by Claire Adams
“Hi,” Aria said moving into the car. Her face made it obvious that she had wanted to burst out laughing and it was taking a lot for her to keep a straight face. “Limo,” she said, the sides of her mouth twitching.
I felt the strangest sensation in my stomach, something I couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t anger or frustration or – I realized with a jolt that I was embarrassed. Not used to such a feeling at all, I wasn’t sure what the appropriate reaction was.
“I’m sorry,” I said, hoping apology would cut it.
“No, no, why are you sorry?” Her face was starting to look pained. “It’s—” she gestured around the car. “It’s quite – exclusive. And you look, uh, you look very professional.”
We both burst out laughing at the same time.
“Oh God, Zayden, what were you even thinking?” she said between laughs. “We are going to the suburbs to see my mother, in her house. This isn’t some business meeting where you have a client to impress.”
“I do have a client to impress, though,” I said matter-of-factly. “I doubt your mother will allow me to continue dating her daughter if I don’t impress her.”
“Yes, but there is a huge difference between your business partners and my mom. You can’t employ a one-size fits all approach to dealing with human beings.”
She shook her head, still giggling, but I wasn’t laughing any more.
“Do you think I don’t know how to deal with people?” I was taken aback.
“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant at all!” She looked horrified by my reaction. “Of course you’re fantastic with people. You have built and expanded upon a wonderful business by winning people over. Dale Carnegie would be so proud of you—”
“But?” I said impatiently. “Just get to the but, Aria.”
“But you’re a businessman,” she said meekly. “You think of every interaction as a business opportunity. Like there is always a give and take involved. Like you must ensure certain advantages of having the interaction in the first place.”
“Well.” I frowned. “What else am I supposed to do?”
“With my mom, don’t worry about impressing her. She’s already impressed with you based on the fact that you, you know, paid off her hospital bills without even so much as ever meeting her just because you cared about me.”
“So I shouldn’t try at all?” She was really confusing me.
“No, but try less intensely. If you really want to get along with her – and notice I said get along, not ‘impress’ – then you have to find out what she is like and what interests her. Limos and suits are not those things.”
“What does she like, then? What is she like?” I was genuinely curious at this point. I had assumed that the woman who gave birth to the force that was Aria Roberts was bound to be no less fierce.
“She is very simple.” Aria shrugged. “She is an everyday woman. Very loving, enjoys feeding her children and everybody who visits her house. She likes puzzles and board games.”
“Wow,” I said thinking back. “I haven’t played any board games since I was ten years old.”
She looked shocked upon hearing this and her eyes widened twice their size. “What? You never play board games?”
“Is that something adults do regularly?” It was strange to think that there was a whole other world out there where people participated in activities like board games. Perhaps families spent time together that way, I wouldn’t know. My had been unique compared to Aria’s. I wanted to be part of her life.
“Yeah, me and my roommates play them all the time. And card games, they are fun too. You never get too old to huddle around the people you love and get extremely competitive over things that don’t matter in the long run.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” I said ruefully with a little smile.
“Don’t be like that. You know what us regular people don’t get to do? Fly to the Bahamas in a moment’s notice. So don’t sit there feeling all sorry for yourself. And if you really like, we can play some scrabble with my mother tonight, but just know that she likes to win. If you don’t let her, it’s not going to go well.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to try too hard,” I said, now grinning at her.
“You know what I meant. Now can we please stop by a store on our way there so you can get into some regular people clothes? The limo we can deal with but you really want to get more comfortable if you don’t want her fussing about how hard you must work that you came to visit her straight in your work clothes.”
“One condition,” I said. “You pick out the clothes for me.”
Shopping with Aria was an exciting affair, mostly because she picked out items of clothing that I would never in a million years deem appropriate for a meeting such as the one that was about to transpire. I didn’t understand how her mother was going to approve of me with the slightly ripped jeans. Aria matched them alongside a navy blue T-shirt that supposedly made my eyes pop out. I shrugged since she probably knew what she was doing.
When we were back in the car Aria looked much more relaxed then when she had first walked in. Even Ned seemed to be pleased with what she had picked out as well to my utter confusion.
“How do you feel?” Aria asked me happily as we continued to drive along.
“I can’t really feel my muscles tighten as usual,” I joked.
“That’s called being relaxed and comfortable,” she joked back. Aria laughed endearingly. “You should get used to it.”
“I suppose.” I shrugged. “Anyways, I bought your mom a bottle of wine. Does she like wine?”
“She loves wine. Red.”
“Perfect, I had a bottle of Pinot Noir ordered from the most expensive Vineyard in Napa Valley. It only arrived yesterday and I think your mom is going to love it because it’s seasonal and not available for retail. Members of the Vineyard club are the only ones allowed to purchase it.”
“She drinks ten dollar Yello Tails. I highly doubt she can tell the difference.” She must have noticed the disappointment in my face cause she immediately added, “I mean, she will most definitely appreciate the thought though. I didn’t mean – that was very nice of you, Zayden.”
