Unexpected Harmony

13. Asking a Favor

Chapter 13

Asking a Favor

H uffing in annoyance, Aspen threw her blanket aside, deciding she wouldn’t get any more sleep. It had been impossible to get her body to relax after Zoey had dropped her off the night before. Her mind kept running through the whole night. Her brain liked to hold up memories and say, “Remember the stupid response you gave to this? Here’s the story on repeat. You’re welcome.”

The angry red 6:00 display of the alarm clock mocked her as Aspen sat up. “It’s not unreasonable, but I’m tired,” she said to the empty room as she readjusted her sweats that had ridden up in the night.

Despite having taken a shower last night, she still smelled fair food as she went to the kitchen for coffee. Reaching up, she touched her lips, remembering feeling Zoey’s kiss for the first time. Her fingers digging into her hip as she pulled her closer. For all her timidness. Zoey kissed with passion.

Never before had someone burrowed so quickly and so deeply into Aspen’s psyche. She was afraid of what it might mean. Even months into dating Lexi, she had still been cautious of their relationship and kept her at arm’s length.

Maybe her time with Lexi was the last bad decision she made before finding her wife. Oof, that was too big of a thought this early in the morning.

When the coffee was finished, she took it outside to watch the ocean waves lap at the shore. Her new yard provided a haven of peace that was just for her. Aspen’s personality was reflected in the design of the foliage and plants that Zoey had painstakingly put together. Even without the help of a get-to-know-you date, Zoey seemed to have her pegged.

Zoey’s words came back from the night before, something about not looking her up. But then how had she nailed all the aspects of her new yard? Wouldn’t she have to know that purple was Aspen’s favorite color or that blue relaxed her? She looked at the sea of low-maintenance plants in colors of violet, aqua, and red, each section laid out to facilitate tranquility. She hadn’t given specific instructions on the types of plants, just requested kinds that wouldn’t require a lot of water or maintenance.

Frowning to herself, she couldn’t help but let the nugget of doubt worm its way into her refuge. The darkness of uncertainty was ready to suck out all the happiness she’d woken up with. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened.

The coffee was bitter on her lips as she remembered Trudy, a real go-getter who’d attached to her like a limpet. At that time, Aspen had yet to erect her walls or look closely to see who might be taking advantage of her. She’d learned a lot of painful lessons with Trudy.

They’d run into each other at the grocery store, both reaching for chocolate chip cookie dough. “A guilty pleasure,” they said at the same time.

Morgan had warned her that something was off with Trudy, but the blinders had been on, and Aspen completely ignored the caution.

Things moved fast, too fast for Aspen to comprehend how she ended up holding her crushed heart in her hands, watching Trudy move on to a more famous movie star, using Aspen’s heart as a steppingstone to something better.

It wasn’t even the fact that Aspen had been used; it was the way she had that had taken years to heal from, and even then, she was clearly still dealing with blowback. She learned that Trudy had found out all she could to manufacture their initial meeting. The cookie dough, their same interest in flowers, and their love of old cars were all used as a way to sneak in—and it all had been a lie.

Aspen sighed into her now-cold coffee, wishing she could throw thoughts of the past into the ocean and have the waves take them into the sea. Zoey was different; she could feel it in her chest.

Speaking of Zoey, Aspen twisted her wrist, seeing that three hours had passed since she’d woken up. It was now a reasonable time to try to call her. She could not keep it cool and wait a certain amount of time after a date to reach out. She didn’t care if it gave off desperate vibes or whatever the internet said was unacceptable. This wasn’t a game; this was her life.

A bout of nervousness overtook her as she found Zoey’s contact and hit call.

It took three rings, then Zoey’s warm tone greeted her. All thoughts of Trudy and her deception floated away as she listened to Zoey.

“I was about to call you, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be up.” Zoey chuckled nervously, the sound whooshing in Aspen’s ear. “I was hoping you’d be free sometime this week for a date.” The hesitant tone gave way to her own nervousness.

Aspen had forgotten how awkward the first part of dating was. The tentative back and forth dance as they tested the waters to see if this was what they wanted to do. “I was calling to ask the same thing,” she said, finally finding her voice. She was relieved that they were both timid with their next steps.

“Well, in that case, I suppose that I could make something work,” Zoey teased. “I’m meeting a new client later today and have a prior engagement to work with a famous singer this afternoon. I can’t give you any details, but we’re collaborating on a few songs together.”

