Chapter 4
Aoife
“A re you excited for your new job?”
“Yeah, and kind of nervous,” Richie said with a chuckle, glancing over at me.
We’d already grabbed dinner and were headed out to the viewpoint.
It was in the middle of nowhere, and we’d never seen another car on the road that led there.
It was our secret spot. We’d found it the first year we were dating when neither of us had any money, so Richie had used what little he had to put gas in his truck, and we’d driven around aimlessly for hours.
It was one of the only places we’d been able to be completely alone.
“You’re going to do so great,” I assured him, smiling at the thought of it.
Even after my argument with Saoirse, I was in a good mood.
The worry about social services was behind us, Richie was going to start the career he was excited for, and all felt right in our little world.
“You’re a people person. You get along with everyone. ”
“I’m more nervous that I won’t like it,” he confessed with an embarrassed laugh.
“Valid concern,” I pointed out. “You’ll be dealing with other people’s poop.”
“Thanks,” he replied wryly. “Good visual.”
“Hey, man, plumbers are essential. At least you know there will always be work. People need plumbers.”
“Very true.”
“Tell me about this company you’ll be working for,” I said, sneaking a bite of tortilla from one of the tacos.
“I see you,” he said, looking my way again.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Richie shook his head. “The company is kind of small, well, not small I guess, but not huge either—which I thought was probably good, right? I won’t just get lost in a couple hundred employees. I met the owner, did I tell you that?”
“You did.”
“Yeah, so he interviewed me, which I thought was pretty cool. He was all about how the company is one big family and all that.”
“That’s cool.”
“They had pictures in the reception area—”
“Please tell me they weren’t of toilets they’d repaired,” I cut in.
“No, they weren’t,” he replied. “Smartass.”
I snickered.
“They were pictures of babies in little shirts with the company logo on the front.”
“That’s kind of an odd marketing scheme,” I pointed out. “Babies don’t use toilets.”
“That’s what I thought at first.” He nodded. “But they’re the employees’ kids.”
“Oh.” I thought about it for a moment. “Okay, that’s kind of cute.”
“Right? The receptionist saw me looking at them and said they send home little gift baskets whenever someone has a baby.”
“That’s nice of them.”
“That’s what I’m saying! They just seem cool.
I think I’ll like it there. I met a couple of the warehouse guys while I was there, and they were super welcoming.
One of them is this really old grizzled guy who should’ve retired like ten years ago.
He was out there carrying pipe around like it was a roll of toilet paper. Wild.”
“That’s awesome,” I replied, watching him as we pulled onto the little gravel oasis we’d made for ourselves. “You know that like ninety-five percent of being happy at work is who you work with.”
“Who says that?” he asked as he put the truck in reverse and parked.
“I say that. Take it from someone who works a mind-numbing job—it’s all about the coworkers.”
Richie chuckled.
“I’ve got Kathy, who’s a complete riot. Jasmine, who is always so full of drama that she can spend an entire shift telling a story so well that it’s like I’m listening to an audiobook.
Who else? Oh, and Kenny, who is the nicest old guy you’ll probably ever meet, and I get to see his wife come in every day to give him a kiss halfway through the shift.
It’s the cutest thing ever. And that, my friend, equals workplace satisfaction. ”
“I’ll make good money,” he said, reaching out to unbuckle both of our seat belts. “Eventually. That’s enough incentive for me.”
“Life’s not all about money,” I replied mockingly. The only people who ever said that were people with money. If you didn’t have it, you knew it made life a fuck of a lot easier.
“Grab the food,” Richie ordered, reaching behind his seat to grab a sleeping bag.
I hopped out of the truck and waited for him to lay it out in the bed for us before using the tire like a step stool to climb up there.
“This is the perfect date,” I called out as Richie grabbed our sodas from the cab.
“Agreed,” he said. “You, good view, street tacos, and no interruptions.”
I smiled. “I’m so excited for you. I think you’re going to love your job, and it’s all going to be awesome.”
“As long as I get to come home to you, I could probably work anywhere,” he said as I unpacked our food. “But it would be nice to enjoy it.”
“Life’s too short to work a shitty job,” I joked. I paused a minute and then widened my eyes. “Too soon?”
“You’ve got jokes,” Richie replied dryly. “Come on, get them all out now.”
“Can’t,” I teased. “They’re so much better when you don’t expect them.”
He laughed. “You know, plumbers don’t deserve to be made the butt of anyone’s jokes. Their jobs are shitty enough, alright?” He grinned slyly as I hooted.
