“Really? Wasn’t she psycho?” he asked as he reached for the butter.
His use of the word psycho jarred me a little, mainly because I knew he’d gotten that idea about her from me. That had been my usual nickname for her after the incidents in high school. But even if I’d thought she was a little psycho back then, I should’ve chosen the words I’d spoken aloud more carefully. I felt like shit right now.
“She had her moments, yeah. We pretty much hated each other, talked shit about each other. But a lot of it was my fault.”
While we continued waiting for our food, I caught Eric up on the situation with Aspyn and explained why she’d been assigned to chaperone the outings. I also reminded him of the reason behind some of the crap she pulled on me in high school.
I sipped my beer and stared down at the bottle. “Anyway, I don’t know why I’m even talking about her...”
“What does she look like now?” he asked.
The waitress came by with our food, and that gave me a minute before responding. I thought about Aspyn’s physical appearance. Her sand-colored hair was so long, almost down to her voluptuous ass. Without a drop of makeup, her skin was smooth and flawless. She was naturally beautiful, even more so somehow when she got mad at me. I’d been taken aback by the fact that I found myself very attracted to her, someone I used to have nothing but disdain for. That was a contradiction I hadn’t experienced before. Maybe somehow her hatred made her more appealing in a twisted way?
I downplayed it. “She’s not a knockout or anything, but she’s…pretty. Nice ass and tits. It was hard to see past the look of hatred on her face, though.”
“Well, sounds like you’re gonna have other opportunities to change her mind about you if you’re stuck with her twice a week.”
“Not sure I should bother trying to change her mind. She seems really hung up on the past.”
He chewed a sweet potato fry. “How long are you staying in Meadowbrook anyway?”
“For as long as my dad’s away. Probably a few more months max. He hasn’t bought his return ticket, because they’re sort of winging the whole trip.”
“What’s he doing again?”
“Touring Europe with his girlfriend.”
“Damn. Nice life.”
“Yeah, well, he earned it.” I opened the ketchup and poured some onto my plate. “I’m staying at the house, making sure everything’s kosher while he’s gone.”
My father had busted his ass raising me as a single father. We never took vacations, and he rarely did anything for himself. A couple of years ago, he met a woman he really connected with. It was the first real relationship I could ever remember him having. He turned fifty this year and became eligible to retire early from the fire department. So that’s what he did. He and Sheryl decided to tour Europe. He almost didn’t go, because he felt guilty about leaving my grandfather. We didn’t have any other family locally. But I assured him I’d handle everything. It was the least I could do for a man who’d devoted his entire life to raising me. And I wasn’t easy. Despite my dad’s best efforts, I’d acted out a lot as a kid. Even though my grades were good and I excelled at sports, I gave him a run for his money, constantly getting into fights and stirring up trouble. I owed him a lot.
That night, after I returned home from dinner with Eric, I kicked my feet up on the couch and decided to Google Aspyn Dumont. The first thing to come up in my search was her sister’s obituary from eight years ago. While it didn’t list a cause of death, it said she’d left behind a six-month-old daughter. That made my chest hurt. Ashlyn Dumont was only twenty-four when she died. Ashlyn and Aspyn. They must have been close. I was an only child, but I couldn’t imagine losing a sibling. My chest tightened. I felt guilty once again for taunting Aspyn about staying in Meadowbrook now that I knew she’d been helping to care for her niece. That wasn’t an easy life.
I couldn’t change how I’d treated Aspyn in high school or the nasty things I’d said about her behind her back. But I could at least try to show her I’d changed. The big question was: had I changed? Or was I still that same selfish asshole?
That question gave me pause, and I honestly didn’t know the answer. All I knew was that being back in Meadowbrook sure as hell made me feel like the bad guy again. I wanted to be a better person, and somehow, it mattered to me to show her I was. But why?
Aspyn felt like the personification of all my past mistakes, so maybe getting her to like me would absolve me of my sins.
? ? ?
On Thursday afternoon, when my second outing of the week with Nonno rolled around, Aspyn looked happy as always to see me when she met us in his room. Not.
“Are those donuts on your scrubs?” I asked.
“I wore them in honor of you.” She flashed a genuine smile.
Figures. The first real smile I get from her is related to trying to poison me.
“Did you buy those just for me?”
“Believe it or not, I already had them.”
“I do believe it, actually.”
“My scrubs are conversation pieces around here.”
“Then I think you should tell everyone what the donuts represent. Or might you be too ashamed to admit that you almost shit me to death?” I laughed, noticing she did the same. “I like that you’re finding your sense of humor, though.”
“It took me a while to dust it off. But it was in there, after all.”
When she smiled again, I noticed slight creases around her eyes. My stare might have lingered a bit too long.
“Ready to go?” she asked, interrupting my gaze.
I cleared my throat. “Yup.”
“Let’s roll,” my grandfather said as he wheeled himself to the door.
Since it was a dry, summer day, I thought it would be nice to spend our time outdoors. I’d promised Nonno I’d bring the cigar we’d bought at the mall on Tuesday so he could smoke it.
The three of us packed into my car and drove to a nearby park. Once I pulled into a parking spot, I removed a large Ziploc bag with the cigars I’d brought from my glove compartment.
We picked a spot under a shady tree. I took my grandfather’s cigar out of the bag and handed it to him. “Here’s your Macanudo, Nonno.”
After he placed it between his teeth, I lit a match and held it to the tip.
“Thank you, good sir.” He puffed on the stogie and flashed a huge smile. “This is the life.”
I chuckled. It certainly didn’t take much to please him. I hoped I could be that easily satisfied someday.
I took another cigar out of the bag and handed it to Aspyn.
“What are you doing?” She took a few steps back, as if I were trying to hand her my dick or something.
I held up the Tatiana Classic. “This is for you. We’re gonna smoke, too.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no, no, no. I don’t smoke.”
“You don’t have to inhale it. Just enjoy the flavor. Yours is infused with vanilla. As far as I know there’s no sugar in it. So, I think you’re good.”
“I’ve never smoked a cigar, and I don’t plan to start today.”
“I’m gonna pop your cherry. Literally.”