33. Aida
Miriam’s excitementover the punch heard around the world is contagious. Normally I wouldn’t be this hyped up over violence, but it seems to have brought this family together, and Weston deserved it anyway. Honestly, who steals someone else’s girlfriend? What a schmuck.
“Aida!” Miriam croons, gliding over to me, she pulls me into a hug. She always smells like pineapple and has this infectious way about her.
I had no idea this woman would change my life when I met her all those weeks back in the grocery store parking lot. She feels like gravity now, like not having her in my life isn’t an option, and since Ben and I have admitted this is more than a summer fling, looks like I’ll be seeing her around.
It’s almost like she knew Ben and I would hit it off, but I have no idea how she could have known that considering I did call the police on him the first day I was here. I would never have even thought to give him a chance, but all her matchmaking paid off.
“Let’s do some celebrating,” Miriam announces, stepping back from me, she smiles, letting out a deep breath, almost a sigh of relief. “The only good thing Weston has ever done is organize the beach clean-up, but even that feels fake. He’s such a kiss ass.” Miriam rolls her eyes, again with the hard sigh, her shoulders rising and falling with the action.
Shocker to think it, but it feels like Miriam has been keeping those thoughts to herself for a while. She rarely keeps her mouth shut, but in this case, she probably did to keep the peace within the family. I still can’t believe Ben’s dad didn’t see what a jerk Weston is. At least he does now.
“Where are we going?” I ask, linking arms with Miriam, returning her smile. “If I can suggest, I say we avoid anywhere with shrimp.”
Ed pops open the bottle of champagne, pouring all of us a glass and handing them out as he goes. Without a toast, we all clink our glasses together, celebrating.
“What? Why?” Miriam asks, furrowing her brow because it is all you can eat shrimp night. “Ben loves shrimp. We could wait until dinner. It starts at four.”
I can’t hold back the laugh, the battle between us still hot over him being the winner of the shrimp eating contest. I still say I won since Ben yacked in the parking lot.
“I say we have a rematch,” Ben chimes in. “Even though I still think I won. I ate more than you,” Ben insists, pointing a finger at me.
But I shake my head. “Ben puked in the parking lot after eating fifty or so shrimp. It was that night you set us up,” I tell Miriam, winking at her.
“Oh, please don’t tell me this was one of your little competitions,” Miriam says, shaking her head. “You’re both winners in my book.”
“Oh my god, Grandma, could you be any cheesier?” Ben asks, and it makes me laugh. It is so not something that Miriam would say, and coming out of her usually crass mouth, it sounds ridiculous.
“I’m just trying to get you two to stop your competitive nonsense. I don’t want to have to choose a side,” she admits, turning to look at me, she winks, mouthing, “It would be you.”
My eyes widen, hoping Ben didn’t notice, I smile, a sweet little flutter in my heart that Miriam likes me as much as her favorite grandson.
“Wow, Aida,” Ben’s dad says, “it’s hard to get Miriam to put anyone above Ben. You must be one hell of a girl.”
“Or maybe it’s her right hook I’m afraid of,” Miriam teases, holding up her fists and pretending to duck and dodge.
As I drink down the last bit of champagne, Ed is there hitting me with a refill. I can see why Miriam is so smitten with him. Not only is he super sweet, but he never lets a glass go empty. Just quietly waiting in the background to swoop in.
We head over to a cute little restaurant and bar on the water, the view from the outdoor patio overlooking the ocean, and before we even get inside, we see the sign announcing karaoke.
“Look,” Miriam says, pointing to the sign, a little evil smile on her face. “Maybe this could be the deciding factor on who is the winner.” She motions to the sign, hitting Ben with a little jab of her elbow.
“No thank you!” I quickly shout. “I can’t sing at all. I would clear the place out. They would lose business and I’d be asked to never return again.”
“That sounds like a winner to me,” Ben says, holding the door open for Miriam and me to enter. “No reason to tally anything up, that puts me ahead.”
“How do you figure?” I ask, turning to look at him, hands on my hips. “My calculations have me ahead.” I tap the side of my head, letting him know I have it all saved in my brain.
“I’m going to sing some kick ass karaoke and that will make me the winner. I even have a go-to song, and everyone here loves me.”
I hear Ben’s dad let out a scoff, Ed and Miriam laughing too and that tells me everything I need to know. Ben isn’t good at karaoke; he’s totally bluffing and is trying to win this little rivalry thing we have going on.
“You’re on. I’ll sing my heart out if it means beating you,” I tell Ben, slipping my arm around his waist and giving his side a squeeze.
“Bring it.”
Just as Ben says this, the hostess walks up, asking if we want to sit at the bar or on the patio, but then she pauses, locking eyes with me. “Oh my god, you’re the woman who punched Weston!” she squeals, calling out to a few of the bartenders and one waitress that happens to be walking by.
“How do you know that?” I ask, my tone slightly high-pitched and nervous. I don’t really like that everyone in this bar seems to know. As much as Weston deserved it, I really don’t want to be known as the girl who goes around punching people.
Prior to this incident, I have never punched anyone in my life, my sister being the exception, and Ben pointed out that it doesn’t even count. That’s sibling rivalry and teenage girls are brutal. Sometimes I wonder how my parents survived it. It feels like I’m going to be cursed with girls when I have kids, so I know what it feels like to deal with the teenage years.
“It’s everywhere. We even have a picture hanging up behind the bar of you. We got it from the owner of the bar where it happened. Security footage,” the hostess says with a nod, and I can feel my face grow hot and red. This is not how I expected this celebration to go down.
