Some things can’t be helped. And the fact that I’m squished into a middle seat of economy class on a flight back to San Diego is one of them. If this doesn’t prove I’m ready to commit to Rose, then letting her father punch me in the face should do the trick. I’m not entirely sure he will, and I owe it to both of them to make sure he doesn’t break his hand if he does.
By the time it’s my turn to get up and sidle down the aisle of the plane, I haven’t been able to feel my kneecaps for hours. And then the line to rent a car (without a reservation) goes on for what seems like miles. Of course, when it’s my turn there’s nothing left but an ancient, gigantic Lincoln. I take it. At least there’s room for my knees.
I drive on autopilot to Tristan’s house. The car does not. Its engine desperately needs a tune-up and let’s face it, this thing is so old it should be shot and put out of its misery. Still, I’m grateful enough when I park it on the street in front of the house. I didn’t tell Tris I was coming, so now I have to wait until he comes home, which should be in a few minutes.
Sure enough, his calm and conservative SUV comes down the street and pulls into the driveway. I don’t think he even looked my way. So I get out of the car cautiously. I’m honestly not sure how to minimize the shock of what I’m about to tell him. I’ve resigned myself to losing his friendship, (hopefully it’s only temporary) letting him try to kick the shit out of me, (unlikely) or simply face into his deep and abiding disappointment.
Tris spots me and looks surprised. He glances at the car and his jaw drops. “Aiden? What are you doing here? And why are you driving that… thing?”
I can’t help the smile, Tris holds onto ancient and useless stuff and even he can see this piece of junk is past its use-by date. “It’s all they had left at the rental place. I need to talk to you, Tris, and this one is big. I owe it to you to say it in person.”
He looks thoroughly confused, but he shrugs, “Okaaay. Come on in. Would a beer help?”
“Won’t hurt.”
I follow him into the house where he drops his briefcase and grabs two beers out of the fridge. He leads the way out to the patio that I’m now seeing as a pivotal location in all of this.
“You don’t own a gun, do you?” I ask. I’m only half-joking, it’s probably wise to inquire.
“No. Should I?” He’s looking more and more nervous. Tris has a very creative imagination, and I’m probably only making things worse.
“No. Now show me how you make a fist.”
“Aiden. What the hell is this all about?”
“Just show me, please.” He does, and I look at his hand. Ugh. Someone needs to drag him to the gym on a regular basis, I would do it if I lived close enough.
“Yeah, okay. Before you hit me, maybe keep in mind you’re more likely to hurt yourself.” I nod towards his fist. He looks down at it and then at me, his eyebrows hitting his receding hairline.
“Will you spit it out, why would I want to hit you?”
“Because I’m in love with Rose and I’m going to marry her.”
See, the problem with Tris is when he’s confronted by something he doesn’t understand or he’s really furious (something I’ve only seen once or twice) he goes completely still with no facial expression at all. It’s like he’s a statue and you have to wait for some kind of reaction to know which way the wind is blowing.
“When did that happen?”
“Last month. She, um, wrote something that revealed she had a crush on me that I found out about. I made her come up to the cabin with me to sort it out. From there things um, developed. I swear to you, Tris, I tried to walk away but in the end, I couldn’t do it.”
He’s frowning, “Did you seduce my daughter?”
“No. I don’t think so. It was a mutual attraction.”
He’s not buying it, but I can’t make him believe me. I take a bracing swallow of beer, “I’m not expecting you to like it, Tris. I sure as hell wouldn’t if I were in your shoes, but I owed it to you to tell you directly.”
“She told me she was going to the beach.”
I sigh, “I made her say that. You’d have worried otherwise.”
“You mean worried about exactly what happened and that I could have put a stop to?” Now he’s getting sarcastic, which isn’t nearly as bad as I expected, but not exactly good either.
“No. Because that was not at all my intention when I told her to meet me there. I promise, Tris, I never thought of Rose as anything but your daughter until about two months ago. I hurt her by pushing her away because of the age difference, but I’m done with that. All pain comes to me, not her. Agreed?”
“Hmmm. I need to talk to Rose. Stay here.”
He disappears inside. I stretch my legs out and contemplate my sins, real and imagined. And I wait.
The beach is almost completely deserted, which seems strange despite the slightly wild weather, but I’m trying to keep myself out of Ing’s hair since I’m staying a few extra days. I don’t want to crimp her plans to get some serious design work done, and staying to gossip and giggle will do just that. So I’m out here stretching my legs, enjoying the way the wind whips my hair into a tangled mess, and thinking about Aiden. Mind you, I’m almost always thinking about him.
When my phone rings in my pocket, I almost don’t hear it, but I grab it just in time and press the answer button.
“Hello?” I respond hesitantly — I didn’t have time to check caller ID.
“Rosey? Where are you?” It’s Dad. I guess I waited too long to check-in.
“At the beach. Staying with Ing.”
“Not saying you’re at the beach when you’re really with Aiden at the cabin?” Uh-oh.
“Um, Dad?”
“What happened, Rose? The truth, please. Did he take advantage of you?”
“No! Good God, Dad, if anything it was the other way around. Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
“Because he’s here claiming he’s in love with you and you’re planning to get married!”
“Oh!” We hadn’t gotten to the wedding phase of negotiations. He’d implied it plenty of times. But there’s no ring on it, is there? Nope. Then a horrible thought occurs to me. Aiden is there alone with Dad, a pissed off Dad, “You didn’t hurt him, did you?” I’ve stopped walking, turning my back to the wind so I can hear better.
“Well, that answers one question, anyway.” My dad says dryly, “Rose, you’re way too young to get involved with a guy his age.”
“That’s what he said.” I sigh, “Dad, I’m twenty-three, not eighteen. I’ve been in love with him for years. This isn’t just going to go away.”
“You have? How did I miss that? It’s times like these I could murder your mother for not being here.”
I grin, everything’s going to be okay. “Dad, he made a cheese pizza without adding any vegetables to it.”
“Seriously? That puts a whole new light on things.” He’s half-joking, but I know he gets my point.
“I love him, Dad.”
He sighs, “Okay, it’s not like I can stop you but if he hurts you, I will find a way to… I don’t know what but something horrible.”
“I don’t want him to lose you, Dad. Or vice versa. You’ve been friends too long to throw that away.”
“Yeah, well. This is going to take a bit of getting used to, sweetheart. I’m not sure how much time that requires.”
“Will you at least go on that fishing trip with him? It will make me happy.”
“Maybe. No promises.” Ah well, I tried. I think Dad will come around in a few months. It’s new to him, so I guess I can’t be too impatient.
“Love you.”
“Love you too, Rosey.”
He hangs up, and I turn back towards the cottage. I want to call Aiden to find out what Dad won’t tell me, but I’d be interrupting so I’ll wait for a bit. He has work on Monday, so he must be going to take a late flight out tonight or early in the morning. I still send him a quick text message telling him not to do anything stupid if he’s tired and that I love him. I don’t have to wait long before I get the silliest selfie ever of Aiden and my dad drinking beer. They clearly have no idea what they’re doing with the camera, but at least I can see that they’re both okay, which I’m sure was the point. And it makes me laugh. Might just have to use it as my new screensaver.
I pick up a few pretty shells as mementos and take three deep breaths of the salty ocean air before heading inside.