Chapter 12 - Aiden
A iden was no longer on the fence about texting Olivia. He grabbed his phone and began typing out a message.
Aiden : You left without even a goodbye? Were you afraid I’d try to rope you into lunch with my mom again?
Forty-five minutes passed before he finally heard back.
Olivia : Lol, your mom seems great. But I really do have a ton of work to do. My farm is sort of blowing up. Or should I say blooming-up? No, I probably shouldn’t ever say that again, right?
He laughed softly. So she still had a bit of a nerdy side to her.
Aiden : LOL
Aiden : Well, I was hoping to run some ideas past you before you left, so maybe you can let me buy you a beer next time I’m in town. I have a lot of questions about your genius dog and how we might take that show on the road and make millions. There’s gotta be a Shark Tank opportunity here somewhere.
Olivia : (crying-laughing, dog face, & dollar bill emojis )
After that, he sent her silly gifs and videos of dogs doing cool agility work. Her response times were so unpredictable it reminded him of a study he’d had to review in medical school about gambling addicts and unpredictable dopamine triggers.
Though, to be fair, she was busy with her farm. He assumed she couldn’t look at her phone and dig holes at the same time…or whatever it was she was doing on her farm from one day to the next.
Digging holes? Was that a thing she did? Maybe he should Wikipedia small-scale farming so he didn’t sound like an idiot the next time he saw her. Damn, he wanted to see her again.
Aiden : What do you do all day? Does it involve digging holes? Asking for a friend.
Three hours later, she finally responded.
Olivia : Lol. You’re kinda clueless when it comes to farming, huh?
Aiden : 100%. Maybe you could offer classes?
Olivia : Hmm… Might be a good way to generate revenue in the winter? How much would you pay for one?
Aiden : Depends. What’s the teacher to student class-size ratio?
Olivia : (smiley face emoji)
At one point, Olivia sent a picture of herself and her niece Fiona in their pajamas, each with braided pigtails. It was adorable.
He’d been out grabbing beers with friends, so he sent a selfie of himself holding a beer up in salute and smiling what he hoped was his most charming smile.
Their texts kept his days interesting, and he knew Olivia was the reason he hadn’t opened a dating app in weeks. She was also the reason he hadn’t yet reached out to Joanna’s niece, Sarah. He needed to text Sarah soon if he didn't want to look like a total dick. Begrudgingly, he pulled out his phone.
Aiden : Hey Sarah, how’s it going? Your Aunt Joanna gave me your number, and I was wondering if you’d want to grab a drink next Tuesday evening?
Unlike Olivia’s standard texts, Sarah's response was immediate.
Sarah : Sure, that'd be great! I'm free after 8.
Aiden invited Sarah for drinks at a cocktail bar near Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. He was there ten minutes early and was trying not to text Olivia. Instead, he opened his Kindle app to keep his mind occupied.
Aiden hoped that no matter what happened, Sarah would report back to her aunt that he’d been a gentleman. He generally tried to avoid mixing his dating life with his work life, but he’d also had many well-meaning colleagues set him up with this cousin or that friend once they found out he was single.
When Sarah walked up to his table twenty minutes later, Aiden startled. Her wide, red-lipsticked smile accentuated her high cheekbones, and her black hair was loosely curled. The deep V-neck of her dress put her ample chest on display, but he made himself focus on her face. She wore high heels that brought the top of her head to just below his chin.
“Hi.” She smiled hesitantly, “Are you Aiden? ”
“Yes. Sarah?” Aiden stood and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” Sarah's smile relaxed.
Aiden gestured to her chair. “Please, have a seat.”
He didn’t mind blind dates. His adventurous side appreciated the slight mystery they created. Although some were better than others, they were rarely uninteresting.
“So, Sarah, did you grow up in the Cities?” Aiden asked, opening the conversation.
She had. As it turned out, they’d also attended the University of Minnesota at the same time for a couple of years. His last two and her first. She’d studied marketing and now worked for a small tech company in Minneapolis.
She asked him about his time in Boston and growing up in Gresham. How did he like working at the Children’s Hospital? What were his favorite sports teams?
Sarah was lovely and smart. She even made him laugh a time or two. When they said their goodbyes, he gave her a polite hug, and they went their separate ways. He could see himself going on a second date with her, for sure, and yet…he wasn’t sure whether there would be a second date.
Despite his efforts not to, he’d spent the entire time comparing Sarah to Olivia. Maybe it was the circumstances of their shared history or that he’d caught Olivia skinny dipping in what he thought of as his family’s pond, but he was being pulled in a direction, and it wasn’t Sarah’s.
It wasn’t just Olivia’s beauty winning Aiden over. She worked so hard to grow her business while making time to bring her weirdly talented dog to the summer camp where their moms volunteered. She was obviously a good human, and good human was a top requirement for Aiden these days, not to mention how truly down-to-earth she seemed.
To be fair, Sarah seemed great, too, but he was pretty sure his heart had already chosen another. He texted Olivia as soon as he got into his car.
Aiden: Are you going to be around this weekend for the Independence Day celebrations?