Page 26 of Patio Lanterns

“Son, I am proud of you,” Rick said. “You don’t have to jump into this deal to prove anything to me.”

Aidan pulled back the tab on a fresh can, and it opened with a slow hiss. “Look, I know this isn’t easy, especially after the way we left things, and I know we still have a lot of bullshit to work through. But maybe this could be a way to save on therapy and move past all that. This is a chance for you and me to build something… together.”

Rick needed a moment to collect his thoughts, catch his breath, and get his bearings. He knew he had never been Father of the Year, and the guilt dogged his conscience for not being present in Aidan’s formative years.

Four months after they eloped, he and Julie both realized it was over between them. They were nineteen and in way over their heads, mutually deciding it would be best to go their separate ways and pursue the lives they wanted. Rick, a promising wide receiver in university, was eligible for the CFL draft the following year. Julie wanted to get her master’s in education. Better to admit their mistake, part as friends, and move on, they figured. No hard feelings.

They had begun proceedings to formally end their union when Julie discovered she was pregnant. A kid? Rick certainly wasn’t ready for fatherhood at twenty. They hadn’t talked about having a family, probably because they didn’t have a snowball’s chance of making it that far anyway.

Although they’d considered staying together, neither one was thrilled with the idea of pumping the brakes on the divorce for the sake of bringing up a kid together under one roof. Julie had things well in hand with child-rearing, and Rick provided for them financially, sometimes working two jobs in addition to finishing school and playing ball. Anything Aidan needed, it was his. After all, it was the right thing to do. The only thing Rick knew how to do.

Through the years, he put in some effort to make it up to Aidan, but living four provinces away didn’t exactly help the heart grow fonder. Rick bought the lakefront cottage with his son in mind, imagining that someday, they’d be swimming and fishing and having meaningful heart-to-hearts by the water’s edge. But because he chose to stay out on the West Coast building his business, he just never got around to creating those special moments with his son.

Now, Aidan was sitting across from him, offering up a chance to make up for those lost years. Or so he said. One thing was for certain: if Rick had been carrying around his regrets inside him like a keg, then Aidan had just tapped it, twisted it clockwise, and released decades of pent-up guilt.

“Look, Aidan, I admire your ambition, really I do…”

“If things go well, we’ll get to be part of some of the most valuable projects in Muskoka. And with some of the big names attached, it wouldn’t take much to expand this across the country. Who knows? It might even take off into its own series someday. Like a Selling Sunsets in Cottage Country.”

A TV series? If that was seriously his end game, he really did have fucking stars in his eyes.

As if sensing what Rick was thinking, Aidan backtracked. “Look, I know I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, I need help scraping together this partnership payment,” he said. “And don’t worry, I’m still working in the meantime. I haven’t quit my day job yet.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Rick said. “All the same, I’d like to review your contract first.”

Aidan waved off his father’s concern. “Aw, come on. You don’t have to worry about that. This is all legit.”

“I do worry about that, son. I don’t want it to turn out that someone’s trying to take advantage of you.”

Aidan really had no idea what it was like being stabbed in the back, professionally speaking, the knife cruelly twisted by someone you believed had cared about your best interests.

Rick had started his business after his football career ended abruptly. That itself was a shock to the system. He had no inkling that he’d been cut from the team until his agent called to break the news the night before training camp. He’d spent the winter rehabbing his knees, hoping to squeeze one more season out of them. After giving the team his loyalty and solid locker room leadership for the better part of a decade, after earning respect as a mentor to his younger teammates, after helping them win a Grey Cup, they released him without a courtesy heads-up.

Yet, he picked himself up and channelled his energy into a brand—new endeavour. He’d always had a head for numbers, some finesse with stocks and investments, and a way with people. His reputation as a former football star helped him to sign clients and get his company off the ground; a company that grew for twenty years thanks to his own sweat equity. And then it all came crashing down. Again. After his trusted partner and friend pulled the rug out from under him, stealing away his opportunity to decide the fate of the business he’d sacrificed everything for, including his relationship with his son.

Rick was still grappling with the after-effects of those betrayals, and never wanted Aidan to suffer the same thing. He would do anything to protect him.

“Look, Dad, I appreciate what you’re saying, but I’ve got it under control,” Aidan told him firmly. “For now, I just need to know if you’re in or out. Can I count on you to have my back?”

“You know that I’ll always have your back, Aidan. But I’m afraid I’m going to need a little more time to think this through.”

“Yeah, sure,” he said, looking a little dejected. “Take whatever time you need.”

Rick exhaled. “I hope you know how happy it makes me that you felt you could talk to me about this. Whether or not we can do some kind of deal, I really want us to keep working on our relationship.”

“I want that too,” Aidan said. “In fact, I was hoping we could start spending more time together.”

Rick smiled. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Yeah?” Aidan grinned.

He nodded. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Well then, maybe we could start with dinner tonight.”

“I’d love to. You want to go out and grab something or—”

“Actually, I’ve already made plans for us. You know the Blue Canoe Cottage up on the hill?”

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