by Claire Adams
His eyes widened as though understanding exactly what I was thinking. “It’s not... I’m not being forced into this proposal or anything! Stacey has absolutely no idea. It’s just that the other day – you were around for this –when I mentioned us being married in the future, her reaction really took me by surprise. She looked shocked at first, as though this simply hadn’t occurred to her, which was not a good sign. After you left she started tearing up and seemed so happy...”
“And that gave away that she was ready so you decide to propose right away?” I asked starting to somewhat tear up.
“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve been ready for years now. Honestly, a couple of months into us dating I knew where we were going, that we would obviously get married someday.”
“So did I,” I said and nodded thinking back to those days. “And everyone else knew, really. You and Stacey were a match made in heaven, Nick. It’s incredible that you found each other. I can’t imagine a world where you hadn’t…”
“That’s really sweet, Aria,” Nick said, looking like he was about to tear up too. It made me a little uncomfortable because Nick wasn’t exactly an expert at showing his feelings. “It gives me quite a boost. I am so glad we have you in our life.”
I took his words as my cue to tell him something that I had been considering over in my mind since I had first run into him with the magazine and found out what his plans were.
“And I am really glad that I have two of the most amazing people in the world as my best friends,” I said sweetly. “Who are now going to be married, which is an incredibly wonderful thought. I can safely assume I’ll be the maid-of-honor at this wedding since Stacey already promised me that when we were like fifteen. That’s a role I am looking forward to fulfill in your lives. There is one role that I can no longer play, Nick, because you guys are about to start an epic life ahead and you need your privacy. Don’t even try to deny that! After the proposal I am going to move out.”
Nick looked disappointed but nodded. “Stacey is not going to be happy about it. Neither am I.”
“I’m not happy about moving out, Nick!” I exclaimed, hoping he didn’t think it was because of anything they did. “I love living with you guys! You’re my second family. And my god, these past few years have been some of the best of my entire life. You guys are growing up now though and I have to do the same. I can’t be living with a couple that’s about to be married.”
“If there is anything I or Stacey can do for you – in terms of finding a place or beating someone up or anything – you just have to say the word.”
“I know that. I always knew that, don’t be silly, Nick. Nothing has changed. I do need your help telling Stacey about this after the proposal though. I’ll need someone to grab the pillow she will most definitely throw at me,” she joked.
He bowed as to say ‘at your service.’
“Of course that’s not for a while and I have this freaking party with Zayden tonight to worry about too,” I said, suddenly remembering. “When do you plan on doing it anyway?” Then I eyed him suspiciously and added, “And how do you have so much money for a fancy ring?”
“I want to do it next week on her birthday. And my grandma gave me the money. She was quite the anarchist back in the day so her and my grandpa decided to get married without spending a dime – something about love not needing a show – so there was no ring. Now that she’s older, she thinks there should have been one so she could pass it on to my bride. Since she can’t, she’s been insisting on buying it for me.”
“That is so adorable,” I said and smiled. “Okay, let’s get going, Nick. We don’t know when Stacey will be back and we need to spend as much time as we can to find the perfect ring. Both Stacey and your grandma deserve that.”
---
By the time Nick and I were back with a beautiful princess-cut diamond ring that she would definitely adore, Stacey was already home and in her baking gear.
“Where did you two go?” She raised her eyebrows. “I thought you were supposed to be setting up the place, Aria.”
“I was! I was scrubbing the floor. Look how much cleaner it is now,” I said, pointing at the floor which hadn’t been touched, but she would probably believe me because who can really tell the difference? “I got super exhausted from doing that so Nick and I went for a walk…to get some ice-cream.” I must have sounded obvious to anyone in the world, but Stacey shrugged oblivious, focusing on the batter she was beating with surprising intensity. “When are you going to start the chicken? I only ask cause the stove is going to be very hot for the next two hours because of the oven beneath and I don’t think you cooking over that heat is the best idea.”
