Chapter 19 - Aiden
A iden had a fantastic time with Olivia, and he had been such an idiot saying goodbye to her. What was wrong with him? A quick kiss on the cheek would have been totally appropriate. Instead, he’d groped her like a pervert. But she had leaned into his desire to explore each other’s bodies with hands—if not mouths.
Should I have walked her home?
He was in deep, and he knew it. Sure, technically, there hadn’t been a kiss between them, but their chemistry was intensifying. Best not to light any matches in their vicinity.
On the drive back to his apartment in Saint Paul, he thought carefully about how to compose a message to Sarah to let her know he wouldn’t be seeing her again. Once that was settled, he spent the next hour and fifty-five minutes thinking about Olivia, her beautiful red hair, her sharp mind, and her disposition—a healthy balance between optimism and skepticism. He had a feeling she saw him for who he was, and if he was going to take a chance with her, he’d have to bring his A-game .
He needed help clearing his head. As soon as he pulled into his apartment building’s parking garage, he opened his phone and clicked on the contact for Isaac, his best friend from undergrad.
Aiden: Yo, any chance you can grab a beer tonight?
Isaac: You’re welcome to come over. Kids should be asleep by 8.
Aiden: Will June be pissed if I come at 7:30 and rile them up a little?
Isaac: Don’t you fucking dare, man. I will lock the doors.
Aiden: I have a key
Aiden took his silence for what it was, a cold threat of violence, and chuckled. He was definitely going to have to pay his dues someday when Isaac returned all the shit Aiden had given him since he’d had kids.
Aiden: Ok fine, how about I bring a pizza over at 5:30 and wind the kids up then?
Then Isaac’s wife June joined in the text chain.
June: If you’re coming, bring at least 1 medium cheese pizza, but it can’t have any cheese besides mozzarella or Bella won’t eat it.
Aiden: Roger that. See you in a few hours
By the time Isaac and June’s kids were in bed, and they were free to hang out with Aiden as adults, it was closer to 8:30. They looked shell-shocked and like they had been through a wind tunnel. Aiden handed them each a Coors Light, and they dropped down next to him on the big wrap-around couch in their cozy living room.
Aiden had tried to move some of the toys scattered across their floor into piles but had given up in the end, having no idea what the current rules were for whose toys went where or whose toys were whose for that matter. So he’d done the dishes and taken out the trash instead .
“You two okay?” he asked as they took long drinks of their beers.
“Yeah.” Isaac’s tone was unconvincing. “George is way too clever for his own good. Every night, we think we’re on track to get him to bed on time, and then he Jedi Mind Tricks us, and we’ve somehow wasted twenty minutes brushing his teeth. Hey, word of advice, have a kid, but just the one.”
Aiden laughed. His friend was full of shit and adored his children equally.
“No, that's good advice,” June confirmed. “Take it while you still can.”
He loved these two. Whether happy or miserable, they were always miraculously on the same page. They’d known each other throughout college but hadn’t dated until after June broke up with her high school boyfriend during junior year. Isaac had eventually gotten up the nerve to ask her out, and the rest was history. Aiden knew he romanticized their friendship-turned-relationship, but they seemed to have found the secret sauce, and he admired it, especially after going through his divorce.
“So, what’s up, man?” Isaac asked. “Is this a two-for-one convo, or are you in need of some one-on-one advice? In which case, I’ll leave you and June to it.”
Aiden smiled. “No, June, please feel free to stay or not. It’s just…I met someone, or I guess I ran into an old…classmate? And I think I might be into her.” He shook his head once. “Fuck it, I’m really into her.”
“Hey! Mazel tov!” Isaac said joyfully, clearly missing that Aiden hadn’t yet spoken the “but…” part of his monologue.
June eyed him closely. “What’s the problem, Aiden?”
Isaac looked at his wife curiously.
“She’s in Gresham.”
“Interesting. And she told you she’s opposed to leaving?” June continued.
“And you’re one hundred percent opposed to moving there?” Isaac added, catching on.
To June, Aiden said, “Not in so many words, but I have good reason to believe she isn’t interested in leaving. She moved back a few months ago after living in Seattle since we graduated high school.”
To Isaac, he said, “I’m at least ninety percent opposed to moving to Gresham, and I’m locked into my fellowship program for the next three years.”
“Hmmmm,” Isaac hummed.
“That’s tricky,” June added, “but…you never know. I wouldn’t close the door on it. You haven’t actually asked her if she’d move to Saint Paul, right? And until you’re comfortable having that conversation, it’s what, three hours to Gresham from here?”
“Two,” Aiden replied.
“Oh dude, two? That’s nothing,” Isaac said. “June and I did long distance for a year before she joined me in San Diego. We only saw each other, like what? Once every two or three months?” He turned to his wife for confirmation.
She nodded. “Yeah, but we talked almost every day, and we knew the end was in sight.”
“I know, I know,” Aiden said. “Maybe I’m being a coward because it feels like this is a heavy one. Like I can’t dabble. If I’m going to do this, I have to go for it. Gresham is so small, and our moms are friends. And…Olivia’s great. I don’t want to mess with her. I think she went through a tough break-up. ”
They eyed him questioningly, as if to say, “And you haven't?”
“Here’s the thing, Aiden,” June said. “We know your divorce put you through the wringer. What Rebecca did was inexcusable, but if this Olivia is as cool as you say she is, I say give it a shot. I'm serious. These opportunities don’t come around every day.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m worried I’m about to repeat history. Does a long-distance relationship while I’m doing my fellowship stand a chance? Especially one that would be brand new? As much as Rebecca screwed me over, I mean, I was never home. And when I was home, I was a total zombie. Olivia deserves better than that.”
“I think it’s different, man,” Isaac said. “I mean, look, you’re here with us. You brought pizza, washed our dishes, and took out the trash—don’t think I didn’t see that. You’ll make it work if it is meant to work. I hope you’ll forgive me for saying this, but Rebecca wasn’t the right girl for you.”
Aiden’s eyebrows raised, and he pulled his head back, surprised.
“No, no, hear me out. Do you really think if you hadn’t had all the pressure from her and her family to get married before med school, your relationship wouldn’t have just ended when she realized the road to becoming a doctor’s wife was much less glamorous than she imagined? She didn’t have the gumption to see it through, ya know? And can you imagine if, after residency, you told her you were going to do a fellowship? Ha! She would have divorced you then and there if it hadn’t already happened.”
Aiden knew Isaac was right, even if it stung to hear. “So what do I do now?”
June spoke first. “I think you know what you need and want to do. But based on what you just told us, if you’re going to do it, do it right. ”
“In other words, if you feel like you’d drop everything and drive two hours to see her if she asked you to come, don’t fuck it up,” Isaac added.
And with that, he leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek.
“Okay, fine.” Aiden held up his hands in surrender. “You’re right. You’re both right.”
“Of course we are,” June said. “We’re old and wise and shit.”
When Aiden got a text from Olivia’s cousin Philip the next week inviting him to Olivia’s birthday party, he knew he was going. Isaac’s words played in his mind. It didn’t matter what his schedule looked like. He was going to make it work.