Chapter 7 Chili
CHILI
Holden
"Open the door, Holden!”
I groan in bed. I don’t even need to ask who it is, because the most obnoxious voice carries through the doorbell as he bangs loudly on my front door.
I told that asshole I wasn’t going mountain biking today. My plan is clear. Show up at The Blooming Wine early, work, and maybe see if Natalie is working. There’s something about her pulling me in, and the two times I’ve seen Jerry, I’ve seen her. I need to talk to her before going to see Jerry.
“Hoooooooooolden!” he shouts again, this time knocking in a pattern like an irrational toddler not getting his way. I swear, I’m going to kill him.
I look at the time. Five in the morning?
What the hell?
If I had neighbors, they would call the emergency number for a noise complaint.
“Open up! Come on, man! It’s so hot out here! Open up, open up!”
“What?” I shout, swinging the door open and finding a very happy Aspen on the other side. Aspen West, twenty-eight years old, friend and pain in the ass most of the time, but especially now.
“Good morning, Aurora.” He hops past me. I’ve never met anyone with as much energy as this guy, not even our friends’ kids.
“Who’s Aurora?” I ask, following my chirpy best friend back into the house.
My group of friends is solid. A lot of us grew up together, and then there’s Aspen, who we kind of adopted into the crew.
He’s the youngest by a lot, and it shows, especially now as he grabs a chocolate bar from my pantry and hops to sit on the countertop—his hair pulled back with one of those spiky headbands girls used to wear in the early 2000s.
He bites into the bar and kicks his feet. “Sleeping Beauty. Duh.” He shakes his head. “Amelia and Stella would be ashamed of you. Shame on you, shame on your ancestors…” He looks out the back window, where Chili is walking while holding her toy carrot. “Shame on your goat.”
The amusement is palpable, but it’s too damn early for this. Amelia and Stella are Liam and Oliver’s kids, two of our friends. I do see them often, but I guess not often enough to know Disney princesses by their first names.
I ignore him as much as I can as I fix myself a coffee. I used to be a lot like him, before Mom and Liz, before I found out about Jerry’s lies. I used to be light, bouncy, and happy, but not anymore.
“Chili, girl, long time no see,” he coos to my goat—my goat who hates everyone but Aspen. How could anyone hate that man…except me, right now. His high-pitched voice is embedding itself into my inner eardrum as he yaps with his best friend: my goat.
“When are you going to let me have one?” The coffee is already brewing, filling the space with the perfect aroma and granting me the patience I need to deal with this boy.
“I am not the goat master. Get yourself your own goat.” As if she knows I’m talking about her, Chili comes to me, climbing my legs, asking for a petting or for saving.
“Hi,” I whisper, earning me a cute huff. I got Chili four years ago when I started working with Animal Assistive Therapy. I may not be a therapist, but I couldn’t leave her. Some people have dogs; I have her, and I wouldn’t change her for the world.
Aspen hops back down. “Man, you and I both know if I get a goat, it ain’t gonna be as nice as Chili here. Why don’t you breed her with Julia’s animals?” He throws the wrapper in the trashcan and leans on the countertop next to me, awaiting my reply.
“Because Julia doesn’t have a goat.” Julia’s my business partner at the center.
I pay for things, and she works with the kids.
I couldn’t do the latter, but I’ve got money to spend, especially if it will help someone.
It worked out. Julia, unlike Chili, gets along with all my friends—except Aspen.
He fucks with her too much, and she wants to secretly murder him.
The coffee maker’s beep is what I need to hear right now so I can ingest as much caffeine as possible and kick Aspen out to get ready and go about my day.
“Do you want to tell me why you’re bailing on me…again?”
With my jaw tight, I respond, “Because I have things to do. Sorry.”
My life is so complicated right now, and the only person who knows what’s going on is Liam. Nobody else. I don’t want to burden more people with that. So, I stay vague and live up to the homebody persona half of them believe.
He raises a thick eyebrow. “Are you, though?”
My puzzled look must be enough, because he stays silent.
“Sorry, that is.”
“Now that I think about it, nah, I’m not.” I sip on my black coffee and groan in the back of my throat. For the first time in my life, I wish I had something other than black coffee, more like one of the three coffees I got from Natalie.
How does one go through what feels like withdrawal after meeting someone twice?
“I don’t know how you do it.” He walks around me, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl this time, breaking it in half. offering Chili one, and shoving the other one in his mouth. “Drink poison like that without any sugar or creamer.”
“Easy. It matches the depths of my soul.”
He takes three steps back and shoots the banana peel over his head, landing it in the bin. “Swoooosh!” He does some sort of dance all the way to the front door, screeching his shoes on my clean floor.
“Aspen,” I bark, and he laughs.
“Easy, old man. I’m heading out. Some of us like to stay active around here.” He opens the front door behind him. “I’ll be back tomorrow!”
Before I can reply and beg him not to come at the crack of dawn, he’s out of the house, taking light and happiness with him, the same way he brought it in. I let out a sigh, and Chili bleats.
“I know, girl. He’ll be back tomorrow.” I pet her, sip my coffee, and wonder if maybe I can be like that again—happy.