She looked at her watch. “We still have about three and half hours before your boyfriend is supposed to get here.” She paused and gave me a very amused half-smile. “You’re grinning really hard, Aria.”
“Oh, sorry,” I said, feeling the sides of my mouth stretched. “I didn’t realize I was doing that. It’s just that…you called him my boyfriend.”
Stacey made an “aww” face and said, “If I wasn’t completely covered in cookie batter I would give you the biggest hug right now. But more importantly, let’s make the best of our time here. Why don’t you go get ready – it’s bound to take over an hour since your man is coming – while the oven is on and then you can make the chicken? I’ll cook everything else. I already have the rice cooker running. I would do the chicken too but he has yet to try your cooking and your chicken and sausage curry really is to die for!”
“No, I want to make it!” I said, thinking of how he had grilled everything on the night that I had been to his house. “But not after I get ready. I hardly want to smell like chicken and curry.” I giggled.
“Okay then, if you wait for the oven to be done you’ll only have about a half hour to get ready, so if you can manage—”
“Of course,” I cut her off, grinning once more. “My boyfriend is coming. Part of the charm of that particular terminology is that I get to spend less time getting all dolled up. He has seen me right out of bed and right out of a shower so he knows what I really look like.”
“Shower?” Stacey looked at me with her eyes wide open. “You guys have already managed to hit the shower?”
Nick, who had been sitting on the couch and too busy munching on chips so far to speak, chose this moment to quietly exit the living room.
Stacey and I both giggled for a second because of Nick’s reaction. “I thought I told you. So much has happened these last few days. The shower was fun…but Zayden will be here soon so we better get all set up. Thanks so much for agreeing to hang out with us tonight.”
“Are you kidding?” She pointed her spatula at me. “I’ve been dying to properly hang out with the dude since we first – ahem – corresponded about you.”
“Yeah, I haven’t forgotten,” I said, trying to be reproachful, but was glad that all those months ago Stacey had tipped off Zayden, believing he would be the right guy for me.
---
“So where is your living room?” Zayden looked at me expectantly as he sat on our couch sipping on the Margaritas that I had freshly made.
I looked at him with my mouth open, unable to answer, while Stacey and Nick burst into a chortle.
“Did I say something funny?” he asked.
Before Nick or Stacey could answer with something sarcastic, I jumped in. “We only have one. Most people only have one, Zayden.”
My face was getting scarlet red.
Zayden grinned softly. “I was only joking.” He chuckled.
“So, uh, Zayden,” Nick said nervously. “What do you do for fun?”
Zayden shrugged, non-committal. “Stuff. Work mostly.”
“You do work for fun?” Nick was trying hard not to laugh.
“No, I mean…I work a lot. Sometimes I go golfing, but it’s mostly for networking purposes. Can’t say I particularly enjoy the sport. I did play basketball in college, but no time for that sort of a thing these days.”
“You watch T.V.!” I interjected. “Why else would you have a 80-inch television in your room?”
“News mostly. Bloomberg is usually always playing in the background wherever I go.”
Stacey, who had been quiet so far in a respectful attempt not to laugh, spoke, “Bloomberg is not watching T.V. and you sure don’t need eighty inches of television screen to analyze the stock market. Wanna switch?” She pointed her head towards our regular thirty-two inch T.V.
“Sure, you can just have mine. I hope you don’t feel offended if I pass on yours though,” Zayden said nonchalantly to everyone’s surprise. We all sat quietly for a few minutes before we bursted out laughing.
“We don’t actually want your T.V., Zayden. Stacey was joking.”
He probably knew that, but with his kind of money probably didn’t care.
“But why not?” He raised his eyebrows. “You guys seem to have a real interest in it and sure look like you could use a better set. A wedding present perhaps—”
Everything escalated after I gasped and gave Zayden a look that meant to say I was ready to commit murder. Nick looked like he would throw up and Stacey just sat there motionless in complete shock.
