Chapter 2
Don Alejandro followed his son down the passageway leading to Zorro's secret lair. All of this hidden under my nose…All those times I walked through the study unable to find my son only to have him appear minutes later. You are very clever, my son...The science experiments on the table were more in keeping with the Diego that he knew. Seeing Toronado in his stall and Zorro's black outfit hanging on a peg were difficult to comprehend. They resembled the masked man more than the scholarly man my son appeared to be...Zorro is my son...Diego is Zorro...It is all so confusing...so hard to comprehend...Feelings of pride and disbelief warred within him along with a sense of concern for his son's safety. No wonder, my son kept this a secret. I would have worried about him every time Zorro was shot at…My son, Zorro…The apple did not fall so very far from the tree.
ZZZ
Hours later, the two de la Vega men sat next to each other in the sala. A calm settled over the house as Diego sat on the couch next to the fireplace. Alejandro prepared two glasses of wine prompting his son to lift an eyebrow in surprise at his father's action. Perhaps, a little wine would be in order, just this once..He swirled the contents around the goblet thoughtfully and sighed. Diego met his father's solemn gaze with one of his own.
"We should talk about Gilberto… Zorro… So many things," the old don began hesitantly. It was still difficult to talk about the son that he had never known about...The one who had been stolen from him by a madwoman...
"Gilberto's death affected us all, Father."
"Yes it did, Diego. I regret that we never got to know him and that by the time, we found out who he really was...It was too late...All those years wasted...His life destroyed by Inez Risendo..."
"Father, there is nothing that could be done about it. He was my brother but I cannot miss..."
"Something that you never had. You are my son. He was a stranger to us...a man poisoned by hate...a mere shell of the man that he would have been if your mother and I had raised him."
"Father, is...is it wrong to feel so… so…?"
Don Alejandro searched his mind for a word to describe his son's feelings. The older man had lost a son that he had never really known but Desoto's action had saved his remaining son...He was grateful to the alcalde but could not help but wonder what could have been if he and Elena had Gilberto. Would he have been a better man or would he have remained the same? He could identify with what the taller man was feeling..."Relieved?"
"I feel relieved but I should have been able to prevent his death."
"Diego, No one could have stopped it from happening. Gilberto was poisoned by hatred. He was more Risendo than de la Vega."
"Do you wonder what would have happened if you had raised him? If things would have been different between you...between us..."
"Let's not waste time on regrets, Diego. I'm grateful that you're alive. That means more to me than anything else."
"More than the fact that I'm Zorro?"
"I'm proud to know that you're Zorro, a man of action and not just words, but I'm glad that I can get to know the real man behind the mask. I respect you for who you are, son. In the past, I let my anger overcome me…I didn't listen and for that, I am truly sorry…You are a true and loyal son…I should have told you that a long time ago. "
Diego struggled to stop the tears slowly escaping his tightly closed eyelids. "We have lost so much time on misunderstandings, Father. Please forgive me for keeping such a secret for so long."
"What about Victoria? When are you going to tell her?"
"Victoria only knows me as Diego not Zorro."
"She has the right to know. She deserves to know."
"I've wanted to tell her but…I'm afraid."
"You're afraid…of her rejection, perhaps." The thought that Diego would be afraid of the petite innkeeper...The hero of the pueblo...A man who faced danger on a daily basis...His son was a mass of contradictions... "Give Victoria the chance to love you for yourself. She may surprise you."
"I hope that you are right, Father. I have been carrying this secret for so long. I just want to get on with my life," he sighed, " Thank you, Father...I...I...I love you so much."
"The feeling is mutual, Diego. We have much to be thankful for. I'm getting another son in Felipe. Nothing will separate us again." Diego and his father talked long into the night. The bond between father and son was stronger than ever. Life was unpredictable but life would go on. The rational part of Diego agonized over telling Victoria. He wanted to shield himself from the pain of rejection but the de la Vega in him wanted to give in to his 'feelings" and throw caution to the wind. How would Victoria react? That was something he could not control.