Aaron: Casanova Club #7

by Ali Parker

  Phillip cleared his throat. My parents looked up.

  As soon as they spotted me, they were up out of their chairs and rushing forward. I was engulfed in big hugs that made it impossible for me not to get teary-eyed.

  Home was still home. No matter what. And these people were the most special people in the world to me. Which was why I had to have this conversation in the first place.

  They would forgive me.

  I had to believe they would forgive me.

  Chapter 16

  Aaron

  “Thank you, Mrs. James.” I smiled as Piper’s mother pushed a floral-printed china teacup into my hands. It sat upon a small saucer trimmed in chipped gold paint, and I imagined the set was at least fifty or so years old. Her parents both had a cup of their own, and her mother bustled away to bring Piper a cup as we all took our seats in their living room.

  The home was cozy. That was the best word I could think to describe it.

  The street had reminded me of the neighborhood I’d grown up in. Cracked sidewalks, open streets for games, lawns for jumping through sprinklers in the summer. That sort of thing. I imagined at some point or another, this place might have had excellent block parties. But now, all the homes looked run down, and the families inside them appeared just as tired and beaten down by life.

  Piper’s parents were no exception.

  Her father was a big man in height and in width. He carried most of his weight in his stomach, which looked solid as hell, and I could hear him breathing on the opposite couch as he sipped his black tea. Heart condition sign numero uno.

  He had wrinkles and short gray hair with a receding hairline, no doubt from spending a great deal of his life wearing a chef’s hat. His mustache was thick, gray, and rather impressive, and it sat upon his upper lip like a furry little creature, twitching and dancing whenever he spoke or graced his daughter with a big white smile.

  Piper’s mother was a small woman, much like Piper herself. It was plain to see that in her youth, she was probably just as dazzling as her young daughter. She had fair skin with shoulders and cheeks peppered in freckles from her time in the sun over the years. Her hair was mousy brown, fading to gray, and pulled up in a tightly coiled bun on the back of her head. She’d secured the bun with a silver pin that stuck out the top of her head like a single antenna.

  And then there was Phillip. He was Piper’s male counterpart with big brown eyes, a mop of messy hair, and a sheepish smile that said, “I have a secret.”

  The secret was me.

  Phillip was the only one of the three who knew who I really was and who knew what his older sister had been up to all year. Her parents were still in the dark, which, quite frankly, blew my freaking mind, but that was her business. Not mine. She could fill them in when she saw fit.

  Based on the appearance of her father’s health, I came to the conclusion that she had likely made the right choice.

  He was already eyeing me suspiciously as I sipped my tea and Piper chatted with her mother.

  “So, you two know each other from school?” her father asked gruffly.

  I looked to Piper to take the lead. She did, setting down her tea and clasping her hands in her lap. “Yes, I met Aaron within the first couple of weeks, and we became fast friends.”

  “Oh yeah? Fast enough friends that he was willing to pay for your flight out here?” her father pressed.

  Piper nodded earnestly. “He let me borrow his notes when I missed class.”

  “Missed class?” Phillip chimed in, cocking his head to the side. “That doesn’t sound like my do-good, workaholic, brainiac big sister.”

  Piper scowled at him.

  Phillip chuckled into his teacup as he took a sip.

  I cleared my throat. “Yes, well, she is all those things, isn’t she?”

  Piper’s mother patted her daughter’s leg with pride. “She absolutely is.”

  Piper flushed a magnificent shade of pink.

  I sat up a little straighter. “I’d do anything for Piper. And I knew how much she wanted to come back here to see you.”

  I avoided making eye contact with her father, who was still watching me as he leaned back in his seat. His mustache twitched as if announcing he was about to speak. “So, what are you doing here? And so soon after our chat?”

  Piper licked her lips. “Um, I came to talk to you.”

  “Yes? And?”

  “And…” Piper trailed off and locked eyes with me.

  I nodded as encouragingly as I could. We’d come all this way for her to have this conversation. She couldn’t get cold feet now. If she did, she’d regret it forever, and the drive home would be full of misery, regret, and what ifs.

  She sat up a little straighter. “And I want to talk to you about the surgery. And the restaurant.”

  Her father hung his head back and closed his eyes in exasperation. “Piper, my daughter, I love you. But I have had about enough of this talk. Your mother and I—”

  “Are making a mistake,” Piper said.

  I admired her resolve. There was no sign of the timid or emotional Piper I’d been with all morning and afternoon. She was fierce in her determination to hash this out with her parents. Her straight back and lifted chin affirmed that much. Her stare was hard but not cruel. She had channeled the perfect amount of assertiveness to face this head on.

  Her father’s eyes flicked toward me.

  I frowned into my teacup and swirled it aimlessly about the sides, hoping he would leave me well enough alone. It was awkward enough sitting here. I didn’t want him wondering why the hell she’d brought me along with her for such a personal conversation.

  “Piper,” he said. “I know this is difficult. It is for all of us. And it’s bringing things up that we should have discussed earlier. But please. Let us leave this business alone. The restaurant is mine and your mother’s responsibility, and we will make the decision we feel is best.”