“It’s no big deal.” I waved my hand nonchalantly. “I just hope she likes it. I didn’t know what else to get her. I should have probably asked you. I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me. Perhaps I was a little nervous. I haven’t met a girlfriend’s parents in very long time to be honest.”
For some reason, that made her blush and she looked away, not helping my nerves whatsoever.
“Everything okay?” I frowned.
She looked back at me. “Yeah, I just haven’t gotten used to you calling me your girlfriend yet. It feels nice.”
I pulled her into me in a tight embrace and lightly stroked her hair. “Well you better get used to it.”
She let out a soft giggle. “Look how far you have come from being a womanizer. You are really sweet.”
“Shh,” I whispered. “We don’t need anyone to ever know that at the office.”
So we rode in a silent embrace all the way to her mother’s house. Meanwhile, I pondered upon what she had said and all the things that had happened this evening. I couldn’t quite believe I had so eagerly let Aria change me into a different set of clothes. Only a couple of months ago, if someone had so much as suggested such a thing I would have been completely outraged.
When Aria looked like she was about to laugh at me, I would have done just about anything to not embarrass her like that again.
When we finally got close to her mother’s house, I recognized it immediately because of the huge banner in front of house that read: “FORECLOSED PROPERTY. OWNED BY BANK. CALL 1-800-DEBT FOR MORE INFORMATION.”
I looked at Aria but she pretended that we hadn’t just seen the sign. As Ned pulled over she quietly hopped out of the limo.
“Park this as far away from her mom’s house as possible,” I instructed Ned. “Make sure there is no wa
y she sees it. Feel free to drive it around town if you want.” I handed him two hundred dollars. “For dinner. Thanks for making this long drive.”
“Don’t be silly, Zay, I’m literally just doing my job,” he said, taking the cash, probably because it was much easier than arguing with me that he was never in a million years going to spend two-hundred-dollars on dinner. “But don’t worry, Aria’s mom will never see the limo. Just text me about where I should pick you guys up from. Maybe I will send a taxi to get you there. I don’t suppose you would like walking very far in the middle of nowhere.”
“We will see. I will keep you posted. You have a good evening, Ned.”
“You too,” he said and gave me a fatherly smile. “And don’t be nervous. She will have to be stupid not to love you.”
Ned was gone and I looked at Aria standing a few feet away from the house waiting for me. “Ready?” she asked and started walking away.
I ran after her and grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her towards me. Then I planted a deep and passionate kiss on her mouth. Not sexual, as much as it was sweet. I opened her mouth only slightly and caressed her tongue softly while also stroking her hair with my right hand.
After a few seconds I pulled away and whispered softly into her ears, “Listen, Aria. I am not going to let anything bad happen to your family, okay? Your mother will be fine no matter what. I promise you that.”
Her eyes began tearing up and she kissed me back with fiery passion. She held on to my shoulder so tight I thought her nails were going to dig through my skin. When she pulled away, she gazed at me with amazing intensity and said something that shook the ground from underneath me.
“I love you, Zayden,” she whispered audibly. “I love you.”
I knew I was supposed to respond right away, more importantly, I was supposed to say it back wasn’t I? But for some reason, I couldn’t move or speak or do anything whatsoever. She loved me? What did she mean she loved me?
The back of my hand was shaking slightly in shock and I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. This was not something I was expecting, nor was I prepared for it in anyway. I had gotten myself into a relationship without thinking too much about it and I was only just realizing how deep I had managed to get myself in. She was most certainly waiting for me to respond to her confession with a very particular answer. I opened my mouth in an attempt to try to say it back but felt physically incapable so I closed it again.
Why was she choosing this particular moment to tell me she loved me above all else? She had so many other opportunities. Hell, if she really felt the way she said, perhaps that evening in my balcony when I had the whole place decorated for her would have been a more suitable opportunity. Yet she had chosen now. Didn’t this mean it was entirely possible that she felt more gratitude than love and she was merely confusing two separate positive emotions?
Had I not been paying her mother’s hospital bills – and had I not said what I had said about not worrying about her mother’s finances just now – would she have still felt that she was in love with me? In fact, would she have ever even given me the time of the day if I wasn’t paying her mother’s medical bills? If it wasn’t for the contract?
I remembered when I used to hit on her before the contract came into play: she always casually laughed off my advances – something that frustrated me endlessly – never even coming close to so much as going on a date with me. There was no way I could be sure whether her love was genuine and until such a time, I could not bring myself to say it back. Or until a time at least when I knew for sure that my words were genuine too. Instead, I just kissed her softly on the mouth one more time, looked at her earnestly and said, “Let’s go inside, baby.”
---
As we walked inside the tiny house holding hands, Aria’s mood had shifted slightly, perhaps because I hadn’t said ‘I love you’ back. I was determined to take her mind off it and have a decent evening with her and her mother.
When her mom saw us she looked delighted. She was not as old as I had imagined in my head; in fact, she didn’t look very old as all so she must have had Aria when she was young. Aria looked a lot like her mom too. They were almost a splitting image of each other.
