bag and you put another one back. You said you need caffeine, and you have sugar with it...”
“Oh, of course.” I shake my head and curse myself. “I do have sugar yes, just the one.”
I can handle one sugar, just to keep up the impression that I wasn’t coming around to check on her the other day. Although I’m glad that I did because otherwise I never would have found out about Travis and the whole school situation. I’m still really happy I did that, even if she was mad, I would have been happy if it got that poor boy back in school.
“So, is your father still around?” she asks me idly while she makes the drinks. “Does he live around here?”
“He moved to England a few years back. He left with his new wife and has a family of his own now.”
“You don’t mind?” she asks me in surprise. “It doesn’t upset you that he’s half way around the world?”
“Nah, no way... He’s happy there and that’s all that matters to me.”
“And you are happy here?” She doesn’t really turn to look at me. “Sorry if I’m stepping on toes that I shouldn’t be right now. I don’t mean to interfere, I’m just wondering...”
“No, not at all. I’m very happy here. I love this house; I love living in my family home and remembering the good times we had here...” I hope that explains why I’m still here because she might be confused just like my father is. “I really like my work; I just like my life here...”
“And you aren’t lonely?” She turns around and hands me my drink. “Being alone all by yourself?”
I can’t help but wonder if this question is more about her than me because she is clearly lonely. I have thought that for a while. Still, it does make me examine myself a little.
“Perhaps I am a little.” I shrug my shoulders and smile thinly. “I don’t know, I’m usually too busy to notice that.”
“Hmm, yep, I know what you mean.” She nods slowly and thoughtfully. I can almost see the cogs ticking around in her brain. God, I would so love to get inside that brain to see what’s going on. “I can get that way a bit myself. I take it you don’t have a girlfriend to keep you company since you continually insist on asking me on a date.”
The way that she laughs at this and treats it as a joke is actually a nice thing. It shows that it’s not going to create a chasm of awkwardness between us.
“No, no girlfriend for me. I haven’t had what I would class as a girlfriend in a very long time.”
“Just short-term things, huh?” Aisha cocks a knowing eyebrow at me. “That is the very reason why I have to keep turning you down.”
I can’t believe this. I’m actually shocked that she is making a joke of things. This humor is a side to her that I definitely haven’t seen before, but I like it a lot. She’s cheeky, which is a whole lot of fun. I wonder how much of this I will see.
“I just haven’t met the right woman to settle down with, that’s all.”
“Oh, yeah?” She stares at me curiously. “So, you haven’t ever felt like you might be wanting to commit to someone? You haven’t ever been in love?”
I’m not going to lie about this, it’s a part of my history, and since we are sharing that in a very unexpected turn of events, I want to open up.
“I was engaged at one point, when I was in college, to a woman named Chloe.” I let out a little laugh to show how much this doesn’t bother me anymore. “I thought she was going to be the one, but I was one of two...”
“Oh my God, she cheated on you?” Aisha looks horrified. “I can’t believe that I really don’t like cheating. I don’t see the need. I think you can just break up with someone if you don’t want to be with them, can’t you? There’s no point in breaking hearts that awfully.”
I like her attitude; it matches mine perfectly. Obviously, I don’t like cheating, I think it’s heart wrenching and unnecessary. I wonder if her opinion has come from a similar story...
“How about you?” I ask her. “Have you ever been in love?”
“I definitely thought that I was in love, which is how Travis was created.” Oh my God, she’s so adorable. “I was young though,