October, 2020:

      As he walked through the house into the living room, Ashley heard Aerin say, "Yeah, I'm heading out to the driveway right now," as she popped up from the couch and started toward the front door. "What does the closest street sign say?" 

      This question let him know that she was speaking with Aidan, who was finally arriving for a week-long visit. She and Aerin had been attempting to arrange the trip for several months, but something had always happened to derail their plans. The first obstacle had been the coronavirus lockdown at the end of March, then the rescheduled visit in July had been scuttled due to Aidan having to purchase a new fuel pump for her car, which had wiped out her ready cash. They had made vague plans for September, but those had been sidelined by Bobby's surprise visit and Aerin's subsequent trip to Florida. But when Aidan had called Aerin just a few days earlier and informed her that she had an entire week off due to major maintenance work in her department, everything fell into place, and Aidan had called at seven AM to let them know that she was preparing to start the nearly eight hour drive from Missouri to Tennessee.

      Muttering a curse under his breath because he hadn't had the opportunity to shower off the sawdust that he had carried home from his current flip, he dashed to the mirror in the foyer to give his reflection a quick once-over, and after brushing some dust from his hair, he reached the front door just in time to see Aerin dashing over to an older model Ford Taurus that had just parked in the driveway. The door of the light-blue vehicle swung open, and as Aidan stepped out, he could hear both women squealing as they embraced and fairly danced in a circle for several seconds before coming to a stop. Then, just as he started to step out onto the porch, he felt something brush his leg, and instinctively reached down, catching hold of his cat, Sparrow, just before she managed to hurtle out into the yard. 

      Tucking the animal securely into one arm, he walked toward the pair as they opened the back doors of the car and reached in for Aidan's bags. As she pulled out a large duffel bag, he reached out and grasped it with his free hand, causing her to jump slightly, but as she caught sight of him, a wide smile spread across her face.

      "Hey there, Ash!" she greeted him. "It's nice to finally meet you in person." Then her gaze shifted downward from his face, and she reached out her hand, saying, "And it's nice to meet you too, pretty girl," as she scratched the small black cat under the chin. 

      He offered a smile of his own, and replied, "Right back atcha, hon. I would give you a hug, but I just got home from installing some cabinets, and I'm covered in sawdust, so I don't want to get you all messy."

      She let out a brief laugh, and responded, "Dude, I spend forty-plus hours a week covered in sulfuric acid, lead dust, fiberglass lint, and baking soda, so don't let a little sawdust stop you," as she stepped forward and flung her arms around his neck. He let the bag fall to the ground as he wrapped his free arm around her waist, returning the embrace until Sparrow shifted in his grasp, and Aidan stepped back, saying, "Sorry about that, sweetie, I didn't mean to squish you."

      Sparrow responded by wriggling free from Ashley's grasp and leaping onto Aidan's shoulder, purring as she nuzzled under her chin, which took him by surprise. "It looks like she likes you," he informed his guest. "It usually takes her a while to warm up to strangers."

      "Animals are far from stupid," Aidan returned. "They can usually tell who likes them, and isn't afraid of them. Also, I have cats of my own, if you recall. Maybe she smells them and wants to investigate." She put her left hand up to keep Sparrow from falling while reaching into the car for another bag with her right, as Ash picked her duffel back up and slung the strap over his shoulder. "Shouldn't we go inside, before Miss Fuzzy-Butt here decides she wants to have an adventure? Besides, I come bearing gifts."

      As Aidan and Aerin walked toward the house ahead of him, Ashley took note of a few things that he hadn't previously realized. First off, Aidan was taller than he had thought, standing nearly half a foot taller than his vertically-challenged roommate, which put her only a couple of inches below his own height. Secondly, thanks to the bright afternoon sunlight, he saw that her dark auburn hair had undertones of brilliant copper that fairly glowed in the light as she moved. 

      His final observation, which he silently ordered himself to pretend he hadn't noticed, was that, while not quite as amply-endowed as Aerin, she did possess a rather impressive rack, along with a not half-bad pair of legs, which were currently showcased by a pair of blue velvet leggings. He wasn't sure how this had escaped his attention during the numerous Skype sessions that he had been included in over the past several months, but he promised himself that he would refrain from any comments or actions that would let the ladies know that he had taken notice. This was mainly because he didn't want to chance making Aidan uncomfortable around him, and give her reason to see him in light of his rather notorious "Purdy Perv" reputation, but there was also a part of him that actively wanted to avoid the backlash that he knew he'd face from Aerin if the situation did reach that point, and her friend didn't feel comfortable visiting her again. 

