Page 89 of Brides and Brothers
Chapter 33
Aiden
Time had been Aiden’s enemyall month. He was all packed, and it was only Monday night. He wasn’t supposed to leave until Wednesday. He had already had dinner, worked out, and showered—all before seven in the evening. He’d rather eat frozen food for the rest of the year than spend one more night in a hotel. Having never aspired to be a traveling businessman, Aiden anticipated checking this off his list of unfortunate experiences.
He flipped through the channels on the TV before turning it back off, remembering the one thing he still had left to do. He picked up his scriptures and pulled on the ribbon that marked where he had left off the day before in the book of Judges. He had always been intrigued by the tribes of Israel and the problems those brothers and their families had faced. After a devastating battle against the tribe of Benjamin, the majority of the tribes had sworn off any marriages between their daughters and the sons of Benjamin. The humbling circumstance had led the sons of Benjamin to find wives for their brethren in a most unique manner.
Aiden’s phone buzzed. He put his scriptures aside and pulled his phone off the end table. It was Benson. They had called each other at least once a week since Aiden had left home. He had needed someone to report to him on his brothers and reassure him that his wife was okay.
He pushed the accept button and held the phone to his ear. “Hey, what’s up?”
“We’ve got a situation I can’t figure out on my own.”
Aiden let his shoulder prop up his phone while he pulled his scriptures closer. He had learned a long time ago that there were some situations only God could solve. His faith had seen him through the death of his parents and the last ten years. By the sound of Benson’s voice, this was going to be one of those times Aiden would need heaven’s help. “Is this about apartment 206?”
“You know their apartment number?” Benson asked, incredulous of Aiden’s knowledge.
“Camille lived in 205, remember? And I hear about this apartment in almost every phone call I get from home these days. If it’s that important to my family, then it’s important to me.”
He waited for Benson to gather his thoughts. Benson finally asked, “How do you fix a problem when you don’t know how it got to be a problem in the first place?”
The tribes of Israel had been confused about the division between their tribes too, but war was not the answer here. “Even though I’ve talked to Camille about this already, I understand less than anyone who’s mad at who and why no one is speaking to each other.” He could hear cars passing in the background on the other end. Benson must be outside; he’d always required fresh air to clear his mind when he needed to think something out.
“Camille finally got ahold of Daisha yesterday afternoon. Daisha said the women are taking a break from all Peterson boys until after Thanksgiving. It was Amy’s idea, actually, and they all agreed to it. Something about a boy fast.”
“What about Sage?” Aiden didn’t think an engaged couple would agree to a week apart from each other if they could help it.
“Sage is in on it too. I guess she and Flynn had their first fight.”
“I thought Flynn drove down to Ogden to meet her parents this weekend.”
“Yep,” Benson answered, “and apparently, Sage’s parents want her to wait until she has her associate’s degree to get married, which is around the same time her brother, who lives overseas, will be back in town.”
Aiden would have been upset too. “When is their proposed wedding date, then?”
“Sage hasn’t been the best student, so they’re looking at another year at least—possibly a year and a half.”
Aiden whistled. That was a long engagement. “So Flynn’s upset because Sage wants to cleave to her parents and fulfill all their harebrained desires?”
Benson chuckled. “Nope. Flynn wants to please the parents, and Sage wants to elope. She’s one of the ringleaders for the expulsion of the Petersons.”
Aiden shook his head. He had learned a lot about women since he got married, and the one thing that came to the forefront of his mind was that women often reasoned with their emotions. “Maybe I should talk to Amy. She’s always liked me. I know she’ll answer my call. If we can get one woman on our side besides Camille, maybe she can convince the others to call it quits.”
“That would be helpful,” Benson said with a sigh. “I know the other guys would appreciate it too.”
“I’ll talk to her right now and call you back.”
Aiden hung up, then scrolled down his contact list for his sister-in-law’s name. He clicked on her name, and on the fifth ring she picked up.
“Aiden?”
“Hey, Amy.”
Amy spoke before he could even tell her why he’d called. “Why are you calling me? Is something wrong with Grant? I knew it! I’ll never forgive myself if something happened to him.”
“Amy, please, stop. Nothing is wrong with Grant. I got a letter from him yesterday, and he’s perfectly fine.”
“Then, why are you calling? Aren’t you still in LA?”