“It’s a shitty job, but someone’s gotta do it,” I chirped back.
We were quiet as we ate, enjoying the view of the valley below us.
We were somewhere down an old logging road that I was pretty sure I’d never be able to find on my own.
The trees tapered down almost like gigantic stairs on the opposite side of the ravine, and I always wondered if the ground was shaped like that or if it was just the way the trees had grown.
When I was done eating, I laid back on the sleeping bag and stared at the sky. It was blue for as far as the eye could see, not a single cloud.
“What are you thinking about?” Richie asked, lying down beside me on his side. I knew his hand would roam, and I smiled as it slid beneath my dress and up my thigh.
“Well, I was thinking that there were no clouds, but now I’m wondering where that hand is headed,” I joked.
“You know exactly where it’s headed.” He grinned.
“Lucky me.”
He let out a huff of a laugh before his eyes grew serious. “Jesus, you’re pretty.”
“You’re prettier,” I crooned back, making him shake his head.
His hand traced designs on my thigh, higher and higher while his eyes roamed over my face and neck.
“What are you looking at?” I asked hoarsely, my cheeks heating.
“Forever,” he muttered.
I let out a noise halfway between a scoff and a laugh, but his expression didn’t change.
“This isn’t a teenage rom-com,” I joked uncomfortably. “Are you reading from a script?”
“Shut it,” he ordered calmly.
I swallowed thickly.
“You and me,” he said quietly, his hand moving higher. “You know that, right?”
I nodded.
“I’m serious.”
“Okay.”
“Aoife.”
“Richard.”
His hand cupped me over my underwear firmly, and I jolted.
“It’s you and me. Not just long term. I’m talking forever. Buying a house. Having babies—if you want. Getting a fucking dog. All of it.”
“Richie,” I murmured, the lump in my throat so huge that I wasn’t sure I could even speak. “You know I have the kids.”
“So?”
“I can’t leave them.”
His free hand tangled in my hair. “And?”
“Aisling won’t even be an adult for ten more years,” I whispered. I didn’t want to say it out loud. I didn’t want to break the spell. But he was looking at me with all of these plans in his eyes, and I couldn’t let him keep dreaming when I knew that eventually I’d have to bring him back to earth.
Richie leaned down until we were nose to nose, and I couldn’t see anything but him. “So, we bring them with us,” he whispered. “I’ve known since you were sixteen that you were a package deal, E.”
I was trying really hard to keep it together, but as the tight ball of anxiety in my gut unraveled piece by piece, a tear dripped down the side of my face.
“Were you really worried about this?” he asked in disbelief, his thumb wiping away the tear. “Where the hell do you think I’ve been for the last three years?”
My mind was racing. Things couldn’t be this easy. Things were never this easy.
“You want babies?” I asked, blurting out the first thought I could actually grasp.
“If you do,” he replied instantly.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Aoife, I’d love your babies,” Richie said gently. “But you’ve been raising kids since you were fourteen years old. You wanna be done, I’m good with that.”
“Are you serious?”
He nodded. “In five years, Aisling will only be thirteen. It’s not like we won’t still raise kids together. I just won’t have to wipe anyone’s ass, which isn’t a bad thing.”
“What happens in five years?” I breathed, staring at him. Did he have any idea that he was handing me the only dream I’d ever had, like it was no big deal?
“I put a ring on your finger,” he replied simply.
“Oh.”
“You good with that?”
“Is that a proposal?” I asked in disbelief.
“Fuck no,” he shot back. “When I propose, there will be a ring involved.”
“Oh.”
Richie grinned.
“You could change your mind,” I whispered.
“You know my parents met in high school, right?” he asked, his lips still pulled up in a small grin as his fingers between my legs began to gently move. “Hank and Rainy, too. Us Lewis men know what we want early.”
“How the hell did I find you?” I asked, staring into his eyes.
“Taking a bit too much credit for that, I think,” he replied, his hand busy pulling my underwear aside. “Pretty sure I’m the one who found you.”
I couldn’t even argue. His finger slid inside me in one smooth motion, with perfect aim and no hesitation. I gasped, my neck arching.
Richie’s low groan was nearly lost to me as his fingers slid from my hair, and he moved down my body. His hand between my legs never lost rhythm as he flipped my skirt up to my waist.
Mewing in complaint as his finger moved away, I helped him pull my underwear down my legs. Then his mouth was on me. It took me an embarrassingly short time before I was desperate and clawing at his shoulders.