6. Aiden
6
AIDEN
“ Y ou’re bringing the present, right?”
“What present?” I asked as I breezed through Long Island in my Ferrari, Dominic on speaker phone as he made his own drive in. I’d always liked the North Shore, especially Jamesport, where Nana Dee lived. I didn’t make it over here as often as I would have liked, but to celebrate Trent’s birthday and spend some time with my favorite people in the world, it was worth the effort. When we were younger, we used to have Trent’s birthday lunch at Dee’s, then we’d all go out and get hammered. Now that we’d outgrown the wildness of our twenties, lunch was really the main event. “Our presence is his present.”
“You’re kidding, right?” He sounded exasperated.
I laughed. “Don’t panic. I grabbed the bottle you forgot on my desk before I left the office yesterday.”
“Did you get a card?”
“What the hell does he need a card for?” I asked as the clouds parted above. It had been a relatively wet April so far, but it looked like the weather might just clear up for Trent. Not that it would have mattered. Nana Dee had an enclosed patio where she hosted most celebrations.
“Watch the language—you’re on speaker.”
“My bad. Hi, Hailey,” I said, receiving no response from Dominic’s four-year-old daughter. She was probably dialed in on her iPad. “But seriously, Dom, Trent is not going to read a card. He’s gonna take one look at the bottle before cracking it open.”
“Did you at least put it in a gift bag?”
I frowned. “No?”
“What are you, twelve?”
“You didn’t know me when I was twelve.”
“And thank god for that. You were probably an annoying little sh—” He cleared his throat. “Piece of work.”
I snorted. “You’re thinking too hard about all of this. You’re supposed to be relaxing and enjoying your weekend with Hailey. Not stressing out over cards and gift wrap as some sort of substitute for stressing about your?—”
“Watch what you say with current company,” Dominic cut in.
“—other predicament,” I finished tactfully for Hailey’s sake. What I really wanted to say was stressing about your horrible, gold-digging, selfish hag of a soon-to-be ex-wife .
“I’m not stressing about that.”
“Sure you’re not.” Dominic’s mind cycled between three things: Hailey, his disaster divorce proceedings, and the launch of Elixir Free.
“I’m actually the King of Calm today. How far are you?”
I glanced out the window, watching the Bayfront properties zoom by. Nana Dee’s place was nestled in a neighborhood comprised of picturesque beach walks and quaint cafés. It was all a little too slow for my usual tastes, but a perfect occasional escape from the chaos of Manhattan. “About two minutes.”
“Okay, we’re just pulling up. I’ll see you there.”
I hung up, making my way down the street, pulling up in front of Nana Dee’s place. I spotted Vincent’s red Bugatti Chiron—the one Piper, his fiancée, had crashed into on the day they met—and Paul’s car. Dominic was unloading Hailey in the driveway, his Bentley Bentayga far more child friendly. We liked to tease him about driving the dad-mobile, but I supposed Vincent was about to join him, since Piper was due to give birth soon. Bye-bye Bugatti and hello rear-facing car seat.
I grabbed the liquor off the passenger seat and hopped out, meeting Dominic on the driveway.
“Say hi to Uncle Aiden,” he said as Hailey climbed down from her seat.
“Nana Dee!” Hailey cried, zooming straight past me and up the porch steps of the house.
Dominic shrugged. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I get it. Nana Dee is infinitely cooler than I am.” I followed him to the door. We didn’t bother knocking. We hadn’t since Christmas break of freshman year. I was only just starting to get to know the guys then—Vincent, Dominic, and Trent from a brand management class we were all taking together, and Paul because he was Vincent’s roommate. But when going home to my almost-divorced parents had sounded like a nightmare and Vincent’s travel plans fell through at the last minute, Trent hadn’t hesitated to invite us to spend the holiday with him at Nana Dee’s. From that moment on, his grandmother basically adopted us, calling us her Lost Boys. We spent every Christmas break in college with her and had stayed close since.
Hailey ran ahead, racing through the house Nana Dee had childproofed the day Hailey was born. Dee and her husband had made it big in the furniture business, and the house was filled with antique furnishings and stained-glass windows, but there were no sharp edges or trip hazards anywhere. Nana Dee always made sure her world was as safe and welcoming for us as it could be. We made our way to the covered patio where she was setting out the lunch spread.
