“Why did you say yes?” Kent asks, his glasses slipping down his nose. He corrects them, one finger pinning down the page of inventory he was putting in the computer. “You realize you could have said no?”

“She didn’t give me a date, dude!” I drop my forehead onto the counter. “How are you supposed to say no in a situation like that? I guess it’s not too late for me to get sick, quote unquote?”

“You’re such a little liar,” Kent snorts, turning back to his papers.

“Kent! This man was the bane of my high school existence, and he is still so awful. If you had been in that car you would understand. He’s just like this smarmy, I’m so much better than you cause I only need to travel with a backpack, beard-guy, who-”

“Jesus, Jamie, take a breath.”

“Is there like, a project you need my help with? Specifically on Friday?”

“Here’s the thing, man, she just said soon, so if you cancel on Friday, she’ll probably just make you reschedule with him for like, Thursday. Right?”

I lift my head to glare at Kent.

“Why are you not more sad for me? Don’t you love me?”

“I love you like you’re my own brother, you know that. Honestly, I’m more surprised that you seem more upset about this than about, you know, that funeral yesterday?”

“Grief manifests in many different ways, Kent. You’re always reading psychology books, didn’t they teach you that?”

“You’re standing here complaining to me about something you volunteered for… well, voluntarily.” He finally looks over at me, setting his papers down. “You need to learn to turn people down sometimes.”

“I do turn people down all the time.”

“Really? Okay. Well, can you do me a favor?”

“No.”

“Pick up a shift tomorrow night. I feel like taking the night off.”

“No. See? No.”

“Oh, okay.” He raises his eyebrows. “I just wanted to take Ellen out to the movies.”

“Oh, what? Why didn’t you say so? I didn’t realize you were being serious. Of course I’ll do it.”

“Jamie.”

“What? Oh.” I press my knuckles against my eyes. “That’s not nice, Kent.”

“I’m trying to make a point, here.”

“Are you, or are you seriously asking, because I can’t tell, and I don’t have any plans tomorrow night, and I don’t want father-daughter bonding time to get canceled on my account-”

“Oh my god, Jamie, listen to yourself! You gotta start putting your foot down at some point. Call up Ms. Callahan, tell her you’re sorry but that you just can’t do it.”

“Maybe I will, how about that?”

“Great. Fantastic.”

