Chapter 3
Ava thought she was in good shape until she ran the stairs three times with Sookie. By the time they finished the last set, she was so winded she could hardly breathe. Her red hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, and she bent forward and sucked air into her lungs.
“That was one more workout,” she panted.
“I didn’t know how I was going to keep in shape when we decided to live on cruise ships.
” Sookie wiped her face with a bandanna she pulled out of the pocket of her athletic shorts.
“I was used to walking around the football field in our small town several times in the morning and then running the bleachers. I was just fine when I found an exercise room with a treadmill and figured out these stairs are as good as bleachers. And this is in air-conditioned comfort.”
“I’m sweating like a hooker on the front row of a tent revival in July,” Ava said.
Sookie laughed out loud. “I haven’t heard that saying in years and years.”
“My granny used to say that when she was all sweaty,” Ava said with a smile.
“Were you close to your granny?”
“Oh, yeah,” Ava said as she straightened up. “She kept me when I was a little girl while my mama and daddy worked, so we kind of had a special bond. Minnie reminds me of her.”
“Not me?”
“Oh, no!” Ava found enough air for a giggle. “Granny hated to get all sticky sweaty, and cooking in an air-conditioned kitchen was enough exercise for her.” She heard a noise behind her and looked over her shoulder just in time to see Vince and Henry step out of the elevator.
“Well, hello, Sookie.” Henry smiled. “You are beautiful even after you run the stairs.”
“That’s silly,” Sookie told him. “I’m drenched with sweat and look like a wet dishrag.”
“Then a wet dishrag must be beautiful.” Henry wiggled his gray eyebrows. “Want to go…”
Sookie held up a palm and shook her head. “Don’t even go there.”
“I meant maybe go sit in a steam room, or maybe do some laps in the pool,” Henry said with a big grin. “Where’s your mind? In the gutter?”
“Henry O’Dell, I know what you were thinking,” Sookie fussed at him.
“No, you don’t, but I will explain what I am thinking in detail if you’ll go to dinner with me tonight. You can even bring your posse with you.”
“No, thank you,” Sookie told him with another shake of her head.
The whole time they were bantering, Ava looked at the wallpaper, the carpet, and even the ceiling in the elevator lobby.
The few times that she caught Vince’s eye, the moment was more awkward than she imagined that it ever would be.
How did two people who’d been so in love ever get to this point?
she wondered. There didn’t seem to be much of anything between them, and yet just standing this close to him sent sparks dancing around the whole area.
“I’d like to introduce you to my new cruise buddy, Vince Cargill,” Henry said. “Vince this is Sookie. She’s out here alone, but most of the time she runs with Minnie and Dotty, and the three of them are like me. They go from one cruise ship to another. It sure beats living in an old folks’ home.”
“Pleased to meet you, Vince,” Sookie said. “This is Ava Cargill. Y’all have the same last names. Reckon you are kinfolks?”
“Nice to meet you, Sookie,” Vince answered, “and yes, ma’am, Ava and I are married.”
“Are we?” Ava asked.
“Until you say we’re not, we are.” Vince gave them a brief nod and hurried down the hall.
Ava heard a door open and close. Her heart thumped harder than it had after she’d run up and down the stairs, and her mouth went as dry as if she’d been sucking on a green persimmon.
What did he mean when he said that their marriage would be over when she said it was?
She didn’t have that kind of power in the almighty Cargill family.
If you’ve got a second chance, don’t blow it! The voice in her head belonged to her sister, Carlene.
“I’m not the one that needs a second chance,” Ava muttered.
“What was that?” Sookie asked.
Ava whipped around to find Sookie sitting on the bottom step of the staircase. Henry was nowhere in sight.
“Where’s Henry?” she whispered. “Did I just imagine that he and Vince were right here?”
“He went on up the stairs. Said he was headed to the buffet for a piece of pie and asked me to join him after I turned him down for a dinner date. I’m beginning to think that he’s just lonely, and he’s wanting to join me and my friends for the company.
It’s kind of a letdown. I thought I still had it. ”
“Then I wasn’t hallucinating?” Ava asked.
“Of course not. What made you think that?”
Ava sat down on the step beside Sookie. “Vince was there and then gone so quick, I thought maybe my brain was oxygen-deprived from all the exercise.”
