Age and Birthday: 25; July 8, 1982
“To be a Fitzpatrick means something.” The phrase was the first memory that Aidan Fitzpatrick had of his father, and was one that was said to him time and time again when his path in life was the topic of rare conversation. The middle child of Brian, Sr. and Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Aidan often felt conflicted about what it was exactly that he wanted to do in life. He was a pleasant child, prone to artistic hobbies like his older brother before him, rather than ones that his father might consider “constructive”. Instead of listening to his father’s lectures about business and the importance of making something of himself by following in his old man’s footsteps, Aidan often chose to observe his surrounds, jotting things down in journals since he was a child, and on occasions where he wasn’t doing that, entertaining his younger siblings, or following around his older ones. Aidan often could be found trying to work through a book far beyond his reading level. It paid off, though, and Aidan became an excellent student without much effort.
Throughout his high school years, Aidan was an honors student and due to peer pressure placed on him by a few of his friends he ran for student council president as a laugh and was shocked when he won. Aidan didn’t back down from responsibility, though, and once elected he did perform beyond expectation. Naturally, given their financial status, the Fitzpatrick’s were in school with some of the more socially elite crowd, but Aidan never fell for their game. In fact, his attraction to a girl who sat next to him in his photography class, an elective course he took to try to understand his brother Finn’s passion, was the only reason that he allowed himself to socialize with the “socialite” crowd in their school. (Incidentally, while Aidan was in no way, shape, or form the gifted photographer that Finn is, he did receive very high praise for a photo essay he put together using his brother’s old Polaroid camera.) Often finding their partying lifestyle ridiculous, dangerous, dull, and repugnant, Aidan would spend countless Saturdays keeping his cousin Colin company at the family deli, and writing the stories about what he had seen the night before with his “friends”. His stories in his journal often bordered on a sarcastic and witty critique of the debauchery of the lifestyle his so called friends were living, and even though Colin often threatened to slice his hand off in the meat slicer if he didn’t let him read what he was writing, Aidan kept his journal well hidden away from everyone. It was so well hidden that when Aidan followed in Finn’s footsteps and entered New York University as a freshman, he forgot all about it and it rested in his sock drawer for over a year and a half.
Having listened to his father insist that he major in finance, Aidan often just humored the old man so that he would let him be. The truth was Aidan had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. With a perfect GPA and high SAT scores, the possibilities were endless once he was in college, but nothing ever struck him as something he just had to do. Aidan was envious of his brothers’ passion for their art. He would often look through copies of Finn’s photographs or listen to Sean’s music, and long for the inspiration that would lead him to what he wanted to do with his life. Deciding to major in Liberal Arts, Aidan challenged himself by taking difficult courses, but still lacked in the passion department. Contemplating taking some time off to travel or find himself as some do, despite his parent’s wishes, he was soon surprised when his older sister Lizzy seemingly found his passion for him.
During Spring Break of his second year at NYU, Lizzy approached him having found his long forgotten about journal that he had written in high school. At first, angered by the invasion of his privacy, he snatched up the journal and told Lizzy she was horrible for reading it and crazy for thinking it was book material. However, in true sibling style, the anger only lasted for about ten minutes while she gave her pitch about why he should send it to a publisher. She put up a convincing argument and by the time his sophomore year was coming to an end, Catch Us If You Can was released and instantly became a cult hit among twentysomethings. Having always admired his brother’s skill, and trusting him to not “make him look like an asshole” Aidan insisted that his brother, Finn, be the one to take the photograph of him that appeared on the back flap of the book. Taking his planned year off, Aidan spent it on a book tour rather than a soul searching vacation, and he traveled from college town to college town giving talks and taking part in panel discussions about the destruction of youth, the power of peer pressure, and the lure of the excessive lifestyle. Aidan was a reluctant celebrity among his fan base, but he never turned down anyone who asked for him to sign their book, or had questions about his stories and observations. While the book was published essentially as it was written in his journal, though, Aidan begrudgingly insisted, falsely of course, that it was a work of fiction at the request of the family attorney who feared retribution from those he wrote about. Knowing that his success would not have been possible without his sister’s snooping, the dedication read: To my sister Lizzy, without whom this book would still be hiding in my old sock drawer.
Despite his success, Aidan was adamant about returning to school as opposed to writing a second novel straightaway. His father still held out hope that Aidan would “toss away this nonsense” and change his major to finance, but no longer feeling the need to humor his father he stayed on course, graduating with honors and a B.A. in Liberal Arts in 2006. Still trying to accept his fate as an accidental author, Aidan’s publisher is hounding him for a second novel. Despite the fact that he has continued to write, he is unsure that the things he would want to make public are worth the paper they would be printed on.
As far as relationships, Aidan had a few girlfriends throughout high school and college but only one serious one that came in his junior year in college. Other than his socialite crush, Aidan has never pursued relationships actively and mostly falls under the belief that “if it happens, it happens”. His only long term relationship came in the form of Kerry Murphy, daughter of a friend of one of his Aunts, and ended shortly before his father fell ill. He has a handful of friends that he actually considers true friends, but mostly prefers the company of his siblings and cousins. He relies on them, and they really are the only people that he truly trusts not to take advantage of him or lie to him and to always be there for him. Nothing proved this to him more than when Finn returned to New York after their father was diagnosed with cancer. Elizabeth had turned to Aidan to be the man of his house in his older brother’s absence, but the steady decline in his father’s health was something that Aidan didn’t feel he had the strength to handle on his own. Though he never said it in as many words, Aidan was eternally grateful for Finn’s return and for his taking the position that had fallen onto him, and for making every attempt to keep the five of them as close as ever.
When Brian, Sr. passed away, Elizabeth was insistent that Aidan, the writer in the family, deliver the eulogy. He struggled with this, not really knowing what to write, but over a typical Saturday lunch at the family deli with Uncle Eddie and cousin Colin by his side, Aidan managed a few paragraphs that were heartfelt ended it with the idea that his father had attempted to drill into him since he was a child: “To be a Fitzpatrick means something.” Since their mother’s recent departure to Europe with “Uncle” Sal, Aidan has moved back into the family home and has started to finally make attempts to force himself into putting together his second novel.