He cleared his throat and rustled his hair again. He smiled at himself and grabbed his keys then headed out the door. It was sunny out just like any other day had been so far and Aaron felt a bit relaxed and tense. When he drove his car into the parking lot of the company he remained seated for the next 15 minutes listening to the radio announcements and music.

The wait for the elevator lift seemed so long and finally it came down. Aaron stepped inside with much ease, others joining him before the doors would automatically close.

“Morning Aaron,” greeted Ah Ken.

Ah Ken was a team member that worked under Aaron. He was a funny and humorous guy and was always able to keep the atmosphere up in the clouds. Aaron enjoyed working with him and they often went out to eat lunch together. He felt like a person Aaron could trust.  

“Morning.”

“I’m excited for work today that I couldn’t sleep last night and even woke up early.” he said as if he were confessing.

Aaron smiled and rubbed his hands together. He had felt the exact same thing.

“Do you know why?”

“Why?” Aaron asked agreeing silently with him.

“I want to get to know the new girl. Maybe if things turn out well we can become friends then you know…” he said giggling.

Aaron glanced at him from the corner of his eyes smiling and felt unsure of how he should react to it. When the elevator doors opened and they headed down the hall toward their office where they worked, Aaron couldn’t help but feel his heart pound anxiously. What if Selina was already in there? But when he entered the doors no one was there yet. Slightly disappointed he headed over to his seat and sat down.

“Wow we’re the only 2 here,” Ah Ken said.

And as soon as he said that 3 other team members filed in. Selina came in with the last 2 team members and made their way to their seats.

The room was pretty big with 3 tall windows to the right. 4 desks were arranged next to the windows with computers on them and cabinets next to them. On the left side of the room was 3 other desks, computers, and cabinets. The printer was at the front of the room next to Aaron’s large desk piled with papers and pens and binders. A long oval table filled up the space in the center where they often had meetings. Besides the only items that made up the office there was a tall plant in the corner of the room that only the janitor watered every week.

“Good morning Selina!” Ah Ken greeted, “I’m Ah Ken.”

Selina smiled and greeted him.

Aaron also wanted to greet her but these words came out of his words instead, “Our last project was a success so lets work even harder on this one.”

The team members clapped cheerily and gave shouts of joy.

“We’ll be focusing on environmental standards and tourism next. We might even travel this time,” Aaron said excited.

“To where?!”

“Can we go to Korea?”

“We’ll see, the upper heads are assigning only some of us to go out and look at ph levels nearby. Meanwhile we’ll work on transportation advertisements,” he continued.

After everyone assigned themselves to different teams and Aaron made his way to his desk the chatter began. Though Aaron kept his eyes down on the papers he was reading he wasn’t concentrating. He could only concentrate on the shaking feeling he had inside and the butterflies in his stomach.

“I heard you transferred from Shanghai.”

Selina nodded. Aaron felt his ears pick up their conversation.

“Which school did you go to?” she asked.

“Taipei University,” Selina replied.

“Aaron’s from the same college. Did you two know each other?” asked the girl.

Selina felt herself become nervous and Aaron become anxious.

“I…we did but we didn’t see each other much,” Selina lied.

Didn’t see each other much? What did Selina mean by that? They were close.

“How does it feel like working with an old classmate?”

“Like junior year in college.”

Aaron’s binder fell from his desk creating a loud disruption in the room. Aaron looked up to find all eyes on him. He felt his stomach form knots as his blood swirled inside him. What was this feeling?

“Sorry,” Aaron apologized picking up the binder.

Selina was the first to turn away and continue talking. Aaron kept his eyes glued to her for 5 more seconds and set his binder down on his desk. Junior year in college was when he had married Hebe, when he and Selina became distant. Was Selina still holding her anger against that? But why? It had been 3 years ago, 3 years had passed…everything should be over now. Aaron felt an arrow stab his back. He was being a hypocrite thinking that because truth was that nothing was over.

Selina had gone out for lunch with the girls and Aaron had a late lunch when they returned. A few hours later after everyone had gotten off work except for Aaron who remained seated to his chair without reason. Selina hadn’t bid him farewell and the distant feeling that had been between them seemed to grow bigger. He feared it…their relationship becoming cold again. Because it had been 3 years…those words chased itself in his head.

“Aaron what are you still doing here?” Ah Ken asked walking in. “It’s night already.”

Aaron glanced at his watch and leaned back in his seat, “I didn’t notice.”

