I wake up warm and cozy in Aiden's arms, my cheek against his chest. Blinking sleepily, I lift my head and find him already awake, his blue eyes lingering on my face.
"Mmm. Hi." I snuggle closer and brush a good-morning kiss onto his lips. "What are you thinking about?"
He smiles, breathing out a soft laugh.
"Nothing.” He traces a finger down my jaw, and I make a face at him.
"Okay, weirdo."
“I’m glad you’re up,” he murmurs. “I need to get ready for work, but moving you felt like a crime.”
I laugh and roll off of his chest, curling deeper into the blankets. “Go on, I won’t get in your way.”
In my half-asleep haze, I hear the pattering of the shower. The soft buzzing of an electric razor. Footsteps back into the bedroom. I roll over and watch as Aiden buttons up his shirt, runs a brush through his damp hair, and snaps his watch onto his wrist.
He sits down on the edge of the bed and ruffles my hair. The combination bodywash-aftershave-deodorant smell clinging to him is extremely yummy. I wish I could pull him right back under the blankets.
“I have to go, or I’m gonna be late.”
“Okay. Is it cool if I stay here for a bit? I don’t normally get up this early. My shift doesn’t start for another - I don’t know. Many hours.”
“Stay as long as you want.”
“Thank you.” I sit up to kiss him again - this time a longer one, minty from his toothpaste - then cuddle back into the pillows. “Have a good day at work, babe.”
There’s a silence. I open one eye to find Aiden just looking at me again, that little smile back on his face.
“What?” I ask drowsily, blinking up at him.
“Nothing.” He leans down and presses a kiss against my temple. “Go back to sleep.”
~~~~
“Alright, Kent, I hear you, stop shouting!”
“I’m not shouting!”
“Are you sure about that? Because I’m holding my phone like three inches away from my ear right now! I can’t even understand what you’re saying. Start over, please.”
A pause.
“Okay. I’m sorry.” By the sound of his voice, he’s talking through clenched teeth. “The principal called. I need to go pick up Ellen. They’re sending her home for the day. I don’t have anyone to cover the shop, so can you please come in early, and I’ll take your late shift?”
Oh, no. I exchange a glance with Kasey across my kitchen countertop. She can hear him, even though the phone isn’t on speaker. She bites her lip, wincing.
“Kent - don’t worry about your shift, I’ll work a double.”
“No, listen, we have a huge order - we have to make a bunch of leis, for some reason-”
“I’ll make them.”
“There are centerpieces, too.”
Fuck. “No problem. Whatever.”
“No, goddamnit, it’s too much for one person to do, Jamie, and I need them by tomorrow morning! There’s not even a design, they just said ‘electric luau themed’, which I don’t even know what that means-”
“Kent. I'm trying to help, and you're yelling at me.”
“Well - I need to yell at someone, and I’m not going to yell at my child!”
I press my fingers against my forehead. I forgot about this personal policy of Kent’s. One that he and Julia very much disagreed on.
“Look, I’ll get it all done. I promise, okay? Just leave the order sheet on the counter.”
A silence.
“I’ll just give it to you. I’ll pick you up. I’m on my way to the school right now. Can you be ready in like half an hour?”
“I - was just gonna walk...?”
“Please just let me. This is too many favors for me to ask without doing something in return.”
“I’m not keeping score of-”
“Jamie.”
I stop again, tapping my fingers on the counter.
“Okay. I’ll be ready.”
I hang up and set the phone down.
“Woof,” Kasey says. “That was-”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds like you’re about to have a long day.”
“Any ideas on what the fuck electric luau themed means? Because it sounds like I need to work up a centerpiece design pretty quickly.”
“Um.” Kasey shrugs. “I’ve never been to a luau. Isn’t Raj from Hawaii? He can probably tell you how to make it authentic.”
“I get the feeling that this particular client is not bothered about authenticity.” I rub my eyes, wishing I was back in the warm cocoon of Aiden’s bed, snuggled up with him next to me.
“You’ll think of something.” Kasey drops her gaze to the papers spread out all over the counter.
“What is that stuff, by the way? Why’d you have me take it out?”
“Old homework.” She traces her fingers over the pages - or through them, I guess. “I’m looking at some essay and short answer prompts. I want to work through them again.”
“Seriously? You’re redoing old homework? Uncoerced? Jesus, Kase-face.”
“Not doing it. I can’t write anything down, but.” She straightens up, her dark eyes narrowed. “I need to decide what to ask William next. Now that I understand what I’m asking him to do, I don’t want to waste a single question, but - I’ve been thinking about it too much. I need to think about something else and then come back to it. So. Yes. Old homework.”
“Okay... What question are you working on? Lay it down on me.”
“It’s from a 500 level course, Jamie.”
