5. Tyler
FIVE
TYLER
NOW
Auburn Hills is divided by a big grid, with Main Street running through the center and two rail lines bookending it.
On either side of Main Street are two ranges of rolling hills.
It takes less than an hour to go from one hill across Main Street to the other.
My ranch is up in the North Hills, while Reid lives at the base we call “Newtown.” It’s filled with mostly new-development apartments and townhouses.
Just parallel to Newtown is the Arts Quarter, where his uncle lives.
Annika’s photo studio, Golden Hour Studios, is the landmark at the corner leading the way to a side street of art studios and galleries.
Across Main Street is the Historic District, where Annika and Chloe live, and the Business District, parallel.
Schools, doctor offices, town halls, and other businesses tend to clutter this corner of the town.
Just last year, the city built a parking garage because it had been a nightmare to find any street parking while you were there.
When I say this is a small town, I mean it.
The population is barely twenty thousand, so even if you don’t know someone, you probably know their uncle or neighbor.
Or you both have the same doctor, or both had the same third-grade teacher.
Everyone is connected in some way. When I was leaving for college, this felt suffocating and was partly why I wanted to get out of here.
Even when I returned several years later, it felt like too much.
It felt like I couldn’t get a moment of peace to myself.
Everyone knew what happened to my parents and swarmed me.
Or the opposite—they avoided the subject all together.
I couldn’t tell if people cared or if it was the newest gossip around town that brought them around.
Either way, I didn’t want to be involved in it.
I’d walk into a store and the face of the cashier would morph into something that resembled a melting snowman. It was awkward and painful.
It’s been a few years since the accident, so the buzz has quieted.
Though if I thought people avoiding the subject of my parents was bad, several years later, it’s as if they never existed.
I feel like I can’t bring them up to anyone or feel bad about their absence because it’s been so long.
That’s why I’m so glad I opened up to Chloe.
It felt liberating to keep their memory alive during our little hike.
It’s as if she brought me back from the dead, too.
In fact, being with her and talking about them, I haven’t felt that sense of joy in a long while. It felt like they were never gone.
Reid’s parents are moving to Auburn Hills to be closer to him and his uncle Martin.
His dad and stepmom, Pam, are moving to the same neighborhood as Martin, the far west corner of the Arts District.
Not that many houses are typically on the market here.
So, when a cozy Craftsman a couple of blocks from Main Street went on the market, Sean and Pam Parker did not hesitate to scoop it up.
It didn’t hurt that Martin has an ongoing flirtation with the agent that listed the house.
He was able to send the info to Sean before the “For Sale” sign was hammered into the lawn.
I’ve known the Parkers almost as long as I’ve known Reid, and they’ve always been incredibly welcoming, which makes sense, considering the type of guy Reid is.
Since he’s moved up here, his parents visited almost every other month.
A five hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area doesn’t keep them from visiting their son.
A prime example of Reid’s character is the cup of hot coffee that’s always waiting for me in the staff room at work.
Parker Wellness has become Auburn Hills’s one-stop wellness shop.
Reid and I work as physical therapists, but I also offer massage therapy to some clients who need more restorative healing.
In college, my buddy Griff dared me to take a massage therapy class, and a few months later, I had my license.
At the time, I wanted to be a physical therapist for athletes, but massage therapy proved to be meaningful work.
I suppose I still would love to be a PT for athletes, but the thought of leaving Auburn Hills gives me intense anxiety.
I helped Griff after college when he got into pro climbing, but stopped once he started touring to avoid being away from home.
He made me an offer to be his official personal PT earlier this year, but I declined.
I grab the cup that has my name scribbled on the side and take a sip to shake the nerves that have climbed up my spine since remembering Griff’s offer.
I walk through the hall to my office and get it set up for my first client.
Since I joined Parker Wellness a few years ago, Martin has added float tanks, an acupuncturist, and even a Zen room.