“He doesn’t mean you guys,” I said lamely, trying to rectify the situation, while still glaring angrily at Zayden. “My other friends are getting married. From my Stats class. You don’t know them.”
I was rambling nonsensically, making the situation worse and worse. After a few minutes, things got increasingly uncomfortable so I looked at Zayden and said, “Can you come with me to my room real quick? We need to talk.”
He seemed to have gathered he had said more than he was allowed to and looked guilty and nervous. If the situation hadn’t been so bizarre and ridiculous, I would kiss him for how adorable he looked.
Quietly, he followed me into my room, leaving Nick and Stacey to themselves.
As soon as he shut the door behind him, I snapped. “What the hell, Zayden? I told you it was supposed to be a secret! He is not proposing to her until next week.”
Covering my face with my hands completely horrified about having ruined Nick’s surprise, I threw myself on to my bed. “You can sit, you know,” I said when he continued to stand awkwardly by the door.
Carefully, he walked closer and closer to me until he was right next to me. He ran his palms through my face and sighed deeply. “I am sorry. I had completely forgotten you mentioned it was a surprise. I didn’t mean to ruin it for your friends. You know I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know,” I said, pulling him towards me to cuddle. “But what are we going to do now?”
“We are going to sit here for a few more minutes and let your friends figure things out. Then we are going to go out, I’m going to apologize for my blunder and we are all going to have a nice evening. How does that sound?” He stroked my hair, pulling me towards his chest.
“It sounds like all we can do for now.”
“It will be okay. Don’t think about what’s happening outside. Let’s talk about something else. Did you get your paper back?”
I removed myself from his embrace and lying by my elbow looked at him and said, “Yes, I got an A and the teacher said it was one of the best papers he had encountered on the subject.”
“If only he knew how we got to the idea.” Zayden snickered.
“I want to write all my papers with you exactly like that from now on,” I said, getting slightly cheerful again.
“I don’t know how much writing will actually get done, but I am not going to protest, baby.”
His use of endearment made me feel the ground beneath me disappear.
“I love you,” I said, looking him straight in the eyes this time. He didn’t say anything but I was sure I saw a twinkle in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed me softly and passionately. Then I understood. He was not able to say it just yet but he loved me too.
We just lay there holding each other for a long time before going back out. When we finally made it back to the living room, Nick and Stacey seemed engaged. They were beaming with joy. It wasn’t so bad after all.
Chapter 9
Zayden
Aria had somehow convinced me to redo the dinner with her mother, but go about things a little differently this time. For one, she had picked me up in her car, a blue Ford Taurus that she managed to drive pretty well but kept me on my toes the whole time nonetheless. I wasn’t sure I had sat in a car quite like it before. It was incredibly small, the seats felt like they were made of plastic, and my legs were hurting from the little room in her front seat.
“You okay there?” she asked, eyeing me quizzically.
“Yeah.” I smiled, trying hard to ignore the discomfort. “I’m great. I’m with you.”
That had the desired effect of making her blush, to my relief, and she didn’t ask me any more questions regarding my comfort for the rest of the ride.
We pulled into her mom’s driveway and I was met once more with the foreclosure notice.
“How long does your mom have the house?” I asked Aria as we walked in.
She shrugged nervously. “I am not sure. She’s had the notice for a while, but my mom doesn’t like to discuss it with me very much. She feels guilty, so I don’t ask her questions.”
“Hmm,” I said, thinking I would figure out how to help them out of this situation soon.
Molly received us with a huge smile despite the way I had walked out of here the last time.
“Thank you so much for coming over again,” she said joyfully.
“Of course! I am sorry I had to run out the other night. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. It was just…” I looked at the floor, afraid to accidentally catch Aria’s eyes. “Stuff came up at work, you know how it goes.”
“Absolutely!” Molly exclaimed. “Don’t worry about it. You must be busy running the bank. I am grateful that you could make some time to come over again. Aria, why don’t you take Zayden into the living room and you guys hang out while I prepare dinner?”