She ran to hug Aria and they embraced for quite a while, in which time I surveyed the paintings on the wall. They all looked old and worn out. In fact, everything in this house looked like it was ready for a replacement about a few years ago. Perhaps I ought to have brought some presents…decorations for the house. If it was getting foreclosed though, then it hardly mattered. Maybe I could help her buy a new place altogether, but in Aria’s name.
After welcoming her daughter, Aria’s mother gave me a swift onceover without any expressions on her fac and then smiled heartily. “You must be Zayden,” she said and then hugged me, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. I wasn’t particularly programmed to accept random hugs, but I shrugged and let it happen.
“Nice too finally meet you, Molly,” I said when she broke away.
“You too Zayden!” she exclaimed. “I hope you are hungry! I have been cooking all day. Not sure if you’re a big fan of steak or—”
“I’m sure whatever you made is fine and I can’t wait.” I smiled at her before she nervously babbled some more. “I hope you like wine.”
Chapter 4
Aria
I was glad to notice that thus far this dinner hadn’t been a complete disaster, something I was extremely worried about, considering the rather strong personalities of both parties that were currently meeting. Other than that little voice inside my head that was worried that Zayden hadn’t said he loved me back when I had made my confession, there was practically nothing about this night that wasn’t pleasurable.
While my mom prepared the dinner table, I entertained Zayden with some of the scrabble that I had promised, which my mom joined as the last of the roasted vegetables were finishing up in the oven. Naturally, my mom won the game and Zayden had the least amount of points because of trying to spell things that were made up words. The good thing was how eased and relaxed he seemed during the whole ordeal. It was something so simple that he never seemed to get a chance to enjoy and I felt glad to be able to give him what was missing from his seemingly perfect life.
Once dinner was ready, we sat on the small four-occupancy dining table, which my mom had obviously bought since our last visit. Perhaps it was in exchange for our large mahogany table, which was glaringly missing. I felt an odd sort of a discomfort in my chest as I took my seat across of Zayden and tried hard not to catch anybody’s eyes.
My mom had put together an elaborate dinner for somebody in her economic stature. Enormous Porter-House Steaks that appeared grilled to perfection, a plate full of spicy and crunchy looking shrimp, mashed potatoes cooked with gouda – perhaps one of my all time favorites growing up from all of my mom’s cooking – and an assortment of roasted vegetables. In addition, there was a whole side for dessert with various fruits, chocolate ice-cream cake, apple pie, and cookie dough ice cream.
“Mom, you really went all out,” I gasped and noticed even Zayden seemed to be impressed, which I supposed was her intention.
She shrugged, although her smile gave away that she was rather pleased with herself. “It was no big deal, really. Just threw some things together hastily. Eat up!”
As I started eating the delicious food, I forgot all about the pressure that was supposed to be present in the current situation, where I was introducing my boyfriend to my mother. For the first time since my high-school prom date, I remembered suddenly. No wonder she had gone out of her way with this dinner. Or perhaps it was the little side fact that the guy was spending sixty thousand dollars to help her out, I realized stupidly.
This wasn’t about meeting my boyfriend at all. This was about feeding a nice meal to the guy who was helping her out as a token of appreciation. For some reason, that made me feel sad, so I focused all my attention on the juicy steak that was filling all my senses.
“Mmm,” I heard Zayden moan, telling me that he was equally impressed with dinner, which was an accomplishment given that he had an international super-chef at his beck and call twenty-four seven.
“Let’s open the wine, shall we?” Mom’s voice pulled me out of my foodgasm.
“What?” I felt a little disoriented for a moment.
“The wine your boyfriend so nicely bought for me, shall we open it then?” She smiled.
I looked at Zayden, who seemed as blown-away from the dinner as I was and he nodded. “Sure, if you would like. It’s yours to do with as you please.” He smiled.
By the time she returned with the freshly opened bottle of wine, we had managed to help ourselves to third servings of everything on the table.
“Molly,” Zayden sighed at last. “You don’t suppose you would be interested in a career as a chef, would you?”
I knew immediately what he was suggesting, so I gave Zayden a stern look that was meant to read “Not another word!” But mom just giggled, thinking of it as just a stray compliment.
“It’s nothing. Aria is a really good cook, too. I’m sure you’ve had her cooking plenty of times. The mashed potatoes and gouda, at the very least!”
I looked intensely at the marks on the new dining table, aware of Zayden’s amused gaze. “No, actually,” I heard him say from beside me. “I have not quite had the pleasure of eating Aria’s cooking just yet. But if tonight is any indication of what I was missing, then I have to say I am very disappointed you never invited me for dinner.”
My mom looked at me reproachfully. “Sweetheart, that’s not very nice, especially since you told me he made you dinner the other night.”
“He grilled,” I said automatically. Feeling kind of guilty I added, “Yes, he did, and I was planning to invite him over this weekend but then we decided to come see you instead. Would you have rather we not?”
“Of course not!” she exclaimed. “I am happy you guys decided to pay me a visit. I was going crazy all by myself. This wine is amazing, by the way,” she added, sipping on the red in her glass. “The best I have ever had. Is it foreign or can I find it locally?”