- Aiden -
I shouldn’t have been looking at office plans at work, but I had a few minutes to spare before I was expecting anyone to interrupt me. Plus, I needed to make a decision soon, and my options were neck and neck.
They were both about the same price, and I could argue why each was a better location until I was blue in the face, but one of the properties was slightly bigger. As a result, I was torn.
A bigger space would give me more room to grow my business in the future, but it was also more costly to furnish and decorate. On top of that, the sort of business I was in required an intimate environment that wasn’t overly spacious. I always preferred to treat clients in smaller rooms, for example, as opposed to in gyms or on the field.
I don’t know why that was. Maybe a lack of surrounding sensory information made people better able to concentrate on the task of describing their pain or focusing on their muscles. Regardless, both properties would need some work once I gave my realtor the go ahead.
Overall, the decision was really stressing me out. In the beginning it was just a fantasy. So it was pure fun shopping around, picturing where my equipment would go, and imagining where the receptionist might sit while the phone rang off the hook.
But now that I was so close to pulling the trigger, the decision felt real and heavy.
I wished I could speak to Lucy about it. She was always the best person for me to talk to when I was trying to work through a big decision, mostly because she just listened and let me work it out for myself. My parents were too opinionated to hear out my concerns. They always brought concerns of their own, things that weren’t even on my radar.
I knew they meant well, but they didn’t understand the business I was in which made it impossible for them to buy into my vision. In fact, I still got the feeling my Dad thought I was making a huge mistake, like he was waiting for me to call and admit defeat, put on a tie, and go work for him.
Little did he know that the thought of that only spurred me on. I wanted the way I spent my days to mean something. It’s not like I thought there was anything wrong with him devoting his career to making people richer. That was fine. Somebody had to do that. I could see why it was important work.
But I wanted to make people better. I wanted to work with muscles, not numbers. With people, not excel. Just the idea of how often he made decisions based on “gut feelings” was enough to fill me with dread.
I wanted to make decisions that I could back up with science. I wanted my clients to trust me because I was an expert based on years of study and experience, no magic or gut feelings involved.
I was reaching for my water bottle when I heard a knock on the door. I gathered the floor plans on my desk into a pile and shoved them in my top drawer.
“Come in,” I said, laying my palms on the desk.
“Hey Aiden. It’s me.”
“Tommy. How are you?”
Tommy stepped inside and closed the door. “Good, thanks. Think you could wrap my shoulder like you did yesterday?”
“Of course,” I said, pushing my chair back and standing up. “Did it help?”
“Well, I tried not to push it anyway, but it definitely gave me piece of mind.”
“Well worth it then.” I raised my arm towards the padded table in the corner. “Have a seat there.” I heard Tommy’s weight come down on the table as I turned towards the cabinets behind my desk.
“How have you been?” he asked.
“Fine, thanks,” I said, setting the athletic tape and a pair of scissors down on the counter.
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” I said, turning around. “Why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You’ve just been spending less time on the pitch lately.”
“It’s temporary,” I said, carrying my supplies towards him. “I’ve just had a lot of admin stuff to catch up on lately. You know how it is.” I set the tape and scissors down next to him as a text came through on my phone.
“Feel free to check that,” Tommy said, pulling his shirt off. “I’m in no hurry. Half the guys aren’t even here yet.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, walking around my desk and lifting my cell. Lucy’s face was like a knife in my guts, but I opened her message anyway.
And there it was, the million dollar question: did I still want her to go to Claire’s wedding with me?
I sighed. It’s not like I could say no. My sister’s the one that wanted her there. Plus, she was supposed to do Claire’s hair which meant she was probably a more important member of the wedding party than I was.
“You okay?” Tommy asked.
I set the phone down. “Yeah, fine.”
“I’ve never seen you make a face like that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Like pissed and sad at the same time.”
I shrugged. “I just fell out with one of my friends. It’s no big deal.”
“Whatever you say.”
“It’s fine. Really.”
“Is your friend a girl?”
“Yeah, but-”
“Say no more.”
“It’s not like that.”
“You don’t have to explain to me. I’m having my own girl problems right now.”
“Oh?” I pried, infinitely more interested in talking about his relationship problems than mine.
“My girlfriend got into some financial trouble and didn’t tell me. Now the problem is way bigger than it ever needed to be.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, man.”
“I don’t even care about the money, ya know? I’m just pissed she wasn’t straight up with me.”
I nodded and pulled a length of tape from the roll. “But you’re going to work it out?”
“Of course we’ll work it out,” he said. “We’ve been together for two years… which is basically my longest relationship by a year and eleven months.”
I smiled.
“I’m not going to throw it all away just cause she made a stupid mistake.”
“Right.”
“I just need some space is all,” he said. “Besides, she knows she fucked up and that’s good enough for me.”
“Really? Why?”
“Cause all women are crazy. They all lie. They all live in their own fantasy world. They all thrive on drama and blow things out of proportion. It’s a fucking epidemic.”
I smoothed a piece of tape down on his shoulder and pulled another strip from the roll.
“So the question isn’t whether or not Kim’s crazy. Cause they’re all crazy. The question is, am I willing to put up with her crazy to be with her?”
“Makes sense,” I said, smoothing another piece of tape down.
“At the end of the day, if we broke up and I found someone new, she’d be a nutter, too. Guaranteed.”
“Probably.”
“So I’m going to let her stew so she knows I’m pissed and doesn’t do it again, and then I’m going to forgive her and we’ll be fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Because her brand of crazy is one I can’t live without.”
“Does she know this?”
“Fuck no. She’s in the dog house.”
“I see. Well, your secret is safe with me.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s that feel?” I asked, patting his shoulder.
He stretched it out in front of him and then to the side. “That’s great, Aiden, thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime,” I said, walking back around my desk.
Tommy pulled his shirt on over his head.
“Have a good practice,” I said, taking a seat.
“You coming out to watch?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be out in a bit. Just need to wrap up a few things here first.”
“You mean text your lady friend back?”
“If she’s lucky.”
Tommy smiled. “Good luck with that, man.” He reached for the door. “I hope it works out for you.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Me too.”