I patted his back and wrinkled my nose at the smell.
“I’m here, big guy,” I said. “I’m here. I’m sorry.”
I started to rub his back, looking at the stairs.
I had gotten home and started painting something that I knew was going to be terrible because the inspiration wasn’t what I wanted it to be. That’s when Rae called me and told me to come deal with my drunk asshole of a best friend. The only time Aaron got torn up like that at home was when he and Rae were arguing. Well, they always argued, but for him to drink that much, it must have been bad.
My only option when I got there was to take Aaron downstairs and save him from himself. And Rae.
He rolled to his back and groaned.
“How the fuck do you do it?”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Drink the way you do.”
I laughed. “Years of practice, Aaron. You don’t have that.”
“I just have years of love.”
It sounded like I jus ha year’a love.
“What does that mean?” I asked. “What happened tonight?”
He waved a hand. “She’ll never be it. It’ll never be. I don’t even know what we’re doing.”
“You have to tell me what happened, Aaron. No bullshit drunk talk.”
I forced him to sit up and then I slapped him across the face.
“Ow!” he screamed.
“The next one will be a punch,” I said. I grabbed his face and squished his cheeks. “What happened?”
“Go over there,” he said. “To my work bag. Open the front pocket.”
He swayed when I let him go.
That was okay. He had a trashcan to throw up in if he got sick again.
I crouched in front of the bag and unzipped it.
I pulled it open and looked away when I saw the little black box.
I looked back at Aaron.
He was staring at me. He looked ready to cry.
“Did you ask her?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I took the box out of the bag and opened it.
It was a tiny diamond ring. A thin, silver band.
The perfect engagement ring.
I shut the box and put it back and zipped the bag.
I stood and rubbed my jaw. “You didn’t ask her. Now you’re dead drunk. You two are fighting. Even for me… I’m a little lost here, Aaron.”
“Me too,” he said.
He leaned forward and groaned.
He didn’t wave his hands or make any gibberish sounds, so I knew he wasn’t going to throw up.
I returned to the couch next to him. “Why didn’t you ask her?”
“It’s just crazy with her,” he said. “The ups and downs.”
“That’s who you two are,” I said. “From the day you met.”
“You hate her.”
“Me? You’re worried about me? Fuck off, Aaron. Don’t pull that weak stuff on me.”
“I’m afraid,” he said. He looked at me, suddenly clear-eyed. “I’m afraid she’ll say no to me. Then what? I can’t imagine not having my little family.”
“Ah, shit,” I whispered.
I put an arm around Aaron.
He was sixteen when his dad cheated on his mother. His perfect life and family were ripped apart. It made us closer because I got him through it, but he was facing those demons now when considering his future.
“She loves you,” I whispered. “You two are crazy. Together. Against each other. And for each other. And when that moment hits you, man, run with it. Ask her. Put yourself out there.”
“What about you?” Aaron asked.
“What? You worried she won’t want me in the wedding?”
Aaron snorted. “I’m talking about Amelia. You had her in my house. You insisted on getting a drink at her restaurant.”
“Ah, my good friend, that’s where you need to shut your mouth and pass out. You’re going to hate yourself in the morning.”
I started to stand and Aaron grabbed my arm. “You’re talking to someone about everything. Is it helping?”
“I’m over it,” I said. “I can’t stand it. I can’t change the past.”
“Do you talk about it with Amelia?”
“What the hell… why would…”
“Did you tell her about Delaney?” Aaron asked. “Or Delilah?”
“Hey, you’re drunk,” I said, swallowing hard. “This is where you need to just crash. It’s done.”
I shook Aaron away and he crashed down to the couch.
I walked up the basement steps and went into the kitchen. I got a glass of water and three ibuprofen ready in advance of the morning hangover..
When I turned, Rae stood in the kitchen.
She had black lines down her cheeks from crying. She tossed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter on the counter.
“Haven’t smoked since I found out I was pregnant,” she said. “Now look at me.”
“One smoke won’t hurt you,” I said.
“You would say that.”
“Want me to lie to you?”
“Where is he now?”
“Throwing up downstairs,” I said. I waved my hands to mimic Aaron’s motions.
Rae laughed. She wiped the corners of her eyes. “I look like hell.”
“Yeah, you do.”
“You know, fuck you, Josh,” she said.
“I’m sure whatever happened here tonight is my fault, right?”
“He wouldn’t tell me where he was earlier,” she said. “I know he met up with you. But before that. Something… something feels off.”
I thought about the ring.
“Rae,” I said. I walked to the island in the kitchen and put the water and the medicine down. “Do you really think he’d cheat on you?”
“Happened to me before.”
“Aaron is too desperate to cheat.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I know,” I said. “But honestly, he wouldn’t do that. His father did that to his mother. Ruined a really good family. There is no way in hell he would do that to you. He loves you. Why? I don’t know.”
Rae put up her middle finger.
“I’m serious,” I said. “And if he was doing anything stupid, I’d know. And I’d handle it with him.”
“I held Toby over his head,” Rae admitted. “I said some stuff… I sounded like my mother. That got me more pissed off. And then he got pissed off.”
“So, you both are pissed at each other because of your pasts,” I said. “Want to know the best part of the past?”
“What?” she asked.
“It’s fucking over. So, tell him that, Rae. You two… you two remind me why I hate relationships. Why I like the one night together and then the next morning everyone moves on. You two need to talk to each other. You have a kid. I know how fast everything went. I warned Aaron. I warned you. I was the asshole for it. But you two… all you saw were rainbows and stars.”
“It’s not easy for me either,” Rae said. “When he and I…” She looked away and laughed. “I’m going to talk to Josh about relationships.”
“Yeah, you’d better not,” I said. “I might tell the truth and you’d really hate that.”