"Morning love, are you ok?" Chas put a cup of tea in front of Aaron, and stood back, clearly not sure what mood he was in. Aaron appreciated the gesture, but didn't feel up to responding to it.
"I've got to get to work," he muttered. He left the tea on the table and walked out of the room – but did pause for a moment before leaving, to give his mum a quick smile. It wasn't really a smile; just a flattening of his mouth in her direction – but he wanted her to know that he was grateful. Just not ready to talk.
He walked across the road from the pub, checking his phone as he went. Paddy had sent a text. Well, three: the first one was just a mash of letters; the second was an apology, and the third said 'Come over for a beer tonight if you like'. Aaron couldn't help smirking at the texts; it was so like Paddy to make an awkward situation all the more awkward. But he knew it was unlikely that he'd go.
The garage was empty when Aaron got there. He was thankful that the others weren't in. It gave him the opportunity to work quietly, just getting on with a few cars waiting to be serviced, trying not to think too much about… well, about what that day meant.
But then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted somebody coming up the forecourt. Truth be told, it was actually the smell he got first; the faintest tang of the aftershave he had grown to know so well. Half of him was excited; half of him knew that it was the worst possible thing that could happen that morning.
"Hi mate," said Robert, leaning against the wall and watching Aaron tinker with the engine. "You alright?"
Aaron grunted.
"Look, I'm sorry things have been difficult recently. What with Katie on one hand, and all that stuff with Lachlan on the other – I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Aaron kept working on the car, and didn't even grunt this time.
"You're making me work hard, mate! What's the problem?" There was a pause. "I can wait all day, you know, and there's worse sights to see than a dirty little grease monkey getting his hands filthy."
Aaron could hardly ignore that. He emerged from the bonnet, and looked at Robert, trying to keep his face emotionless. It was difficult. Robert was looking particularly vulnerable today. It wasn't just the grey jumper or his tousled hair – both slightly damp from the light rain – it was the pleading look on his face. It reminded him of the time, in the barn, when Robert had said "What have I done this time?" It felt like they were a couple who had an argument that they would work through, not just the tawdry secret of an engaged man. But in this case, Robert really didn't know what the problem was. There wasn't any way he could know.
"So, Aaron. Do you fancy a business meeting later? There are some figures I'd like to go over. No, wait, there's one figure I'd like to go over…" Robert smirked at Aaron boyishly. He clearly loved coming out with these slightly silly innuendos, and watching the lustful embarrassment on Aaron's face.
"Sorry, no." That was all Aaron managed to say.
"Why not? There's nobody here. Just take the afternoon off."
"I said no."
They stared at each other in silence for about half a minute, both waiting to see what the other would say. Then Robert shrugged, and turned away. He looked rather hurt, but was obviously trying to hide it. "Fine. I'll speak to you later."
Aaron stared after Robert retreating body. He started to say 'Robert' but stopped himself, and instead kicked the car tyre in frustration.
"Happy birthday, Jackson," he muttered.