Something about the man seemed closed off, and it wasn’t the first time she caught wind of it. It was almost as if he simply could not open himself wide open for view. She’d tried to enter his private thoughts as they laughed in bed after some of the most unbelievable lovemaking she’d ever experienced. But, every time, he blocked her, waved her off, and changed the topic. He’d done it more than once, refusing to allow her to swim in deeper waters within him. She was thus banished to the shallow end of his pool, the kiddie section, to bob about in three feet of water.
Oddly enough, it seemed he wanted to know every little thing about her. In fact, if she were a betting a woman, she believed the man actually encouraged people to spill their guts with him. He was truly the type of fellow who wanted to help—while keeping a distance. Aiden undoubtedly enjoyed facilitating people, ushering them into a better life, hence his chosen occupation. He was a humanitarian to his very core, but when it came to his own life, well, those doors appeared dead bolted, padlocked, barricaded with boards and wrapped in never-ending, unbreakable chains…
I was born on the day of love…
Actually, the origins of Valentine’s Day are much more sinister, but whatever…
Aiden looked at the calendar and picked up the phone. He’d been working late. The office was practically vacant, with the exception of the cleaning crew and Todd, who stayed late most nights to avoid being home with his wife and children. The phone rang a couple of times, and then, she answered.
“Hey, how are you?” came her sweet voice.
“Good. What are you up to?”
“I’m actually getting the rest of my underwear placed in the drawers. The mystery box of Wonder Woman briefs finally showed up.” She chuckled, causing him to do the same.
“Mystery solved. Look, I won’t keep you but I just wanted to know what you were doing on Valentine’s Day? You wanna go out?”
“Now why would I miss spending Valentine’s Day with such a sweetheart?” she teased.
“It’s also my birthday.”
“You were born on Valentine’s Day? Cool! That means you’re an Aquarius…”
“Oh, come on, you’re not into that stuff, are you?” He grinned as he swiveled around in his seat.
“I do read my horoscope actually. It’s fun!”
“All right, well, how am I supposed to be?” He grimaced, ready to hear this load of fairytale bullshit.
“Well, you guys born under the sign of Aquarius can be complicated to understand. You make great friends, but can be reserved. You’re dependable but like your space. I can see you being an Aquarius. Yeah, I mean, you’ve definitely got some of the tell-tale signs.”
“Okay.” He rolled his eyes. “Enough of that crazy mess. So, I wanted to go out to eat then maybe we can—”
“Wait a minute there, partner. It’s your birthday, too… not just Valentine’s Day. You need a little special something, and I am really good at these sorts of things.”
“These sorts of things? Please don’t go out of your way or anything, Addison. I don’t know exactly what you mean but I can tell you that—”
“So that means I will be planning something for you. Quiet. Let me do all of the preparations, okay?”
“Nah, you don’t have to do any of that.” He said the words but deep inside he was curious as to what she’d come up with. In fact, he felt a bit of a thrill at knowing she might have a special surprise for him.
“I insist. Besides, every time we go out, you wine and dine me and never accept my offer to help pay. It’s time you got treated for a change.”
“Hmm, okay. Well, can I tell you what I’d like to do since you want to make this more about my birthday than Valentine’s Day?”
“Of course.”
“I want us to have dinner at my place. Watch a little television together, just chill. I’m not hard to please, just simple stuff. I heard you can give some pretty nice massages so I’d like to have one of those, too.”
“You’ve got it. What time would you like me there?”
“I’ll text you the info. I’m on my way out the door.” He stood from his seat and stretched.
“That’s fine. Chat with you soon, birthday boy!” And then she disconnected the call.
Aiden grabbed his computer so he could continue some work at home and waved farewell to Todd.
“See ya tomorrow, man!”
“Bye, Aiden. Yeah, see ya.”
Todd may be miserable about the woman he’s going home to, but I can’t wait to see my girl tomorrow… Girl? Did I really just call her my girl? I guess I did. Would you look at that?!
CHAPTER EIGHT
Bringing Joy to the Birthday Boy
He couldn’t help himself…
The entire living room, kitchen, and bedroom were flooded with red and white glowing candles, low playing love songs, and Valentine’s Day paper cut-outs and decorations from the local party shop. He knew it was his birthday and that Addison was coming by soon, but there was something special about today, something he couldn’t quite explain. He couldn’t and wouldn’t be satisfied with receiving and not giving—after all, he got immense pleasure from sharing joy, especially with someone as special as Addison. There was a vibe in the air that made him stir-crazy, one that forced a need to blend the two holidays into one.
Maybe it was the frantic movements of all the guys he’d seen earlier in the day rushing into the drug stores to purchase last minute large heart-shaped boxes of assorted chocolates, sickeningly sweet ‘I Love You So Much’ cards, a dozen red roses from a stranger on the corner, and overpriced perfumes from the locked counters at the department stores. Perhaps it was the memory of him and his brother sitting around their big, round kitchen table drawing crayon pictures for their mother with choppy red and pink lines on bright yellow paper, drowning in the smell of freshly poured glue, and glitter spreading all over the place. He smiled as that memory worked its way within his mind.
I’d forgotten all about that… She loved those cards we gave her.
Just as the thought entered his mind, his cellphone rang. He looked at the caller ID and swallowed.
He finally answered on the fourth ring as he headed to his stove to stir the pot of sauce. “Hello.”
“Heeey, baby.” Mom’s voice was chock full of alcohol-induced emotion. “Happy bir…birthday…”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“I uh, tried to call you earlier today but you didn’t answer.”
“Yeah, I was at work…real busy.”
“You’re always workin’.” She sighed loudly. “You shoulda taken off for your birthday… had some fun. My Valentine’s baby.”
“I’m off now, actually.”
“That’s good. I know you and… shit, what’s her name? I guess it doesn’t matter since you said you two broke up… You uh, you got a new Valentine?” She chuckled. He had a feeling she didn’t care either way and was just making small talk.
“I actually—”
“You have a date with a pretty girl tonight?” The lady coughed so hard, it sounded like her lung was coming up, too.
“Yeah… she’s on her way over, actually.”
“Mmmm, what’s ’er name?”