“I…let me help,” I said uncertainly. “I am not too bad of a chef myself.”
“Oh he’s brilliant,” Aria chimed in.
Molly looked uncomfortably from me to Aria and back. “That’s quite wonderful of you to offer but I can’t possibly…you’re a guest here.”
I waved my hand nonchalantly. “Please. I insist.”
“If you want.” She shrugged.
“I’ll set up the table and the living room and you can help him mom,” Aria said brightly and walked away, leaving me to join her mother in the kitchen.
“So what are we in the mood for?” I asked, surveying the kitchen. It was small, but very well structured. I quite admired the simplicity.
“I was going to make some steaks.” Molly still looked nervous.
“That happens to be my specialty! I can throw in some sautéed vegetables as well. You can chop them off for me if you feel like it. But really, feel free to just go hang out with Aria in the living room. You made us a delightful dinner the other night as it is.”
“Don’t be silly, I want to help,” she said, pulling out the chopping board and some mushrooms and zucchini.
As we worked on the dinner, Molly began opening up somewhat. To an uncomfortable degree almost. Her questions were getting a little intense.
“So Aria was telling me you have been married before. Your ex-wife, where is she now?” she asked casually while chopping onions, like she might as well have been asking about the weather.
“Uh.” I was completely stumped, unsure how to take that question or answer it. “She’s around. I’m not sure where, we don’t exactly keep in touch.”
“That’s not what I heard,” she said, looking up at me for a brief moment and then changed the topic like that hadn’t just happened. “So how long have you been seeing Aria?”
“I’m sure she has told you, Molly.” I was trying hard not to be frustrated but I knew where she was going with this and didn’t feel like I
deserved an interrogation after all that I had been doing for her family.
“Yes, but I was hoping to hear your side of the story. It’s quite alright if you’re not up to telling me much.”
“Fine,” I snapped in spite of myself. “I have known her for a few months now and have been fond of her since the very first time I laid my eyes on her.”
“That’s a rather odd way to put it, don’t you think?” she asked, giggling as though ensuring that the tone of the conversation remained outwardly light. “You couldn’t very well be fond of somebody just by looking at them. If you hadn’t spoken to her yet then surely you mean you just thought she was attractive?”
I tried hard not to grunt. I cared about Aria a lot and I was here in her mother’s house for the second time in the past week because she was important to Aria. Therefore, the fact that she approved of me for Aria had become very important to me. I didn’t want to ruin that just because Molly was asking too many questions I didn’t feel like answering.
Deciding to do my best to keep my cool and humor her, I said, “Sure, I pursued her at first because I thought she was attractive. Let’s be honest, isn’t that why anyone pursues anyone? All these talks people have about superficiality is such complete bull, because physical appearance is the first thing anyone can see and that’s always what draws people in. But that said, after the initial attraction passed, it became so much more. Every time I spoke with her she sounded brighter and more intelligent than half the staff in my bank put together. Her wits, her charms, her sheer confidence, all those things blew me away. I wasn’t exactly expecting or preparing to fall for your daughter, Molly. We have quite a large age gap and I assure you, I am aware of it. I’m not simply exploiting a young woman. She is so mature for her age! I am sure you know! You raised her to be this way. Most women my age wouldn’t be able to live up to half of what Aria has in terms of personality and brilliance. You should be proud of your daughter. You have created quite an extraordinarily exquisite human being.”
“Wow,” she said, stopping her chopping and looking like she had just escaped from underneath a train track. “I don’t know what to say…You’re right, she is quite extraordinary and obviously, I am proud of her. I just wasn’t sure what you were…I mean, someone of your stature and prominence, I just wondered how someone like you would take interest in my little Aria…And then you have been paying all this money for my hospital bills…don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it. But as a mother, you can’t exactly blame me for thinking it all seems a little too good to be true?”