Over and Over Again | ONC 2023

Chapter 11

"Hey Aurelia," Max greeted her with a kiss on the cheek once she buckled herself into her seat.

"Hi Max! Happy anniversary." Aurelia was already in a good mood, she looked forward to Sundays now that they had become their regular date days. They gave her a sense of normalcy in her life, despite being the furthest thing from normal. Being with Max made her feel like an average twenty something year old, taking the gradual steps towards the milestone of settling down with somebody.

She even forgot about Derek sometimes. Not Derek himself, she knew she never would, but the connection between him and Max. Aurelia had decided a few months into the relationship that she simply imagined everything – missing Derek so dearly made her start to see him everywhere, when they had been nothing but coincidences. 

She cared about Max, much more than she thought ever possible after she swore off love. But deep down, she knew there was still a thin wall protecting her heart. No longer impenetrable, he had chiselled away at it – enough that she was no longer afraid, no longer afraid of loving again. She loved him enough to stay together, but when the inevitable day of their separation came, she knew she had kept enough distance to give him up.

Because in the end, he was simply just another mortal. She would meet millions more like him.

He raised his eyebrows, pretending to look shocked. "I'm surprised you remembered," he said, "you're constantly losing track of time."

"Hey," she pouted and gave him a playful nudge. "Of course I remember! You chose to ask me out on April fool's day of all days."

He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "Anyways, let's get going before we miss the movie."

-

"I still can't believe you made us sit through two hours of that garbage," Aurelia chortled as they headed around the house to the backyard. She could already hear the sounds of music and excited children screaming.

"Hey! It's research," he grumbled. "The movie is a hit in all of those mom groups, there must be something I'm missing."

Aurelia smiled endearingly at him. "You should relax, Max. Might I remind you, you just got your second book published, and with a major publisher this time!"  

He blushed a bit. "Thanks Aurelia, no one has been as supportive as you have."

She tried not to wince at the memory. Max's parents weren't thrilled when he broke the news; he was quitting his job to focus on writing full time. His brother was a software engineer and his sister was a surgeon – they couldn't relate to his artistic ambitions. It was the most awkward dinner Aurelia had ever been forced to sit through.

Maria, however, was thrilled. She still loved books, and a book written by her favourite uncle was even better.

They opened the gate into the backyard. It was colourful chaos; streamers, balloons, snacks, a bouncy castle, children running around, and a giant banner that read, Happy Birthday Maria!

"Uncle Max! Aurelia!" They heard Maria call excitedly from somewhere in the sea of children. "You came!"

The birthday girl appeared, wearing a party hat and fluffy purple dress. Her face was painted to look like a cat, except she had pink frosting smeared on one cheek. She came running face first into them, but the two quickly caught her in a tight hug before she could crash into them and injure someone again – more specifically, herself. 

"Of course we did! Happy birthday!" Aurelia said and handed her a gift bag. They had managed to find a copy of Maria's favourite book signed by the author. It involved traveling to another continent, where they were on a book tour, but they both knew that seeing a smile on Maria's face would make all of the trouble worth it. "How has the party been going?"