Chapter 18 - Olivia
T he next morning, Olivia wrapped up her chores and was out of the shower by 10. She didn’t spend a ton of time getting ready since she’d told Aiden she’d be there by 10:30. She slipped into shorts and a tank top before adding a touch of mascara to her eyelashes. After scrunching some product into her hair, she headed out the door, letting her hair air dry during the short walk to the cabin. The evaporation felt good on the sunny walk alongside the empty gravel road.
The cabin’s interior door was open, so she knocked lightly on the screen door’s frame. Aiden opened the door, hair also damp. He sported a well-worn University of Minnesota T-shirt and khaki shorts.
Aiden pulled her in for a hug. “I’m so glad you're here.”
She looked around the tiny cabin. Fish, birds, and antlers were mounted on every wall of the tiny interior. A bathroom, a kitchen, and a single bedroom all led off the small sitting area, which had a cozy-looking wood stove surrounded by old, tattered couches that looked like they’d once belonged to Aiden’s grandparents. Soft melodic music played from a speaker sitting on top of a bookshelf, and she was pleasantly surprised to recognize the smoky singer's voice.
Looking at Aiden, she said, “Are you kidding me? I would never pass up free Eggs Benedict.”
“I should tell you, I don’t actually know how to make them. I just wanted to hang out with you.”
Olivia opened her mouth, flabbergasted.
“ Kidding .” He grinned. “They’ll be ready in a few minutes. There’s a mimosa waiting for you on the dock. I’ll bring you a plate when it's finished.”
Olivia put her hands on her hips. “Aiden, it is not okay to joke about anything involving Hollandaise sauce.”
His grin told her how pleased he was with himself.
“So, you still think you’re, like, really funny, huh? You didn’t grow out of that phase?” Olivia teased.
“Why would I have stopped being funny? Think of all of the fodder I have gleaned since we were kids. Humor only gets better with age…like wine.”
“Okay, okay, go make the eggs.”
He continued to grin as he headed for the closet-sized kitchen. Olivia glanced in behind him. He must be an Eggs Benny pro if he’s going to pull them off on a single-burner stove . She hoped Aiden lived up to his own hype.
Olivia slid open the screen door and headed for the dock, which made a pleasant thump-thump sound as she walked to the end. True to his word, Aiden had placed a mimosa on one of the dock’s wooden slats .
She sat down, dipped her feet in the water, and took in the beauty of the pond, enjoying the gentle morning sunshine on her face and chest. A loon paddled through the calm water, followed closely by her two babies. The pond was still and quiet, excluding the various songbirds singing in the trees along the water’s edge.
Between the peaceful ambiance and the champagne in her mimosa, she vaguely wondered if this was what it felt like to be wooed.
After a few minutes, the screen door whirred open and clicked closed. Aiden walked the length of the dock to join her, a plate in each hand. His stride was unhurried. As soon as he handed her a plate, Olivia’s mouth watered. He had constructed the Benedict using the classic eggs and Canadian bacon ingredients.
“Oh, I forgot.” She reached into her bag. “I brought you something.”
She pulled out a jar of strawberry rhubarb compote, made Gresham style, which basically meant you added twice as much sugar as was called for in a normal recipe.
He took it and read the label. “Seriously?” He looked at Olivia with something close to glee. “I love this stuff. My mom used to make it but hasn’t gotten around to it lately.”
Olivia wondered if it had something to do with his dad's stroke but didn’t ask.
“I’m glad you’re glad, but let’s not waste any more time getting to the important business at hand.”
They took their first bites, and Olivia moaned with pleasure.
“Why is this so good?” she asked, incredulous. “This is 'stand in line for an hour' delicious.”
“MSG.”
“Seriously?” she said, surprised but also not.
“Nah, I took a brunch cooking class with Rebecca a long time ago.”
“Rebecca…your ex?”
“Oh right, yes." He scratched his cheek and looked out at the water.
“Well, the class was well worth the money,” Olivia said.
“Thanks. I'm happy you like it,” he said, meeting her eyes again, a smile on his face.
“Oh, guess what? I saw a loon and her babies while you were cooking. They were so cute.” She gestured across the pond. “I think they tucked back behind that tree over there.”
“How many loonlets did she have?”
“Excuse me, loonlets?”
“You heard me.”
“That sounds made up.”
“Did you fail to notice all of the taxidermy in that cabin?”
“Oh, I saw. But isn’t this your parents’ cabin?”
“It is, but that doesn’t mean I was excused from the freezing cold, ass-crack-of-dawn hunting excursions with my dad and Nathan as a kid. And given very quiet lectures on the various bird species we saw.”
“Is that why your parents moved to Minnesota? Because your dad’s a hunter?”
“That was a factor, I’m sure, but I think the biggest thing was the cost of living. They knew they wanted a big family and for my mom to stay at home with us. The East Coast would have made it a lot harder. And honestly, I think my mom felt safer making that choice for herself here. Less judged, you know? ”
“That's interesting. And they did, right? Have a big family, I mean? There are four of you?”
“Five.”
“Woah, that is big. Wait, give me the lineup in full from start to finish.”
“Ellen, Nathan, me, Lauren, Ethan.” He held up a finger for each name until his fist was completely unclasped.
“So, let me get this straight. Your parents, Carolyn and Brendon, had five kids and named them Ellen, Lauren, Aiden, Nathan, and Ethan?”
“Yep, that is correct,” he said with a ‘what can you do’ shrug, making it clear he had resigned himself to the matching second-syllables years ago.
“Okay, but how often does your mom call you by your name and not one of your siblings?”
“I’d say…” He paused as if considering. “A solid twenty percent of the time.”
“So a one-in-five chance then?”