  Piper shook her head. “That is so incredibly unfair, Daddy.”

  “Unfair?” His brow furrowed.

  Piper’s mother shifted in her seat and exchanged a worried look with her son.

  “What about it is unfair, Piper?” Her father moved forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

  The tension was thick enough to make me itch to tug at the collar of my shirt.

  Piper didn’t back down. She didn’t look to me for help this time either. She was running this show. “The restaurant is going to fall on mine and Phillip’s shoulders. That’s been your plan all along. And to say it is you and Mom’s responsibility is like you’re dismissing all the work Phillip and I have also put into it. All the sacrifices we have also made. You can’t cut us out from this decision because we have a different opinion than you. That’s not how this works. That’s not how our family works.”

  All right. I wanted to leave.

  Shit was getting too real and too personal.

  But I’d told her I’d be with her through this thing, so despite the vein growing in her father’s forehead as he stared at her, I held my ground and refused to look anywhere but at my girl.

  At my Piper.

  I shook my head as my thoughts got scrambled. When did I start thinking of her as mine?

  Phillip suddenly got to his feet and turned toward me. “Hey, Aaron, let’s you and me head out to the back porch? What do you say?”

  I glanced at Piper, and we locked eyes. She nodded.

  So I stood. “Please.”

  Phillip ducked into the kitchen, and I waited until he came back with two cold beers, and then followed him through the glass sliding doors off the dining room and out onto the back porch.

  The yard was pleasant. The brightness of the full moon lit up the garden below the deck, where old figurines stood in the dirt, buried beneath leaves and shrubbery. Up on the railing of the deck were little solar lights in multiple colors in varying stages of brightness.

  Phillip moved to the right, toward an outdoor patio set, and pulled out two chair
s from the table. Then he sat down, kicked his feet up onto the table, cracked his beer, and took a sip. “Sorry you got dragged to our family episode of Dr. Phil.”

  I chuckled and took the other seat he’d pulled out. “It’s not that bad.”

  “It hasn’t started yet.”

  I took a swig of beer. “Fair. Piper can handle herself in there, right? We’re not—I don’t want to sound overdramatic here—but we’re not leaving her to the wolves, are we?”

  Phillip threw his head back and laughed. “Piper? God no. She’s the toughest one of all of us.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  Piper’s brother studied me as he took three long sips of his beer. Then he set the glass down, clasped his hands over his stomach, and narrowed his eyes. “So, are you and Piper—you know—having a good time?”

  How did a guy answer that? “Yes.”

  “How good?” Phillip pressed.

  “Maybe you should ask her.”

  Phillip cracked a wry grin. “She’d tell me to mind my own business.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “Yes, I imagine she would.”

  Phillip waved his hand. “I’m just messing with you, man. I trust Piper. She’s smarter than all of us combined. She wouldn’t bring you down here if she didn’t completely trust you. I know that for a fact. So, you’re in my good books by association.”

  “Cheers to that,” I said, holding up my beer.

  We tapped the necks of our bottles together before taking a swig in unison.

  “Phillip? Can I talk to you about something sensitive?”

  Phillip arched an eyebrow and immediately reminded me of Piper. “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

  “It’s about money.”

  “Oh.”

  “And your father’s surgery.”

  “Right.”

  Phillip didn’t seem to be getting defensive. He leaned in almost curiously and waited for me to continue.

  So I did. “Piper has told me a bit about your mother and father and their financial situation. And I know what sort of burden the bill for heart surgery will be upon them. On top of everything else they’re already struggling with, this just seems like too much. Do you agree?”

  “Yes, I’m with Piper on this one. They’re being stubborn.”

  “So, if someone was to help cover the cost of the surgery, how would you feel?”

  Phillip blinked. “Like a charity case?”

  “Call it what you want. Just think about it. Would it help or make things worse?”

  Phillip looked out at the yard. I could tell he was deep in thought. His brow was furrowed, and he fidgeted with his thumbs for a good three or four minutes before he turned his attention back to me. “I think it would help. In the end. But we don’t have access to anyone with funds.”

  “You do.”

  “Dude, you clearly don’t know how—”

  “You have me.”

  Phillip clamped his mouth shut.

  I sighed. “I’ve already talked to Piper about this. When I first heard your dad was struggling, I offered to cover the bill. I’m not saying this to sound like an ass, but the money means nothing to me. I have plenty of it to go around. More than plenty. And if I can do something good with it, something to help your father and to help Piper, then I want to do it.”

  “But let me guess. She said no?”

  “She said no.”

  Phillip pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. “It’s funny to me how she can call Dad stubborn, but she’s just as bad as he is.”

  “I think she was afraid to say yes on his behalf.”

  “Possibly.”

  I sat up straighter. “Would you be afraid to say yes on his behalf, Phillip?”

  Piper’s little brother leaned forward. His brown eyes glinted in the moonlight as they narrowed at me. “No. Not even a little bit.”

  “And would you be all right keeping this anonymous donor a secret from Piper and your father until the surgery is done?”

  “Yes.”

  I nodded. “Good. Will you accept a check?”