“There you are!” she said to us as she hugged Hailey, who’d latched onto her legs.
Dominic scooped Hailey into his arms, freeing Nana Dee, only for her to latch onto both of us. I allowed myself to be squished in a hug. For as long as I’d known her, Dee had always worn the same rose-scented perfume. I couldn’t smell it without smiling.
“Is the birthday boy around?” I asked.
“He’s in the kitchen trying to help. I told him not to bother, since it’s his birthday, but you know how he is.”
He could be kind of a control freak…but I was the same way, so I was hardly one to criticize.
“We’ll go root him out,” Dominic said, flipping Hailey upside down until she’d started giggling uncontrollably. “Won’t we?”
“Can I do anything?” I asked Dee when Dominic disappeared. She handed me a basket of cutlery, and I set to work. “Are we expecting your famous red velvet cake again this year?”
“Of course. I baked it fresh this morning. Just finished icing it before you all got here.”
“Hey, Dee!” Vincent called, coming through the patio door from the yard. Piper was just behind him. “It looks like you’ve already got jasmine growing in the greenhouse.”
“Glad you noticed. Took me forever to get those little buggers to take root!”
“And your gardenia plant looks amazing,” Piper added.
“I’ve been informed by my fiancée that she’s now obsessed with the smell,” Vincent said.
“You take as many cuttings as you’d like,” Dee told them.
“Hey,” Vincent said, clapping me on the shoulder.
“Hey. So is that like a pregnancy thing?”
He shrugged. “Heightened sense of smell. Taste. It’s a wild time, dude.”
“That’s handy.” Vincent was in the fragrance business. Piper had helped him launch the company’s most recent perfume line, which was how they met. Well, they met when she hit his car, but working together was how they got together in the end.
He snorted. “As long as it’s a smell she approves of. If it’s not, well, then I get an earful about that too.” The words might sound like a complaint, but the grin on his face made it clear it was anything but. He was ridiculously in love.
Dominic returned from the house with Trent and Hailey, along with Paul and his wife, Chloe.
“Now it’s a party,” I said, giving Trent a quick hug. “Happy birthday, man.” I passed him his gift.
“What?” he said. “No card?”
My jaw dropped for a moment, then Dominic started snickering. “Shut the hell up.”
“I’m kidding.” He laughed. “Thank you. This is great.”
Nana Dee beamed at us, laying her hand against her chest.
“Ah, now what?” Trent asked, sounding like he was nineteen again.
“Nothing,” she said. “It just makes me happy to see all of you together.” She took Piper and Chloe by their arms, pulling them close. “And now two of my boys are settled down with women who are perfect for them.”
Trent rolled his eyes. “Here we go. Another year older. Another year wiser. Another year alone and unmarried. Is that right?”
“Glad we’re on the same page,” Dee said cheekily.
“Sure, sure.” Trent laughed, shaking his head.
Vincent hugged Piper from behind, resting his hands on her pregnant belly, while Paul pulled Chloe into his lap. The rest of us took our seats around the patio table.
“How is the wedding planning coming?” Dee asked Piper as the food was doled out.
“Basically all done,” she said. “Oh, actually, we need to coordinate the groomsmen’s fitting!” She nudged Vincent. “Remind me to do that while we’re here. It’ll be easier to nail down a time when you can all look at your calendars at once. Sorting things out with you lot on group chat is a nightmare.”
Chloe laughed. “Aren’t you glad we’ve already dealt with all the bridesmaid stuff?”
“Well, it helped that I could use you as a cheat sheet,” Piper replied with a grin.
Piper was Paul’s stepsister, and Piper had been a bridesmaid in Chloe and Paul’s wedding not so long ago. I could only assume Chloe—who was now one of Piper’s bridesmaids—had had plenty of useful “do this and absolutely not this” advice to share.
“A wedding and a baby!” Dee remarked, adding food to Hailey’s plate. “I’m going to need to get a bigger table for out here.” She caught Dominic’s eye. “And how is the you know what going?”
