Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
A va’s mother walked into the kitchen the next morning wearing a skirt and flats.
Ava didn’t hide her surprise.
“I thought maybe I’d go with you to church,” Martha said, patting her freshly curled hair.
“I’d love that,” Ava said, delighted her mother was going to join them. Maybe her mom would meet a few people in the area who could keep her company after Ava flew home tomorrow. “Lucas should be here in about thirty minutes.”
Since their last visit, Ava hadn’t seen Lucas or spoken to him, apart from the confirmation text that he was coming this morning.
Her stomach was full of butterflies, like a schoolgirl waiting on her crush.
Her anticipation was silly, given how long she’d known him, and she knew better than to allow herself to feel that way about him, but the emotions came anyway.
She’d spent extra time on her makeup, and she’d styled her hair more fashionably.
She didn’t need to impress him, but she wanted to.
“Have you eaten anything?” Martha asked. “I could make us each a quick omelet. ”
“That actually sounds amazing. Want some help?”
“Why don’t you make some coffee?”
While Ava got down the mugs, Martha opened the fridge and leaned into it to retrieve the eggs.
“I had another dream of your dad last night.” Her mother set the container on the counter and pulled a bowl from the cabinet.
Ava turned around, a mug in each hand.
Martha took an egg from the carton and tapped it against the bowl. “He danced with me.” She took a deep breath as if the memory of it was too much. “I told him he’s welcome to come to me every night.”
“I love that he danced with you in your dream.” Ava set the mugs on the counter. “Remember how he used to dance with us in the kitchen?”
“I do. When I was cooking dinner. He’d come in from the fields, filthy, and wrap himself around me while I tried to dodge him.”
Ava laughed at the memory.
Her mother’s face became serious. “If I’d known how little time we’d have, I’d have danced with him in his soiled clothes and not cared a bit. Funny how our perspective changes when we look back on things.”
“There was no way to know.”
“If Lucas ever wants to dance with you, and he’s disgusting, do it.”
Ava tipped her head back and laughed. “And why do you think he might want to dance with me ?”
Her mother gazed at her. “Because, through the window the other day, I saw the way you two looked at each other when you were chatting.” She gave her a wink.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
If her feelings were showing enough for her mother to see from a distance, had Lucas noticed? Her mom had to be reading into things. But it did make Ava wonder again why God would let her feel this way about him.
“I wish I knew why Dad’s come into your dreams so much lately. Have you thought about him more than usual?” Ava asked, waggling a finger between the espresso machine and the coffeemaker.
Her mom pointed to the espresso machine. She stirred the egg mixture. “I’m not sure. I wonder if it’s because you and I are together under the same roof.” Her mom turned on the stove and set the pan on the burner. Then she coated the pan with butter.
Ava packed the coffee grinder and turned it on, the rattle of the beans drowning out their conversation for a minute. When the grinder had finished, she said, “I wish he’d come to me.”
Martha stopped stirring.
“I haven’t seen a single trace of him since he died, apart from my memories” Ava continued.
Suddenly, tears pricked her eyes. “He’s had lots of chances.
Years and years of nighttime visit opportunities.
” She busied herself with filling the portafilter and setting the espresso machine, but—inside—her heart ached for her father.
“Maybe he’s saving his visit,” her mother said.
Ava turned around. “Why?”
“Could he be waiting for something?”
Ava blinked away her tears and rolled her eyes. “Well, if he waits too long, we’ll all be back up there with him.”
“He was never good at being punctual,” her mom said with a small smile.
“True.”
They let the topic dissolve between them, but Ava did wish she could’ve heard from her dad.
Just as they’d finished rinsing their dishes, there was a knock on the door.
“That’s Lucas,” Ava said, sliding on her heels and picking up her clutch.
Martha dried her hands on the dish towel. “I’ll grab my sweater.”
Ava opened the door.
Interest swelled in Lucas’s eyes when he saw her. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Ready,” Martha said, joining them. “Lucas, you look very spiffy.” She patted his arm and then walked past them and out to Lucas’s Range Rover.
Lucas waved a hand in Ava’s path. “After you.”
When they arrived at church, the congregation was greeting one another outside the way they had last time.
“Oh, there’s Dorothy.” Ava pointed to the old woman as she hobbled around with her cane, saying hello and giving hugs. “That’s the person I’d like to introduce you to, Mom. She’s great at cross-stitch and might be able to help with the intricate stitching on some of your bags.”
“She looks sweet,” Martha said from the backseat as Lucas parked.
They got out of the vehicle.
“Dorothy’s got a thing for Lucas,” Ava teased. “Watch her when he gets near her.” She offered Lucas a conspiratorial grin.
