Honestly, I have to agree with Aoi that Carrie’s a terrible friend but that’s not all. She’s a pretty shitty person in the show, especially for having an affair with Big when she’s dating Aidan.
I know it’s a TV show and that many aspects aren’t realistic but being a New Yorker that spends their time going on dates and having the time of their life sounds amazing to me.
Aoi walks back in with two cans of Soda. “Here you go.”
“What were the 2000s like for you?” I inquire, curious about his childhood.
He starts laughing suddenly as if the mere thought embarrasses him. “My God, it was different from now, but I was a toddler during those years. I don’t remember much other than what I saw in pics.”
“Right! You were born in 1997. So, you were a teen in the 2010’s?” I turn my entire body to face him. “How was it?”
He stares at me and shakes his head. “Honestly? Those were the best years of my life.”
A melancholic smile clings to his lips, forcing me to ponder what the reason behind it may be. I stare at him, wishing for an explanation or an anecdote but he simply ruffles up my hair.
“Tell me! I wanna know.”
Quite seriously, yet never letting go of that perfectly crafted smile, he says, “I’ll tell you another time. We’d need more than just a couple hours to unpack that era.”
So, I drop it.
I grab the remote and resume the episode. We don’t watch in silence, of course not. Aoi is incapable of shutting up when we watch anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s a movie, a show or even a book. He will comment and argue about everything that he wants without care.
“See? Jesus Christ, I told you she’d do that,” he groans, leaning back against the couch frame. “Carrie behaves like an immature child. I respect that free spirited mind of hers, but she dates the weirdest men.”
He glances at me as if he’s asking for my opinion and I just nod dramatically. “You’re so right.”
He rolls his eyes and laughs at my obvious mockery. Then suddenly he taps his lap, and I beam.
I lay my head in his lap, relishing the sensation of his fingers brushing through my hair.
This is love.
This is happiness.
50
Aoi
After a serious conniption during the night as I couldn’t fall asleep, I came to the long-awaited conclusion that we’ll be fine.
I don’t mean that our lives will be perfect and that I’ll be happy by myself because I wouldn’t believe it if I said it out loud. I simply want to believe that we’ll manage to overcome this rough patch in our lives.
This is a huge opportunity for Visha and let’s be honest, for me too.
He’s leaving the nest, as he was once meant to anyway. Life isn’t all black or white and right now we’re in the grey area. We’re in the 'I don’t know what’s going to happen' area but we’ll still figure it out because we have to. That’s the thing in the end. We have no other choice but to get over this and move past it.
I’m not losing him.
And I’m fine.
The voice in the back of my head thinks otherwise.Fine doesn’t mean happy.
It doesn’t matter if I’m happy as long as he is.
I enter the bedroom where I pull out a black suitcase I stored for eventual trips I never made. “This should do.”
I doubt that he’ll need all of his clothes at once, especially after his brother bragged about being so wealthy and capable. The least he needs to pack is his daily toiletries and clothes for the upcoming week.
