Chapter 110: Stamp of Approval
Casper got out of his vehicle alongside Theo, as did Benjamin, Clyde and Larry from their buddy’s jeep, the gang making their way up and into the house.
Casually, Aiden opened the front door, leaning on its frame as he said with a relaxed smile;
"Look, guys, it was an impromptu thing. We literally had no idea it was that bad."
"Well, not that it’s bad, bad. He is back home after all, but you get the point." he gestured to them.
Instead of reacting to his words, all five walked up to him without saying a word.
Then, one by one, they began patting him on the shoulder with an understanding yet assured gaze.
Casper especially, shook his shoulder a bit more vigorously with a small nod and stared at him for a while longer, his grip a bit tighter in comparison to the trio whom had already walked in.
As for Theo who happened to be the last of them to walk in, he was the only one who vocally gave the sentiment;
"We understand, Aiden. You don’t need to explain the details to us."
To that, the curly-haired youth walked in, and Aiden couldn’t help but don a grateful smile.
He truly had been blessed with brothers from another mother.
No sooner had the gang trooped in though, they immediately walked over to Richard, asking about his well-being and ensuring that the man was in fact doing okay.
Sure, they took Aiden’s word for it, but it didn’t stop them from confirming it themselves afterwards.
Realizing that the youths were a bit unsure of how to behave afterwards, a palpable warmth yet odd silence to the atmosphere, Richard casually remarked;
"You guys should see the variants of sparkling water Aiden made,"
"I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a few taste tests." the man arched an amused brow in his son’s direction and this time, all the youths--including Theo--trooped into their kitchen.
"Hey! You twerps better not drink the whole thing! I have to send samples to SlurpPAK!" Aiden immediately followed them to which Casper audibly replied;
"Semantics, semantics!"
"Ooh~! Three flavors." he audibly muttered a moment after.
"Besides, you can just make another one anyway." Larry casually added as he picked up one of the bottles, whilst Theo muttered a moment after, a glint of fascination in his eye;
"Hello, cucumber-lime~."
Benjamin on the other hand whom had already poured the pineapple-mint and watermelon-lime concoctions into two different cups, took a couple gulps of each then said;
"Oh, this is excellent, man! Mind giving me your recipe?"
"Nope. Trade secret." Aiden replied as he moved three individual bottles into the freezer’s compartment as those were the ones he intended to send over to SlurpPAK.
"Fairs." Benjamin simply shrugged then finished up the contents of his cup with a swig.
"Cheapskate." Clyde on the other hand audibly muttered, his tone playful as he regarded the coal-haired youth over his glasses while sipping from a cup.
Not that it stopped Aiden from retrieving a rubber band from one of the containers he’d wrapped it around and firing it at him!
"Hey!"
Finding the bickering between his son and his friends rather homely, Richard simply chuckled to himself as he settled into his favorite armchair.
Casually picking up the newspaper he’d been reading before they’d gone over to the hospital, he continued perusing through it, a relaxed smile on his lips.
Despite today being a Monday, which usually should’ve had him at work, he’d sent an e-mail to the company and a message to his colleagues, complete with proof of his condition.
Thankfully, Richard worked in a company that put its employees first--a rarity to say the least--hence why he was given the rest of the week off to recover.
Just as the man was about to flip to another page, the sound of another vehicle pulled to the curb.
Naturally, the gang walked over to the window to check, as did Richard himself--the man unsure of what to make of the addition of a Nissan Magnite to the Jeep Wrangler and Lexus in his driveway.
What he was certain of though;
’Yep. Champ needs to get himself a vehicle of his own.’ the man inwardly remarked.
Speaking of Aiden, he hadn’t needed to check to know it was his girlfriend.
Afterall, he’d been texting her just after he’d dropped a message on the gang’s group and she’d declared that she was coming over.
His buddies too had also realized it upon seeing the familiar vehicle, hence why they promptly resumed their shenanigans.
Opening the doors for her a moment after, the lady walked in, her chestnut-brown hair tied in a braided ponytail today.
She also happened to have brought some fruits... all of which happened to be Richard’s favorite as she’d asked of her boyfriend which one his Pops would like.
Naturally, Aiden did the smart thing and formally introduced both parties to one another;
"Pops, meet Clarissa Hale. My girlfriend."
"Babe, meet my Pops. Richard North."
Though both parties had managed to catch glimpses of the other every once in a while, alongside having seen a couple pictures here and there, it wasn’t until this moment in particular that they finally got around to meeting face to face.
