Ahahahahaha! Like, remember when I promised I would post the "rest" of my story on Wednesday? Yeah, totally didn't happen. Then today, The O.C. was on and I was busy hating Marissa and yelling at her outfit and cheering on Ryan and Lindsay (yay!) to write. Then a bunch of stuff happened involving stupid Dino and his stupid girlfriend and Stupid Miss. Young and her awesome way too cute Ben boyfriend, and yeah, Thursdays are a busy night. So..... the story's still not done, but here's the beginning of the end.

Rachel and Rocky left her alone as she stomped out of her room and headed towards the attic ladder, which was now permanently descended into the hallway. Good, the last thing she needed was cynical advice and license to bug both her and Adam for the next ten years.

Ada could not even begin to comprehend what Adam had been thinking. There had been no warning or indication of his intentions, and she was beginning to wonder if even he was aware of them. Ada stumbled in the dark before finding the light switch and illuminating the attic. She walked over to the window facing the front street and peered down to see if Adam was still hanging around the house. He wasn’t. Why would he just run out like that?

“Asshole,” muttered Ada. She turned back to the rest of the attic and paced a bit before finding a nice spot in the corner to sit. She curled up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. It was only a kiss. No crisis, except for the fact that it almost was. Luke was in the picture now, and although it wasn’t serious by any means, it was something — and something was more than Ada had had in awhile. But what was this supposed to mean? That after all these years, Adam was making his move and it was just a coincidence that it happened just when Luke had invited them to his concert? No, thought Ada, it meant that Adam was jealous and spiteful and all he was trying to do was — well, she didn’t know what he was trying to do, that was still a mystery.

*

Adam was walking again, this time in a different direction than before, and now, entirely thanks to him, he had a whole new set of things to mull over and obsess about. He had come to one conclusion: kissing Ada had been a bad idea. That was obvious, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment. Adam replayed it over and over again before deciding that not only had it been a bad move, it had been a bad kiss. He could have at least put some effort into it and then maybe at least Ada could have gotten something out of it.

Adam sighed and looked up from his feet. The sun was just setting and the sky had begun to turn a lazy mauve. The air was still and Adam could hear people out in their backyards, barbecuing, talking, not being idiots, unlike himself. He ducked his head down again and set off, briefly wondering that maybe if he went back to the house that very second, and tried to explain his actions to Ada, things would be better. But it was too late, he was already heading in one direction and didn’t have the strength to turn around at that point. Before long he reached the Avenue, where the relaxed residential noises were replaced by the roar of motorcycles and cars with bad mufflers. A bus was idling about half a block away, and upon reading its destination, Adam jogged to catch it, stepping up on the rubber staircase just before the folding doors hissed shut.

He paid his fare and sat down near the back, across from a kid with headphones and what looked like some poor drunk sprawled out across the back bench. The bus hummed to life and jerked forward, allowing Adam to zone out, his gaze fixed on the ever-changing scenery rolling by the windows. He looked back to where he’d gotten on the bus and wondered if maybe going to see Mia was worse than running out on Ada. The Smart Little Man in the back of his brain told him “Yes, Adam, you bloody moron. Get off the bus.” But the giant monkey, wielding a sharpened stick at the front of his brain said “Talk Ada: bad! See Mia: good!” Adam decided to ignore the Smart Little Man. He could be such a jackass sometimes.

The bus lurched to a stop outside of a red brick indoor swimming pool. Adam could smell the chlorine as he stepped off the bus and headed in the direction of the Shaw house. It wasn’t very far away, so Adam didn’t have a lot of time to think about what he was going to say to Mia. In fact, the notion that he’d have to have any reason to see her at all didn’t even cross his mind until he could see their giant white house on the back end of a cul-de-sac. Adam stopped for a moment and then shrugged, it wasn’t like he was using his brain for anything else he did that day.

He rang the doorbell and waited for a few minutes. When nobody answered, he walked over to the corner of the house to check the driveway, but two cars were parked, so he went back to the front door and tried again, this time knocking. Adam was just about to back off the step when he heard footsteps and someone sliding across the linoleum to the front door. Mia swung the door open, out of breath and obviously surprised to see Adam standing there sheepishly.

“Adam?” she cocked her head, amused, and then smiled. “Come in.”

Adam stepped over the threshold and kicked off his shoes. He marveled once more at the high ceilings of the Shaw’s front hall and then returned his gaze to Mia, who was waiting expectantly for an explanation as to why he was there.

“I, um, just wanted to ask you something. Or, tell you something. About Rocky,” Adam finished.

Mia nodded. “Sure, anytime Adam. Listen, though, I’m just in the middle of finishing a huge order of flowers for Sam’s staff party, so would you mind if we talked in my flower room?”

“Sure,” said Adam. He followed Mia through the house and down the carpeted stairs. No going back now, Abel, you’d better come up with something good, crowed the Smart Little Man.