“They were here, but your ex sure made a hasty retreat. He looked confused and maybe even a little shocked to see you. What do you think he meant by that last statement? I thought he was the one who had the ball in his court.”
“I have no idea, but he’s never seen me looking like warmed-over sin on Sunday morning, so maybe he’s wishing that I will end our marriage.
” Ava inhaled deeply again and got another whiff of his cologne.
That expensive scent always sent sweet shivers down her spine.
“Sookie, don’t ever doubt that you’ve still got what it takes to turn a man’s head. I want to grow up and be like you.”
“Well, thank you, darlin’.” Sookie patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about how you look. Letting your husband see you at your worst is a good place to start.”
“What does that mean?” Ava asked.
“Anything worth having is worth fighting for,” Sookie said. “If you want him back, this right here is a wonderful place to start, like I said. To win the battle against his mommy dearest, you’ve got to strategize. He saw you at your worst. Now it’s time to show him your best and to flirt a little.”
“I could never take him away from…” Ava started.
“All is fair in love and war with mothers-in-law, and I’m speaking from experience,” Sookie said. “The next step is to let him see you at your best, but we’ll build up to that.”
“What does that mean?” Ava asked.
“Tonight, we’ll go to the musical in the auditorium, and you’ll get all dressed up.
But you’ll save your formal gown for the last night onboard when we have black tie.
Because we’ve taken trips on this cruise line so many times, we have a captain’s pass that lets us go to the front of the line for the dance and party.
You can be my guest. That way, Vince can see you looking like a movie star. ”
“He won’t have a pass,” Ava said. “We’ve never been on a cruise before.”
“I’m pretty sure Henry will invite him as a guest since he said they were cruise buddies.
” Sookie’s grin got even bigger. “And if Henry doesn’t think of it himself, I’ll make sure he does.
We may even invite him to sit at our table that night so that Vince can see you looking like the Cinderella you are.
Now, it’s time to go take a shower, stretch out on your bed and relax, and then get ready for the musical. ”
“Are we cruise buddies like Henry and Vince?” Ava asked.
Sookie patted her on the knee and then stood up. “Of course, we are.”
“But I don’t know where y’all call home when you’re not on a ship, or…” Ava started.
“That’s the joy of being buddies on a ship, darlin’,” Sookie said. “You don’t have to worry about sending us Christmas cards or coming to visit or even texting us once a week. We’re just sweet memories that you can keep in your heart for a while.”
“But what if I want to text you?” Ava got to her feet and followed Sookie down the hall.
“Then we’ll be three happy old ladies.” Sookie opened the door into her cabin.
***
The ship had already docked in Mexico the next morning when Ava met the ladies in the buffet area for breakfast. She went through the line, picking up a bagel, an individual package of cream cheese and some thinly sliced salmon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs.
The ladies had invited her to go with them on an excursion of the Mayan ruins that day, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave the ship.
“I see that you listened to our words of wisdom.” Minnie nodded toward Ava’s plate.
“Yep, and I’ll probably gain fifteen pounds this week if I don’t stop eating so much. I understand y’all are going to see the Mayan ruins today? I’m not sure I’m going. Vince and I were supposed to do that together. It’ll be sad to see the ruins alone.”
“We’ll be with you,” Minnie said.
“Y’all have already seen the ruins, right? Why would you want to see them again?”
“Yep, we’ve seen them twice, or is it three times?” Dotty answered.
“But we want to see them through your eyes,” Minnie said.
“It’s always fun to go with someone who’s never been there,” Sookie added as she drank the last of her coffee.
“That’s so sweet,” Ava said. “I thought this would be a lonely cruise where I would do a lot of crying and trying to figure out what to do about my life and marriage, but you all are making it an adventure.”
“I don’t have children, and that means I never got to have grandchildren.” Sookie nodded when the waiter brought over the coffee pot to refill her cup. “I always wondered what it would be like to go on a vacation with either one. This is a little like having that experience.”
“My grandmother would have loved to go on a trip, but that was way out of her financial reach,” Ava said.
“She passed away when I was in high school. My dad died with a heart attack at fifty, and cancer got my mama when I was in college. I was hoping that Delores and I could…” She shrugged.
“She’s got more of my sister’s traits—all judgmental, bossy, and money-hungry.
So, being with y’all is kind of like having a family vacation.
Thank you all for taking me in. Crazy thing is that I feel we were neighbors or at least friends my whole life. ”