Once Upon a Second Chance (Once Upon a Holiday Story #1)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Daniel

I watched Aaron about as much as I did the movie. He was so expressive in a way I didn’t think he was aware of. He laughed at all the same places I did, and his little hums when something was particularly sweet rippled through my body.

By the time the credits rolled, I felt as if I’d seen a different side to this mysterious man. After I’d asked him to stay at my house to ride out the storm, something in my gut had told me it was right, and nothing since then had made me regret it.

“That was a really great movie.” He smiled at me, and even in the dimness of the room his blue eyes glittered.

“It’s my mom’s favorite, and I watched it one year with her, and it quickly became one of mine as well.”

He turned his body so he was facing me more. “What about your dad?”

“My dad was more of a classics man. Miracle on 34th Street was his must-see every year.”

“Was. I’m sorry.” His eyes softened, and his smile dipped.

“It’s okay. It was a few years ago and while holidays are hard, my father had an amazing life without regrets. I choose to celebrate him instead of mourning him.”

Aaron sighed. “Can’t you do both?”

“Perhaps, but he’d hate anyone being sad over him. I imagine he’d come back from the dead and wallop us all on the head.”

He chuckled. “Wallop, how British of you.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? The British and the Aussies have some phenomenal words and phrases.”

Aaron nodded. “I’ve never been out of this country, but I’ll take your word for it.”

Snorting, I hit a button on the remote. “I have a ton of British and Australian TV shows; I’m thinking maybe you need an education.”

He held up his hands in defense. “Judging by all of those choices, I wouldn’t get out of your hair until summer.”

Part of me liked that idea, which I understood to be ridiculous. I hadn’t even known this man a full day, and the thought of him leaving left me feeling hollow.

“Just know that you’ll never get bored here.”

He tilted his head to the side, a playful look appearing on his face. “No, I doubt anyone would be bored hanging out with you, Daniel.”

Damn, I loved how he said my name. No. I shook it off and stood. “How about we make some lunch?”

“If you keep feeding me like this, I’ll gain a hundred pounds before I leave.”

Another odd pang hit me at the thought of him leaving. Was I that lonely in this big house? Were the thoughts of what I’d passed on years ago messing with my head?

“Look, what else is there to do when you’re stuck in the house but to eat and watch movies?”

He followed me, carrying the now-empty bowl while I took our mugs.

“I suppose. I don’t honestly remember the last time I was snowbound at home. It was probably when I was a kid, but my mom always had me doing chores.”

At the mention of his mother, I couldn’t help but wonder how he’d gone from having people to having no one.

Once we were in the kitchen, I pulled out some cold cuts, mayo, mustard, lettuce, all the fixings. We began making our sandwiches, and I took the opportunity to find out a little more of his story.

“You can tell me to mind my business, but can I ask what happened? You talk about your mom but now…” I left the statement open.

Aaron’s brows furrowed, and his movements slowed for a moment. I was about to apologize, but he started to talk.

“It’s a typical sad-boy story, really. It was just me and my mom; my dad died overseas. I was four years old. I don’t remember much about him, since he wasn’t around a lot regardless. My mom worked like three jobs, and I remember some neighbor in our apartment building would watch me. I was young, but my mom always gave me a list of things to do.” He chuckled and smeared mayo on his roll.

“When I was about ten, she was killed. A man robbed the convenience store she worked at. I went into the system, aged out, and like most people, became forgotten. I tried getting state help and aid, but it was like jumping through hoops and as soon as I thought I was getting somewhere I’d get stopped by unbreakable red tape. So, I realized I’d have to survive however I could.”

There wasn’t anything “typical sad-boy story” about that. My heart ached as I listened to Aaron, my sandwich long forgotten as I couldn’t look away from the man. He told his tale as if it were just a regular conversation.

“Aaron, that’s awful.”

He shrugged and cut his roll in half. “Nothing I can do about it, right?” He jerked his chin at my half-made sandwich. “You need help?”

“What? Oh, no I’m just…” I sighed and quickly finished making my lunch. I pulled out a bag of chips and handed it to him. “You’re a fighter, Aaron.”

“Survivor. I used to think I was fighting for something…but like so many, I’m just surviving.” He took his plate to the table, and I joined him.

I had an idea I was sure my sister would call me crazy for, but to execute it I had to approach it with Aaron in a way that didn’t appear like pity.

“So, what are your future plans, then?” I bit into my lunch, barely tasting it, nervous that Aaron wouldn’t take the bait.

“Not sure. I was driving, searching for work to get me through the winter, and then the storm hit.”

“You live a spontaneous life.”

He wiped his mouth. “Not by choice.”

Oh, maybe this was my opening. “And what if you had a choice? What would you want to be doing?”

His eyes drifted to the right as he chewed, clearly thinking. “ Hmm .” He swallowed, and I watched the bob of his Adam’s apple with far too much interest.

“I don’t honestly know. At ten, I wanted to be a firefighter. But as I grew up, I stopped really thinking about my dreams. I don’t mean to sound depressing, but when every day is a huge question mark, you tend to just be happy you made it to the end of it.”

Fair enough. It was very sad to hear that, but at the same time it made sense for the life Aaron led.

“Basically, you’re always in survivor mode?” He nodded at my question. “So with that in mind, ideally, what would you wish to be doing right now? If the weather was better, of course.”

He smiled and sat back. “Pretty much this, actually. To be able to just not have to be on so much and have the luxury to just be.”

Okay, it was going to be trickier than I’d thought to convince Aaron to let me help him.