“What? No,” I mutter, covering my face with my hands. “Did the owner call the police?” I ask, feeling my law school dreams slowly disappear before my eyes. I’m going to be arrested for assault, kicked out of law school, and I’ll be living with my parents for the rest of my life.
“Why would the owner call the police?” she asks, confused.
“Because I punched someone.” My words come out in a sad and embarrassed wail.
“Hell no. We’re all so excited about it. Do you know how many people have wanted to punch him, but never acted on it?”
I shake my head, brightening up a little with the knowledge that I’m not going to be arrested. It’s hard not to jump to conclusions given Weston’s family’s status around here. Even Ben’s dad overlooked Weston’s dickish behavior.
“We named a drink after you,” she now says, signaling to the bartender. “Bring her the Later Motherfucker.” She looks back at me, smiling like she’s just met a celebrity. “You’re gonna love it.”
“I already love the name,” Ben says, hitting me with a kiss on the cheek. “Bring a round for all of us.” Ben motions to the group of us as the hostess walks us over to a table on the patio.
There are so many things I love about this island, but the views of the ocean really take the cake. The peacefulness of the waves, the way you can watch the sunset at night and the people here are amazing.
And that’s not just because the bars in the area are supporting me instead of turning me over to the police. Although something tells me the police would probably congratulate me too.
A few seconds later, we’re greeted with a round of drinks and I have to say the Later Motherfucker is quite the drink. It’s bright red in color and garnished with a sprig of mint and a lime.
“Thanks for making it socially acceptable to hate Weston,” our waiter says, setting our drinks down. “In honor of you, these drinks are on the house.”
“Oh, no, I can’t accept that. I really had no idea I was going to punch him when he came up to us. I think we can all chalk it up to impulsivity,” I say, but the waiter shakes his head.
“The owner won’t let you pay for your drinks, and besides, everyone who works here has wanted to hit that jerk. You know he used to eat his entire meal and then complain it was bad. That comes out of our tips or paycheck if we have to comp a meal.”
Ben’s brows go up at this comment, his eyes shooting over to his dad. This divide between Ben and his dad was about more than just Weston, but these comments are really driving home how much of a dick he really was. Ben wasn’t exaggerating, and I can see his dad is taking notice.
“And you know what else, he tried to hit on my girlfriend right in front of me,” the waiter adds, letting out a bothered huff. “Sorry, I could go on, but I won’t. Please enjoy your drinks. I’ll be back to get your order soon.”
“Well, Dad, what do you know?” Ben says, pursing his lips and hitting his dad with a hard stare. “Someone might have mentioned all of this…for years,” Ben adds, dramatically. “He’s been a dick since we were little kids, and he let my kite go on the beach. I watched that thing sail for miles.”
“Yes, yes, Ben, I get it,” Robert says, rolling his eyes. “Weston is a dick. That has certainly been made abundantly clear today. Unfortunately, his father is my business partner so there is no way to get away from that, but you can bet Weston won’t have anything to do with my side of the business.”
“Robert, seriously?” Miriam hisses. “I think you can do better than that. We’ve all been saying it for years, and I stood by my daughter when she defended you, but not anymore. You need to kick him to the curb too. You built that business all on your own. Albert is a user, just like his son.”
Miriam looks over at Ed for support, and he nods, “She’s right, Robert. I might not be your father, but if there’s one bit of advice I can give you, it’s get rid of that loser. He’s an albatross.”
Geez, this family isn’t holding back tonight.
“And how do you propose I do that, Miriam?”
“Buy him out. Let him start his own firm. I think we all know it won’t be successful. He’s been riding your coattails for years.”
A quietness settles over the table, and I pick up my drink, taking a sip which causes Miriam to shake her hands wildly in front of my face.
“What are you doing?” she practically screams.
“Taking a drink.” I clench my teeth and wrinkle up my nose, realizing I must have done something wrong.
“We haven’t gotten a chance to properly toast you. We all sucked that champagne down earlier without doing one,” she says, picking up her glass and signaling for the rest of the table to do so also. “To Aida, who has a kick ass right hook and who will be an amazing lawyer one day.”
“To my amazing girlfriend,” Ben says, slinging an arm around my shoulders, he pulls me close. With his mouth next to my ear, he quietly adds, “Thank you for making this the best summer of my life.”
I smile at him, leaning in close, I press a soft kiss to his lips, echoing his sentiments back to him. He really has made this the best summer of my life too. It’s been so long since I’ve just had fun, and with Ben that’s all this summer has been, fun.
“Thank you,” I say, still slightly embarrassed by the punch I threw even if everyone seems to be celebrating it.
“And to Aida, who will help my lawyers draft up the contract to get rid of Albert as my partner,” Robert now says, and my mouth drops open.
“Um, I’m not even a lawyer yet,” I respond, shaking my head at his suggestion.
“I know, which is why it’s the perfect opportunity for you to learn some contract law. Can’t wait to help you get some hands-on experience,” he says, and Ben tilts his head to the side, giving his dad a hard stare.
“Dad,” Ben warns. “Don’t you move onto my girlfriend and try to convince her she wants to work for you since I turned you down.”
“That’s not what I’m doing, son,” he replies. “I really would like to help her out if she wants it.”
“I’ll think about it, “I say, turning back to Ben, I kiss him again. “Now, I think we said something about a little karaoke competition, didn’t we?”