Chapter 22 - Aiden
S ensing Olivia's nervousness, Aiden reached out and threaded his fingers through hers. She met his eyes and smiled, and he was once again grateful she'd agreed to come. He loved being near her, and he was proud to “bring her home” to meet his family. Sure, she’d met most of them before, but Aiden couldn’t help feeling a sense of possessiveness since she was now meeting them as his date.
On the patio connected to the house, Ethan was at the grill. His eyes glanced to their connected hands, but his grin remained as affable as ever, if not a smidge self-satisfied—as if he’d predicted Olivia and Aiden’s connection all along.
Ethan jauntily saluted with his tongs. “Hey brother. Olivia.”
“Hey Ethan,” they said as they made their way over to join him near the grill.
“What’s for dinner, little man?” Aiden asked.
“We’ve got barbeque chicken and brats tonight. And some veggies from your CSA, Olivia,” he added with a wink .
“Oh, nice.” Olivia’s smile seemed a touch wary, and Aiden wondered if she was still feeling uncomfortable about the Ethan date.
If any awkwardness lingered, Aiden hoped tonight would smooth that over because if things went his way, this wouldn’t be Olivia’s last dinner with his family.
He changed the subject to give her some breathing room. “How’s Dad doing?”
“Not too bad. I think he’s napping. His physical therapy went well yesterday, but it wore him out a bit.”
“Well, that’s normal. Glad to hear he’s doing alright. How are you?”
“Oh, you know, same ol’,” Ethan replied. “I’m heading up to the Boundary Waters with Kyle on Thursday to do some fishing, so that’ll be a good time.”
“Sounds fun.”
The camping and nature part of visiting the Boundary Waters did sound cool, but they both knew Aiden wasn’t a fisherman. Aiden had always brought along his Gameboy when their dad took them fishing.
Aiden’s mom opened the patio door and stepped out to join them. Her smile was enthusiastically bright. “Olivia! I’m so glad you came.”
She walked directly to Olivia and wrapped her up in a big hug. Aiden loved seeing the smile and slight tinge of pink on Olivia’s face.
“Thank you so much for having me,” Olivia said. She stood at least half a head taller than his mom.
Pulling away from Olivia, Aiden’s mom turned to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek .
Focusing her attention on Olivia once again, his mom said, “I hope this is okay. Aiden said you eat meat.”
“Oh yeah, no worries, I'm easy…going,” Olivia said awkwardly.
Ethan coughed on a laugh, and Aiden glared at him.
“Well, that's great. I also made a salad from your CSA,” his mom added excitedly. “We have been so pleased with your produce. It is ten times better than what you can buy in the stores, and I think it's a much better value. You have clearly inherited your dad's skill for growing things.”
“Thank you, that's really kind,” Olivia said. “Oh, and these are for you,” she added, handing over the bouquet she’d held protectively on the drive over. “Thanks again for having me. I love spending time by the water.”
“Oh yes, us too, obviously.” His mom took a moment to spin the bouquet in her hands and smell each bloom. “These flowers are so delightful. Did you grow all of these yourself?”
“I did.” Olivia smiled.
“Would you mind arranging them for me, Olivia? I know you'll do a much better job than I would. Aiden, will you get Olivia a vase and some shears from the pantry?”
“Of course,” Aiden and Olivia replied in tandem, taking his mother’s directions in stride.
The three of them headed into his parents’ house while Ethan kept his place at the grill.
His parents’ kitchen was modern. They’d recently remodeled it with a white tile backsplash behind the sink, along with natural wooden butcher block countertops, which made it feel more like a fancy restaurant than a Midwest kitchen. He watched as Olivia took it all in and wondered what she was thinking. Mostly, he just wanted her to feel relaxed around his family.
After excusing himself for a moment, he returned from the pantry with a medium-sized crystal vase and scissors, hoping it was what she needed, but feeling very far out of his depth. He added some water to the vase and placed both items on the island counter in front of Olivia.