"It’s a pleasure to finally meet the lady who stole his heart. I’d feared he’d keep it vaulted forever." Richard joked and Clarissa, followed up with a relaxed chuckle;
"The pleasure’s all mine. He was worth the chase and then some."
"Hello? I’m right here." Aiden commented whilst looking between both of them with a squint.
Not that either of them cared.
Much like Aiden couldn’t be bothered to be intimidated by Bruce though, Clarissa was much the same with Richard, hence why she didn’t even shy away from following up with a remark of her own.
It did have to be said though, that fathers were generally more lenient towards their son’s girlfriends than they would be their daughter’s boyfriends so that helped as well.
’Yep. She’s a keeper.’ Richard inwardly remarked, his beam so bright, Clarissa couldn’t help but wonder if he really had been diagnosed with what Aiden informed her of.
At the same time, he turned over to his son and said with a shameless grin;
"She has my stamp of approval, Champ. Treat her like the gentleman I raised you to be."
Clarissa’s cheek turned a furious shade of red, her eyes flicking over to her boyfriend who stood cross-armed, yet didn’t hesitate to respond immediately.
"You don’t have to state the obvious, Pops." Aiden rolled his eyes in mock dismissal, immediately turning his attention back to the lady with a charming grin and a wink that was entirely his own.
Collecting the plastic bag of fruits from her hand, Aiden wasn’t particularly surprised to see that his buddies at huddled up at the entrance of the kitchen, one snack or the other in their hands.
Then they asked in sync, their voices teasing and amused;
"So, when’s the wedding?"
"Babe, when’s the wedding?" Aiden refused to be embarrassed, hence why he tossed the question to Clarissa with a relaxed smile.
Naturally, the lady didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity, her hands landing on the curve of her hips;
"Whenever you finally get around to putting a ring on yours truly~."
Laughing in response to that, the gang simply parted ways whilst rolling their eyes in amusement at the shameless duo, allowing the youth entry into the kitchen as they themselves moved to the living room.
At the same time, Richard and Clarissa began to engage in a mundane conversation of their own, their rapport growing stronger by the minute.
Aiden had been rinsing the fruits, slicing some of them and putting them into a bowl to make a fruit salad for his Pops as he hummed a happy tune.
By the time he was done, he walked back into the living room, only to notice everyone seated on the carpet, Clarissa dipping her hands into a carton his parents had kept his baby pics in.
Then she glanced over to him alongside the rest of his buddies, her eyes thinning into mischievous slits and her smile coy as the shutter of her phone’s camera echoed through the air.
"My new profile picture." she mouthed, then chuckled like a little gremlin, her expression turning more pixyish by the second.
"Pops!" Aiden embarrassedly exclaimed afterwards, the faintest hint of a rare blush forming on his own features!
"Eh, cool it, champ. It’s what your mum would’ve loved to do." Richard waved him off then shamelessly picked out another and showed it to his girlfriend whilst giving her some context;
"Here, he had just stolen another kid’s gummies at the daycare."
"Ooh~!" Clarissa audibly hummed, her eyes glinting in fascination as she took yet another picture.
For the most part, Aiden wouldn’t have cared much that his Pops was doing what he was doing.
What was prompting most of his reaction however, were the rascals whom were snapping every single picture in sight like they were keeping blackmail info on him.
"You guys must be having the time of your lives, huh?" Aiden said to his buddies, each of them earning a mock glare of disgust from him.
Instead of backing off, the gang simply looked at him, donned a shameless grin similar to that of his father’s and continued their actions.
Shaking his head in resignation, Aiden simply handed over the fruit bowl to his Pops and joined in by taking the free spot next to Clarissa.
And just like that, the rest of the day went on.
Soon enough, Clarissa had to leave as she had to model for a small-time magazine, one she’d informed him about days prior to even their trip to Coney Island.
After sharing a goodbye kiss and escorting her out, Aiden returned to plenty of teasing from both his buddies and his Pops before the conversation naturally shifted towards the new game they were building.
Once they’d worked out a proper schedule for the remaining work, they realized that they could have the game ready within a week’s time.
That realization was all the push they needed.
The moment they each returned to their respective homes later that day, they immediately got to work, each of them tackling their own portion of the project as they steadily pushed towards their newly established deadline.
And so, the days passed with the six of them continuing to work doggedly on the game, until eventually, the day they’d all been waiting for finally arrived.
Their high school graduation.