Wild Nights, Hot And Crazy Days

Part 1.9: Goodbye

As I sat down to the table all I could do was stare at the food in front of me. I had never seen so much! It would take a book to describe all of those dishes, all homemade, and all looking very tasty. I looked around at the table and noticed an empty place. For Aiden. I hadn't really been expecting to see him, but I was still disappointed. All of this effort and he wasn't even here! I looked over at Carman and he smiled.

"I told you I hoped you were hungry. Mom can't help herself."

"I can't, really", Betty said. "I'm still used to feeding the family and the farm hands. Whenever we have company I can't help myself."

"It looks incredible!!!", I said. "I'll eat as much as I can".

We tucked in. I was seriously in heaven here, and made good on my promise to eat everything I could. There was just so much! As we started having our fill we started talking. Just small-talk stuff, nothing of any note: How was school, do I like my teachers, stuff like that. Even Aiden's mom was pleasant and jovial. Everyone was friendly but you could tell that they were avoiding talking about Aiden, which was fine by me. Then Aiden's mom looked up and said "Oh."

We all turned to look at the doorway, and Aiden was standing in it. He looked awful. You could easily tell he had been crying, and he was still wearing that filthy jogging suit. But he was here. He stood there looking at us, then finally said "Is there enough for me?"

Betty got up and rushed over to him, and ushered him over to his chair. "Of course there is! Here, sit down. I'll load a plate up for you."

Aiden sat, and we all just stared at him. He slowly looked around at all of us, and then looked down at the table. "I'm sorry", he said, so quietly you could barely hear it. "I've been a jerk and I'm sorry."

Aiden's mom started to cry, so Bryon answered. "Don't worry about it. We're just glad you're here with us now. Just eat."

We all resumed eating, but the dynamics of the table had definitely changed. There was no conversation at all, except the occasional 'Pass me this' and 'Pass me that'. The only noise to be heard was the clinking of cutlery on dishes. Aiden picked at his plate but barely touched it. Everyone at the table would occasionally glance at him and start as if they wanted to say something, but then they'd stop and resume eating. I was growing more and more uncomfortable. Finally I was full and stopped eating, so I just sat there staring at the food for what seemed like hours. This was awkward.

Eventually everyone finished eating, but we all just sat there, not talking and not really looking at each other. What had started out as a delight was now an awkward nightmare, and I didn't know how to end it. Thankfully Carman did.

"Hey, Carmen, didn't you want to see the carriage house?"

I jumped up. "Yes!"

He got up, we carried our dishes into the kitchen, put them in the sink, and went out the back door and into the yard.

"Wow", he said. "That was uncomfortable."

"I know. I didn't know what to do. When I first saw Aiden I had a bit of hope, but he was just like he was earlier today."

"Yeah, well, I think Aiden might be feeling a little embarrassed, and he doesn't know what to say. I figured he'd have an easier time of it with with less of an audience."

"Oh."

We walked across the yard toward a big building. It looked like a barn but it was a lot fancier. There were four big barn doors that looked almost like garage doors, and in between the two pairs of doors was a smaller, regular door. We went inside this door, and Carman flicked the lights on. Inside the building it was a mostly empty space but the walls were all covered in antique farm equipment: Saddles, harnesses, etc. There was an ancient stagecoach parked on one end. At the other end there was an old tractor that had been lovingly restored, and on the other side of the tractor there was a car under a cover.