Chapter 6 - Aiden
“ Y ou do know you could stay here, right?” Aiden’s mom said for the millionth time since he’d graduated high school.
“Yeah, but I’m more comfortable hitting my bong at the cabin.”
“Ha ha,” she said dryly.
Aiden tried to come up with a new outlandish excuse for sleeping at his family’s hunting cabin instead of his parents’ home every time he visited. The truth was, he preferred to have his own space. After spending time with his family, he looked forward to the cabin because it gave him the freedom to decompress, and he could come and go whenever he liked.
He didn’t know how Ethan did it–living in his parents’ basement long after graduating high school. What he did know was Ethan’s presence at home took loads of pressure off him and their other siblings, who had long since flown the coop. Far from a deadbeat son, Ethan worked hard to earn his keep, from mowing the lawn to cleaning out the gutters. Since their dad’s stroke, many of Ethan’s chores had gone from a nice gesture to a family necessity.
“Well, will you at least stay for dinner?” his mom asked.
“Yeah, of course. Should I get Dad?”
“He was asleep when I checked on him last. I think we should probably let him rest. I’ll save a plate for him, and he can eat a little later.”
Aiden knew his dad was uncomfortable eating in front of others. His stroke had paralyzed his right side, and he’d been having some memory issues, but otherwise, his recovery was going smoothly, if more slowly than they would have preferred.
Sitting down, Aiden and Ethan looked at their plates while their mom said grace.
“Looks amazing, Mom.” Ethan grabbed his fork and knife to dig into the salad made from Olivia’s CSA. “Thanks for cooking.”
“Yeah, thanks, it looks great,” Aiden seconded. He grabbed his fork and cut off a piece of the seared salmon seasoned with lemon and Olivia’s dill. He rolled the salmon in his mouth, taking a moment to enjoy it before looking toward Ethan curiously. “How are things going at Hank’s?”
“Good, yeah, really good. I think I might buy the place in a few years.”
“Really?” Aiden was surprised, though he wasn’t sure why. Ethan had been at Hank’s for almost a decade and would be more than capable of taking over the business.
“Yeah, he’s been talking about retiring for a while now, so I finally talked to him about it. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll buy Hank out in three years. In the meantime, he wants me to start taking business classes at the community college. ”
“Ethan, that’s great.” Pride filled Aiden’s chest.
He loved his little brother, but he’d also written off him as the least ambitious of the siblings. Maybe he hadn’t given him enough credit all these years. Ethan had somehow found a way to grow up without leaving home. More than that, Ethan was poised to own a very successful business without having a penny of student debt at the ripe old age of twenty-six. Meanwhile, at thirty-one, Aiden was just starting his official pediatrics career and was up to his ears in medical school debt.
“We’re so proud of you both.” His mom beamed at them.
His parents had never pushed any of them down a particular path. Even when Ethan had lingered at home, it never seemed to bother them. Aiden wondered if having five kids with very different personalities had helped manage their expectations. Or maybe they were just tired.
“Okay, enough, enough. I heard you saw Olivia today.” Ethan’s face was one big accusatory grin.
“Yeah, Mom asked me to pick up her CSA box. I’m nothing if not a dutiful middle child.”
“She’s hot, right?” Ethan asked, eyebrows raised.
Aiden’s gut clenched. Something about this casual statement went straight under Aiden’s skin, but he kept his now-strained smile. “Oh, little brother, I think you missed the boat with that one.”
“Yeah, duh.”
Their mom laughed. “Well, if either one of you manages to marry her, I’ll be very pleased.”
“Jesus, Mom!” Ethan laughed loudly. “And you wonder why Aiden refuses to move back to Gresham. ”
As usual, Ethan laughed at his mom’s bluntness. Aiden, meanwhile, felt his toes curl in discomfort.
With guilty relief, Aiden left after dinner to drive the short distance to the cabin. Ethan was well-suited to being the sibling who was still living at home. He had always been a “go-with-the-flow” kid. For every tantrum Ethan’s twin sister Lauren threw, Ethan counterbalanced it with his ability to make everyone laugh. And he did it while somehow bringing Lauren into the joke with him. They were two peas in a pod. Or maybe an edamame and a pea that happened to share a pod.
Regardless, Aiden had never been more grateful for his goofy little brother. Ethan was a rock for his parents, and he imbued a much-needed lightness into their dad during his slow recovery.
Better Ethan than me . Aiden unlocked the cabin’s door, letting out a deep breath as he crossed the threshold.
The little cabin on a secluded pond was exactly where Aiden wanted to be at that moment. He loved how dark it got in the rural countryside. It was the thing he missed most while living in the city.
Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he made his way outside to the end of the dock.
Aiden hadn’t stopped thinking about Olivia for more than five minutes since seeing her at the market. As much as he tried to pretend otherwise, he was impressed by everything he’d seen and heard about her.
In high school, Olivia had been quiet and bookish, tending to keep her head down in class. She’d been involved in a bunch of the school plays and had hung out with the “smart” kids—the type who would later become his closest friends in undergrad and beyond.
Wanting to map these two versions of Olivia, he opened his phone and looked her up on LinkedIn. She had stayed in Seattle after graduating from The University of Washington to work at an online retail company. Her profile listed promotions every couple of years, and her most recent position was a senior something or other. She’d left all of that success behind to start a CSA in Gresham? At every turn, this woman created more questions than answers.