RAIN DANCE

One

Of course, I’m not sure I want to do this but what choice do I have? I mean, I have but one life and I’ve fallen in love. That’s what we look for all our lives, right? This part hurts like you won’t imagine. Even my mother’s diaries failed to brace me for this. In modern terms, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. I feel like a vampire with a wooden stake through the heart (just had to put that in there!). Breathing is so painful. And don’t get me started on the mild hallucinations. He’s everywhere I look. In one afternoon, I can see him in the man with the red jacket or the dude waiting in a restaurant.
I brought this on myself, right? But what choice did I have? He swept into my life and all common sense left out the door. But then again I can’t complain. What I got from being with Aidan is far more than any treasure out of this world. He gave me safety (in a slightly perverted way), hope (if you don’t count these moments) and joy (excusing the countless nights I wept because I missed him). A hardly convincing case but what can I say; love more than roses and sunshine. 
It sucks like you won’t believe but, as I said before, what choice do I have? I don’t want to be like a character from a cheesy romantic movie. Not everything works out so well, at least not always. I can’t just pretend Aidan didn’t sweep me off my feet. There’s no switch I can turn on and off as I please. What if I do miraculously find the switch and turn off these feelings and I move on. Worst case scenario, I end up married with a baby. And then Aidan strolls back into my life and over rides my system and I realize that I still love him. What then? I can’t just sit tight and live with regret, hoping to die and wake up in another life with the same chances and decide to wait for Aidan.
I just turned eighteen and instead of hanging loose and going wild, I’m holding tight and making conscious decisions to stay sane. Lizzy’s off at college and I’m taking a gap year. We’re not that far apart but I miss her so much. We call each other a lot. Dylan’s a medical student. He loves it. Needless to say Chuck and the gang are also at university across stateliness. I’m yet to decide what I want to do with my life. In the meantime I’m working at a marketing agency doing all the petty stuff. Just keeping busy for a few months till... I was yet to find out.
I was stepping out for lunch when my phone started to ring. I looked at the screen out of habit. Ninety-nine percent of the time it was mum, dad and Lizzy. It was Lizzy.
“Hey you!” I said as I weaved through the crowded street. As much as I loved getting out of the office, I couldn’t get over how annoying it was walking through the busy streets.
“You will not believe what happened! Remember the guy I told you about from the party I went to like a month ago?” the excitement in her voice was hard to miss.
“Please don’t let your next words be; I think I’m in love.” I groaned. Lizzy was excited about only two things in her life; meeting a hot guy and falling in love with a hot guy.
“I think I am.” The excitement was still there. I wondered if Lizzy had felt the same nauseating feeling when I told her I had fallen for Aidan.
“Okay, I’m going to give you two seconds to put my sister on the phone. Who are you and what have you done with Lizzy?” I said sarcastically.
“Did I mention he’s a cop” Lizzy went on, ignoring my statement.
“My goodness, Lizzy! What did he catch you doing that a little harmless flirting couldn’t fix?” I went on with the mocking. I was not prepared for this. I hadn’t figured out if I was jealous or just worried about Lizzy.
“No, I’m serious. He’s absolutely amazing.” Her voice had turned into a tone I couldn’t place. Was she seriously whining to me?!
“If you say so.” I said dismissively.
“I want you to meet him.” She said suddenly. I was finally in the line at the restaurant closest to my work place.
“He’s that amazing?” I asked as I caught my breath.
“At first I didn’t think much of it but now.” She paused. She let out what sounded like a squeal and I almost puked.
“Lizzy, just hold on a second. Your love spell is making me a bit dizzy.” I said mockingly.
“So can you come tomorrow night? You can get to know him over dinner.” She suggested. Suddenly, the tables had been turned. I was the sane one and Lizzy was the irresponsible one. It didn’t feel as good as I’d hoped.
“Tomorrow? Can’t. I have to go for a party at Dylan’s and then I have supper with the folks.” I told her, taking my first step towards the counter.
“You and Dylan, hey?” Lizzy said. For the first time she sounded like her usual self.
“No.” I breathed. I couldn’t help smiling. “How about Sunday?”
“Sunday is great.” She squealed. I had never heard Lizzy squeal so many times in one conversation. “You’re going to love Ty.” She continued.
