Chapter 7
Minnie was first through the customs line that morning and headed over to the orange section to claim her luggage. Sookie was right behind her, and Dotty brought up the rear. Their baggage was all in the same spot, and it didn’t take them long to retrieve it.
“Hey, I was hoping I would see you this morning for one last hug and thank you for all you’ve done for me,” Ava called out from the red zone right beside them. She wrapped Sookie up in her arms first; then the other two made it a group hug.
“So, what happened last night?” Minnie asked.
“I was going to come to your room, but it was after midnight when we finished talking,” Ava said. “We’re going to move to Australia. Can you believe it? He’s going to start off learning the oil business from the ground up, and his office will be in our little house that’s on company property.”
“I guess we’ll be planning a cruise to Australia pretty soon,” Sookie said as she took a step back.
“I would just love that,” Ava said. “You don’t even have to call, but we’ll be in touch before that happens.”
Dotty swiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “I’m glad that things worked out for you, darlin’ girl. I see Vince coming over this way. Just one more question before he gets here. Did you spend the night in his room or yours?”
“Neither,” Ava answered. “We are waiting for that until we are in our house in Australia. A new start, somewhat like a brand-new marriage.”
“That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” Sookie said with a sigh.
“And he’s promised to carry me over the threshold,” Ava whispered.
“We’ll give you time to get past your honeymoon before we show up on your doorstep,” Dotty said.
“Now, go on and give Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome a good-morning kiss. We’ve got to get on the shuttle bus to take us to the airport.
We’re flying to Seattle and boarding another ship for an Alaskan cruise. ”
They all three grabbed their suitcases and headed out of the terminal, but Minnie turned around at the door in time to see Vince wrap Ava up in a hug and give her a long kiss.
“That was our best job yet,” she said.
“Yes, it was,” Henry said as he joined them. “Now, let’s go see if we can beat it on the cruise to Alaska. I’ll buy supper tonight to celebrate our victory. Is McDonald’s good with everyone?”
Minnie shot a dirty look his way. “I was thinking about that restaurant at the top of the Needle.”
“You got it!” Henry chuckled.
***
Ava was antsy that evening when she and Vince walked hand in hand into the fancy restaurant where Grandfather Bill had booked a reservation. Vince’s mother and father and grandfather were already there and seated when they arrived, and Delores looked up at Vince with a shocked look on her face.
“What’s going on here?” she asked.
Vince’s dad, William, glanced over at his father. “Dad?”
“Vince and I have made a deal,” his grandfather, Bill, said. “We’ve shook on it. The wheels are in motion, and it will be happening very fast. We wanted to be the first ones to tell you about it.”
Vince let go of Ava’s hand and pulled out a chair for her. Ava missed the feel of his hand and the security of his touch, but she was determined that her mother-in-law would not intimidate her ever again. “We’ve decided to give our marriage a second chance,” she said with a bright smile.
Delores’s eyes flashed anger. Her lips set in a firm line, and she jerked her head around to stare at Vince. “You want to explain what is going on? I thought you were going on a cruise to get your mind settled and come back ready to work.”
“I was, and I did. Ava wound up on the same ship, and we managed to work things out this past week, and…” He reached under the table and took his wife’s hand in his.
“We are moving to Australia.” He went on to tell them the story that Henry had told him and the plan that he and his grandfather had worked out.
When he finished, Delores glared at her father-in-law. “You can’t do this. You turned the business over to William, and that would be his decision to make, not yours.”
Ava’s heart took a nose dive all the way to the bright, shiny hardwood floor.
Bill stared her down without blinking, “I don’t think that would be a smart idea.
I’m not dead yet, and most of what I signed over to William won’t officially be his until I’m six feet under.
All it takes is a call to a lawyer, or hell, for that matter, we’ve got a good one right here at the table with us.
Vince can redo my will, and I’ll step back in as CEO of our oil business.
Vince needs to understand all the aspects of the job he’ll be taking on someday, and there’s no better way to do it than to start from the ground up with a small company.
And it will put him and Ava out there on their own to work on their marriage. ”
“I think this is a wonderful idea,” William said. “I wish you would have thought to do something like this for me when I was his age.”
“It can still be arranged,” Bill said with a chuckle. “There’s a little company out in Arizona, way back in the desert, that I’ve been looking at. You want to move there? The nearest town is about twenty miles from the site and has maybe a thousand people in it.”
“No!” Delores gasped.
“Then let’s celebrate Vince’s and Ava’s new start tonight with a bottle of champagne,” Bill said.
“I’d rather have a beer, right out of the bottle,” Ava said.
“Then beer it is.” Bill motioned for the waiter. “I think that’s what I’ll have, too.”
Vince leaned over and kissed Ava on the cheek. “Welcome home, my love.”
“I’m glad to be here, but I can’t wait to get to our place in Australia,” she whispered.
“Me, either,” Vince told her.
“Are you sure about this?” Delores asked.
“More than anything in my life, including getting my degree and asking Ava to marry me. I don’t deserve this second chance, but I intend to make the best of it,” Vince answered.
“And so do I,” Ava seconded.
“What if you fail? Do you expect to walk right back into this cushy job?” Delores’s tone dripped icicles.
“I can always go back into teaching to support us,” Ava told her, “but we aren’t going to fail. Don’t you know that love conquers all?”
“Yes, it does, and we will prove it.” Vince brought Ava’s hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles.
“The kids are leaving day after tomorrow,” Bill said. “That will give them time to get settled in their new place before the actual business starts next month.”
Ava whipped her head around to stare at Vince.
“That’s my surprise for you. Grandfather has agreed to take care of the sale of the house for us.
The little house in Australia has a few pieces of furniture in it, and we can shop locally for anything else we need,” he said, and then leaned over to whisper in her ear.
“I’m in a hurry to carry you over that threshold. ”
Suddenly, everyone else disappeared, and no one else mattered. She smiled up at him. “Yes, I definitely can be ready in two days. I hope part of the furniture in the house is a bed, but if not, we can always sleep on the floor.”