It has been almost a week since they made out, and nothing major has happened between them after that first time. They look at each other longingly, share long embraces after they get home from work, and cuddle on the couch while they watched TV; but, they haven't even been sleeping in the same bed.
After popping in on their make-out session, Sally resigned to let them figure it out on their own. However, with Josh's awkwardness and Aidan's excessive chivalry, she is beginning to see that she may need to intervene again.
The morning of the day exactly one week after what I refer to as the incident, Sally pops in on me, lying awake, waiting for Josh to come and coax me out of bed for work. She states rather than asking, "Big day."
I turn my head and give her a look of what must be utter confusion, "What are you talking about?"
"It's been a week since…" I get the message. "So, are you going to do something?"
"No. Why? Should I do something?" I suddenly have a panic attack. If I've overlooked some unspoken rule about dating - or whatever it is that Josh and I are doing - in this decade, I need to know.
She taunts, "Well, I mean, you are the guy in the relationship, right?" I am the guy in the relationship. I think. But, I still don't understand what she is telling me to do.
"Yeah. So… What is it I should do, exactly?"
"I don't know. Make him dinner, light some candles, play a little Barry Manilow… All that romantic stuff. Have you never seen a romantic comedy?" I don't think I can handle any of those things. First of all, I have never seen a romantic comedy, so how am I supposed to know these things? Plus, I don't taste the same way as him, so how do I know if what I make him will taste good? I don't even know where to buy candles. And who the hell is Barry Manilow?
Sally has been waiting a minute now and I can tell she expects a response. "Actually, no, I haven't. Can you help me?"
"Oh no," Sally shakes her finger at me. "You have to do this by yourself. Google it." She vanishes and now I am freaking out. I have to plan something perfect. Josh deserves nothing less than perfect and I'm not entirely sure I can give that to him. And what exactly does "goo glit" mean?
Sally materializes next to me in the kitchen while I'm making my toast. "Hey, Sally!" I am so excited that I am actually bouncing up and down with joy thinking about my plans for the day.
"Okay, Mr. Hyper. Had enough coffee this morning?" I'm pretty sure that was a rhetorical question, so I don't answer. "What are you so excited about?"
"Well," I wash the bread crumbs off my hands so I can speak more expressively, "it's been exactly a week since me and Aidan… You know." She nods her head and has a strange look on her face. I have to pause to try to read her expression, but when I can't, I decide to just continue talking. "Yeah, well, I planned a super romantic night and I am just super psyched for us to have a… date. Yep, I said it. I'm planning a date. For me and Aidan. Can you believe it?"
Sally's face still has that weird look on it and I'm beginning to think it looks a little like shock mixed with… something. Anyway, after a moment of silence, she snaps her jaw shut and then says in what I can only describe as a weakly excited tone, "No. But… That's great. For you guys. I'm going to go now. Yeah. Bye." She mists away quickly to God knows where to do God knows what.
I look at the time and see that it's already 7:05. We have to be at the hospital by eight, so I need to go wake him up. I grab the blood that I warmed up for him in a coffee mug and head upstairs to his room.
Josh and I get to the hospital this morning and right after we get inside and he gets to work I sprint to the nurses' station. I have to get the day off so I can plan our… date. "Good morning," the head nurse says in a sing-songy voice. She is an older woman, and she is generally very sweet. But, she is also very strict.
"Morning, Maria. Hey, I know I'm supposed to work today, but something came up and I kind of need the day off." No one in the hospital knows that me and Josh are together and I am getting worried that I may need to compel Maria to give me the day off.
"Honey, you know I can't just let people take the day off without any notice. If I allowed that then we'd end up with no nurses in the hospital one day." I do my best to give her a desperate and pleading look. Josh is better at this, but I can manage in a tight spot. "Okay," she breaks and I am so glad that I'm not going to have to compel her. "Just tell me what's so important you need to take the day off and I'll get your shift covered."
This is a delicate situation. If I tell someone that me and Josh are together, he will have a conniption fit and I will be the object of his rage. Of course, I am going to have to come up with something good to tell Maria. "I have an important date." I figure the truth, even if it is slightly abridged, is the best route to getting the day off.
"A date? You want me to let you off for the day for a date?" Yeah… I should've seen that coming. But, I think I can push this and still get her to cave.