“Ah, he’s called Ty? You know what that means, right?” I said as I one customer closer to the counter.
“What?” Lizzy was already giggling. She had put up with me insistent Aidan giggling, I would put up with hers as much as I could.
“We’re going to have interesting family gatherings. Aidan; the thief and Ty; the cop.” I said with a laugh. The man in front of me looked back at me questioningly. I was so grateful I couldn’t blush.
“I gotta go.” She said when she’d stopped laughing. “I love you.”
“Me too. I’ll see you on Sunday.” And with that we hung up. The man in front of me got his order and giving me one look over he left.
I got my food to go. I didn’t enjoy sitting in a busy restaurant alone. Ever since I started working I found a new love for the outdoors. If there was anything I learnt, it was that I wasn’t a cubicle kind of person. But then again, who can be? The other reason why I liked the outdoors, namely the park, was because there were people. I would look around the park and just miss Aidan. And even though I was surrounded by people, no one stopped to ask what was on my mind. It was quiet and peaceful. I would lose track of time just thinking about him. Sometimes it made me smile, most times it brought me close to tears.
Thank goodness it was Friday. Once work was over I could go back to my apartment and maybe, soak in a hot bath. But before that, I had to go past Chrisadam Ice cream Parlour. The dream Aidan had been working on was finally a running very busy reality. Aidan thought it was a cool name. He had combined the names of his two favourite people, Leo had explained. I went past there and pick up my dessert every night. The place was always busy; night or day, rain or sunshine. I didn’t blame the addicted customers. Aidan’s place, our place, was the best hang out spot in town.
Because Leo lacked the proper managerial skills and organisation, he had hired Rose to manage Chrisadam. She was the prettiest, most organised and responsible lady I had ever come across. She was perfect for Chrisadam, after Aidan that is.
“Hi, Chris.” The manager said when I walked in. She looked tired.
“Hey, Rose.” The place was overflowing with people of all ages. “Wow, you guys are really racking them in.”
“We have two birthday parties.” She explained as she ducked through the excited crowd. She tried to smile at the customers but she couldn’t hide her exhaustion.
“Do you need an extra pair of arms?” I asked. The smile on my face was meant to show that I was serious.
“Well, one of my waiters called in sick last minute and I haven’t gotten round to finding her replacement. But I can’t ask you to help.” She was surprised by my offer. Rose was always surprised by my offer even though it had become a regular thing.
“Looks like you don’t have much of a choice.” I said looking at her haughtily. I could tell she really wanted to refuse.
“Well, if you put it that way.” Rose sighed “I don’t know what we were thinking hosting two parties at once.”
“Everyone looks satisfied, except you.” I pointed out. She was leading me to the kitchen.
“They don’t have much of a choice.” Rose said as she handed me an apron “We told them this would happen.”
“This is the best place around. I don’t blame them for wanting to be here.” I picked up a tray and went right to work.
“Anything created out of love is bound to flourish.” Rose shouted after me. I couldn’t help but smile.
As I moved through the crowd I couldn’t help but feel at home. Despite the crowd I could see the many times I’d come to the empty parlour and spent with Aidan. Our footsteps were the foundation of the place.
The night moved by so fast and I wasn’t the one having fun! It was painful working under pressure but somehow I loved it. The smiles that surrounded me made it all worthwhile. Not that I’d make waitressing my main vocation but working in Chrisadam felt good. Maybe it was because I felt like I was helping Aidan.
       When we finally closed at ten, I was exhausted. I sat on the stool by the bar as the rest of the staff cleaned up. My feet were killing me. Even so, I looked around and smiled. I stared at the long couch that Aidan and I created memories on. The torture of thinking of him was the only way I remembered he was real.
“Here you go.” Rose said as she handed me an envelope. “It’s your salary plus tips.”
“Thanks.” I wasn’t expecting anything but Rose was a difficult person to say no to.
“It’s not much, so don’t be all excited.” She said as sat next to me. She let out a yawn. “This is an awesome place.”
“I know, hey.” I said as I got onto my feet. “You’re doing an exceptional job.”