Olivia set her phone on the counter and carefully unwrapped the bouquet. Her fingers were long and adept. He remembered once telling her she had pretty hands at a party after graduating high school. She’d laughed at him like he was nuts, but they were still lovely, if a little callused. He still wondered how she'd forgotten that night or if she was just pretending not to remember.
Arranging the bouquet on the counter, she carefully selected and snipped each stem and added them to the vase, one by one. It was mesmerizing to watch, and he jumped slightly when her phone buzzed. Without thinking, he glanced down at her phone, which flashed a text from Sam, Olivia's ex.
His gut clenched with dread. Olivia quickly reached for her phone and turned it over, but before he had a chance to ask why Sam was texting her, his mom called from across the room, asking him to help set the table.
His head snapped up. He cleared his throat and shook off his discomfort before asking, “Sure, Mom. What do you need?”
“Grab the plates and glasses, will you? Ellen and Tommy should be here soon. Oh, and we’re going to sit outside tonight. If that’s alright with you, Olivia.”
Olivia looked up, her cheeks a dark pink. “Oh, of course, anything is fine with me. ”
Setting the table gave him a chance to take a few deep breaths. He talked himself off the ledge and told himself to be cool. It wasn’t unusual for exes to text. They were probably still untangling a million details after so many years together, but he definitely wanted to reach into the phone and flick this Sam guy on the forehead. That idiot had missed his opportunity with Olivia, and Aiden wasn’t about to leave an opening for him to get a second chance.
He walked back to Olivia as she was putting the finishing touches on her bouquet and placed his hand on the small of her back. The curvature of her lower spine warmed his palm.
“You should put them on the table.”
He snuck a kiss below Olivia’s ear, and she leaned into his lips. Her response was reassuring, and he let the last threads of jealousy float from his body.
Olivia placed the flowers on the table just as Ellen and Tommy made their way into the backyard.
“Helloooo,” his big sister, Ellen, called.
She walked onto the patio and set two fruit pies on the table. Like Aiden and Ethan, Ellen shared their mother’s dark hair and blue eyes, but unlike her brothers, Ellen also took after their mom in height.
She locked eyes on Olivia’s bouquet. “Woah, those flowers are incredible. Mom, where did you get these?”
“You remember Olivia from the dance? She grows and sells them at her farmers market stand on Saturdays,” Aiden said, his voice thrumming with pride.
He was pleased to see Olivia’s shy smile .
“That's so cool,” Ellen said enthusiastically. “Hey! You should do the flowers for our wedding in September. Do you grow dahlias?”
Olivia laughed. “Yeah. I've gone a little crazy with them this year. I have so much more space here that I sort of got carried away.”
“Yay! Okay, let’s grab coffee sometime soon and hash out the details. Assuming you’ll let me hire you?”
“Oh, sure,” Olivia said. She sounded hesitant. “But I've never done a wedding before. Are you sure you don’t want to hire a professional?”
Aiden understood her reasons, but he didn’t like that Olivia downplayed her talent. He lightly bumped his hip against hers, hoping it would encourage Olivia to own her skills.
“Honestly, don't even worry about it. I'm three months pregnant, so this wedding isn't exactly going to be by the book.” Ellen laughed.
“Oh wow! That’s so exciting!” Olivia glanced at Ellen’s midsection.
Ellen pointed to her stomach. “I'm not showing yet, but I guarantee I will be by our wedding.”
Aiden was happy for his sister and her fiancé, Tommy. They’d been together for years. It was just a matter of time until they got married and had kids–or kids first and then marriage. Whatever worked for them. Although his parents would have preferred the more traditional order of things, they were so excited to be grandparents that it didn’t take them long to get over it.
“Well, congratulations two ways!” Olivia said, making Aiden smile .
Ellen laughed.
By then, dinner was mostly ready. At the grill, Tommy helped Ethan check the chicken.
Aiden’s mom popped her head out and asked, “Aiden, can you please help your dad to the table?”
“Sure.”
He gave Olivia’s shoulder a squeeze before walking into the house toward the back of the main floor to his mom and dad’s bedroom. He knocked gently on the door before opening it.