"Maria," I touch her arm, not compelling her, but definitely laying on the charm, "Have you ever felt like someone was the one?"
She seems to be submitting. "Yes… My husband. When we met, all I wanted to do was spend time with him. In fact, I took my vacation days for the whole first week we were together." She drifts off into her memory for a moment and then snaps back to reality. "Okay. Take the day off. But make sure you give more notice next time."
I am relieved and I back away, clasping my hands in gratitude. "Thank you so much. Oh! And don't tell Josh that I'm gone."
I can see that she is beginning to put that piece together with my "important date," but it'll only be gossip and that's spread since the day I got Josh the orderly job. I get out of the hospital as quickly as possible without being seen by anyone. Now I have to figure out where I am going to get candles, what I'm going to make for dinner, how to get Barry Manilow's music, and what all I'm supposed to do to make this a romantic night. It's going to be a long day.
I was so excited on the car ride to work that I had to talk about all the episodes of NOVA that I've been watching so that I wouldn't tell him about my plans for tonight. Fortunately, he just ran off to the nurses' station instead of walking to the locker room with me so I don't have to hold my tongue anymore. I mean, I'm not going to tell everyone in the hospital that I'm having a date with Aidan tonight. I might tell everyone that I have a date tonight, though.
Everything is ready. I'm going to eat at the hospital and get off work a little early so I can make it home before him. Then I'm going to go up to my room, get out the amazingly soft white sheets I just got, light the unscented candles that I bought (I know he doesn't like the frou-frou candle scents), lay out rose petals all over the bed, take a shower, and get into my sexy clothes.
In the locker room, one of the other orderlies sees the stupid grin on my face and asks that question that I feel may be following me around today: "What are you so excited about?"
"Huh?" I'm such a brilliant linguist. Not awkward at all. "I… uh… I have a… date." I smile awkwardly and he pats me on the back.
"Sweet, dude. Hot one?"
"Yeah…" I feel the stupidity rolling off of me in waves, but I really don't care. I'm too excited. He walks away and I put my backpack in my locker. After I finish locking up my stuff, I walk out to the hallway to the nurses' station to find out what they need me to do today.
Maria, the nice head nurse, is sitting behind the counter staring at her computer screen when I walk up. "Morning, Maria," I emit jubilantly. I swear this smile is not going to leave my face for a week.
"Morning, sweetie." Aidan is always going on about how she can be a real bitch to people, but she has always been super nice to me. "What are you so excited about?" There's the question again. Does it say that on my face? I'll check later.
"Oh… nothing…" She gets a look on her face that expresses her knowing that was a lie, so I happily blurt out, "I have a date."
"Good for you, honey. Who is it? Anyone from the hospital?"
I'm not going to tell her that it's Aidan, but I'm not going to lie, either. "Yes, but I can't tell you who, so don't bother asking." Maria is a major gossip. If she finds out, the whole hospital will know in twenty minutes.
"Okay," she says a little disappointed. "So many people have dates today. It's a little ridiculous for a Sunday." There she goes, gossiping again. I take the bait, though.
"Who else has a date today?"
"Oh, sweetie, if you're not going to tell me who you're going with I'm not going to tell you who all's having a dates tonight. It takes gossip to get gossip." I'm really not all that interested, so I get my to do list for the day and get to work. I'm still so excited for tonight and I'm going to have to explain my excitement a lot. It's going to be a long day.
Okay, I found a flower store and bought an arrangement for the centerpiece for dinner and I got about twenty scented candles. I hate the smells, but Josh loves them, so I will just have to deal with it.
At the bookstore, I find a Barry Manilow CD. Apparently he's some sort of generically romantic singer, because the checker asks if I'm planning on getting laid tonight. Even though I thought her choice of words was extremely rude, she seems to know more about modern romanticism than I do. "Okay. So what should I get?"
"Oh, no. I didn't mean that you shouldn't get this. In fact, a lot of girls think it's really sweet. You know, like you're cute because you're trying so hard to make it like they do in the movies."
I know I should correct her on the point that my date isn't a girl, but it seems like a waste of time, and I have already spent a lot of the day finding the right flowers and getting this CD. I need to go make a nice dinner before I have to go pick Josh up from the hospital. So, I thank the checker and drive to the grocery store to get ingredients.
