The call went dead.
I sighed and started to jog.
My best friend needed me.
And I wasn’t there.
All I could think about was Toby. And Rae.
Something had happened.
This was why I couldn’t stand the idea of love.
I hurried through the front of Aaron’s house and realized something was very off. And not in the way I thought.
There were people in his house.
Some of them were familiar. Some of them weren’t.
I looked like a damn idiot the way I hurried through the house. I smelled like booze and looked ready to climb into a grave and call it a long night.
As I turned the corner to the kitchen, I saw Toby standing on the kitchen island.
What the…
“And then he asked me,” Rae’s voice squealed as she pointed to Toby.
“Figured she couldn’t say no to Toby,” Aaron said.
“Hey,” I called out.
Aaron looked at me and a big smile crept across his face.
He came running at me and I thought he was going to tackle me.
Rae lifted Toby off the counter and put him on the floor.
Then she came running over too. She raised her left hand showing me a glittering diamond.
“Get the hell out of here,” I whispered as Aaron threw his arms around me.
I put my right arm around him, staring at Rae.
“I fucking did it,” Aaron whispered.
“Yeah, you did,” I said. “And she said yes.”
“Yes, she did,” Rae said.
Aaron stepped back and I opened my arms to hug Rae.
“Yeah, sure, why not?” she said, rolling her eyes.
We hugged, but Rae squeezed me tighter. “Thank you for being his friend. And if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll kill you.”
I backed away from both of them.
Toby cut between his parents.
“Hey, little buddy,” I said to Toby.
“I asked Mom and Dad,” he said.
“I see that. Good job.”
“He did great,” Aaron said, messing with Toby’s hair.
“I’m sure you’ll hear the story a hundred times,” Rae said.
“Greatest moment of my life,” Aaron said.
Rae cleared her throat and looked down at Toby.
“Second greatest,” Aaron said.
“So, wait a second here,” I said. “You two are engaged. But that’s not married. So, I still have a chance to make a run for Rae?”
“Don’t even,” Aaron said, his nostrils flaring.
“You want to run with Mom?” Toby asked me.
Rae laughed and snorted. “Go play with your toys, Toby. Uncle Josh is being goofy again.”
“I’m always goofy,” I said.
Toby put a hand out and took off, screaming like a superhero.
“I’m going to go mingle,” Rae said. “You two stay out of trouble.”
“Hey, Rae,” I said. “Congrats. I mean, this is a terrible decision, but I’ll always be there for you.”
“Now that Toby isn’t here,” she said with a big smile, “I can tell you to go fuck yourself.”
I touched my chest. “You always know the way to my heart.”
“Asshole,” she muttered as she walked away.
Aaron punched my arm. “Are you here to ruin my night?”
“You invited me,” I said. “What did you think I would do?”
“You could have picked up your phone the first time I called,” he said.
I gritted my teeth. “I’m sorry about that. I thought…”
Aaron motioned for the door to the garage.
The murmur of ten conversations made it hard to talk.
When we got out there, he grabbed my shirt and threw me back against the wall.
“I needed you today.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said. “You didn’t need a pep talk from me. You did it.”
“I had Toby do it.”
“Which was romantic.”
“It was a cheap move.”
“It’s not my life, Aaron,” I said. I pushed him back. “You live in fear of losing Rae and you will lose her. Now she’s got that diamond on her finger. You’re all set. Don’t fuck it up.”
“I wish you were there,” Aaron said.
“Why? You wanted me to ask her?”
“Come on, Josh. You know what I mean. I wanted to tell you first. I wanted you to be there.”
“I don’t need to be there,” I said. “This is your life and your family. I’m not walking you down the aisle and giving you away to Rae.”
“You’re such a dick,” Aaron said. “Really.”
“You’re happy, right?”
“Of course I am.”
“You love Rae?”
“Yes.”
“You love Toby?”
“He’s my son,” he said, offended.
“Having a son and loving your son are two different things,” I said.
“Josh, you know I love my son.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” I said. “You didn’t need me. Remember that.”
I took one step and Aaron jumped in my way. “You’re talking messed up again.”
“What?”
“This is what you do, Josh. You get pissed or hurt and then you throw everyone away. I’m watching it all happen again. And now you’re trying to bail on me.”
“I’m standing here.”
“After I called you how many times? You thought I was checking up on you. You greedy prick. I was calling about me.”
“There’s nothing I can say or do right now. What’s done is done.”
“Is it?” Aaron asked. “Because you’re the one who can’t seem to get over things.”
“That’s why I’m walking away, Aaron. You have a family. Go be with them. Stop worrying about me.”
“That’s what you want, that’s fine,” he said. “I just thought my best friend would want to be there. I would want to be there for you. Whenever you decided to figure your stuff out.”
Aaron walked to the garage door and froze.
“Congrats,” I said to him. “I know Rae hates me. I get why. I’m not a fan of hers either. Best thing about her is Toby. But you love her. She loves you. I’m happy for you, Aaron. You two are complicated as hell, but it works. I’m sorry I wasn’t there today when you needed me. There were a lot of times in our lives when things moved in opposite directions. Mostly my fault. I didn’t want you or anyone else to really see what it was like for me. I’m sorry about that too. You would have stood in the fire with me and gotten burned. That’s a good friend. That’s a best friend. That’s what you are.”
Aaron looked over his shoulder. “I’m scared to death, Josh. I don’t want to lose her. So I’m going to marry her. I don’t know if that’s right or wrong. But it’s too late now.”
“It’s never too late,” I said. “But you two are crazy together. So, ride it out as far as you can. Why not?”
“What about you? When are you going to actually take care of all the things you’ve said and done?”