It was Aspen’s turn to chuckle as Zoey’s voice turned secretive. “I heard the singer is a bear to work with.”

“Oh, the absolute worst. Plus, if she doesn’t get food at exactly four, she turns into a badger, biting anything in sight.” Zoey played along in good fun. “Since you are setting things up, how about you tell me what time works for you?”

Withholding her first response of right now , she pulled up her calendar and found it was slowly starting to build again. Her blood pressure began to rise, the visual reminders of colored blocks indicating increased responsibility. Even though Morgan had stayed away, she was still working in the background to put things together for her.

“How about Tuesday, at…” She scrolled through the day, trying to balance the most amount of time, with sensibilities that she shouldn’t ask for a six a.m. date to maximize their time together. “…six p.m. I’ll pick you up.”

“It’s a date.” Zoey sighed. “I should get ready. I’ll see you later today and I’ll be counting the minutes until our date.”

“Me too. Working on songs doesn’t really count, huh?” Aspen still felt a flutter that she’d get to see Zoey soon.

“Not really, but I’m glad to get to see you.” Zoey stayed silent as they listened to each other breathe before a quiet “Bye, Aspen” came down the line.

Cradling the phone to her chest, Aspen felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. She felt like what she assumed a giddy teen would feel like. Rising to fame at fifteen had severely limited Aspen’s adolescent dating process.

“I have a date,” she called out to the ocean, a bubble of happiness threatening to stretch her chest open. Now, all Aspen needed to figure out was what the hell they would do for it.

“Hey Morgan, thank you for knocking.” Aspen stepped aside to let her manager in. She acknowledged the effort, even though the knock had been half-hearted at best.

“How’s my favorite superstar?” Morgan shrugged off her annoyance and settled into the house without fanfare.

“I’m good. Great, even.” Aspen went to the kitchen to grab some refreshments.

“Are you ready to come back to New York?” Morgan asked hopefully.

“Nope. But I was hoping you could help me set up a date.” Aspen handed Morgan her usual and settled beside her on the couch.

Morgan’s eyes lit up. “You’ll finally go out with Aster?” Her excitement vibrated waves in Aspen’s drink.

“Who? Oh, no. Not at all. I’m taking Zoey out on Tuesday. I’ve got a few things going on this week and want you to help me set something up.”

The steely glint in Morgan’s eyes should have warned her off, but Aspen ignored it when Morgan agreed. “Sure. Leave it to me, Aspen. I’ll take care of everything.”

Wishing she could push time forward, Aspen was stuck waiting for it to crawl by like everyone else.

After pulling into the parking lot of what looked like a strip mall, Zoey sat in the truck, contemplating going inside.

Wanting to overcome the anxiety holding her back, Zoey thought about Aspen’s carefree laugh during their session the day before. They’d go on their second date tomorrow, and Zoey wanted to continue working on being the best version of herself.

Flinging the door open, she stepped into the blazing sun, hurrying to the door before she sweat through her shirt. The blast of chilly air felt good on her skin as she looked around the entryway she’d stepped into. There was a perky-looking receptionist for a dentist’s office on one side. Zoey turned away, heading to the other side of the room. There, the decorations were wildly different but nicely complemented those for the dentist’s office. Zoey was sure a metaphor was tucked in there somewhere if she wanted to look for one about her and Aspen.

With a stuttering step, she approached the counter and waited for the front desk person to look up from their phone call.

“Sorry about that. My name is Zion. They/them pronouns. How can I help you?”

“I’m Zoey, she/her. I have an appointment.”

“Okay perfect, yes, I see, with Dr. Bhandari. Did you fill out the paperwork?”

“I did.” Zoey handed over the crumpled paper she’d tucked into her pocket.

“Excellent. Have a seat, and Nora will be with you shortly.” Zion indicated with their arm to the comfortable-looking seats against the wall. “Also, feel free to have some coffee if you want.” They indicated the other direction, towards the dentist’s side.

Zoey opted to sit, trying not to fidget while she waited. Before long, a medium-height woman with turquoise-rimmed glasses and raven hair peeked her head out the door from the inner offices. “Zoey?” she called, locking eyes with her since she was the only one in the waiting room.

Scrambling out of the chair, she hurried to follow Dr. Bhandari through the bright halls filled with different types of artwork.

“Zoey, I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Nora, and I use she/her pronouns.”