“What else can I do when the boss’ girl drops by every night.” She said with a laugh. She hopped of the stool. “Don’t forget your dessert.”
“Right.” I took the bag from the counter and hugged her goodbye.
We had gotten a car for our birthday which I gladly accepted when I heard that Jason wasn’t going to get fired because of it. Every time I drove from Chrisadam to my small apartment I couldn’t help marvelling at how my life had turned out. Just a few years before I had no idea I’d be working instead of going to school. And a few months before I had no idea I’d be living not so far away from home in a small apartment on my own.
My small apartment wasn’t really my small apartment nor was it very small. I just used very little of it. Mum and dad only let move out with the condition that I return home every weekend for supper. It wasn’t necessary for me to move out but I just like the idea of living on my own. The apartment belonged to one of dad’s friends who was out of the country for business for half the year and, after a great deal of begging, had agreed to leave it under my care.
  I crept into bed, too tired for a bath or anything else. I just wanted to sleep knowing that if I was lucky I’d sleep peacefully but if I was luckier I would dream of Aidan. With those hopes, I started to drift off to sleep. Then my phone began to ring. I jumped up, half-awake and half-asleep.
In the dark, my hands fumbled around until they landed on my vibrating purse. I didn’t even check who it was as I answered.
“Yes?” I mumbled angrily.
“Chris, why the hell weren’t you answering before? I called like a million times.” Dylan said. I could hear loud music and a lot of other noise in the background.
“I was working at Chrisadam.” I said as I crept back into bed. I didn’t even owe him an explanation but I’d just given him more than necessary. “What do you want?”
“I’m at a party.” I could hear people screaming and making a lot of noise as the music played in the background; surely, he didn’t think I’d assume he was anywhere else. For him to be stating the obvious he had to have been drunk.
“Good for you. What do you want?” I asked again annoyance threatening to chase my sleep away.
“Can I crash at your place?” he finally said. I don’t even know why I bothered to ask. I should have been expecting that. Dylan seemed to make it a habit since he started university.
“Can you, just for once, attend a party in your own neighbourhood?” the irritation was finally evident.
“What excuse will I have to sleep at your place?” I waited for him to stop snickering when he answered. “Sorry, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.” He added a little bit too late.
“You know where to find the spare key.” I mumbled as I hung up. I dropped the phone onto the floor and before my head hit the pillow I was out like a lamp.
The sun was high and bright when I woke up the following morning. I stumbled out of bed and into my bathroom. I smiled at the reflection in the mirror but only after my bath. Dylan was snoring on the couch, as I expected. He had managed to find the aspirin. Evidence of that was the empty bottle with the rest of the contents all over the table. I tried to ignore the mess as I made my way into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
“Wake up!” I shouted as I threw a pillow on Dylan’s head. I placed a cup of coffee on the table pushing aside some of the tablets he had spilt. Just to irritate him some more, I pulled the blanket from his slumbering body.
“No!” he grumbled. He turned over to give me his back. I grinned at my success, Dylan was indeed irritated.
“We have to go to your parents’ barbeque.” I reminded him.
“We?” his voice was filled with joy. He turned to look at me. I didn’t have to see his face to see that he was smiling. “You make it sound like we’re a couple.”
“Yeah, a couple of friends with an asymmetrical relationship.” I smirked “You need to stop using your family to get to me.” He to know I wasn’t that oblivious to his plan.
“I have to use whatever I can.” He took a sip of his coffee. “You won’t give me a chance.”
I groaned. “Do we have to go through this every time you pass out on my couch.” I got up and went to the kitchen.
He was making it more than impossible to spend time with him and yet I had no choice. He was the only one I had left to hang out with. Everyone else had left me and, I suspect because of me, Dylan had turned down the offer he had gotten to a better university far away. I wanted to push him away and yet here he was sleeping on my couch and occasionally making me laugh. Majority of the times I just felt guilty.
“What do you want for breakfast?” I asked when I couldn’t see his face.
“Anything is fine.” He said as he got up, taking the coffee with him. “I’m going to take a bath.”
“Please do.” I said with a grin. Dylan just smiled and went to the bathroom.
