CHAPTER 3
B ursting with energy, Stormy barked enthusiastically as he ran circles around the two Christmas tree decorators, literally herding them out of the Grand Hall.
Ava pointed at him, exasperated. “Mother, look at that dog. He’s chasing our designers out of here!”
Her mother laughed. “If anyone chased the decorators out of here, it was you by being so picky about the lights on the tree.”
“They needed to be done right,” Ava insisted. “That’s what Father would have done. He would have never settled for less than perfect, and…” Ava’s voice trailed off when she realized her mother wasn’t listening.
Instead, her mother was trying to put on one of the Christmas tree decorators’ harnesses. Stormy ran over to her mother, excited, like whatever she was doing, he wanted to be part of it.
Ava marched over to them. “What are you doing?”
“It’s my turn,” her mother said with a wide grin as she looked up to the top of the tree. “Get your little remote control and send me up!”
“What? No. Don’t be ridiculous,” Ava said. “Please put the harness down before you hurt yourself—”
“I’m fine,” her mother replied, sounding like a stubborn child. “Come on, let’s go. I’ve been dying to try this out.”
“No,” Ava said. When she tried to take the harness away from her mother, there was a brief tug-of-war. Their eyes locked. Ava shook her head. “Mother, there is no world that this is going to happen in. Ever.”
All the excitement disappeared from her mother’s eyes as she let go of the harness. “You’re no fun. You’re just like your father.”
“Thank you,” Ava said. “I’ll take that as a compliment. That means I’m doing my job like he wanted me to.”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “What job is that? Let me guess. Keeping me in line?”
When Ava said nothing…it said everything.
Her mother laughed a little, obviously not offended.
Ava’s eyes narrowed as she watched her mother.
She knew her casual, nonchalant attitude always spelled trouble.
It was one of her mother’s superpowers that made her so dangerous.
She never got upset. She didn’t yell. She didn’t scream.
Instead, she always pretended everything was fine , and then found a way of getting exactly what she wanted one way or another.
Her mother examined the cables that were holding the decorator’s harness. “You’ve changed some things on this contraption you and your father cooked up.”
“Yes,” Ava said, relieved to change the topic. “I’ve made it a tension cable system like they use in theaters. Now it can move up and down, and side to side, so the decorators won’t miss anything.”
Her mother nodded, impressed. “My clever engineer. I just wish you’d let me share all your inventions with the world. You could inspire so many children, especially young girls, showing them how cool it can be to embrace math, science, and technology.”
And just like that, Ava knew she had to be on her guard again.
This was a topic she needed to stay strong on, so she could continue to protect her privacy.
She didn’t have a lot of things in her life that the paparazzi didn’t know about, but the inventions she’d created with her father were among them. So, she chose her words carefully.
“You know Father always wanted to keep all this private. It was our special thing we did together.”
Her mother smiled. “Yes, but he was just someone who came up with great ideas and tinkered around a little. For you, this isn’t just a hobby.
You’ve taken it to a whole new level. Some of the things you’ve invented could really help people.
I’m so proud of you, and I want everyone to see how brilliant my daughter is. ”
“And I appreciate that, I really do. But being in this royal family, there’s so little that’s just mine. Everything we do, the public knows about,” Ava said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
Her mother took Ava’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I do understand, more than you know, and that’s why I will continue to respect your wishes.”
This time, when Ava smiled at her mother, it was genuine. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
“But you need to invent something fun for me,” her mother added with a sparkling smile. “Maybe something for my closet for my shoes, or hats, or—”
“Whatever you want, just let me know,” Ava said.
It was a rare mother-daughter moment when they both were on the same page.
But the moment was shattered when Stormy suddenly pulled a Christmas wreath out of a box and started ripping it apart.
“No! Leave that wreath alone,” Ava shouted as Stormy tossed the wreath into the air. When it hit the ground, he started attacking it again. Pine needles were flying everywhere. He barked, excited, and looked like he was having a blast.
“Oh dear,” her mother said, grinning at him. “Looks like someone needs a little attention.”
Stormy looked back at them with his mouth full of pine needles and wagged his tail.
“This is our fault,” her mother said as she headed toward Stormy. “We’ve been ignoring him, haven’t we, Stormy? We’re sorry.”
Stormy barked twice, wagging his tail.
“No, we’re not,” Ava shot back. “We’ve done nothing wrong. He’s the one tearing everything apart.”
Stormy responded by sitting down and scratching at his glittering Christmas collar.
Her mother frowned. “This collar is too big on you, isn’t it? I thought it would be okay, but it’s gotten looser.”
“Probably because he hasn’t stopped running around,” Ava grumbled.
“It’s okay, Stormy, we’ll get you a new one,” her mother said. “I’ll talk to my jeweler today.”
Ava blinked several times in shock. “Our jeweler,” she sputtered. “Please tell me those aren’t real jewels on that collar.”
Silence.
“Mother?”
“What?” her mother answered innocently. “You told me not to tell you.”
“I…this…I…” Ava didn’t know what to say as she anxiously twisted the gold men’s watch she was wearing around her wrist.
Her mother raised an eyebrow as she watched her daughter. She left Stormy and approached Ava. “And that watch is too big for you, Ava.” Her mother held out her hand. “Here, let me have it. I’ll give it to our jeweler when I give him Stormy’s collar, and he can resize both of them for us.”
Ava grabbed her watch protectively and stepped away from her mother. “No. It’s fine just the way it is. I don’t want anyone to touch it.”
Her mother sighed. “Okay, but if you change your mind—”
“I won’t,” Ava insisted.
“At least Stormy isn’t so hard to help,” her mother said.
But when they both turned to look at Stormy…he was gone!
“Where did he go?” her mother asked, worried.
Ava looked around. “He’s not in here.”
A loud crash from outside the room made them both freeze. Ava groaned.
Her mother was already running for the door. “Stormy, are you okay?” she called out, distressed.
“Is he okay?” Ava asked, incredulous, as she followed her mother. “You’re worried about the dog ? I’m sure he’s fine, but God only knows what he has destroyed now.”