“Lets go,” Ah Ken told.

“Where are we going?” asked Aaron.

“If you don’t mind, a club. We’re holding a welcome party for Selina,” he explained.

||||||||

Hebe glanced at the time. It was beginning to get late, but she still hadn’t eaten. Sticking her keys in her pockets with a few dollars Hebe headed out the door.

“You should always bring your purse. You always use more money than you think you need,” she could hear Aaron’s voice call after her.

Hebe stopped midway through the door and stared at the empty street ahead of her. Ignoring his voice ringing in her ears she closed the door and headed down the street. It wasn’t too windy, but she could hear traffic up ahead. She wanted to go through the stands that so many people held each night around the markets. It was so silent at home that sometimes she felt she literally needed to be around a crowd.

Stalls were standing next to each other with many others standing behind them greeting customers or shouting to attract customers. People chattered around her happily in groups with friends and family. Teenagers were roaming the streets smoking or eating to their heart’s content. Hebe stopped by a noodle stall where some teenagers were sitting eating bowls of noodles. They had made the noodles seem so good Hebe wanted some herself.

She and Aaron had gone through the night market a few times during her pregnancy years but rarely after she had given birth to the twins. She was too cooped up with the children and he at work.

“Dude I got my girlfriend pregnant. I don’t know what to do.” a young teenager told his friend.

The two of them seemed like best friends to Hebe.

“Are you thinking about abortion?” his friend questioned.

“We don’t know. She sort of wants to have the baby, but I’m scared.”

“You should take responsibility,” Hebe thought to herself.

“Your parents?” the friend asked.

“They don’t know.”

“Just have the baby man!”

Hebe felt her heart become lighter.

“But think about it man. No matter how young we are and if we get married it’s the end of us! I’ll have to worry about my family for the rest of my life and she doesn’t like me being friends with other girls,” he said. “I’ll become a prisoner.”

“Do you really have to think like that? You should just go through with the consequences because you’re the one who gave her the baby. Her body couldn’t help it,” the friend pointed out, “you don’t want to become a baby murderer, do you? I mean when she has the baby you might actually really love him.”

The other friend pondered for a while, “I don’t know. Both my parents are home tonight so I might tell them.”

Once they left Hebe was left with the small impact from their conversation. Now, for the first time in her life, she began wondering if she had deprived Aaron of having his own friends because of her fantasy of a perfect husband, perfect family. But the friend was right. When the she had given birth to the twins Aaron had seemed to fall in love with her even more…or so it seemed like. The one thing Hebe hated most was when Aaron smiled. Even when he smiled she could still feel it from him that there was something-someone he was missing. Had she made him feel like he had to leave every bit of his past behind?

“It was his fault first,” Hebe told herself silently, “if he hadn’t started to bring you on by talking to you and inviting you to lunch none of this would be here now.”

Filled with silent grudges Hebe finished the last of her noodles and returned home.

||||||||

Aaron found himself walking through crowds of people with the urge to cover his ears from the blasting music in the background. Ah Ken led the way toward the back where they were having the welcoming party.

“Hey guys!” Ah Ken shouted.

The others turned around with smiles and waved. Aaron searched around but did not find Selina anywhere.

“They said Selina went to the bathroom,” Ah Ken told, “we were dancing earlier but now all she wants to do is drink.”

Drink? Selina never drank, not even a drop of alcohol was allowed in her apartment when she had lived in Taipei 3 years ago. Where had she garnered that habit from? Aaron found his way over to the table piled with cups and cups and glasses of beer. When he began pouring himself a shot Selina had just made her way back. Their eyes met as she hesitated for a bit then finally sat down by him on the bench. Other than the silence Selina brought with her, the music played loudly in the back accompanied by various shouts and laughter, which Aaron found very irritating.

“How have you been?” Aaron asked trying to rid the atmosphere of its awkwardness.

“Well.” Selina replied and ended the conversation however Aaron persisted.

“You…you went back after graduation?” Aaron wondered nervously afraid of whether Selina would push him away or not.

“Who would stay?” Selina sounded aggressive.

“I don’t know.” was all Aaron was able to make out.

He had looked around for her after graduation wondering if they could keep in touch as friends, but found out from a classmate that she had left after receiving her diploma with her parents.

“You said before we didn’t see each other much.”

“Yea?” Selina drunk another shot.

“We…we were something then.” Aaron heard his own voice become squeaky and small.