  Chapter 17

  Piper

  Nobody said a word until Aaron had stepped outside with Phillip and the sliding door closed behind them.

  Then my mother turned to me and took my hand. “Sweetheart, we aren’t trying to cut you out of making important decisions. We’re trying to protect you. You and Phillip shouldn’t have to worry about these kinds of things.”

  “But we do worry,” I said. “How can we not? All we’ve done is worry about the restaurant. About you and Dad and how this is all going to work out. About the money. And I understand that you don’t want us to. I understand that you want to handle these things for us. But the truth of the matter is that you both need help. And I can’t sit idly by anymore, pretending everything is going to be fine, when we’re all capable of sitting down and discussing solutions.”

  I couldn’t believe the words were falling from my lips and coming out so succinctly, assertively, and compassionately. I didn’t want to offend them or hurt them. And I didn’t want them to feel like I didn’t have trust or faith in them.

  Because I did.

  I had so much trust and faith in them. Enough to fill an ocean with.

  But sometimes, people need help. And this was one of those times.

  “Oh, Piper,” my mother said, her chin dimpling as her eyes grew glassy. “This isn’t what we want. If you feel this way, we’ve—we’ve—we’ve failed you and Phillip.”

  “No, you absolutely have not,” I said sternly. “I am so proud to be your daughter. And I am so proud of the business you built and the sweat and tears that went into it. Nothing can ever take that away from you. From us. But sometimes, life gets messy. And this is one of those times. How long can we pretend that the restaurant is going to come through when we all know full well that it’s over?”

  “Enough,” my father said.

  My mother and I turned toward him.

  He was rubbing his forehead. “Enough, Piper.”

  Anger started bubbling in my veins. “Stop telling me that.”

  “I’m your father.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can tell me when it’s enough. I have a right to tell you how I feel. How scared I am. And what I think is best. I’ve done what you and Mom wanted my entire life. I’ve busted my ass—”

  “Language,” my father warned.

  I glared at him. “I’ve busted my ass for Piper’s Paradise. I’ve sacrificed everything to make it work. To keep it afloat. I am just as entitled to be as passionate about selling the restaurant as you are about keeping it.”

  “We’re not selling,” my father growled.

  “You’re more than capable of talking about it,” I said. “Are you that stubborn that you won’t even indulge me in a conversation? Nothing has to change. At the end of this, if you’re still hellbent on going down with a sinking ship, then so be it. But we can at least talk about it. Please.”

  The anger was getting the better of me. My calm and collected manner was slipping away as suddenly as I’d managed to acquire it, and I had to keep it in check. My father didn’t respond well to emotion-fueled arguments—probably because that was his MO.

  My mother looked warily back and forth between me and my dad. “I think we should hear her out.”

  My father scratched at his chin and slumped back in his corner spot of the sofa. “Fine. Go ahead. Say whatever it is you came all this way to say.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek. Everything was amounting to this moment. I should have written things down. I should have had a plan of how I was going to handle this. But I didn’t.

  So I winged it.

  “Piper’s Paradise has been on the slow decline for over a decade. I’ve watched it happen. Felt what it’s done to you and Mom and me and Phillip. Seen it, too. The insurance men coming to collect payments we don’t have. Hell, I’ve paid them off with my own money from working shifts at the li
brary—”

  “Piper,” my mother gasped. “You what?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I did my part to help as best I could. I know it wasn’t much, but it was something, and it bought you and Dad a little wiggle room between payments. Anyway. I know how hard things have been. And I know they’re only getting harder. We don’t have customers setting foot in the restaurant for days on end. This isn’t complicated, Daddy. These are facts. The restaurant cannot stay open. You and Mom are clinging to a dying dream that you could sell, profit from, and create a new dream with. You could retire. You could use that money to pay off most of your debt, and then all you’d owe is a bit for your surgery.”

  My father’s expression was unreadable. I looked back and forth between him and my mother, who was sitting in shocked silence by my side.

  Apparently, neither of them were willing to say anything yet. So I kept going. “You’re going to need to lower the stress in your life anyway. This is two birds with one stone. Isn’t it at least worth some consideration?”

  Still, neither of them said a word.

  I sighed. “I don’t understand.”

  “We don’t expect you to,” my father said.

  “Well, that’s rude. You could at least explain it to me so I could try to make sense of why you are so desperately clinging to the business.”

  “Because,” my father said, his voice sharp like a whip. “It’s all we have to leave behind for you and Phillip. We chose the restaurant industry. We chose to stay with it even when business started dying off. We have nothing to show for our lives here except that place, Piper. And that place is what we want to give you when we are gone. I know it’s not much. It’s hardly anything. I know that. But it’s ours. And one day, it will be yours.”

  I swallowed. Now came the hard part. “Does it mean nothing to you that Phillip and I might not want it?”

  My father blinked. My mother flinched.

  I stared down at my lap. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. I wish the restaurant was lucrative enough to keep the doors open. But as it is, what are we supposed to do with it? Keep throwing money at it like you and Mom until some miracle happens and people start pouring in? Are we supposed to dedicate our lives and our bank accounts to it too? Like you did? Until we have nothing left?”