“Nice to meet you.” Zoey stuck the corner of her thumb into her mouth to chew on the cuticles. A nasty habit she’d picked up from her last year of school, along with forgetting to sleep, eat, or shower at times. Hence the reason for not one but two therapists.

“Right in here.” Nora stopped at the door, waving her through.

She wasn’t sure what to expect, but an eclectic mix of seating arrangements wasn’t it. Gone was the expectation to lounge and lay your head upon a pillow and tell the therapist how everything led back to your parents. Instead, a wide range of pillows were strewn across the floor around a short table, or if beanbags were more a person’s jam, there were two of them in various parts of the open room. Of course, there were also chairs, a couch, and any art supply someone might want.

“This first session is so I can get to know you. You can pick any type of writing utensil and sit wherever you’re comfortable.” Nora pointed to a wall that held colored pencils, crayons, markers, and even ballpoint pens in different shades.

Zoey studied the options, examining each device’s advantages and disadvantages. She must have been standing there for a while because Nora finally approached her, careful not to stand too close.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever had someone put this much thought into deciding what to use. Care to share your quandary?” The words were kind, but Zoey couldn’t stop the embarrassment crawling up her spine.

“Well, the colored pencils are okay, but if I want deeper colors, I’ll have to push harder, which could break the tip. I’m sure there is a sharpener around, but sharpening a pencil every few minutes seems tedious. Or there’s the crayons; they are a little better, but what if I want to draw something with finer lines? The thick head of the crayon would get in my way, plus it could smudge. I’m leaning towards ballpoint, but that seems odd, and I’m sure after thirty seconds, I’ve messed up the assignment already.” Zoey bit her lip to keep from continuing, even though she could go on about paper and what she would have to draw.

To her utter surprise, Nora laughed. “Zoey, relax. I’m not here to judge or grade you.” Her words said so, but still, she wrote something down in a folder. “This isn’t a test. I promise you there are no wrong answers. I want you to pick a medium to help express why you are here.”

Grabbing the black pen, Zoey turned back to the room, trying to decide where the best place to sit would be.

“How about at the table this time? We can switch it up next time if you want,” Nora provided gently when Zoey just stood there.

“I’m not usually this indecisive, but I’ve been thinking about what my next step in life is, and I can’t make a decision,” Zoey confessed, shocked that she could finally see the problem clearly.

“That’s understandable. How about you start to draw the decisions that are up for debate? Sometimes getting them on paper can help clear a path.” Nora nudged the paper towards Zoey, who leaned over the table and started to draw.

After half an hour of chitchat that felt nothing like Zoey’s previous therapy sessions, she leaned back from the table, stretching out her neck as she studied the piece before her.

“For the last fifteen minutes, let’s discuss the work, and if needed, we can continue the conversation at the beginning of our next session,” Nora suggested. “Do you have a place you want to start?”

The paper was a mess, but Zoey started at the path she’d drawn in the middle of the page. “This is my life.” She traced the route with the end of the pen before getting to a fallen tree. “This is my breakdown at school. Now I have to decide if I should go back and finish my degree. It seems unnecessary at this point, since I have connections from school. So maybe I need to forge a new way.” She followed a dark and twisty road filled with shadows of the unknown.

Having it on paper did help, but she still couldn’t decide. There were too many good and bad things about both paths.

“And what about this part right here?” Nora pointed to the sun peeking out behind a cloud, holding a microphone. “Most of your drawing is logical, but this part defies the norm.”

“This is something I can’t really talk about, but it’s a new relationship I’m cautiously optimistic about.” Zoey rubbed her finger along the smiling sun, hoping she wouldn’t get burned in real life.

“This was a great start and a good stopping point. We have the paperwork to communicate with Allison. The goal is to work together on your treatment plan. Do you have any questions?”

“How often should I see you?”

“Let’s set things up for once a month for now. We don’t want to overwhelm you with therapy, but provide another outlet to help you work through things. Does that work for you?”

Zoey nodded absentmindedly, glad it wasn’t every week or biweekly. She liked the idea and didn’t want to get burnt out on things. “It’s perfect. Thanks, Nora.” She tucked the piece of paper in her pocket. After stopping to make a follow-up appointment with Zion, Zoey braved the sweltering heat with a new spring in her step. Sometimes, jumping into the unknown was a good thing. That was a lesson she’d have to try and hold onto as she tried to navigate a whole pool of unknowns coming up.