Dylan and I had gotten close.  Lizzy was the only other person who assumed it was because of me. She even warned me, begged in fact, not to lead Dylan on. Which I didn’t intend on doing but somehow everything I did seemed to encourage him. He was so stubborn and persistent. But I couldn’t worry about Dylan and his feelings, I had my own problems to deal with.
It was after one in the afternoon when I left the apartment to go to Dylan’s place. We had to take the taxi because I’d been having problems with my car. It felt like I was late. The place was packed and everyone seemed to know me. They all greeted me by name. I just smiled politely as they welcomed me. It was a bigger barbeque than I had expected. There were at least twenty-five people. I just smiled through each awkward greeting. It was a good twenty minutes when I finally found Dylan’s mum.
“Hello,” I said as she hugged me. “Very huge barbeque, only someone like you could pull it off.”
“Chris, thank you for coming.” She had the most amazing smile. It wasn’t my first time to meet her but I couldn’t get over how beautiful and warm she was.
“Anything I can do to help?” I asked. I knew what she was going to say before she answered.
“Well, there is one thing,” she said thoughtfully. For a second I thought she was going to surprise me. “You can go out there and have fun.”
“Are you sure?” I insisted knowing very well it was pointless. The way everyone was being so nice was starting to freak out. It was like they thought I was part of the family. I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. I would have been glad to scrub the floors as long as it kept me away from the crowd.
“Yes. Now, go before I have you washing the dishes.” Before I could take her up on her offer she pushed me out of the kitchen.
The moment I was out of the kitchen Dylan was by my side. It seemed as though he had been waiting for me. He had a plate of chops for me to hide the obvious fact. I knew it was wrong to be so happy to see him and the smiling wasn’t helping the situation but I couldn’t help it. Better him than the rest of his family. Besides, Dylan could be sweet when he wasn’t trying to make me his girlfriend up front.
The rest of the afternoon moved seamlessly. There were so many activities none of which gave anyone the chance to pry into my relationship with Dylan. Despite the curious crowd, it was the best party I’d been to in a long while. I wasn’t really surprised; Dylan’s mum was an event planner; naturally and professionally.
The sun was almost disappearing in the horizon when my phone started ringing in my pocket. I didn’t have to look at the caller ID to know who it was and I didn’t have to answer it to know what mum wanted. I was going to be late for supper, neither mum nor dad were going to be impressed.
“I’m sorry.” I said as I answered. “I’m on my way right now.”
“Where are you?” mum said calmly. I got more worried when she spoke so calm instead of shouting at me.
“I lost track of time. I’m with Dylan. I’m on my way home.” I blurted out. As much as it bothered me that mum liked Dylan, I knew that mentioning him would make the situation better.
“Just be careful.” She said before the line went dead. Dylan was looking at me obviously enjoying the little drama I’d put on. I looked at him and proceeded to walk past him. I knew he was pleased I’d mentioned him to mum.
“I have to go home.” I said as I looked for his mum in the crowd. She would be in the core of the laughter.
“I’ll get Marcus to drive you.” He suggested as he followed me.
“Why can’t you just…” I didn’t finish my statement as I remembered his accident. A suspended licence had gotten Dylan staying clear of the steering wheel. “Right, that’ll be great. Thanks.”
The drive to my parents’ was intense. The atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I felt sorry for his brother; Dylan was watching me through the rear view mirror. It was so obvious I couldn’t ignore it or pretend it wasn’t there – Dylan really liked me... a lot.
Marcus had turned the radio on to lighten the mood but nothing could make the huge elephant in the car go away. When we finally pulled into the driveway, I had never been so happy to get home.
“Thanks.” I said as I opened the door maybe too soon. Marcus’ lips twitched as though he was going to laugh.
“Don’t I get a kiss or something?” Dylan asked, covering up with a laugh. He tried to make it sound like a joke but it didn’t work making Marcus grin.
“Consider us even for letting you sleep on my couch.” I answered. I got out of the car and closed the door lightly, hoping that would compensate for the way I’d rushed out of the car. As much as I desperately needed Dylan’s friendship, I couldn’t ignore the fact that he wanted more than I was willing to give him.  
“Chris,” mum shouted when she heard the door close. I froze and took a deep breath. “Why are you late?”
