“If you want to go in with us, we can split the cost three ways. How much do you have left in your account?” Normally, I wouldn’t ask such a personal question, but he might not even have enough to help.
“Around two hundred thousand dollars, I think,” he responds, taking another sip of his beer.
That’s it?When he turned twenty-one, there was over a million dollars in that account. Has he really been that foolish to spend so recklessly? I resist the urge to yell at him; it isn’t my place.
“We would split the cost, but until we decide on which property, there’s no telling how much it will be.”
Aiden’s age encourages him to make crazy impulse decisions, and not consider the repercussions. “Screw it, I’m in.”
The three of us clink our beers together. Our family has been around misfortune enough.
“What about that estate over on Dupont?” Aiden chimes in.
“I’ll call tomorrow and see if we can look at it. We should see several properties before we make a decision,” I reply, snatching my keys. “I’m heading home. We’ll talk more once I’ve spoken to Mark.”
It’s been an exhausting day, but it’s only a little after six, which means it’s time to head home and find something to eat. The quiet gets to me and for the last two years, my solitude is going to work to break up the depression and silence. I try not to let it get to me anymore, but sometimes it sneaks up without me knowing it.
As I pull into my driveway, Tessa creeps up in my mind, reminding me of our last interaction. I’d been trying to rustle up the courage to ask her out, but always fell short. It was a Thursday, my day off, and I decided I was finally going to do it. When I walked into the grocery store, there she was, checking someone out, and so I acted like I was shopping until she was free, only instead of paying attention to where I was going, my ass knocked over a display of Cheez-Its. They all went tumbling to the ground, and everyone in the store came to stare.
“Are you okay, sir?” Tessa asked, laughing. “I keep telling my boss we should move the display to the side, but no one listens to me.”
She began to pick up boxes, and I helped her. “I’m so sorry about this. I really need to watch where I’m going.”
It took about twenty minutes to get all the boxes picked up and put back together on the display. I don’t really say much, still embarrassed, but I wasn't going to run out of here like a little girl. However, my nerve to ask her out was completely lost.
Maybe today is a sign that I should buckle down and just ask her. Maybe it’s a way of fate telling me to stop being a pussy and go for it.