At the store, I realize that I have no clue what would make a romantic meal. So, I decide to make something I know I can make and I know he'll like: steak. I get some rolls, a potato, and wine to go with the meat. It's going to take me a little more time to grill the steak, so I check out and head home as quickly as possible.
Rushing in the door, I drop the candles on the couch and the groceries on the kitchen table. I have to put the flowers in a vase quickly so that they don't die, but immediately after I get those placed, I start the grill on the back porch.
Sally pops in while I'm preparing the potato to be baked. "Aidan! Where have you been?" She knew I was going to be getting everything ready for the date tonight, so I'm not really sure why she sounds so concerned.
"I was shopping. I got everything I need but I'm kind of in a rush to get it all ready. What's up?"
She seems to have some strange realization at that, and then she simmers down. "Well, tell me if I can help any."
"If you could just distract Josh when I bring him home so I can light the candles and put the finishing touches on everything, that would be great." That reminded me, I have to go pick Josh up. His shift ends in two hours so I need to leave within the next half hour so he thinks I was still at work today.
I take a quick shower and put on a nice button up shirt and my best pair of jeans under my scrubs. Grabbing my keys and waving goodbye to Sally, I practically run out the door to the car.
Two hours until our shifts are over, so I'm leaving for home now. On my way out of the hospital, I tell Maria that I'm going and ask her to tell Aidan that I took a cab home because I wasn't feeling well. I know I shouldn't lie to him, but the plans I've made for tonight are definitely going to make up for it.
The cab ride home seems to take forever. I think through everything I have to do once I get back. Change the sheets, spread the flower petals, take a shower, get into my nice clothes, and light the candles.
When we finally pull up at the apartment, I pay the taxi driver and book it inside. Someone in the neighborhood must be grilling because something smells delicious. It's a good thing I ate at the hospital or I would be dying of hunger right now. Sally is standing right inside the door and she is smiling with some other strange expression on her face that I really don't have the time to read right now. "Hey, Sally. I'm going upstairs." If she wants to talk to me then she can follow, otherwise, I'm not going to give her the time of day right now.
Dashing up the stairs, I pull the new sheets out from under the bed. and strip off the sheets currently in place. Sally's in my room now, but she's just standing there, smiling, not talking. It's really beginning to bother me, so I break the silence, "What do you need, Sally?"
She shakes out of her stupor. "Nothing. Just excited for you guys' big night. Go back to what you're doing. I'm going out for the night." She snickers and dissipates from the room.
I finish the bed sheets quickly, shaking out the top sheet so it flows softly over the sides of the bed. I start by throwing the petals on the bed, but my OCD gets to me and I have to spread them out more evenly. I get them so they are just perfectly imperfect, and then I get in the shower. I take habitually long showers, so I have to stay vigilant this time to make sure I get out before Aidan gets home.
So I get to the hospital and look around for Josh, but I can't find him anywhere. I figure Maria must know, so I walk down to the nurses' station and ask her.
"No, honey. He went home about an hour and a half ago. He said he wasn't feeling well."
Not feeling well? Shit. If he's sick tonight it could ruin our entire first date. "Did he look okay to you?" I know Maria is strict, but she would take any excuse from Josh. I swear, his big puppy-dog eyes are even more effective than compelling someone.
"Honestly, sweetie? He looked fine. But he really seemed like he needed to go, so I let it slide." Thank God. The night can still go off without a hitch. Except… if Josh is at home, he might see the stuff that I'm setting up for the date.
"Thanks, Maria." I bolt out of the hospital and jump in my car. I know I'm going to speed a lot on the way home, but to save the date, I'm perfectly fine with compelling a few cops.
When I get home, I hear the shower running upstairs. Josh takes a long time in the shower, but I don't know when he started, so I still have to move quickly to get the dinner finished, the candles lit, and the music turned on.
I finish up in the shower and dry off. I slip on my best pair of ass jeans and pull on a white satin button-up shirt. I light the candles and check the clock. 8:21. Aidan should be home in around five minutes. As I stop to take a breath, I hear music coming from downstairs. I head down to see what's going on, and, as I step of the last stair and into the living room, I see Aidan leaning against the back of a chair at the dinner table. There's candles all over the place, a large meal on the table, and a beautiful bouquet centerpiece. But, the thing I am most mesmerized by is him, standing there, staring at me with this elated look on his face. I know it's going to be a good night.