Suck it up. You just need to ask somebody on a date. To a wedding.
He straightened after giving the dog one last long scratch behind her ear, leaving her lolling in canine delight. He had a mission. He’d come to this party to ask a woman out. Riley was right. It wasn’t brain surgery, and it wasn’t going to kill him. For that matter, simply being social shouldn’t be that big a deal. When he’d been with Sheryl, she’d dragged him to restaurants and birthday parties for her friends, concerts and comedy clubs. He hadn’t always enjoyed it （okay, he had rarely enjoyed it）， but he’d also spent time with Malcolm and his family, and he’d gone on outings with people from the hospice organization, so it wasn’t like he was a complete recluse.
With renewed resolve, he grabbed the tray of cupcakes he’d purchased at Tasty Great, and headed for the kitchen. Everybody knew that the kitchen was the epicenter of any party.
As he’d expected, Deb was there, talking to some women. She saw him, and blushed, even while smiling broadly. “Aiden! Welcome! So glad you could make it.” She reached for him, surprising him with a hug. He carefully held the cupcakes to the side.
“Thanks for having me,” he said. “I brought dessert.”
“Perfect!” She handed them off to a pretty blonde who stood beside her, brushing her long hair over her shoulder and studying him intently. “Patience? Can you put these out on the table? Maybe next to the cookies?”
“So this is Aiden,” Patience said. She looked him over like she was going to be tested on his appearance later. He tried not to squirm self-consciously.
Deb made a low, impatient noise. “Sorry. This is Patience, my cousin. She’s younger than I am, so you probably don’t remember her.”
“I would’ve remembered you,” Patience said. Flirted? He felt fairly certain she was flirting.
“The cupcakes, Patience?” Deb pressed.
Rolling her eyes, Patience complied. “I’m gonna be right back,” she promised.
Deb sighed, then lowered her voice. “She had a bad breakup, just moved back from Las Vegas. I’m letting her stay with me, since Harrison moved out. That’s my son,” she clarified. “He just graduated from the high school.”
“Congrats,” he said as she grabbed a glass out of a cabinet and got him water from the fridge door. He thanked her absently and took a sip, grateful that it gave him something to do with his hands.
“Aiden!”
Aiden looked up to see Riley walking over from the living room, where the bulk of partygoers were congregated around the TV, watching the game. “Hey, man,” Aiden said, giving Riley a half bro hug. “We winning?”
“Nah,” Riley said, with a laugh. “But hey, we’re trying.”
“Know how that feels,” Aiden muttered.
“Soooooo . . . ,” Riley said to the group at large. “Who here is interested in dating this guy? I mean, he’s a total catch, right?”
Aiden goggled. “The hell, dude?”
Riley shot him a don’t-worry-about-it look. “I am being your wingman,” he said, with no chill whatsoever.
“Were you planning on opening an auction or something?” Aiden hissed.
Deb laughed. “You’re like me,” she said to Riley, with an approving grin. “Proactive.”
“He does need a date, though,” Riley continued.
“Throat punching you,” Aiden growled under his breath, which only made his friend laugh.
“Who needs a date?” Patience said, rushing back, her face the picture of curiosity.
“Aiden,” Deb said, looking very intent, her face both friendly and encouraging. “Which I can completely agree with.”
Now Aiden was taken aback. “You can?”
“Your mom has said to our church group, many times, that you’re just too alone,” Deb said, with a nod.
“I was busy,” Aiden felt compelled to point out.
“Oh, I know,” Deb said, and now he felt really, really uncomfortable. “Taking care of your father! And helping your mom . . . I get the feeling she probably doesn’t thank you much for it, I know how independent she is . . .”
That is for damned sure, he thought.
“。 . . but still, you need to take time for you. And I’ll bet finding the right person would make her feel happier too. She’s worried that you’re shutting yourself off, just burying yourself in your computer and away from people.”
“I connect with people,” he protested. “Just . . . online.”
For a second, it seemed like everybody in the small circle looked at each other with a note of pity, a sort of group bless your heart. He forced himself not to bristle.
“Well, yes, that’s nice, to have friends that you have things in common with,” Deb reassured him. “But it’s not the same as flesh-and-blood people. The connection’s just not the same.”
Aiden gritted his teeth.
You need a date. You don’t have to see them again after Jason’s wedding. If you go off, you are going to ruin it.
“I suppose you’re right,” he finally said, when he was sure he could say it without sounding strangled. “And I’m here, aren’t I?”
Deb beamed. “Exactly! Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a lot more of you.”
He looked around. “Maybe I should see how we’re doing,” he said, nodding at the TV. “Been a while since I watched football.”
Not that he had any interest in this particular game. He’d largely stopped watching football on a college level when he’d moved to the west side. Still, he needed a chance to regroup and see what his prospects were. He got the feeling asking anyone his mother knew to the wedding might be an issue, especially if she’d been lobbying for someone to take him off her hands, for God’s sake. He was fifty years old, and his mother was trying to set him up like getting married was a playdate?
“But what about the wedding?” Riley said, stopping him before he could take a step.
Goddamn it, Riley.
“What wedding?” Patience asked, and Deb frowned.
“It’s no big deal,” Aiden said, at the same time Riley added, “Jason’s wedding.”
“Oh! Jason, your cousin, right?” Deb asked. Patience was still staring, although the conversation seemed to be boring her.
“Right.”
“And Sheryl’s gonna be there,” Riley said. “So of course Aiden needs to be there with a date.”
They all went silent: Aiden in frustrated irritation, the rest in quiet shock as a result of Riley’s revelation. The group in the living room cheered at something happening in the football game, oblivious to the social faux pas that had detonated in the kitchen.
“Of course,” Deb finally said. “If your brother’s going to be there . . .”
“Oh my God, you’re that guy?” Patience yelped. “The one whose brother married his fiancée? Like, immediately after they broke up?”
Kill me now.
Aiden tried to get ahold of the conversation. “That was years ago,” he said, although no matter how many times he pointed this out, no one seemed to get it. “And trust me, we’re all past it.”