“Hey, I know some history. C’mon, read me the prompt. The answer is probably Abraham Lincoln.”
“Alright… ready for this? The steppe deities depicted in the carving - Fig. 3A - are not shown killing the felines, but rather pinning or taming them. Based on the readings, is the intention here one of narration or presentation? Use examples to back up your argument. For bonus points: discuss the Achaemenid elements present in the scene, and how they reflect on the influence of cross-cultural trade.” She taps the paper, one eyebrow raised. “You want to see the picture of the carving?”
“Okay. You know what? I’m gonna go take a shower.”
My phone buzzes while I’m waiting for the water to heat up. A surprising notification pops onto my screen.
Ripley 🎶 1:24 PM: (Attachment) legendary.jpeg
I open up the picture he sent me and let out a gasp of laughter. Apparently Ripley had his phone out when Noah pool-noodled his way into history. The photo is just Noah’s legs, sticking out of the water at crazy angles, one noodle shoe flying through the air in a blur of color, the other hanging from his flexed foot. One of his legs is bent, the other extended all the way out, like a ridiculously ungraceful upside down ballerina, mid-pirouette.
When I’m somewhat recovered, I open up a new message.
New Group Chat - Companion Plant 🍃, Noah ⚡, Raj 🔨, Ripley 🎶
Me 1:27 PM: (Attachment) legendary.jpeg
Me 1:27 PM: Let’s all appreciate Ripley for capturing this moment tbh
By the time I get out of the shower, there are replies.
Companion Plant 🍃 1:31 PM: OMFG
Companion Plant 🍃 1:31 PM: Ok nearly spat out my coffee
Raj 🔨 1:32 PM: Where do I order stuff with custom photos printed on it? You know, like coasters, mugs, calendars? Anyone got a link?
Noah ⚡ 1:33 PM: YESSSSSS RIPPLES THANK U FOR CAPTURING MY MOMENT OF GLORY
Companion Plant 🍃 1:34 PM: Extremely curious about what Noah thinks glory means
Noah ⚡ 1:34 PM: Just wish you could see my face, tho
Ripley 🎶 1:36 PM: There are others with your face
Ripley 🎶 1:36 PM: You look very
Ripley 🎶 1:36 PM: Determined
Me 1:38 PM: Yeah gonna need you to send ALL of those to the chat, dude
Raj 🔨 1:39 PM: This is perfect timing, actually, I was just thinking about what art should go in the living room. You can get photos blown up really big, right? What’s the picture quality like, Ripley? Could this go on a tapestry?
Ripley 🎶 1:40 PM: Very high quality, definitely go for it, send pics.
I head to my bedroom and dig my comfiest flannel out of the closet. It’s going to be a long day.
~~~~
Uncomfortable silence reigns in the car. Kent is gripping the steering wheel very tightly, and Ellen is in the backseat with her arms crossed and an angry little frown on her face.
“Ellen,” I try. “You alright back there, bud?”
She turns to look at me, and the scowl grows deeper.
“No. Dad is mad at me.”
Kent sighs, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
“No, baby. I’m not mad at you.”
“I can tell you are.”
“No, it’s just-” Kent cuts himself off, his jaw working. “We’ve been over this, El. You can’t interrupt the teacher while he’s talking.”
“What if I have a question?”
“Then you have to wait until he finishes talking.”
“I can’t remember what my question was by the time he finishes talking!” Ellen says, tossing her hands up in the air. It’s actually a very Kent-like gesture, and it would make me smile if it were in any other context.
“Then - you need to write it down, or something,” Kent answers. He glances at her in the rearview and softens, finally relaxing his grip on the wheel. “Would it help if we get you a notebook just for your questions? You can pick it out yourself.”
Ellen crosses her arms again and stares out of the window.
“Is Mr. Romello mad because he can’t figure out how to fix me?” she asks, very quietly.
Kent swerves the car to the side of the road so suddenly that I jolt against my seatbelt. He puts it in park, unstraps himself, and twists around in the seat to look at her.
“Did someone say that to you?”
“No, but-”
“El. Listen to me. Really listen, please. Look at me.” He reaches for her hand, and she takes it, biting her lip, her brown eyes welling up. “You don’t need to be fixed. You’re not broken. You’re just - different, but I love that about you. We need to fix the situation, not you. Okay?”
She blinks at him a few times, then nods. He releases her hand, faces forward again, and sits in silence for a moment, his expression blank.
“Kent?” I ask softly. “Do you want me to drive?”
He shakes his head and puts the car back in gear.
~~~~
Kent needs to get his bag from the shop, so we leave Ellen in the car for a minute. I follow him into the back room and lean against the wall, watching while he gathers his things up.