      They entered the house, and Ashley turned to Aerin. "Why don't you show Aidan where she's sleeping while I go clean up real quick? Then we can decide what to have for dinner, and figure out what we can do for entertainment this week."

      The women moved down the hall toward the guest room while he dashed to the other side of the house and set a new personal-best record for showering and getting himself into a presentable state before returning to join them in the living room. As he entered, he heard an unfamiliar sound, like the ringing of bells, and saw Sparrow near the door of the coat closet, batting at something that was hanging from the doorhandle. As he moved to get a closer look, he saw that it was a ball crocheted from bright yellow yarn, which was attached to a spiral of the same yarn that allowed it to bounce up and down as she swatted at it. 

      "There's two more right here," Aidan said as she indicated a small box on the coffee table. "So you can either put them in other rooms, or save them for whenever she wears this one out." She then picked up a bag that sat near her on the couch and added, "Aerin already opened hers while you were showering, this one is yours. It's a bit early to use them yet, but I hope you like it anyway."

      He took the bag and reached inside, pulling out a pair of gloves which had been crocheted from a soft steel-gray yarn, along with a matching slouch hat, both worked in a complex-looking basketweave pattern. "I know how you like your beanies and stocking caps, so I thought this might work. Wasn't sure how Aerin feels about hats, so I went in a slightly different direction for hers."

      He glanced over and saw his roomie waving at him with a hand encased in a herringbone-patterned glove done in a deep violet yarn, with a matching infinity scarf around her neck. "You weren't kidding when you said you prefer to work with bigger hooks, were you?" she chuckled. "Lookin' at these stitches, you could fit about three of mine in each one of these."

      Ashley slid one of the gloves over his hand, and was surprised at how well it fit, and how comfortable it was. "These are very cool, Aidan, thank you. This pair I'm gonna save for when I go somewhere nice. Definitely not going to wear these to pull out drywall, or anything of that nature."

      After he and Aerin put their gifts away, they discussed going out for dinner, but after an eight-hour drive, Aidan didn't really feel up to spending more time in a vehicle and dealing with restaurant crowds, so Aerin decided to make up a batch of the linguine that she had told Aidan about so frequently, separating out a portion without meat for Ashley, while he made up a salad and some garlic bread to round out the meal. They chatted as they ate, getting to know each other a bit better, and comparing notes on the different art forms that held their individual interests, until Ashley's phone rang just as Aerin was about to put their dishes in the dishwasher.

      He glanced at the phone, but made no attempt to answer it, letting the call go to his voicemail. But this didn't seem to have the desired effect, as it rang again almost immediately, which earned a frustrated growl from Ashley, and an eye-roll from his roommate. Aidan leaned toward her friend and inquired, "What's going on, anyway? How come he's not answering the phone?"

      "Cause if it's who I'm assuming it is, he's tryin' his damnedest to avoid another ride on the crazy train," she replied. Then, turning to look at Ashley, she queried, "Poison Ivy again, I'm assuming? What's her name... Linda? And why the hell didya give her your number, anywhore?"

      He continued to glare at the phone as he replied, "Her name is Lydia. And I didn't give her my number, so she either managed to get it off of my phone when I wasn't paying attention, or I need to figure out which of my friends I have to strangle."

      "Crazy ex-girlfriend, I'm guessing?" Aidan ventured, slightly confused when the question earned her a rather un-ladylike snort from Aerin, and caused Ashley to flush a deep red and look rather embarrassed.

      "No, not exactly," he rather hesitantly admitted. "We've never actually dated, just... you know, sorta kinda... you know."

      "Yeah, pretty sure I do," Aidan responded. "I'm thirty-three years old, so you don't have to dance around the subject on my account. I doubt that there are many people these days who haven't been in that situation at least once in their lives. That makes my only question whether she's getting pushy, or if you're just trying to ghost her?"

      "No, I'm not," he said, "Or, at least I wasn't until she got ridiculous. We never even made it to having an actual date before she decided that she was gonna take over my life."

      They went back to the living room, and he and Aerin then explained that the girl worked at one of the bars that he frequented with some of his friends, and that she had invited him to come home with her one night. Things had seemed to be fine until she took him home a second time a couple of weeks later. After that, she had made a comment about Aerin needing to find her own place, because she didn't intend to live in a house with another woman, and he had asked what the hell she was talking about. 