They passed through the family room and into what seemed to be the furnace room. The air hung heavy with the scent of heady flowers. The ground was concrete, and covered with leaves, twigs and wilted petals. In the middle of the room was a large square table. Two dozen glass vases were lined up, each with an equal amounts of baby’s breath, fern fillers and blue bells spraying out from the crystal clear water rippling with the echoes of Adam’s and Mia’s voices.

“So, what’s he done?” asked Mia, grimacing and reaching across the table to grasp a pair of pliers.

“Well, do you mind if we keep this between you and me?” said Adam. There was no use telling a lie if it was going to wind up biting him in the butt.

“Of course,” said Mia. “Is it really that bad?”

“No,” said Adam. “Actually, I just wanted some advice from you. Well, Rocky did, but he didn’t want to talk to you. He was afraid. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Mia knit her brows, and began slowly clipping away some unruly vegetation. “You can trust me, go on.”

“He’s kind of gotten himself involved with Ada,” said Adam. He quickly scanned the room for an appropriate place to puke, as the contents of his stomach suddenly lurched into motion.

Mia raised her eyebrows, obviously having a hard time believing that Ada would allow Rocky to become “involved” with her.

“But the thing is, he’s not really interested in her. He likes someone else – someone much older,” Adam hesitated before spitting out the rest of his explanation. “My mom, actually.” He could barely bring himself to look at the expression on Mia’s face.

“Rocky likes your mom?” she asked, trying to contain her smile.

“Yeah, well, she’s pretty, and nice and funny. And they’ve hung around a bit. He knows nothing can really happen, but now Ada’s involved and he doesn’t know what to do,” said Adam.

Mia set her pliers down gently and thought about this for a few moments. “Are you sure this is Rocky you’re talking about? It doesn’t seem very much like him.”

“It’s him,” said Adam.

“So why did Rocky get involved with Ada if he likes… your mom?” asked Mia.

“Who knows? It’s Rocky, right?” Adam laughed nervously. Mia didn’t look convinced. “It might have had something to do with her new boyfriend,” he mumbled.

“So maybe Rocky’s feeling a little left out? Or maybe what he is feeling towards your mom is just a mutated version of what he’s really feeling for Ada,” said Mia. She smiled sympathetically.

Adam looked up at her, as convoluted as that was, it actually made a bit of sense.

“Your mom is safe. She’s more experienced, wiser and seems like a safe bet, but I think Rocky might be fooling himself,” she said. “Besides, if it were me, hypothetically, I would be very flattered, but I would know that it would never work out in the end. I mean, that’s just me. I’m married, and although there are some things in my life that I would like to change, it’s too late for me to start over.”

Adam nodded. He wasn’t sure if Mia knew exactly what they were talking about, but he was almost certain she had an idea. “I guess I should go back and tell Rocky this stuff. He’s kind of freaking right now.”

Mia smiled. “Before you go, here,” she walked across the room to a small fridge and pulled out a yellow rose. She handed it to Adam. “I know you might feel silly carrying this around, but I want you to give it to Rocky to give to Ada. A yellow rose symbolizes friendship, and even though he might want to go beyond that one day, something tells me Ada would be happy with this right about now.”

Adam took the rose. “Thanks,” he said. “You’ve been very cool about all this.”

Mia shrugged. “That’s my job.”

*

It was dark by the time Adam got back to the big house. The lights were out on the first floor, but the attics windows were glowing. As much as he wanted to hide away in his room all night, he knew he’d be in worse trouble if he ignored Ada much longer. So, he forced his legs to climb those stairs, twirling the yellow rose and staring at its petals. He was just about to continue onto the attic ladder when he noticed light seeping out from underneath Ada’s bedroom door. He knocked softly.

“Who is it?

“Adam.”

She was silent for a few seconds. “What do you want?” This wasn’t hostile question, but tired and weary.

“Can I talk to you?” asked Adam. He was leaning up against the door, pressing his ear to the wood to see if she was coming to let him in.

“Go for it,” said Ada, apparently content with the opaque divider.

“I do like Luke. I’m sorry I – I’m sorry I haven’t been nicer about it,” he said.

“Why did you kiss me?”

“I don’t know,” said Adam. “But I have something for you. For now, it means I’m sorry and I want to be your friend.” He put the rose on the floor.

“For now?” asked Ada.

Adam rolled his eyes. “Yes. I’m sorry, again.” He stared at the door, and then, when it was obvious she wasn’t going to open it until he left, continued his trek to the attic ladder.

Chapter 14

Ada lay on her bed staring out the window. A single yellow rose poked out from a drinking glass on the sill, it was starting to wilt, but Ada didn’t want to remove it. She liked it. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had given her flowers – or a flower – and even though she’d come to the conclusion that Adam completely deserved to grovel at her feet, she was secretly appreciative of his gesture.

