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How are Noeleen and Aiden?
His parents are semi-retired since he paid off their house and cars. But Noeleen continues seeing her long-term customers at the beauty shop, because she can’t stand being left out of the gossip.
How did you and Tristan get started with the agency?
They worked with an existing one and bought out the owner after two years. Once they got the startup funding for AI development, expansion boomed.
“Those agencies you weren’t allowed to work for, they must know of your company, right?” I ask while eating his basil chicken. I’m curious about how much of a name he’s made for himself, considering the early career derailment.
“You mean defense agencies? I don’t work for them, but they still pay some of my bills. The technology I’ve developed is third party acquired by civilian contractors. Declan always said my work would be valuable to people.”
“He’s rarely wrong.”
“Yes, he reminds me as frequently as he can.”
“It’s been a long time, but I miss him every day,” I admit.
“He’d love to hear that,” Bryce says nostalgically.
“You moved him to Arizona. I’m surprised he left Columbus.”
I remember when Maeve told me that her father was moving to Bryce’s new city. She wanted to have her boys grow up closer to Declan. However, because of heart problems, the winters made it hard to stay healthy and active in Ohio.
“He visits Columbus all the time. But the Southwest is heaven for a guy like him. Never snows, swimming pools open all year, and more widows than a single widower can handle.”
“You’re kidding,” I say incredulously, mouth agape at the image of Declan as a senior citizen flirt. Though perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. The man was always a charmer.
“He visited me at Sergei and Maeve’s house before I went away for college,” I say, venturing toward a memory I had long suppressed. Declan came over the night before I left for California.
I’m not the only one who’s playing catch up. Bryce also deserves to know what happened when our paths diverged. I’ve given him a brief overview of my college years. He’s most curious about my relocation to Moscow. How I worked my way up the research and development team at Petrov Shipping headquarters before spearheading this project that required my return to the US.
When we talk about the consequences of that night, we do so with tidbits of information. As if we’re catching up one drop at a time, tasting and digesting slowly to make the experience of revisiting our mistakes a bit more palatable.
“When Declan came to see me, he said we were always going to be family, no matter what,” I continue. “He wanted to wish me well and even made one of his trademark jokes.”
It’s now Bryce’s turn to have a gaping mouth and wide eyes. “No shit.”
“Can’t remember the details, but it was a play on it’s relative.”
“Jesus,” he says with a laugh.
“I always think about him when I come across a silly pun.”
“Like what?”
“One time, I grabbed tea at a café, and when he handed it to me, the barista said, ‘love you so matcha.’”
Bryce stiffens, fork halfway between the takeout container and his mouth. “What coffee shop?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Did he think you were going to fall for that pickup line?”
I roll my eyes. “Are you listening to me? We’re talking about Declan.”
“Did the matcha asshole give you his number? Ask you out? Fucking bastard should know you’re way out of his league.”
“Oh my god, you’re too much,” I say, giggling. It shouldn’t be funny how jealous he gets, should it? But after years of wondering if he’s even thinking about me at all, it’s strangely delightful.
