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“Slow down, Dad! What happened?”
“Your mother…your mother…she had a seizure. She needs the surgery, she needs it now!”
My father is falling to pieces over the phone, and I begin to feel faint. He somehow communicates to me through all of his blubbering that because of the seizure she had, she now needs to get into the operating room as soon as possible.
I feel the phone begin to slide out of my hand as he continues weeping hysterically. I turn to see that Aiden is still sitting in his car in the parking lot. I squeeze the phone, feeling desperate, a bit humiliated, but also intensely terrified.
I cannot lose my mother. My father would be an empty shell of a man if that were to happen. The business would almost definitely go over then; he would have no reason to push through any of our troubles. And all of this is secondary to my biggest fear:I cannot lose my mother.
“Dad, I will call you right back, okay? Please keep your phone on.”
He accepts, still weeping, and I begin to run out into the parking lot.
Aiden’s car pulls out just as I start to run after it like I’m in an action film. I start to call his name, like he is going to hear me through the racing wind.
“Aiden!”
He drives on, and I stop running. I press my palms to my thighs and breath hard, more panicked than tired. I take my phone from my pocket and text him quickly, feeling my hands shake with fear.
Turn around. I want to talk to you about your proposal. I’ve changed my mind.
I send the text. Only a few seconds later, I hear the screech of tires. I look up to see that Aiden didn’t make it too far down the road before reading my message. I am elated as he pulls back into the lot, parks the car and nearly leaps out.
I simply have no other choice. I would do anything for my mother, for my father’s sanity. Even if it means pretending to be some attractive man’s wife.
I will play the best damn wife that ever did exist if it means keeping my mother alive.
Aiden comes to me, a bashful but eager smile on his face.
“Do you mean it? You want to hear me out?” he asks, enthusiasm bubbling up under his voice.
“Yes. Let’s go back inside.”
14
AIDEN
There is only so much I can do to try to convince this lady. I am not going to force someone into a situation they are uncomfortable with. That would be disrespectful.
But as we sit down together in that booth in her coffee shop, I am the most desperate I have ever felt. I feel the phantom sting of my father’s slap, warning me of what comes next if I can’t persuade her.
I want to use all of the words I have in me to explain to her what I can do for her. I am a very wealthy man and willing to make this more than worth her while.
She looks at me with her stunning, sage green eyes, and I can see the skepticism there. A part of me wishes she would just open up to me, let me help her. If she would tell me what she needed, I could find a way to assure her that I can make this beneficial for both of us.
It’s hard to know what to offer someone when you know nothing about them. Even harder when they don’t seem to want to listen. And if I can’t get her on board, I have nothing.
She says no, and desperate as I am, I can’t really blame her. Who would willingly want to get involved in this mess? The biggest thing I have to offer is that I can afford to give her anything she wants, but she won’t even tell me what that is.
I try to coax her a bit longer but quickly give up. I can’t force her when she has made her rejection plain. Desperate as I am, it’s time to let this ridiculous idea go.
I drive out of the lot, feeling hopeless. My face aches from my father’s slap, not so much from the pain but from the sense of doom. My life before me seems full of darkness, and there is nothing left for me to do to fend it off.
As I drive off gloomily, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I normally don’t look at my phone when driving, but I had a gut feeling that I should check this time. At a stoplight, I flip it over quickly.
It’s from Josephine. She is asking me to come back.
My body reacts before my mind has the chance to accept what is going on. I hear the tires screech as I spin the car around, blasting back to the coffee shop. As I pull back into the lot, I see her. I am elated at first, eagerly rushing her back into the coffee shop so we can talk this over.