“Dylan’s parents had a barbeque. I lost track of time.” I explained as I walked to where they were sitting waiting for me. I hugged her and joined them at the table. I smiled at dad. He wasn’t going to put his foot into this one.
“And how is Dylan?” mum asked after dad had finished blessing the food.
“He’s great. He brought me home actually. Him and his brother.” I said as I poked my food.
“Why didn’t you invite him inside?” she asked but her words carried a deeper question. I decided to ignore it and answer at face value.
“He had his brother. And I think our relationship is queer enough without me inviting him for supper with my parents.” I didn’t take my eyes off the plate as I spoke. “So, dad how was your week?”
“It was fine.” He said, taking a sip of his water before he continued. “Lizzy called me. When was it?”
“Wednesday.” Mum supplied joyfully. Mum seemed to feed of moments like these when dad required her assistance.
“Yes. She called on Wednesday.” He was looking at me and smiling. Something about the look in his eye made he think he hadn’t actually forgotten what day Lizzy had called. “I’m so glad you managed to come. I’d go absolutely mad spending so much undiluted time with your mother.”
“Don’t listen to him. I’m the one who’s really grateful you’re here.” Mum countered. Their playfulness wasn’t lost with years.
“Hence, why she has been annoying me.” Dad said and I laughed. What kind of formula gave you such a marriage, I wondered.
“You’re not eating.” Mum complained. I lifted a forkful of my salad and put it in my mouth as she watched and smiled.
“That’s not the reason why I’m here. I’m so full like you won’t even believe.” I played around with the vegetables in my plate. “I came to see you.” I reminded her.
“Thank you, sweetie.” Dad said, touching my hand and smiled. Seeing him smile at me like that made me realise that I would have done anything to keep that look on his face.
“I’m going to see Lizzy tomorrow. We’re having dinner.” I looked at mum as I spoke. She would be more jealous about this than dad. “It’s been a while. A month, almost.”
“Good.” She kept quiet for a while. “Are you sleeping here?” she asked after a while.
“Yes.” I didn’t want to but I didn’t have much of a choice. Her question was more of a plea. “Our room, this house, it feels so empty without her.”
“Is that why you moved out?” mum asked quietly.
“Mum, we go through this every time I come over. Just this one time, can we skip the re-run?” I whined. I took a long sip of my water.  She tried to smile at me in surrender but when she failed she simply looked at dad and continued to eat.
Growing up had turned out to be not as amazing as I’d imagined it. I mean, you struggle to grow up, meet the right guy, have children and they grow up and leave the house too. This leaves behind just you and your partner whom all of a sudden seems like a complete stranger to you. You’ve spent so many years being partners that you’ve forgotten how to be friends, lovers or soul mates. And that was what made me decide to save up and send my parents on a romantic get-away. They could afford it themselves but I wanted to do this for them as a thank you for all they’d done for Lizzy and I.
As I kissed them good night and left them watching television in each other’s arms, I smiled. At least they still loved each other. All I had to do was come up with the perfect setting. I could send them off at Christmas which meant I had about six months left to find the right destination. It was a good thing that I didn’t have bills to pay.
I got to our room to find it neat and tidy which meant mum had been spending too much time in it. I walked up to our closet and looked inside. Lizzy’s clothes were pretty much gone. I let out a sigh.
Since Aidan had left, I’d stopped caring about a lot of things including my phone. I had an alarm clock so my phone could spend the night in my purse. I rarely checked it anyway so it wasn’t a statement but more of an out of sight out of mind thing. I could go through the day and not even mind if it didn’t ring.
That night was no different. I slipped out of my jeans and tossed them into the washing basket, phone still in my pocket. When I’d changed into my favourite pyjamas I got into bed, not my bed, Lizzy’s bed and closed my eyes. No amount of praying, hoping and wishing would give me the two things I wanted most but I did three anyway. And then I drifted off to sleep wondering when I could have Lizzy and Aidan close...

“You’ll tell her that I send my love, right?” mum said for the umpteenth time. The morning had come and the dreadful and over dramatised good-bye had finally begun.
“Of course, mum.” I said as calmly as the first time even though I was rolling my eyes this time. I let her hug me again. I thought it was unnecessary considering that I’d see them in a week. Dad just stood watching me suffer. I guess that was the main reason he was smiling.