The room was dark, with lines of light seeping in from below the curtains.
“Hey, Dad,” he whispered tentatively. “You awake?”
“Ai, uh, Ai-den,” his dad said through garbled speech.
Given the memory issues he’d been having since his stroke, Aiden’s shoulders relaxed when his dad recognized him. He’d also lost a lot of motor control on his right side, which messed with his pronunciation.
“Happy birthday, Dad.”
“Thanks,” his father said, but it came out sounding more like “fains.”
Aiden reached over to slowly turn the dimmer switch to add some light to the room.
His dad was propped up with several pillows. He lifted his left hand in further greeting, and Aiden walked over to him. When he reached down to give his dad a hug, his dad patted Aiden’s cheek with his good hand.
“Want some help getting dressed?” Aiden asked.
His dad grunted his consent.
Aiden grabbed the clothes he found draped over a chair near the bed—dress pants and a Polo shirt. First, he helped his dad pull a Polo shirt over the white T-shirt he’d been sleeping in. After that, Aiden helped him out of his pajama pants and into his clean slacks.
Aiden had done this routine a few times now, and it broke his heart every time. His dad had been such a strong man. Aiden had always felt so safe with him, like nothing could ever possibly hurt their family because his dad was there. The role reversal made him fight back tears and swallow hard.
“So, has Mom been taking good care of you?”
A grunt of assent.
“And Ethan hasn’t accidentally dumped you out of your wheelchair yet?”
A deeper, more exasperated grunt this time, along with a few quiet chuckles.
“Hey, Dad, I brought a friend tonight. Hope that’s alright. Her name is Olivia Olsen. She’s from Gresham. We went to high school together.”
At this, his dad raised his left eyebrow questioningly.
“Yeah, I like her a lot.”
The left side of his dad’s mouth lifted with a smile, and he nodded approvingly.
“Let’s get you into your chair.”
He lifted his dad onto his feet and pivoted him, gently placing him in his wheelchair. After putting his dad’s feet in the stirrups, Aiden unlocked the wheels and pushed his dad’s wheelchair through the living room, the kitchen, and onto the patio.
Upon seeing the guest of honor, the group whooped and clapped, and Aiden saw Olivia join in good-naturedly.
“Happy Birthday, ya old fart!” Ellen called, walking over to kiss their dad on the cheek. “I made you some pies. ”
He smiled and nodded, grunting and touching Ellen’s hand.
Olivia stood and smiled. Aiden took a moment to introduce her. His dad took her right hand in his left and shook it happily, giving her a squeeze before letting go.
Greetings done, Aiden wheeled his dad to the head of the table, careful not to bump his father’s elbows. Once seated, his mom deftly steered the conversation away from his dad, who never wanted to be the recipient of any prolonged attention, doubly so since his stroke.
“Olivia, honey, you sit and pour yourself a glass of wine.”
Olivia did so before offering to pour some for Ellen on her left.
“Ugh, thank you!” Ellen said. “I so appreciate you not assuming I won't have any wine because I’m pregnant. But I’m going to pass. My heartburn has been acting up today.”
“Of course,” Olivia said.
“Most people still think you can’t have a drop when you’re pregnant. How did you know? Are you in medicine too, in addition to the farm?”
Olivia laughed. “No, I’ve just had a lot of pregnant friends, and I’ve heard them rant a time or two on the subject.” She turned to Ellen’s husband. “Tommy, nice to see you again, and congrats on the baby.”
Aiden reached for Olivia’s hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. As he did so, he watched her face to see if he could elicit a blush. He wasn’t disappointed.
The dinner went smoothly, and Aiden’s family soaked up Olivia’s charm as easily as he had. He was happy to see Olivia was relaxed with them. She had even snuck in a few witty quips despite Ethan and Ellen’s tendencies to act as the family’s entertainment .
After pie and some loving toasts to their dad, everyone helped carry the dishes inside. Aiden was eternally grateful to his mom when she insisted they take off. He was dying to spend more time alone with Olivia.