feel that way again.”
My heart breaks for her and Zenon. I can’t imagine what it might feel like to not be able to protect your child or someonethat you love. My first instinct when we were downtown was to protect Zee Zee, and I had only been able to do that a little.
“I’m sorry, Zee Zee.”
“What he said about the drugs and rehab...was that true?” she asks after a pause.
I inhale and close my eyes. How do I explain to a child the choices that I’ve made led me down a dark and dangerous path?
If she were my child, I would simply tell the truth, but she isn’t mine. Alternatively, I don’t want to lie either because she can easily look me up.
“I have made some very poor choices that were not in my best interest, Zee Zee. I cannot take them away. The only thing that I can do is learn from them, and that’s what I’m in the process of doing now; learning to become a better person. All the things that they’re saying about me on social media aren’t true, but I haven’t been a very good person either.”
Frowning, she says, “A lot of us make bad decisions, and we have to learn from them. Kind of like when my dad head-butted that guy on the field a few years ago. His career ended after that, but he’s learned from it.”
“Well, that’s probably another thing that he’s not happy about; becoming physical with that guy back there.”
“He deserved it,” she says emphatically. “For the way that he treated you.”
“No one deserves violence, Zee Zee. And I’m sure that’s probably playing a part in your father’s emotional state as well, right now,” I explain.
She nods knowingly.
“Go ahead in the house and check out your room.”
“Can I?” she asks excitedly as if everything else has been forgotten.
“Yep. I’m sorry that we didn’t get a chance to pick up your luggage. Perhaps we can order some clothes and have them shipped to you right away. How does that sound?”
“Can I pick them out?” she asks with a tiny smile.