“Divorce,” Dominic said, lifting his shoulder. “I’m trying not to make it sound like a bad word.”
“Of course,” Dee said. “And it’s not. Sometimes it’s for the best.”
“It’s been a…struggle,” Dominic said, clearly searching for the right word to use with Hailey present.
Dee offered him a sympathetic smile. “Once you’re through this rough patch, things will settle down again. Then we’ll find you the right girl?—”
Dominic snorted into his water glass. “Oh no. I’m good. Trust me. Been there, done that. Pick on someone else.”
“I don’t pick,” Dee argued. “I gently nudge.”
Trent regarded his grandmother. “Gently?”
“At my age, I can do whatever I want. And what I want is to see all my boys happily settled,” she said.
“Then start in on those two.” Dominic pointed at me and Trent. “At least I gave marriage a try. They’re not pulling their weight at all. At this rate, Hailey’s going to start college before they do anything productive with their love lives.”
“He’s right,” Dee said, sipping a glass of wine. “Any prospects I should know about?”
Trent scoffed. “We have this conversation every week. You’d know if there was someone.”
I shook my head. “I’m too busy with work. We’ve started development on Elixir Free. I definitely don’t have time for a relationship right now.”
“Work, work, work,” Dee complained. “It can’t be all about work.”
“Says the furniture mogul,” I said.
“Who also made time to have a family,” Dee pointed out. “And look after you boys.”
“Touché,” Vincent said. Oh, sure, now that he was all loved up with Piper, he was on Dee’s side.
“Hmm…I wouldn’t be too quick to believe this one when he says he’s got nothing going on, Dee.” Dominic nodded in my direction. “I’m pretty sure I saw some sparks flying between Aiden and a certain someone.”
“Who?” Piper and Chloe demanded at once.
I frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on,” he teased. “You and Cora?”
“What about her?”
“In the cafeteria? Talking about that Hemingway-something-or-other.”
“You mean when we were arguing?” I asked, emphasizing the last word. All Cora and I had done since reconnecting was fight. But Dominic wasn’t paying attention to me, instead mouthing the word sparks to Dee while making an explosive motion with his hands.
Dee clapped excitedly. “Now this is a development. Finally!”
“Nothing is happening,” I insisted. “And nothing is going to happen.” I wasn’t even sure Cora and I should be allowed to eat lunch in the same room.
“Deny, deny, deny,” Paul said to the table. “That’s how you know it’s real.”
Vincent and Trent burst out laughing.
I shook my head. “It’s really nothing.” Right? “I mean, sure Cora and I have a past, but?—”
“Yeah, and what exactly is that past?” Vincent pressed. “All I know is you dated her in high school. What’s the rest of the story?”
“There is no rest of the story,” I insisted. “We were kids—it didn’t work out. Nothing surprising about that.” And no need to go into the rest of it. I wasn’t exactly proud of how things had played out, but it was over and done with. No need to dredge all of that up again now. Besides, what high school relationship actually lasts?
“You’re sure there’s no rekindling of old feelings?” Trent teased.
“Trust me. It’s ancient history.”
Nana Dee glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “Uh-huh,” she said, skeptical.
“You spend a hell of a lot of time checking out that ancient history,” Dominic pointed out. “And she spends nearly as much time checking out you .”
“That’s not the p—wait, what does she do?”
They all laughed at me.
“Are you blushing?” Vincent asked.
“Shut the hell up.” These were my closest friends. It was harder to lie to them than it was to lie to myself. Did Cora affect me? Yeah, maybe. She was incredibly attractive. But could I stand being around her for more than ten minutes without needing a stiff drink? Absolutely not. Still, the thought of her checking me out, liking what she saw…I couldn’t pretend it was a bad thought.
“Daddy, can I go look in the greenhouse?” Hailey asked, pulling at Dominic’s sleeve.
“Maybe when we’re all done eating,” he said.
I jumped up, spotting my out. “Come on, Hailey. I’ll take you to look at the greenhouse.”
“Oh wait!” Dee said, getting to her feet. “Let’s do the cake first.”
“There’s cake?” Trent teased.
Dee nudged him as she passed. “Of course there’s cake. You know that.”