He cracked a grin. “Yup.”
“I can’t imagine being around that many other humans all of the time.”
He shrugged again. “You know, it was nice always having someone to hang out with, and now, as an adult, I call on my siblings for different advice. Like, I’ll ask Nathan about anything related to money. Ethan is the best storyteller, so I’ll call him when I need a laugh. Ellen is the best for navigating family politics. And Lauren, well, she’s the hardest nut to crack, but we see eye to eye culturally. She has great music and book recommendations, and she understands my perspective on life given how long she’s lived in Portland.”
“Portland is a great town. Amazing food and excellent Tarot card readings.”
He laughed. “Is that how you decided it was time to move back here?”
“That, and a coin toss.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” he said.
She sensed no trace of irony in his voice as his blue eyes bore into hers. She worried his gaze held meaning she wasn’t ready to uncover. She broke eye contact and took another bite, trying not to drip sauce down her chin.
“Thanks… And thanks again for brunch.”
“You’re very welcome.”
After a beat, he asked, “So what really brought you back? My mom told me you had a pretty good thing going in Seattle. Sidebar, did you know our moms are, like, best buds now?”
Olivia laughed. “Yes, I've heard. I'm going to have to be more filtered around my mom.”
He grinned, looking at her through his long, dark lashes, and Olivia’s stomach did a flip.
“It's kind of a long story,” Olivia said.
“Well, my parents are at church for at least another hour, so I've got time.”
After taking a breath to collect her thoughts, she told him about Sam and their breakup, but she omitted the more embarrassing parts of the story, like her four failed ultimatums.
“I guess I felt like I needed to shake it up, and I'd been missing my family. And then, the day after I broke up with Sam, my team at work got reorg’ed for the sixth time in a year. It was the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess.”
“Yeesh, sounds brutal,” he said, and Olivia appreciated the validation. “Well, for what it's worth, I think it's pretty badass the way you're striking out on your own. Also, have I mentioned I'm a big fan of strawberry rhubarb compote? This is all working out very well for me.”
He grinned, crinkling the edges of his eyes and revealing his dimples through his stubble.
She laughed. “Well, that's a relief.”
“Isn't it?” he asked.
Olivia shook her head, grinning. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What brought you back?”
“Hmmm…” he said thoughtfully. “Well, there’s my dad, obviously.”
She nodded, acknowledging his father’s stroke, but didn’t say anything, hoping for and expecting more.
“And you’ve probably heard through the rumor mill by now, but Rebecca, my ex, cheated on me, and I was totally blindsided. I knew we weren’t in a good place—medical residency is pretty brutal on relationships. I took it for granted that she would never cheat. It—” He paused as if searching for the right word, “—destabilized me. I ended up throwing myself into my residency program, working nonstop, not making time for any relationships, romantic or otherwise. Then, my dad had his stroke, and it was a wake-up call. I finished up my residency, found a great pediatrics fellowship program in Saint Paul, and made my way back to Minnesota.”
She felt for him. He’d been put through the wringer. She could also relate to the desire to return to Minnesota’s familiar embrace.
“And now?” she asked.
“And now…I'll be focused on my fellowship program for the next three years, and then I’ll probably spend the next thirty years paying off my med school loans. And I guess I'd like to give marriage another chance and have kids and all that at some point. What about you? Do you want all that?” he asked, meeting her gaze.
“I think so.” Olivia gazed at the water. “But I'm not sure how one accomplishes that in Gresham. I mean, obviously this place is lousy with kids, but I don't know how to even date here. I've been afraid to set up a Tinder profile for fear I'll get matched with a second cousin, or your brother, or something.”
He laughed loudly at that.
“God forbid you end up on another date with Ethan.”
“You have no idea.”
They continued chatting, and it occurred to Olivia she enjoyed spending time with Aiden. Yes, okay, he was handsome, he had his life together, and all of those easy boxes to check. But more than that, he seemed like he’d lived enough life to be grateful for what he had without being bitter about what he’d lost. His sense of humor was a refreshing mix of self-deprecation, feigned arrogance, and a healthy dose of teasing. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone outside her immediate family or Jessa had made her smile and laugh so much.
After they finished eating, they went inside for coffee. She leaned against the counter while he took his time grinding the coffee beans and boiling water so he could use the Chemex brewing method. His Portland sister, Lauren, had given him the Chemex as a Christmas gift, and he kept it at the cabin since there wasn’t room on the counter for a coffee maker. It felt like he had brought some of Seattle’s coffee culture into the cabin with them, and it was very comforting.
As they sipped their hot coffees, they sat on opposite ends of the cabin’s single sofa, facing each other, and let their feet fiddle in the middle. The casual contact felt right, but she couldn’t help but consider for the millionth time where this budding connection was headed.
She wanted to know what he wanted from her, but she was also afraid to ask…because if Aiden were to ask her, she wouldn’t have a good answer. She hadn’t dated anyone since Sam, other than a short-lived fling with an old crush soon after their breakup. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, much less what she was ready for.
When it was time for her to go, Olivia wondered if he’d kiss her, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled her in for a warm hug and held her. He rubbed her back, and he nuzzled her hair. She felt him inhale the scent of the lavender oil she’d dabbed below her right ear. Despite the technically innocent nature of the hug, it sent shivers down her spine and made her feel a bit wobbly. And she was guilty, too, letting her hands explore the firm contours of his shoulders and back. He had a pleasant, subtle scent, like clean cedar and clove.
They extracted themselves from each other’s arms, dopey grins on their faces.
He smiled at her sheepishly. “I'd love to see you again.”
“Me too.”
She squeezed his hand once before turning to walk home, holding on until the distance forced their fingers apart.