Right on cue, Dorothy waved a gloved hand at Lucas, her weathered face lifting in happiness. “Hello!” She got that cane to work and double-timed it over in tiny steps. “Lovely to see you here.” She grabbed Lucas’s arm and assumed the position as if he’d already offered to walk her in.
“How are you, young lady?” the old woman asked Ava.
“I’m doing well, thank you,” Ava replied. “This is my mother, Martha.”
Dorothy tugged on Lucas’s arm to ask him to stop walking. “So nice to meet you.” She held out a hand to Ava’s mother .
“My mother sews like you do. You cross-stitched all those lovely framed pieces in the sanctuary, right?”
“Oh, yes,” Dorothy said, her pearl-buttoned chest puffing out in pride. “I do all kinds of sewing.”
“I live down the road,” Martha said. “Do you live nearby?”
“I live in the next town over. The church sends a bus to pick us all up.”
“Hi, Pastor Thomas,” Ava said, waving him down. “I brought my mother with me today. Let me introduce you.”
He held out his hand in greeting as he neared them.
After, Dorothy had fallen into conversation with Ava’s mother about their sewing projects.
She kept pulling on Lucas’s arm to get him to stop walking whenever she needed to lean in to hear Martha better.
Lucas took the laborious process of getting the woman up to the church in stride, which Ava adored.
She was left wondering what would happen to this wonderful connection she had with Lucas and her mother when she went back to New York the next day. But right now, she’d focus on the sunshine and the happiness she felt being with them.
Ava was still thinking about her future when they pulled up outside the cabin after church. Martha invited Lucas to join them for lunch later.
“I’d love to,” he replied, his gaze fluttering to Ava. “I’ll run home and change out of my suit first and then come over.”
“Perfect,” Martha said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door. “Just come in when you get here. Ava and I will probably be on the deck.”
“All right,” he said .
Ava got out of the SUV and waved bye to Lucas. Then she locked arms with her mom, and they went inside.
In her room, Ava slipped off her heels and padded over to her folded clothes to dig out a comfy sweater and jeans.
She changed and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
Then, she sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at her suitcase.
When she’d packed it back in her apartment, she’d been a very different person from the one sitting here now.
Nothing was the same. The accident she’d thought might ruin her life had actually given her a brand-new one.
“Ava?”
Martha peeked inside.
“I just wanted to let you know that I invited Dorothy over.”
“Really?” Ava asked with a chuckle.
“She already called to talk more about sewing, and I could hardly get her off the phone. She seemed lonely, so I asked if she’d like to join us.”
“That’s nice of you.”
“I’m going to go pick her up. I’ll be right back.”
Ava spent a few minutes refolding a couple of shirts in her suitcase and getting it organized for tomorrow’s departure.
Then, she went out to the deck to sit by the lake.
The cooler weather was just now beginning to infiltrate this part of the world, and there was a tiny chill in the air, so she lit the firepit and snuggled in close.
She was completely alone. But she didn’t feel alone.
Even though she hadn’t grown up in this cabin, the lake was like home for her.
She’d spent so much time there with her dad that it was an anchor to her childhood.
In the quiet sounds of wildlife, she closed her eyes and imagined herself on her father’s boat.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I come, a day on the lake is full of surprises,” her father had said once. “The birds, the fish, the air—it all has its own plan for the day that doesn’t include us. We’re just visitors, interacting with their world.”
She’d chattered on about something she couldn’t remember now, and he’d put his finger to his lips.
“Sometimes, I like to just sit back, silent, and observe it, see what nature is up to. That’s when I find my biggest surprises.”
“Like what?” she’d asked.
“Rainbows, butterflies, cardinals …”
Ava recalled seeing a cardinal when she’d first arrived. Was that what her father was doing now—silently observing her? If he was with her, she wished he’d make himself known.
“Hey there.” Lucas walked through the back door and onto the deck. “Your mom said to let myself in.”
Perfect timing , she thought. Maybe Lucas’s presence right when she’d wished for her father was her dad’s way of reminding her to focus on her life with the living instead of trying to connect with the past.
She patted the chair next to her, and Lucas sat down.
“Where’s your mom?” he asked.
“Picking up Dorothy.”
Lucas’s eyes rounded, a playful grin surfacing.
“She called, and my mom thought she seemed lonely.”
“That’s kind of her.”
“Are you up for helping her around all afternoon?” Ava teased.
“Yeah, I don’t mind. The more, the merrier.”
His words hung in the air around her. The more, the merrier. She definitely agreed. She’d miss this.