Finally she let go of me and I went to hug dad.
“You’d think you were going to war.” Dad chuckled.
“Have a great week.” I whispered into his ear.
“I love you, Christabell.” Dad said and stepped away from me and flashed me a wry smile. Leave it to dad to dramatize the simple situation by saying me full name.
“I love you too…” I looked at mum and added, “both.”
I got into the car. I wished they’d let me drive myself. But I had expected this when I agreed to spend the night at home. There was no way mum was letting me take a simple three hour drive alone. I cursed having forgotten to take my car to the mechanic. I smiled at Jason.
“So, there’s absolutely no way I can manipulate you, deceive you, convince you, hit you on the head and tie you up for you to let me drive myself?” I asked with an innocent smile.
“No way in hell.” Jason said without taking his eyes off the road. “Your mother has eyes everywhere.”
“At least I tried.” I mumbled as I started to flip through one of Lizzy’s old magazines.
Jason’s jazz music filled the car and the journey reduced with each musical note that played. I found myself humming along to some of the songs. The three hours I was dreading were measured by the songs I listened to. Who knew that calculating minutes in the terms of verses and choruses made time appear shorter? Before I knew it, we had arrived at the complex Lizzy was staying at. She shared the two bed roomed apartment with another girl. The two weren’t the best of friends but they seemed to co-exist under the same roof quite well.
“You brought Jason.” Lizzy said as she hugged me. “Shame on you.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t my idea.” Jason just smiled at me as I rolled my eyes at him. He waited for us to enter the building where Lizzy stayed before he went to find a parking spot. It was moments like these I felt like a spoilt brat.
The apartment was neater than I expected. Lizzy was doing quite well; she hadn’t driven her housemate, Carol, insane by living her laundry all over the place. She had even learnt the complicated art of cleaning after herself.
“Let me guess, Carol’s at the library?” I said when were finally in her room. I put my bag on her bed.
“A few more lucky guesses like that and you can be Aunt Rach’s apprentice.” Lizzy said with a laugh. I hugged her again, pretending to strangle her for the insult. I had missed her so much.
“Go ahead, freshen up. I just need to get dressed.” Lizzy was rampaging through her wardrobe. I smiled, that was the Lizzy I knew. “Ty is meeting us at this really cute restaurant. You’re going to love him.”
“You mean I’m going to love the restaurant.” I corrected her.
“Nope, I mean him. Ty is great.” She said flashing a smile at me. I shook my head and went to the bathroom. Clearly, this was worse than I had imagined. I had, for some foolish reason, thought I’d convince her to slow down.
It took us quite a while to get ready. We spent so much time just talking, this being our first reunion in a month. And also, Lizzy kept fussing about what to wear. She was behaving so weird, so in love. I sighed, not in exhaustion but warily as I got ready to finally meet Ty. Now, for the first time I could fathom how Lizzy felt when I was falling in love with Aidan.
We couldn’t have left early enough, I was dying to meet this guy who had Lizzy drowning in love. Like a gentleman, a very good looking gentleman if I could say so myself, Ty was waiting for us when we arrived. He had found us a nice table for four. At first I hadn’t noticed the fact that we were sitting at a table for four when there were empty tables for three but it hadn’t been the food or the sitting arrangements I had travelled to see. I was there to meet and, with no shame, to assert Ty.
When we had gotten to the table, he stood up, hugged and kissed Lizzy. Little pangs of jealousy whirled within me. He didn’t waste much time before he introduced himself. I had to smile to cover my scrutiny.
“Chris, it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you.” I offered my hand. I was about to correct him and make him call me Christabell instead of Chris but I held my tongue. I wasn’t going to make it easy for him to charm me. “I’ve heard so much about you, it’s like I practically know you.”      
“It’s nice to put a face to all those rumblings.” I said as I grinned at Lizzy. Just a little pay back for the way she behaved when Aidan was around. She glowered at me and then laughed, maybe to cover up for the way I was trying to embarrass her.
“I invited a friend of mine to join us.” Ty said as we sat down. I frowned at him in confusion. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“A friend?” I asked. He looked at Lizzy and Lizzy looked at him apologetically. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll go see what’s keeping him.” With that Ty jumped up and left the table. I watched him leave before I looked at Lizzy who still had the apologetic look on her face.