“Kent-”
“I barely know what to say right now.” He shoves two binders into his bag; I guess it’s inventory input from home, today. “At some point-” He stops, leaning his palms against the work table.
“At some point…?”
“At some point, I have to wonder if I’m doing the wrong thing. Talking to Ellen about how she’s treating her teachers, when I should be talking to the teachers about the way they’re treating my daughter.”
I move to put a hand on his arm, and he gives me a quick, grateful look through his glasses.
“Is there another school you can send her to? I think she’s really smart, she just-”
“I know that she’s smart. I actually think that she’s brilliant.” Kent sighs and snaps his bag shut. “But the other schools aren’t going to take her, not with her grades. I don’t understand this whole fucking system, honestly. Don’t the kids with the bad grades need the most help? So why is it that only good grades get you into these schools that-?”
I give his arm a little squeeze, and he breaks off.
“Look, why don’t you call Gabby when you get home? My mom says that sometimes after a bad day all you need is someone to hold onto.”
Kent laughs tiredly.
“Yeah, that sounds like your mom. But right now I think I actually need to be that person for Ellen. She’s clearly just as frustrated as I am, that’s why I can’t bring myself to think she’s doing any of this on purpose.”
The bell over the shop door jingles, and Kent settles his bag across his chest. We move together back out onto the floor. Ellen is at the counter, poking at some seedlings. She stops immediately when she sees us.
“I told you to wait in the car, baby.”
“I’m sorry.” She fidgets her fingers, a guilty look on her face.
Kent opens his mouth to answer, then stops, staring at her, his eyes filled with obvious affection. He moves suddenly and sweeps her off the ground, slinging her over his shoulder. She lets out a surprised, high-pitched laugh, grabbing for handfuls of his shirt.
“Alright, come on, you. You still have homework, and I’m going to sit with you while you do it.” He swings around to look at me, holding Ellen in place by her legs. “Jamie. Thank you.”
“Of course, man.”
I watch Kent push a still-giggling Ellen back into the car, then turn to look at the order form he left on the counter.
“Okay,” I mutter to myself. “Just what the hell is an electric luau?”
~~~~
“Am I slowing you down, keeping you on the phone? Don’t you need your hands?” Aiden sounds like he’s walking somewhere - to his bus, probably? Or no, he should be home by now. It’s starting to get pretty dark out, and I closed the shop an hour ago.
“It’s okay, I’m using my headphones.” I carefully snip the ends off of some dried lavender. “This theme is absurd. I can’t fathom what this event is going to look like.”
“Yeah, it sounds... questionable. And I’m sorry that you have to work late.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry. I literally called to apologize.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Well-” I put the sprig of lavender next to the others on the counter, checking that the lengths match. “It’s because of me that we had to cancel our little milestone celebration thing.”
Aiden’s huffing laugh is sweet even through my headphones.
“Turn around, dummy.”
I blink and look up, my gaze roaming around the shop until it snags on the door.
Aiden is standing there, just on the other side of the glass. Still in his work clothes, sleeves rolled to his elbows, his phone pressed to his ear. He smiles and holds something up: a brown paper bag with the Big Belly Deli logo printed on the front.
“Come on, Jamie. You didn’t really think I was going to let us miss it, did you?”
I realize that I’m just staring at him with my mouth hanging open. I yank my headphones from my ears, dart around the counter, and unlock the door.
Aiden leans through it to kiss me.
“Hi,” he says, his mouth still against my mouth.
“Hi.” I’m smiling like an idiot right now, cupping his cheeks in my hands.
“Your fingers smell nice.”
“It’s lavender.”
“I like it. Can I come in?”
I lock the door after him, and he sets the bag down by the counter.
“Sorry, I know that you’re really busy, but I figured you had to take a break to eat at some point, anyways.”
“Don’t be sorry for literally any aspect of this, honestly.”
“Cool. I was worried I might be interrupt-” He breaks off, staring over my shoulder. “Damn, Jamie. Did you make those?”
I turn and follow his gaze to the row of centerpieces on the counter.
“No, don’t look at them! They’re not done yet!” I spread my arms out, a completely useless thing to do when Aiden can simply look right over my head.
“They're beautiful. Where did you find all these silver flowers?”
“Those are actually tropical flowers that I sprayed with silver paint and glitter.” I point to the empty cans by the register. “I had to go outside to do it. I got some weird looks. And there’s a silver patch on the sidewalk now.”
Aiden huffs out a soft laugh and takes my hand in his.
“Is that why your fingers are silver?”
“Maybe.”
“And your hair is glittery.”
“Is it? Shit.”
He presses a kiss into my knuckles, then drops my hand and kisses my mouth instead.
“Nice first day of fall, don't you think?” His smile is somehow brighter than my silver fingers.
“You know what?” I answer, leaning in for one more kiss. “It really is.”
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