“Fine. Watch me!”

~~~~

It feels very on-brand that Aiden is late coming to the flower shop for his ride. To top everything off, it’s pouring rain, so I hope that wherever I’m dropping him isn’t that far away. In car years this thing is like, Ms. Callahan-aged, and the wipers could probably use replacing.

I’m sorting seedlings at the front counter, carefully ticking off how many came in on the inventory sheets, so that Kent can input the info into the computer later while lecturing me about something or other. There’s one customer floating around the store, some guy from out of town, I think. I suppose I’ll wait until he’s done and then call over to Ms. Callahan’s house and see what’s going on.

The moment I settle on this plan, the store phone rings. The customer walking around drifts over to the counter.

“Hey,” he begins.

“Sorry, just give me one second!” I pick up the phone and tuck it between my shoulder and ear, as my hands are covered in a light layer of topsoil. “Hello, this is Fresh Flowers, how can I help you?”

“James, is that you?”

“Oh, Ms. Callahan. I was just about to call you. Aiden still isn’t here yet, are you sure you gave him the right time?”

“Um, mind if I-?” begins the customer.

“One second, sorry,” I mouth at him, holding up a finger.

“What! I was just calling to make sure he made it alright. He must be there by now, he left almost a half-hour ago.”

“Well, I’m afraid he most definitely isn’t here,” I answer, setting down the seedlings and brushing off my hands.

“Sorry, but-” What is this customer’s deal? I hold up a please-wait finger again and turn to face the back of the shop.

“You don’t think he got lost in the rain, do you?” I continue, into the phone.

“Well, it’s such a short walk, I can’t imagine - are you sure he didn’t walk by the storefront? Maybe he overshot it. He was wearing jeans and a reddish flannel, one with a grey hood?”

I pause, then turn slowly to look at the customer waiting in front of the register.

“Oh. Oh - he is here, Ms. C. My bad, my bad. He’s here just fine we’ll call you later uh love you (??) uh bye.”

Aiden and I stare at each other over the counter for a moment. I can feel that my cheeks are aflame, and I’m so embarrassed that I almost feel dizzy, which for some reason makes me cross my arms defensively.

“You could have said something!” is what I come out with.

“I think you’ll find I actually tried to, a number of times.” He folds his elbows onto the countertop. “It’s not my fault I can’t get a word in. You and my aunt have that in common, you know. Not letting me get a word in.”

No fucking wonder I didn’t recognize him. His entire beard has been shaved off, and someone’s given his previously-matted hair a nice cut, too. He doesn’t have his sunglasses on, or a hat, like last time. He looks just - way different. God. Way different.

“Why didn’t you say anything, why were you just walking around for like fifteen minutes?”

“It seemed like you were focused on what you were doing,” he explains, nodding to the seedlings, “And I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Oh, ha, ha.” I put them aside and unhook my coat. “So where are we going?”

“Here.” He slaps a piece of paper down on the counter, and I pick it up. It’s just his handwriting, a scribbled out address.

“Oh. That’s only like a fifteen-minute ride from here. Not so bad.” I scoop my keys out from under the register and flick off the lights. “Just flip that switch on the far wall and we’ll go.”

In the car, the wipers battle hard against the onslaught, and Aiden settles into my front seat.

“So, what’s the deal with the makeover?” I ask, as we set off. “I can hardly be blamed for not recognizing you. I still barely even recognize you.”

“My aunt wasn’t into my old look,” he explains, with a grimace. “I realized I could either submit to the clippers or listen to her ask me to over and over again. This way just seemed easier.”

And looks better. Way better. Like, he had a face under all that scraggle, and I mean a face. He has low eyebrows that match his shiny brown hair, a slightly upturned nose. His cheeks are a little hollow beneath the bone, but his jaw is wide and his skin has a healthy glow. In some ways he looks like the Aiden of high school, but I have to look closely to see it. He’s much more like his high school self in terms of demeanor and countenance: the relaxed way he’s leaning back right now as if this were his car and not mine, for example. He never worried about anything and he didn’t care about anything and I remember just thinking how easy my life would be if I could just be that way-

But it’s all in the past.

“You want me to put it into Google Maps or something?” he asks, pointing to my phone in the cupholder between us.

“Oh, no. I pretty much know every inch of Ketterbridge at this point. A skill few can boast.”

“Very impressive.” He smiles, and I’m a little struck by it. He never smiled at me once in high school, aside from nasty smirks, and this is also my first time seeing it without the beard. He has nice teeth. “I guess I just didn’t expect you to know a random address on a residential street,” he adds.

“Residential street? I’m pretty sure there’s like a coffee shop right next to the address you gave me. A few stores, too.”

“Oh, really?” He frowns at the piece of paper in his hand. “Hmm.”

“What’s at the address, then?” I ask, flicking on my blinker. “Are we visiting someone, or-?”

“I forgot how fucking nosy people are back home,” he sighs.

Oh, okay. Right. I got disarmed by the smile and forgot who I was talking to. It’s fucking Aiden Callahan, and he is a grade-A asshole. I lapse into sullen silence, and if it bothers Aiden, he makes no indication. I didn’t put any music on at the start of this drive, and I am not about to take my eyes off the road, not after what happened. So we’re resigned to riding in this awkwardness, I guess.

“Hey,” Aiden begins, some ten minutes later, “I wasn’t trying to be an asshole.”