“Don’t be mad.” Lizzy whispered.
“You set me up?” I hissed. “I have a boyfriend!”
“I just thought that you might want to keep your options open.” Lizzy said with a smile.
“I can’t believe you!” I shook my head and sighed “If this is an attempt to keep me off Ty’s case, well it’s not going to work. I’m going to watch him like a hawk.” I scowled. The words were out of my mouth before I had processed them.
“Like a hawk?” she chuckled. “Seriously?”
“Shut up!” I said as I giggled with her. Hearing it back, I realized how silly it sounded. “What did you tell him about Aidan?” Suddenly my face was serious.
“Nothing,” There was undeniable sincerity in her voice. “Honestly. The guy is a thief, how do explain that to anyone; cop or not?”
Before I could answer, Ty was back with his friend, Martin. Martin wasn’t bad looking but I wasn’t interested so I didn’t pay much attention to him. It got a bit annoying when he tried to get to know me. All I was interested in was Ty and finding out just how suitable he was for Lizzy.
He seemed like an alright kind of a guy but definitely not my type. He was so in control of everything and he seemed to like it that way. However, he failed to control Lizzy, no one I ever met could. The strange part was that he seemed to enjoy her that way. He made her happy. I couldn’t ignore that, no matter how hard I tried and believe me I tried. By the time we had dessert I had seen enough of their adorable behaviour to last me a life time.
“Lizzy, can you watch my bag?” I asked as I stood up. I needed a second to get some fresh air even if it was in the bathroom; anything to get away from the revolting stink of love that Ty and Lizzy were emitting. I also needed to get away from Martin who was about to ask me for my number. I needed space to come up with a polite way to shoot him down.
“So,” Lizzy said as she skipped into the rest room after me. I sighed before I could stop it. As it turned out, I needed a break from Lizzy’s insistence with Ty. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
“Is there a question somewhere in there?” I said with a smile. She pushed me playfully.
“You don’t like him?” her face became downcast so fast I was actually shocked. I knew as I looked into her eyes that I had to pick my words carefully. She cherished what I thought about Ty.
“I didn’t say that.” I began cautiously. She her face sobered a little, Lizzy wasn’t one to be side tracked by politeness but this time she was desperate for me to like him. “He’s great. A bit too mature but great.”
“He’s only twenty-six.” She said as she fixed her hair.
“I take that back,” I was grinning as I spoke. “He’s very mature.”
“Not that mature!” she yelled. That made me laugh. “I can’t explain it,” she begun and I knew that she was going to ruin the moment by talking about how much he was amazing. I had had enough.
“You know what?” I cut in, “Ty is wondering what’s taking us so long. Let’s go before he calls for back up and a SWAT team.” I pushed her towards the door.
“I’m sorry about the blind date.” Lizzy said as we walked out.
“Are you, really?” I asked suspiciously.
“He’s not that bad.” Lizzy said, completely avoiding my question.
“Then you can have them both.” I snapped just steps away from our table before I put on a fake smile.
When dessert was finally over, I was so surprised to see the time. It was just after seven but I knew that Jason and I would only start our drive back at eight. I said a quick good bye to Martin and prayed he understood that nothing could come from this date.
“Stay a little bit longer, like overnight.” Lizzy gravelled.
“Are you crazy? I have work tomorrow.” I reminded her.
“It was nice to meet you.” Ty said overly politely. I looked at him and didn’t bother to smile.
“You too. Take good care of my sister.” My voice was stern, all pretence was out the window. I went to the car and waited as Lizzy said as her long goodbye to Ty. I couldn’t help thinking of Aidan as I watched Lizzy with Ty. I missed him so much.
It was all I thought about as we drove home while Jason listened to his jazz music. I offered to drive but he refused to let me. I needed to preoccupy myself lest I broke down into tears. I rested on the backseat and fell asleep. I hadn’t even realised I was tired. Jason woke me up when we’d arrived at my apartment. It was after eleven when I passed out on my bed in my apartment. The following day would mark the passage of eight long, complete months since I’d last seen Aidan.