Hopefully, they don't change their minds after Aiden agreed to fly out here. My brother seems to think he has been depressed, and something like this could send him over the edge. He doesn't seem down, besides about messing up this meeting, but I could be wrong. I've only been around for a week and he might be good at hiding things. Although, I've always been able to read him well.
I turn the water off, grab the towel off the bar, and wrap it around my breasts, tucking the end inside. The second towel is used to dry my hair a little bit before twirling it and tucking the end inside around my ear. Aiden always found it weird that I do this, but I can't be the only girl that uses two towels. I find it weird to use the same towel I used to dry my hair with to use on my body. What if hair is all in it, then they will stick to your wet body. No thanks. I'll pass.
"You still do that, huh?" he says, peeking into the bathroom.
"And you still like to sneak up on me... some things never change."
The smile drops from my expression, and I bend over, taking the towel from around my hair, and using it to dry it more thoroughly. There's another thing I recently stopped; blow-drying my hair. Instead I let it air dry, which means I always have to shower way before I need to be somewhere so it's possible to do that. It already makes the world of difference. After getting most of the water out of it, I take my scrunchie and throw it up in a bun to finish drying while I get ready.
I hold the towel around my breasts and make my way to my closet. It's a pretty big walk-in, with many shelves for purses. Most of my wardrobe consists of nice dresses, heels, and purses, but that's mostly for work. Today is a casual day, and I find myself perusing my jean collection. Even though I don't need to, I still occasionally go into thrift shops to see what I can find for a good deal. My hand wanders over the bottom of the jeans. I found these bell bottoms at the end of a sale rack close to a year ago, and still have not worn them out of the house. It's time. After putting on some underwear, I shimmy them up around my waist, and the fit is perfect.
"Wow, that's something I never expected to see you in," Aiden says, sneaking up on me again.
"Jesus, can't you announce yourself? You are going to give me a heart attack."
He rolls his eyes. "They just called. Meeting at one at a place called Mon Ami. Wherever that is."
"It's a French restaurant. An expensive one. They must still be doing good," I laugh.
It's not like I'm hard strapped for cash, but how do they know we can afford a place like that to eat? People who are wealthy don't think about things like that. They don't look at the prices on the menu, they just order whatever they desire. I'm not to that stage in the game yet, but would love to be someday.
Aiden is leaning against the doorframe of the closet, watching me. I would ask him to stop, but I kind of like it. So, I bend over, and take a look at what shoes I am going to wear with the jeans, they have to have at least a little bit of a heel since the bell bottoms are long. There you go. I pick up my black wedge booties and slip them on and pair them with an old Rock N Roll t-shirt.
"Is that the t-shirt you got from our Aerosmith concert sophomore year?" he asks, coming closer.
"Sure is. Looks practically brand new, don't it?"
I never wear it around the house, and it's been hiding in the back of my closet for who knows how long. "That was a great concert. You asked me to be your girlfriend that night."
This is one of my fondest memories of us. At that point, neither of us had come clean about how we felt, and when he asked me to be his girlfriend, my heart nearly exploded. There I was, wondering if I was being stuck in the friend zone, and would never have a shot with him, and then he turned around and asked me to be his girlfriend officially. The rest of the concert we held hands, but he didn't kiss me goodnight. Even then, the night was still perfect.
I look at the clock, and get a move on. I only have thirty-minutes to get ready, and get us to the restaurant. We can't be late. So, I hustle past him to the bathroom to finish putting some product in my hair to help with the curls, then lined my eyes, and roll on some lip gloss.
"Is that what you are wearing?" I ask.
"Of course, not," he says, almost like he didn't understand my question. "I'm going to put a Polo on. The jeans are okay though, right?"
I nod, leaving him to change, while I rush downstairs to put my coffee cup in the sink to wash later. There's no time.
"Come on, let's go. It's about a twenty-minute drive there, more if we hit traffic," I yell.
He runs down the stairs, all the muscles in his arms and shoulders flexing underneath his polo, and then out the door he goes. I jump into my car, push to start, and then back out of the driveway. If I take Heather Lane, I can cut out the traffic on Elm street. It's still lunch hours and everyone will be scrambling to get food right now. Better if we miss that entirely. So, I turn left and cut across onto Elm and then take it all the way down until we hit Strozier and hit a red light. Once it turns green, I make a right turn, and pull into the Mon Ami parking lot.
"It wasn't that far."
"Yeah, we got lucky. I've been here a bunch and knew the back way."
I stop the engine, and unbuckle my seat belt. "Everything is going to be great. They've met me. From what I remember, they are nice, but they are wealthy, so don't overreact about the menu prices. I'll cover lunch."
"Are they that bad?" His eyebrows wiggle.
"For someone who lives in a small town, yes. Let's go."
I open my door, and shut it behind me, taking a deep breath before approaching the front door. This meeting can determine whether we get to know anything about our son, and that makes me nervous, but on the same side, I know how Aiden feels, and he is going to need some support. He clams up easily, and it'll be worse knowing this will hold the future of his relationship with his son.
He stands at the reception, and I put my hand in his and whisper in his ear. "Everything's going to be fine. Just breathe."