My dad's business was an interesting affair, I'll say that much. It was less like the businesses you might be used to. Our business was very community-oriented, family-based, and - yes, I'll admit it - sometimes maybe a bit shady. We grew up in a small neighborhood in one of the less fancy parts of the city and it had its own rules - most of which were decided by my dad and his associates. A lot of people probably imagine something awful when they hear the word "gangster", but my dad has always been the nicest person I've ever known - not just to me or my brother, but also to his customers and business partners. It's not the guns blazing scenes you see in movies - it's mostly deals being made behind closed doors.
Ever since my brother Peter and I were little, our dad always taught us the importance of our business and how it is inseparable from our family. My brother has always been very ambitious. He wanted to be the one who would run our dad's little empire one day, so he took every possible opportunity to learn from him and impress him. But me? To be honest, I was never so much into any of that stuff. I was actually glad that my brother was so interested in taking over because it took a lot of responsibility off of me and I was free to do whatever I wanted. Like my hobbies, my school... or exploring my sexuality.
That's right, ever since puberty, I knew I was more into boys than girls. I tried hiding it away from my dad for as long as possible because I honestly didn't know how he would react to that stuff. But since I was never really that good at keeping it a secret, he eventually caught me with one of my classmates one day after school. I invited a friend to come to my house to "study".
I still remember that day, because of how strange the whole thing was. It was my final year of high school. I was nineteen, and so was my friend. My dad walked into my room right at the moment when both of us were shirtless, with his tongue deep inside my mouth. Once my friend saw my dad in the doorway, he freaked out, jumping out of the bed and backing himself in a corner of my room. Everybody knew that my dad was "the boss" of this part of town and the poor guy thought that the big man was going to kill him for messing around with his son. And while I knew it wouldn't get that bad, to be perfectly honest, I kind of expected him to blow up too - he rarely ever did, but I was sure this was about to push him over the edge.
Instead, my dad did something completely different. Slowly, he walked up to my classmate - who was standing there, half-naked and scared shitless - put a hand on his shoulder, and calmly told him to put his shirt back on and leave the house. He didn't have to repeat himself - my friend basically bolted, not even bothering to put the shirt back on, he just grabbed it and ran. Then, my dad turned to me, still laying on the bed. He sat on the side of the bed and - to my amazement - we had a very long and understanding talk about my sexuality.
He told me that it was okay for me to be curious and that he was okay with me being gay. But, he also told me not to spread myself too thin, whatever that meant... He told me that as his son, I shouldn't be running around messing around with just anyone I saw. Even though I was caught red-handed, I was a little irritated by that part and I asked him what that was supposed to mean. What, was he supposed to choose my partners for me or something?!
He just smiled at me, ruffled my hair, and told me to "trust daddy". Then, he left me in the room. I was perplexed, and not really sure what I was supposed to take away from that conversation. However, since I just barely escaped trouble, I decided not to try my luck any further. We didn't bring it up again, and I kept myself a mile away from any boys - which was not easy for my teenage, hormone-filled self.
A couple years passed by and my brother started being more and more involved in my dad's business. Since he apparently proved himself trustworthy, my dad started entrusting him with smaller tasks of his own. Almost every night my brother would come home, looking all smug, and rub his success in my face. How he was the one taking over the family's business and how soon, I would be calling him my boss.
"It must be nice just laying around, doing nothing after school," he would taunt me, "I guess if real men like my dad and I are the ones bringing bread to the table, there has to be someone who eats it..."
Needless to say, it bothered me. I wasn't interested in being involved with the business, but now that he was rubbing it in my face, I kind of started to. At one point, I couldn't take any more of his arrogance. I told him that we will see about that, although I didn't know what I was thinking. I knew next to nothing about the family business, and I couldn't see any way for me to participate in it that I would enjoy or be good at.
My dad, being the people person he always was, of course, caught on to this tension between me and my brother - even though we never brought it up in front of him - and would frequently remind my brother that I was an important asset to the family and that I was about to prove very important - it just wasn't my time to shine yet. It perplexed me back then, I didn't know what that meant, but it shut my brother's trap for at least a minute, so I wasn't complaining.
Which brings us to that one summer day when my dad finally made me understand.
I was twenty-one at the time and my brother was twenty-six. By this time, he already had his own little responsibilities when it came to dad's business, while I was focusing on my remote university studies. The stupid, arrogant comments from my brother never stopped, but luckily, with all of his newfound responsibility, we didn't have so much time to interact anymore, which was working out just fine for me.
One night, after our family dinner, my father asked me to stay for a while after we finished eating. That was usually the time when my father talked business with my brother. I was never explicitly uninvited from that, but I usually had no reason or interest in staying around for that conversation, so I usually didn't. This was a new thing for me.
"I have something business-related I need to discuss," he said to us, "And I need you both to be present this time."
My brother seemed as confused as I was and kept looking at me like I was supposed to know what was going on. After we finished eating, my dad left the table and went to his study. When he came back, he was carrying a briefcase.
"Thank you for your time, boys," he said in a formal manner - when it comes to business stuff, my dad always addressed us as his associates, rather than his sons, "I'll keep it short and clear. Peter, your tasks for the week remain the same. Make sure the negotiations with Roger from uptown continue and keep things neat and friendly with our friends from the police department. Sam, on the other hand, will be handling a completely new deal with none other than Mr. Angelo."
My brother almost choked on the sip of water he was drinking at the time.
"Mr. Angelo?!" he repeated, "You mean the gang leader from the commercial district?"
"The very same, yes," my dad nodded.
"That guy is a legend, dad!" my brother said in shock, "He controls the whole downtown area... And from what I've heard, he's not one to be fucked with! Are we making a deal with someone like that? That is huge!"
"That's exactly right, son," dad nodded, retaining his calm demeanor.
"And you're sending Sam?" my brother exclaimed, outraged, "He has never, NEVER, done anything like this before! He's gonna get eaten alive in there, and more importantly, the deal's gonna be a bust!"
"More importantly?!" I asked him, angrily, but my dad gestured at me to stop. He kept his eyes on my brother.