A few days had passed since Rachel moved in. She had eventually phoned Elma, and the results hadn’t been pretty. It was exactly what Ada had expected. Yelling. Screaming. Threatening to call the police. The usual. What she hadn’t expected was how well Rachel was getting along with both Adam and Rocky. It was as if the two years she was under the veil of weird did not happen, or didn’t count. She’d laugh at Rocky’s stupid jokes and play along with Adam’s sarcastic humour – they were one big happy family. Ada had been a bit more reluctant to let Adam get back on her good side, but she eventually convinced herself it wasn’t worth dwelling on. He’d been in a weird place, that she knew, even if he wasn’t be completely forthcoming about it. He’d dropped his funk in the last few days and even seemed to be looking forward to Luke’s concert that night. The solution, she thought, might have had something to do with him finally coming clean with Destiny. He’d mentioned her not talking to him at work, and it seemed to be doing him wonders.

Ada rolled off her bed and checked her watch, only a few more hours till they had to leave for the RetroPit. She’d promised Luke she would call him before they left but now was too soon. She was at a loss as to what she was going to do for the next three hours. Sounds of a bowling game were rattling her ceiling, so she decided to pay a visit to the happy rollers in the attic.

Rocky and Rachel were playing what seemed to be a very serious game of granny bowling. Rocky was at the pitch when Ada climbed into view. He had the ball in both hands and was staring intently at the three pins left standing. Swinging back between his legs, he let out a shrill war cry and let the ball loose. Ada put her hands over her ears as the ball bounced once on the lane and skipped over the gutter, finally rumbling to a stop in the corner of the attic.

“Rocky! You’re going to put a hole in the roof,” complained Ada. Rocky just laughed manically and Rachel giggled hysterically.

“Chill, Wongstein,” he said, strolling over to pick up the ball.

“You can stop calling me that any day,” she said, walking over to a folding chair and setting herself down in a huff. Rocky stuck his tongue out and Ada rolled her eyes.

“What’s your problem?” said Rachel, taking Ada’s ball with two hands.

“Bored. Still a few hours till the concert,” said Ada, examining her nails.

“So get ready.” Rachel rolled the ball excruciatingly slow.

Ada looked down at her clothes. Jeans, button-up shirt, she didn’t see a problem. “I’m mostly ready,” she said.

“Why don’t you make us something to eat? I’m starving,” said Rocky.

Ada frowned and was about to tell Rocky to make something himself, when the idea of cooking food seemed suddenly appealing.

“Good idea,” she said. “I’ll go make some pancakes.” Pancakes was the one thing Ada was really good at. She had Rachel had been under the culinary tutelage of their mother since they were six, so they both knew how to cook. Surprisingly, Rachel was the gourmet of the family, while Ada just relied on her abilities of presentation to mask the perpetually burnt and or undercooked food she produced. The house had acquired a frying pan at some point during the week, so Ada had everything she needed.

She set off to the lower level, thankful to have something to take her mind off of Luke’s concert that night. She wasn’t sure what there was to be nervous about, but somehow felt that this evening would be a culmination of everything that had happened in the past two weeks. They were all going, and both Rocky and Adam had promised to be on their best behaviours.

As Ada was stirring her pancake mix, she felt a cold nose on her bare feet, and then a slippery tongue between her toes. Asshat had come to beg, and Ada scooped a spoonful of batter onto the hardwood floor to appease the creature. Asshat lapped it up and then settled at Ada’s feet to gaze up at her endearingly, but she ignored him, and moved over to the gas oven to ignite one of the burners for her pan.

“What are you making?”

Ada turned around to see Adam walk into the kitchen. His hands were in his pockets, and he sat heavily down on a lawn chair.

“Pancakes,” she answered, moving the pan to the flame and giving her batter an extra stir for good measure.

“You told me one time that pancakes are your angry food,” said Adam. He looked worried, but Ada laughed.

“I told you that? I don’t even remember. I’m not angry, I just have a lot of nervous energy, I guess,” she said.

“It’ll be fine, it’s just a concert,” said Adam.

“Yeah… Luke’s concert. Are you sure you want to come?” she poised her dripping spoon above the bowl.

“Yes,” mumbled Adam, looking at his hands. He had resolved to be there for Ada, despite any new revelations he’d had regarding their relationship. The talk with Mia had helped somewhat, and he’d even stopped thinking about her constantly. Maybe there was something to what she’d said, but he was convinced that all the psychobabble in the world couldn’t bring him to his senses. For the time being, Adam was quite content to mull in confusion.

“I’m glad,” said Ada. She turned back to the stove to pour the first of her pancakes onto the pan. Thick, creamy batter dribbled out, piling into circles on the cast iron. It sizzled and steamed, making Ada’s stomach grumble. The pancake preparation seemed to have had the same effect on Asshat, who grew tired of the floor and felt the countertop would be a better vantage point for his begging. He’d hopped up onto counter and was pacing back and forth, wagging his tail, and expressing extreme pride in his accomplishment.

“Off, you stupid dog,” said Ada, swatting at Asshat with the roll of paper towel. Asshat wasn’t known for his stellar obedience, and so, instead of listening to Ada, proceeded to attack the paper towel roll. He ripped it from her grasp and shook it, sending Ada to cover her bowl of batter protectively. Adam jumped up and grabbed Asshat by the collar.

“We’ll leave you,” he said. “Call us when the pancakes are done.”

Ada surveyed the damage. The pan was askew, but her pancakes were thankfully dog hair free.