Clients who pay for any of the services have an hour to use the Zen room.
It’s a dimly lit room with reclining lounge chairs and ambient sound playing.
Snacks and water are provided for folks to relax and unwind.
Just recently, he opened the room for anyone to use at an hourly rate.
It’s a brilliant business strategy. Regulars to the Zen room are teachers and the staff at Town Hall who just want a little peace and quiet.
I can imagine a little serenity goes a long way for them.
“Hey, man, what flavor did Veronica give you today?” Reid knocks on the open door to my office. He’s wearing a polo embroidered with the company logo, as I am. Veronica is the barista at the Human Bean, the coffee shop across the street. Reid always tells her to surprise me when he gets coffee.
I take another sip. “I think it’s a hazelnut latte. It’s a little sweet and nutty.”
“Just like you.” He winks and I chuckle. “I think she has a thing for you,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
“If anything, you are the sweet and nutty one. And who has a thing for me?”
“Veronica, from the coffee shop. Are you not interested in her? Her eyes get huge and sparkly when she sees you, and every time I say I’m getting coffee for you, she blushes.”
“Oh, uh, no, I’m good. She’s my buddy from high school, Ryan’s, younger sister. She always had a little crush on me. But she’s like ten years younger than me.”
“Is she? Dang, I swear I can’t tell how old anyone is anymore. Veronica is seventeen but looks twenty-five. Meanwhile, my uncle Marty is sixty-five and could pass for forty.”
“It’s because he wears those gel undereye patches every morning and meditates for an hour per day.”
Reid chuckles and leans around the corner to his uncle’s office. Sure enough, Martin is typing something on his laptop, wearing his gold jelly undereye patches.
Reid saunters over to a chair against the wall while I continue to disinfect the tools and therapy bed. “My parents are having a housewarming party next week—you can come, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“And uh …” Reid rocks back and forth on his feet for a beat. “Thanks again for hanging with Chloe. I know Annika feels terrible that she isn’t spending as much time with her. So it makes her feel better to know Chloe is not alone.”
“It’s no problem at all. She’s my friend—I love hanging out with her,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.
“You aren’t into her, are you?” Reid suspects.
“Why, were you trying to set me up with Veronica?” I wince.
“No, not at all.” He clears his throat. “Chloe is like a little sister to me and even though we are buds, I’m protective of her a bit.”
I nod, “Good, you should be. We’re uh–we’re just hanging out. Nothing more.” I try to reassure Reid who is still looking at me suspiciously.
I squint and press my lips together. Do I admit my growing feelings toward her to Reid?
He will probably say I’m lying even if I deny it.
I do like her, a lot, but she’s my friend and I don’t want to jeopardize that.
I haven’t opened up my heart to anyone since losing my parents four years ago.
Beyond friendship, I don’t know if I can recover from another loss if we weren’t able to work out.
My gut twists with the conflict. My cheeks were sore after I hung out with her last and I was so confused why until I realized it’s because I was smiling the whole time.
I haven’t experienced that in years. I can’t jeopardize losing that happiness by making a move on her.
Especially if I’m not certain that she feels the same way about me.
I exhale and finally say, “Okay, fine. It’s complicated.”
Reid raises his eyebrows, “Good complicated or bad complicated?” he asks and his demeanor changes from protective to concerned.
“Good complicated…we haven’t done anything. It’s just, I love having her as a friend, but I could see being something more. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.”
“You haven’t dated anyone in like over a year.”
“I don’t think I’d count going for coffee with that travelling nurse, dating.”
“My point is, I think it would be good for you. Plus, Chloe is amazing and you two get along so well. Though, I wouldn’t mention anything to Annika, even if it’s just a crush. She might threaten your life.”
“Well, don’t say anything to her. Like you said, it’s just a crush. Nothing else.”
“Not yet,” Reid says, wiggling his eyebrows again and I throw a neck roll pillow at his head.