      This was when he had discovered that as far as she was concerned, the fact that he had slept with her a second time meant that they were now a couple, and she fully expected to move in with him, if not wrangle a marriage proposal. He had informed her that this was definitely not the case, and that she had, in fact, achieved exactly the opposite. He declined to see her again, and had even stopped going to that bar for several weeks, until he found out that she had been fired for getting into an altercation with the girlfriend of one of his buddies, whom Lydia had accused of having a fling with him, simply because she had appeared in one of his music videos. But she had somehow obtained his phone number and started calling him, alternating between what amounted to audio porn, to tearful apologies and promises to do better, to screaming threats that he'd "be sorry he didn't appreciate her".

      "She hasn't shown up on the doorstep yet, so hopefully she hasn't figured out where I live," he concluded. "I've already had to move once because some nut-job lost her grip on reality, and I sure as shit don't want to have to do it again."

      "Trust me, that won't be a problem, hon," Aerin announced. "Cause if she shows her face around here after pullin' this kind of shit, I'll more than likely turn her into something resembling a pincushion."

      Ashley turned to Aidan and said, "Umm, yeah. If she hasn't told you, she's kind of into knives."

      "Yeah, I know," she chuckled. "Can't see how that's a problem, when I have at least a dozen of my own. I don't sleep with 'em, like she says that she does, but I usually have at least one close at hand, just in case." She then proceeded to rummage in her purse for a few seconds before producing a rather unusual-looking double-bladed knife, which she held up for him to inspect.

      "Damn, that thing looks unfriendly!" Ashley declared. "You haven't ever had to actually use it, have you?"

      "No, fortunately not. But I figure better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

      "Yeah, there's definitely something to be said for 'Better safe than sorry'," he said, somewhat ruefully. "Maybe one of these days I'll be able to fire up enough brain cells to operate that way myself."

      "Aw, don't feel bad, Ash. I'm practically one hundred percent sure that everyone, at least once in their lives, has gotten involved with someone and wound up asking themselves, 'What the hell was I thinking?' I know I sure as hell have," Aidan said, in a reassuring tone.

      "Same here," Aerin chimed in. "I've talked to both of you about some of it, so you know I can relate." 

      "Yeah, but I seem to make a habit of it," he replied. "Doesn't matter if I'm in a relationship, or just playing the field, something goes wrong. I guess I spend so much time looking at the gift wrap that I don't stop to think about what's in the box, and I've got to stop doing that."  Then, sensing the rather depressive tone that the conversation was taking, he hopped up from his seat and walked to the fireplace, plucking a small pamphlet from the mantle. 

      Moving back to hand it to Aidan, he said, "I picked this up a couple of days ago from the Chamber of Commerce, it's a listing of different tourist attractions and events that are going on right now. I figured you could have a look, and if there's anything particular you want to see or do, let me know now, so we'll have time to make the arrangements."

      She began leafing through the booklet, and her friends noticed a look of interest cross her face, then almost instantly disappear. "What?" Aerin queried. "What did you see?"

     "Never mind," Aidan replied, almost sounding embarrassed. "I doubt it's anything y'all would be interested in. Well, maybe you would, a little bit,  but I don't see it being his kind of thing."

      "Hey, I'm always up for trying new things," Ashley added. "Let us in on what's got your attention, and maybe we can give it a shot."

      She laid the booklet on the coffee table, and pointed to a listing for a Renaissance Faire that was taking place just outside of the city, and said, "My gaming group used to go to the one in Bonner Springs every year, but we've missed the last couple, for one reason or another, so I just thought it might be kind of fun."

      "Hey, it's got vendors that sell weapons and fairy stuff, so I'm in!" Aerin exclaimed as she scanned the pamphlet.

      "Not something I've ever thought about, but sure, I'll give it a shot," Ashley said. "As long as I don't have to wear tights, that is. Or those poofy balloon pants."

      "Costumes aren't required," Aidan giggled. "We usually wear them, but I didn't bring one with anyway, so regular garb is fine with me."

      After deciding on a couple of other activities for the week, Aidan began to yawn, as her long drive was starting to catch up to her. So she said her goodnights to her hosts and headed for the guest room to get some sleep before the busy day ahead. Shortly afterward, Aerin went to her room, with the intention of calling Bobby, leaving Ash in the living room with only Sparrow for company.

      "Looks like it's just you and me, baby girl," he murmured, as he picked her up and started for his own room. "I guess it's a good thing you seem to like Aidan, since she'll probably be visiting again sometime. I like her too, she's fun to hang out with, and she seems to have her shit together. Somehow, I doubt that anyone needs to worry too much about any crazy from this one, she seems to be one of the calm, quiet ones. Just what we need around here, it'll balance things out."