Chapter 85 - A Long Return Home

When Marek threatened to demand compensation from him for breaking the contract, Dominik started going through his bills and bank accounts. It turned out that he does not spend much - he has not taken out a loan and he has not devoted more to life and pleasure than an average Pole.

Dominik bought his house with cash two years ago, and although the salaries for the actors were not high, he received a higher stake with each subsequent role. If at that moment he quit acting and did not change his life habits, he could live peacefully for thirty years. For twenty-eight if he buys and keeps the pony he wanted to give Martynka for her birthday.

Previously, Dominik did not deal with his finances, leaving everything in the hands of the manager. The discovery of how much he has in his bank accounts meant that acting ceased to be a form of compulsion to earn a living. Yes, he did not want to lose to Marczak as a forfeit, so he wanted to get a role without him, but if it were to be the last in his professional life, it would not be a great loss for him.

You could even say the opposite. If he quit acting now, he could live a normal life for the first time - go to the store without fear of being stopped by some fan, go for a walk without fear that paparazzi are lurking around the corner (not that everyone is so bad) and finally love who you want without fear that the media will tear them to shreds.

Dominik Śliwiński surreptitiously looked at Andrzej. His companion cleaned up excitedly, not continuing the topic. He probably thought his argument went to Dominik. The photographer himself was actually unemployed because of him, because his conscience and honor refused to reveal Śliwiński's compromising photos. If he gave them to a publishing house or sold them anywhere, he would be rich now. However, he decided to keep them secret, not wanting to expose the actor to a scandal. Dominik did not know exactly how and why Nowicki lost his job, but the starting point was certainly the photos he had taken.

'Exactly,' Dominik glanced at him again, 'Andrzej has my photos naked already. So what's the difference of a few more or less?'

But now was not the best time for this type of conversation. Maybe in the evening - by the fireplace and a glass of wine.

"You mentioned your mom was dead. And dad?" Dominik asked. He just wanted to know more about Andrzej.

"Both of them. They died within a year five years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Mum was ill for a long time, dad could not survive the second heart attack. Your dad is fine?"

"Yes. The whole family is doing great."

"Is it big?"

"Parents, older sister and younger brother."

"They didn't start their own families?"

"No. It is true that we do not maintain contact with each other, but my mother would order me to be invited to a wedding."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to meet them?"

"Actually ..."

The acquaintance with Andrzej began to open up a world closed by Marczak to him. Dominik never really wanted to cut off contacts with them and sent them gifts and special greetings, but he did not see them and they rarely called each other. At the beginning, he worked hard on could not replay to all invitations. Years later even invitations stopped coming. It never bothered him, because Marek took over his whole life, but Nowicki was completely different and his company and acquaintance with Paulina and her eight-year-old daughter made him think about his parents and siblings. And miss them.

"You think we could go to them?" Dominik asked timidly. He did not want to cause trouble for Andrzej, but since they have already managed to leave Warsaw ... "It's actually a stone's throw ..."

"Sure. Do you want to go now?"

"Aren't you tired of driving?"

"I? No. We'll only eat something quick, and I'm ready."

"Really?"

"Sure. We're starting in half an hour."

***

Dominik Śliwiński's family house stood in the suburbs - a two-story, newly renovated house, no bigger than the one in which the actor lived now. He had his own yard and a garden with conifers. The gate was open, but Andrzej decided not to enter the property. They hadn't made an announcement, so they were intruders at the moment. Nowicki preferred to park on the side of the road.

"It's your family," he said, turning off the engine. He was blatant that Dominik needed some encouragement. At this point, he looked very vulnerable. "They will surely be pleased with your visit."

The actor smiled faintly. There was no doubt that he was upset. Andrzej himself felt his heart beating faster. Dominik made very quick progress to get out of the mental golden cage in which Marczak had locked him, and this cost him a lot of emotions. It is true that the doctor did not recommend him a lot of stress, but repairing relations with his family could bring much greater benefits as a result.

"Thank you for supporting me" Dominik said looking at Andrzej with the eyes of the begging kitten.

"You're welcome. And there is no need to delay. Go."

"What? Me alone?"

"It's your family," Nowicki repeated in a different tone this time. "Don't you think they should feast your eyes on you first, get used to the thought that they really see you, and then possibly meet the stranger you came with?"

"Maybe you're right, but ..."

Andrzej saw a small, middle-aged woman leaving the house. She pretended not to be interested in a stranger's car in front of the property, but she glanced at it quite often. Nowicki pointed his head at her.

The actor turned to her and froze. Finally he grinned and, waiting for nothing, opened the car door.

"Good morning mum!" He called as he got out.

"Oh my God!" The woman squealed. "Dominik! Son, is that really you ?!"

"Yes, mum," he walked over to her quickly and gave her a warm hug. "I'm sorry to not announce, but I had the idea to come only around noon."

"God, how skinny you are," his mother cried. "You don't eat anything in this Warsaw!"

Andrzej looked at the two and their greeting with a smile on his face. He was a bit afraid for Dominik, that the years had done their job and the meeting would be rather difficult. But the mother has always been a mother, and the sight of a child she had not seen for so long filled her heart with joy.

"Come to home! Father won't believe when he sees you! I'm about to make something good to eat ... And this man in the car" she pointed out to Nowicki "he won't be sitting there like that. Good morning." She walked over to the car. "Please come to our house. You can also drive the car into the driveway."

"Thank you, but I don't want to disturb the family reunion."

"Nonsense! You can't sit in the car like that. You have to go inside."

"In that case, thank you. I'm just gonna move the car."

Dominik's mother made a nice impression. He wasn't really surprised because her son was definitely a lovely man. He inherited a charming smile from her and Andrzej was sure that in her youth she must have been extremely beautiful, although her eyes were far from the piercing blue of her son. She spoke with a distinctive, melodic Eastern accent that made her speech sound a bit like singing. She also exuded sympathy and warmth. So the photographer could not understand why the boy is so afraid to confide in her about his problems?

Or maybe he WAS afraid, maybe in this case we can already speak in the past tense, Nowicki thought hopefully. After all, a few weeks ago he did not even want to see his family and now he decided to meet her.

Andrzej parked the car and got out of it. Dominik was just entering the house, being pushed by his mother. The woman herself - clearly very excited - was waiting for him. He approached Śliwińska[1] and bowed politely to her.

"Let me introduce myself: Andrzej Nowicki, photographer and friend of Dominik."

"Friend? Really?" she was surprised and pleased at the same time. "I'm so glad. I was afraid that I let him out into the world too early and he would not be able to cope with it alone. I am his mother, Helena Śliwińska."

Her fears were well-founded, thought Andrzej. Dominik did not do very well alone, but he tried to fix it. A sensitive seventeen-year-old tossed to the prey of a wolf like Marczak did not know how to defend himself against him. He didn't even know he should. Yes, he had been happy these seven years, but now he was discovering just how illusory and empty that happiness was.

[1] About Polish surnames – in lot of cases, when surname of a man ends with –ski, -cki, -dzki, the surname of a woman in the same family ends –ska, -cka, -dzka. Dominik Śliwiń-ski but hut mother Śliwiń-ska.