Page 72 of Stained Hearts
“When you were a boy, maybe six years old, you had an invisible friend named Oscar. He was like Hobbes to your Calvin. No matter what you did wrong, it was always Oscar’s fault. You broke a neighbor’s window when you threw a baseball and it bounced off the tree in the back, and when we questioned you, you swore up and down it was Oscar who did it.”
Apparently I was failing to see the point here. “What does this have to do with—?”
“I wasn’t stupid enough to believe it then, and I’m not any stupider now.”
Of course not. “I never thought that.”
She scowled. “Then stop acting like I am. What’s going on with you?”
A deep sigh rolled out of me. “I never imagined a life without Brian. You know he was my everything.”
“Yeah, I know. And you were his. What’s up?”
I dropped my head against the wood door of the cabinet with a thud. “I’m to the point now where I can’t think of a life that doesn’t have Aiden in it.”
Mom chuckled. “Can I tell you something? Those people out at the table? I can’t imagine not having them in my life either. If your father and I do decide to go traveling, I hope to hell that we’re back here every year, sitting with them.” She moved closer. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting Aiden in your life, you know that, right?”
“Oh! No, Mom. I’m perfectly fine wanting to have Aiden in my life. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I turned to her. “I’ll be frank. I’m not sure. And before you ask, I don’t want to talk about it until I have it clear in my head, okay?”
She nodded. “That’s fine. Just know that I’m here for you, okay?” When she put a hand on my arm, I almost blurted out everything, but that wasn’t for today. And I needed Aiden to hear it before I told anyone else.
AIDEN’S ATTITUDEafter we got home was astounding. He was practically floating on air. There were songs being sung while he was in the room we’d converted to his workshop, there were happy noises as we snuggled on the couch at midnight to watch his favorite movie—The Rocky Horror Picture Show—and when we crawled into bed that night, there was a lot of touching and snuggling.
“What’s up with you?”
He put his head on my chest. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I know Mom didn’t give you too much sugar, but you’re acting like you’re buzzed. What’s going on?”
He sighed and slid a hand over my stomach. “While we were sitting down to dinner, I realized something. This will be my first holiday with a boyfriend.” He paused. “Or do you prefer lover? What’s the proper word?”
“Boyfriend is fine.” I stroked my fingers through his hair. “And this makes you happy?”
“Uh, yeah. I honestly never thought it would happen. I kept thinking that no one would ever want me, you know, like I am. I was resigned to staying with Olivia for the rest of my life because….” He paused and dipped a finger into my belly button. “You know my legs are probably going to get worse, right? The way it is now, I’m spending more time in the chair than I am at my walker.”
“If your legs get worse, we’ll deal with it.” I gave his hair a tug to ensure I had his attention. “What do you think is going to happen as I get older? Have you seen me squint when I’m reading a menu? I have more hair in my ears than on my head, and—”
A loudthwackfilled the room as he smacked my stomach. “You do not.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest at his defense of me. “See there? You look and only notice the good things, but not the other stuff. I’m getting older—parts will wear out. Who knows? One day I might end up in a wheelchair too. We can race down the street or something. But it’s inevitable that I’m going to need glasses one day, maybe a hearing aid, and definitely a Weedwacker to get through the underbrush growing in my ears. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m going to be there for you, come what may.”
“And I’ll be there for you.” Aiden chuckled. “I’ll even give you a head start on the wheelchair races.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” I reached for him and pulled him closer. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
He sighed. “I’ve been putting off your window, so I’m going to head to the school and work on the finishing touches so I can have it ready for Christmas.”
We’d taken the window to where Aiden had done his training. For a modest fee, they let him work on the equipment there. I wanted to build him a studio so he could do all the work from home, but our place didn’t have that kind of room.
“You know I don’t mind waiting.” I ran a hand over his leg. “I’ve got something even better here in bed with me.”
“I know, but I want this for you. You’ve done so much for me, and I want to do this for you. Okay?”
“Sure. After breakfast, I’ll take you there.”