“Cake!” Hailey cried, content to remain at the table now.
I sighed. Oh well, at least the attention was off me. Plus, cake! I pulled out my chair to sit down again, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Dee stumble. Next thing I knew, she was on the ground.
“Nana Dee!” Trent said, bounding to his feet.
I reached her first, crouching next to her. “Jesus, Dee, are you okay?”
“I’m all right,” she croaked, attempting to roll over. “I just…I tripped over my own feet. I’m okay.”
“Sit up slowly,” Trent said as we helped her adjust her position.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?” I asked. “Did you bang your head when you hit the ground?”
“No, no. I’m fine. Don’t fret.”
Don’t fret? “You broke your fall with your arm,” I said. “We should at least check to make sure nothing’s broken or sprained or?—”
“It’s not a big deal,” Dee said, but Trent was already gingerly pushing up the sleeve of her cashmere sweater.
“Have you fallen recently?” he asked, pointing out old bruises. “What is all this?”
Dee bit her lip, her brow furrowing. “It’s nothing. Really, I?—”
“ Dee ,” Vincent said as he came to stand by my side. “Please don’t lie to us.”
“Oh, all right, maybe I’ve had a few more dizzy spells lately,” she admitted, clicking her tongue, trying to sound dismissive even as she avoided eye contact with all of us.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Trent asked. I could hear the growl in his voice. I knew he wasn’t angry though; he was worried.
“Because I am fine,” she insisted. “Now help me up.”
We did, slowly pulling Dee to her feet, all of us on edge. It’s like we were waiting for her to spontaneously crumple.
Dee put her hands on her hips. “See? Good as new.”
“Dee,” Paul said. “This sounds like an ongoing problem you’re ignoring.”
I caught Trent’s eye. We all remembered that dizzy spell Dee had a little while ago. The one that led to her falling down the stairs. At the time, we’d thought it was an isolated incident, but apparently not.
“I’m not ignoring it,” Dee argued. “I just haven’t done anything about it yet.”
“Well, I don’t think this is just going to go away,” I said softly. “Maybe it’s time to see a doctor?”
“You promised to tell me if it got worse,” Trent said. “This is worse. I think Aiden’s right.”
“It’s not that serious,” she tried to insist.
“Dee, we’re all here and we’re telling you it is,” Vincent said. “Will you please do this for us? I can’t handle more stress than a new baby and a wedding.”
“Oh, all right,” Dee huffed. “I’ll make an appointment tomorrow. But in the meantime, how about that cake?”
“Yes!” Hailey announced. “Let’s have cake!”
“I guess we’re helping with the cake,” Dominic said as Hailey ran for the kitchen door.
“I’ll help,” Piper added, getting up.
“Me too.” Chloe stood. “We’ll see if there’s enough room for all the candles we need.” She nudged Trent teasingly as she passed.
“Har har,” he said.
“I could have done it,” Dee said, but she didn’t argue as we guided her back to her chair. Maybe the fall had scared her more than she was letting on.
By the time the girls and Dominic returned with the cake—a towering red velvet slab covered in cream cheese frosting and way too many candles—Hailey was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Hurry up,” I told Trent as we finished singing “Happy Birthday.” “I think Hailey’s been patient for long enough.” She looked up at him with big brown eyes.
He laughed and blew out his candles in one go. “Who wants the first slice?”
Hailey’s hand flew up in the air. “Me!”
“I never would have guessed.” Trent cut and divvied up the cake and we tucked back in.
“So?” Dominic said, turning to Trent. “Best birthday ever or what?” He asked us all that same question every year.
“All in all,” Trent said. “Not bad. Though I’m a little disappointed Aiden didn’t end up in the pool again.”
I laughed, forever grateful I was able to spend time with these people who meant so much to me.
“There’s still time,” Vincent said. “The day is young.” He checked his watch. “You know how things start to get wild at four p.m. now.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you were hanging out that late,” Trent teased.
“Yeah, you’re about to be a dad,” I said. “You better go home and nap while you can.”
“A dad who can still drink you under the table.” Vincent picked up Trent’s birthday present and set it down in front of me, smirking the entire time. “C’mon, Cocktail King. Pour.”