A talk with Mila’s dad.

I honestly didn’t know what to think. Mila had said she got in a fight with her dad, but was that something uncommon for her or did she not have a good relationship with him? Her attitude with her mom made me want to believe the former, and Mila had never said anything bad about her family. Well, other than being annoyed that they put her in charge of taking her little brother to school in the mornings.

We heard the steps coming from the stairs, and Mila stiffened. Her dad appeared at the door, and… Fuck me, it looked like he was only a size smaller than Mr. Carlos. He had a rectangular face, short black hair and a mustache. His general build was huge, with an emphasis on his shoulders and arms. The blue suit and the shirt he was wearing had to be tailor-made not to burst from him wearing them.

Frowning, he looked from Mila, to me, and back to his daughter. “So you decided to rope someone else in to do the work for you?”

Mila flinched. “I… I…”

The big man let out a sigh. “Young man, I’m sorry about my daughter. Don’t worry about that. You may leave if you want to.”

His tone was surprisingly polite, and it felt genuine. Like he was ashamed for what he perceived were his daughter’s shameful actions. Honestly, I was a bit intimidated. He not only was huge, but had an immense presence. Still…

I **** a smile. “If you don’t mind, Mr. Aliev, I’d like to stay. Mila asked me for a favor, and she’s done so much for me that I’d be a terrible friend if I didn’t at least try to help. She didn’t rope me in.”

“...” Mr. Aliev looked me up and down, but his gaze was more scrutinizing than Mila’s mother’s. He looked around the room, too. He saw the already unassembled old desk and seemed to be looking for something else, too. Maybe he noticed that the room was tidier? “Mila, go to the garage and get my toolbox.”

“Y-Yes!” Mila took her chance and ran, precisely like a girl who’d just avoided a good scolding.

Mr. Aliev stepped into the room. He began looking at the boards for the new desk, at the instructions and the small plastic bag of smaller pieces. As he did, I stood there silently, stiff, anxious.

Mila eventually came back with her dad’s toolbox. She set it on the floor, and looked at her dad, silently asking what she should do next.

“Go help your mother with dinner.”

Mila looked at me. “B-But…”

“Go.” He didn’t raise his voice, but his tone left no room to argue.

Mila shot me an apologetic look and went downstairs.

Mr. Aliev closed the door and let out a heavy sigh. “I wanted her to think her actions more thoroughly, but I didn’t expect her to bring someone else to do this for her. I’d rather not let a guest at my house do any sort of work, but if you insist, then I’ll help you.”

“I-It’s not trouble, sir,” I said.

“It is to me, young man. Would you let a guest at your house clean your bathroom?”

I flinched. He got me there. “...No.”

Mr. Aliev smiled, or at least I think he did. His mouth barely moved, but the look in his eyes softened. “Here, hold these boards.”

For a while we worked together in silence. It was a little awkward, but it was more up my alley than trying to make small talk. I held stuff, he put in the screws, we both got annoyed at the use of different types of screws, we puzzled over what some of the pictures in the instructions meant until I saw a video link, played it on my phone and we watched the instructions there. As we were getting closer to the finish line, Mr. Aliev finally spoke.

“What’s your name, young man?”

“Oliver, sir. Oliver Brooks.”

“You said my daughter has helped you a lot. What could that girl have possibly done?”

His tone there ticked me off. It sounded as if he didn’t believe Mila could do anything… I don’t know, important. Still, I didn’t want to screw anything up, so I kept my own tone in check. Thinking of Mila helped.

I smiled fondly at the memories. “Until not long ago, I couldn’t speak to people. I would freeze up and the words wouldn’t come out, no matter how much I wanted them to. Mila didn’t care. She pushed through and was insistent on becoming friends with me, even when it looked like I was glaring at her. It’s in large part thanks to her that I can do things I never thought I could, so I really owe her the world.”

“Things you never thought you could do. Like working as a waiter?”

I blinked.

Mr. Aliev smiled that non-smile again. “She talks a lot about you. She told us that you go to the gym, that you work at a coffee shop, that you did well in your midterms, that you have a sister you’re trying to fix your relationship with… and much more.”

My face burned. Whyyyy? Why would she tell her parents about me? None of that was interesting in the least!

“It’s the first time she talks about a boy so much, I was curious to meet you.” He looked around the room. “And suddenly, when I find you here with her, her room looks decent for once and you’re helping her with one of her whims. She didn’t make you clean, did she?”

I chuckled. “No, sir. I helped, but it was me who told her we had to clean up first if she wanted my help with the desk.”

Mr. Aliev’s smile became more clear, and he even chuckled softly. “You don’t say? You’ve gotten her to do more than her mother and I have already.”

He finished putting in the final screw, stood up and checked the stability of the desk. We were finally done.

“...We spoiled her a lot as she was growing up,” Mr. Aliev said, eyes on the desk’s surface. “Now she has a loose sense of responsibility. She barely studies, she doesn’t clean her room, she doesn’t take care of the car we bought her, and now she even has an easy job that gives her money to spend without thought, like on this desk. She didn’t stop to think if she’d have to put it together, believing I’d do it for her.” He sighed with eyes closed. “I worry for her future.”

I swallowed. Much as I love that girl, I couldn’t deny any of what her father had said. Mila wouldn’t study if Grace and Alice didn’t push her, the way she spent money hurt my frugal soul, and the inside of her car was always full of bags, junk and dirt. But…

“And yet her friends love her so much they scold her for those same reasons,” I said. “She’s a bright girl who cares immensely for her friends and always finds a way to cheer them up. I find myself wishing I could be a bit more like her, actually.” I smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of my neck. “Sorry if that was out of line, but…”

Mr. Aliev shook his head. “It’s a relief that you have that to say about her. Thank you.” He turned to me and smiled. “You will stay for dinner, won’t you?”

His tone was cordial… yet it left no room to argue.

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