Chapter Nine
Zayden
Aria had somehow convinced me to redo the dinner with her mother, but go about things a little differently this time. For one, she had picked me up in her car, a blue Ford Taurus that she managed to drive pretty well but kept me on my toes the whole time nonetheless. I wasn’t sure I had sat in a car quite like it before. It was incredibly small, the seats felt like they were made of plastic, and my legs were hurting from the little room in her front seat.
“You okay, there?” she asked, eyeing me quizzically.
“Yeah.” I smiled, trying hard to ignore the discomfort. “I’m great. I’m with you.”
That had the desired effect of making her blush, to my relief, and she didn’t ask me any more questions regarding my comfort for the rest of the ride.
We pulled into her mom’s driveway, and I was met once more with the foreclosure notice.
“How long does your mom have the house?” I asked Aria as we walked in.
She shrugged nervously. “I am not sure. She’s had the notice for a while, but my mom doesn’t like to discuss it with me very much. She feels guilty, so I don’t ask her questions.”
“Hmm,” I said, thinking I would figure out how to help them out of this situation soon.
Molly received us with a huge smile, despite the way I had walked out of here the last time.
“Thank you so much for coming over again,” she said joyfully.
“Of course! I am sorry I had to run out the other night. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. It was just…” I looked at the floor, afraid to accidentally catch Aria’s eyes. “Stuff came up at work, you know how it goes.”
“Absolutely!” Molly exclaimed. “Don’t worry about it. You must be busy running the bank. I am grateful that you could make some time to come over again. Aria, why don’t you take Zayden into the living room and you guys hang out while I prepare dinner?”
“I…let me help,” I said uncertainly. “I am not too bad of a chef myself.”
“Oh, he’s brilliant,” Aria chimed in.
Molly looked uncomfortably from me to Aria and back. “That’s quite wonderful of you to offer, but I can’t possibly…you’re a guest here.”
I waved my hand nonchalantly. “Please. I insist.”
“If you want.” She shrugged.
“I’ll set up the table and the living room and you can help him, Mom,” Aria said brightly and walked away, leaving me to join her mother in the kitchen.
“So, what are we in the mood for?” I asked, surveying the kitchen. It was small, but very well structured. I quite admired the simplicity.
“I was going to make some steaks.” Molly still looked nervous.
“That happens to be my specialty! I can throw in some sautéed vegetables as well. You can chop them up for me if you feel like it. But really, feel free to just go hang out with Aria in the living room. You made us a delightful dinner the other night as it is.”
“Don’t be silly, I want to help,” she said, pulling out the chopping board and some mushrooms and zucchini.
As we worked on the dinner, Molly began opening up somewhat. To an uncomfortable degree, almost. Her questions were getting a little intense.
“So, Aria was telling me you have been married before. Your ex-wife, where is she now?” she asked casually while chopping onions, like she might as well have been asking about the weather.
“Uh.” I was completely stumped, unsure how to take that question or answer it. “She’s around. I’m not sure where, we don’t exactly keep in touch.”
“That’s not what I heard,” she said, looking up at me for a brief moment, and then changed the topic like that hadn’t just happened. “So, how long have you been seeing Aria?”
“I’m sure she has told you, Molly.” I was trying hard not to be frustrated, but I knew where she was going with this and didn’t feel like I deserved an interrogation after all that I had been doing for her family.
“Yes, but I was hoping to hear your side of the story. It’s quite alright if you’re not up to telling me much.”
“Fine,” I snapped in spite of myself. “I have known her for a few months now and have been fond of her since the very first time I laid my eyes on her.”
“That’s a rather odd way to put it, don’t you think?” she asked, giggling, as though ensuring that the tone of the conversation remained outwardly light. “You couldn’t very well be fond of somebody just by looking at them. If you hadn’t spoken to her yet, then surely you mean you just thought she was attractive?”
I tried hard not to grunt. I cared about Aria a lot, and I was here in her mother’s house for the second time in the past week because she was important to Aria. Therefore, the fact that she approved of me for Aria had become very important to me. I didn’t want to ruin that just because Molly was asking too many questions I didn’t feel like answering.
Deciding to do my best to keep my cool and humor her, I said, “Sure, I pursued her at first because I thought she was attractive. Let’s be honest, isn’t that why anyone pursues anyone? All these talks people have about superficiality is such complete bull, because physical appearance is the first thing anyone can see, and that’s always what draws people in. But that said, after the initial attraction passed, it became so much more. Every time I spoke with her she sounded brighter and more intelligent than half the staff in my bank put together. Her wits, her charms, her sheer confidence, all those things blew me away. I wasn’t exactly expecting or preparing to fall for your daughter, Molly. We have quite a large age gap, and I assure you, I am aware of it. I’m not simply exploiting a young woman. She is so mature for her age! I am sure you know! You raised her to be this way. Most women my age wouldn’t be able to live up to half of what Aria has in terms of personality and brilliance. You should be proud of your daughter. You have created quite an extraordinarily exquisite human being.”
“Wow,” she said, stopping her chopping and looking like she had just escaped from underneath a train track. “I don’t know what to say…you’re right, she is quite extraordinary, and obviously, I am proud of her. I just wasn’t sure what you were…I mean, someone of your stature and prominence, I just wondered how someone like you would take interest in my little Aria…And then you have been paying all this money for my hospital bills…don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it. But as a mother, you can’t exactly blame me for thinking it all seems a little too good to be true?”
“I love your daughter, Molly,” I heard myself say, startling the both of us. I had yet to say it to Aria herself or even admit it to myself, but it had just come out of my mouth in front of her mom, defiantly, as though daring her to question me any further.
“You do?” Her eyes were wide open. She was certainly taken aback, and the effect was satisfying. Within a few seconds, Molly reverted back to her jovial self. “Of course you do! Well, I am glad to hear it. Aria deserves the best, Zayden. She has been through a lot and lives an extremely tough life for a 20-year-old. She deserves more happiness than the world can even offer.”
“I plan to make her happier than in your wildest imaginations. I agree with you that she deserves it. So there is not much point having this discussion, really. Should we carry on with preparing the dinner, then?”
She said cheerfully, “Of course! You seem to be doing a marvelous job with that steak. I can’t wait to try it.”
Glad that she was finally done quizzing me, I put all my efforts into dinner, making sure to perfect it to really impress her. My words were all well and good, but I suddenly felt this burning need to outdo her somehow; to show her that I could make Aria as happy as she does, if not more. While I appreciated her mother’s concern – in some ways it only showed how much Aria was cared for – I also felt that I had already proven my dedication by meeting with her the second time. Not to mention all the money I had invested into their family.
Trying not to dwell on that aspect very much, I began to set up the table where Aria was waiting for us.
“How did the dinner preparations go? Did Mom drive you too crazy?” she asked, looking genuinely concerned.
“Not at all. We had a good time, considering we have a whole lot in common.”
“Do you?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Well, for one, we both care a lot about you.” I grinned, making her blush once more.