“Well, then you must have a natural talent for it,” I answer crisply, pulling over and putting the car in park.

“What, are you kicking me out?” Aiden asks, one eyebrow arched.

“No. We’re here. That’s the place, right?” Aiden turns in the passenger seat to look out of the window. I was right: there is a coffee shop just before us, and next to that, a stationery store. Above both are two levels of what look like apartments. “I’d ask whether you’re here for coffee or stationary, but I feel like I can guess, and I also don’t want to be nosy.”

Aiden sighs deeply and pulls the grey hood up over his hair. “Be back in a few minutes.”

“Wait, what? You’re just gonna make me sit around in the car for an indefinite amount of time?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck that, I’m at least gonna get a coffee.” I pull up the hood of my jacket and hop out after him.

“Can you just stay in the car, man?”

“Why are you so against literally walking into a coffee shop with me?” I breeze past him, headed up towards the shops. “I don’t even care, I’m getting a latte, so, come in or don’t.”

Aiden makes an irritated huffing sound, hurrying into the shop behind me.

“You’re so annoying!” he hisses, for whatever reason trying to keep his voice low.

“Okay, tell me something I don’t know,” I answer, cruising up towards the counter and pausing to look up at the oversize chalkboard menu. “Listen, I’m not crashing your thing, I’m just gonna get a coffee and then -”

“Aiden Callahan?” comes a cool voice to my right. Aiden and I both turn, to face a willowy woman in a pale green blazer. “I thought that was probably you. Find the place alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. You must be Carrie.”

“Yes.” Carrie smiles brightly, her eyes lingering on the finer points of Aiden’s face, and then jumping over to mine. “Oh, hello! Aiden didn’t mention he was hunting for two.”

“Um.” I glance between Aiden, who looks about as comfortable as someone who just stepped on a sea urchin, and Carrie, who is still all smiles. “We-”

“Don’t worry, we don’t have to talk about all of this down here. Are you guys ready to go up, check it out?”

“Actually, Jamie is probably just gonna stay down here,” Aiden begins, trying to pin me to the spot with his eyes, and Carrie waves a hand dismissively.

“No, what? Come on, he has to see it, too! I bet he wants to see it, don’t you, Jamie?”

Oh man. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s great to see Aiden this annoyed.

“You know, I would just love to see it,” I answer, and Carrie beams at me.

“No time to waste! Come on, the entrance is around back.”

Aiden tries to snag my arm as Carrie leads us back out onto the sidewalk, but he can’t say anything without being overheard, and he resigns himself to a menacing look. I stick out my tongue, and Aiden makes an extremely rude and totally disproportionate gesture back. Carrie, a few steps ahead and entirely unaware of the small silent drama unfolding behind her, leads us around the side of the coffee shop, where a small set of stairs is tucked against the wall. I really have to wonder where the hell we’re going now, especially when Carrie ascends the steps and Aiden follows in her wake. She unlocks a door at the top and we both follow her through it.

It’s… nothing. Literally, it’s an empty apartment.

“So, the rent is super reasonable,” Carrie says, flipping on a light switch. “There’s a really cute kitchenette. Let me show you.”

Aiden, who now looks resigned to his fate, steps after her towards a kitchenette that looks like a bunch of children’s play toys next to a guy his size. I am left staring after him. I had no idea that I was taking him apartment hunting. Oh, god - and now Carrie thinks we’re looking for a place together. I feel a smirk crawl across my face slowly.

“There’s a dry cleaners about two shops down,” Carrie is saying, “Which is great, because it’s super convenient.”

“Oh, that is convenient,” I cut in, and they both turn to look at me. “Cause he goes through a lot of dry cleaning, don’t you, babe?”

Carrie is too busy smiling at me to see Aiden’s mouth absolutely drop open.

“I get that,” she says, leaning in towards me as if we’re planning a little conspiracy. “My boyfriend leaves his dry cleaning everywhere. I’m considering issuing an ultimatum.”

“Clean up or clean out,” I murmur, and she giggles.

“Okay!” Aiden has recovered slightly, and now has his hands stuffed obstinately in his pockets, his cheeks a little pink. “Can you just - give us the rest of the tour, then?”

I refrain from fucking with him for the remainder; I mean, I don’t actually want to mess up his apartment-picking process, I was just trying to get on his nerves a bit. He listens quietly as Carrie extolls the virtues of this truly tiny apartment. He looks like a guy trying to walk around a dollhouse. When we get back downstairs, Carrie tells us about the amenities of the area; the bar right across the street, the fact that it’s a pet-friendly area, a park further down the road. She shakes our hands with a wide smile and extracts a promise that we’ll let her know if we think of any questions, or if we’re ready to make the jump.

Aiden looks pretty disconsolate by the time we get in the car, to the point that I actually almost feel bad for him. We sit in silence for a moment, him with his arms folded over his chest, and me with my lip between my teeth. Maybe I shouldn’t have fucked with him, or whatever.

“Hey. Should we get a coffee? Cause we forgot to, with all of that.”

“I’m fine.”

“What kind of coffee do you like?” I press. “No, wait, I bet I know. It’s like a black coffee, with no sugar and no milk and no straw and no lid.”

“Do you ever stop talking?” he groans, pressing his palms over his eyes.

“No, so if it annoys you, you should probably start getting rides from someone else.”

He looks at me through his fingers and, to my surprise, lets out a low, huffing laugh.

“Jesus Christ. Okay. I’m actually a caramel macchiato guy.”

“Um. What?”

“Come on, let’s just go.”