Chapter Fifteen
Classes wouldn’t resume for another week, but Terence stopped by the campus early in the morning to complete some administrative
tasks. The weather forecasted rain, and so he drove to campus instead of making his usual walk. Eight hours later, he was
heading home. He wanted to check in on Avila too.
Strange how things had changed since Avila had come back to Charleston. He anticipated seeing her every single day.
Traffic in town was getting very heavy with tourists leaving Charleston after the holiday season. They darted through puddles,
carrying umbrellas. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the pedestrians to cross the street. When he
got home, he changed into work clothes to help Avila paint.
The irony that struck him was that his help would speed up her departure. That is, if Ebony didn’t book that role in the play.
Their friendship seemed to have recovered, and he had sensed Avila relaxing the day before. At times he wanted to brush her
hair off her cheek or rub a splash of paint from the tip of her nose. But he knew their relationship was fragile.
His feelings for Avila ran so deep that he wondered if he’d ever be able to uproot them if she left. Time hadn’t changed her resistance to a relationship with him that went deeper than friends. Time also hadn’t changed her resistance to faith. It hadn’t always been that way. What had become of her spiritual life? It was as if a little of it had drained away with each loss she had experienced.
He wished he could show her how to find peace. He wished she’d open her heart to him. He had so little time until she left.
Hopefully, Ebony would get that part in the play, and hopefully Avila would rethink her career choices. The audition period
was over, but she could see if she could do something there. The thought of losing her again tied a knot in his gut.
Terence shook his head sharply. He wasn’t going there. He had lost Avila once, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.
There was too much between them; surely she could see that.
He stopped by the gas station to fill up his tank. When he was done, he pulled into an empty parking space at the gas station’s
convenience store. Before he arrived home and went over to see Avila again, he needed some parental advice. After powering
up his phone, he dialed his father, Charles’s, cell phone, hoping to chat with him about the situation.
“Hello?” The voice was gruff. Dad’s.
He shivered. For a split second, Terence wavered between hanging up and talking further. Then again, he might as well talk
since his father had answered. He’d keep the conversation cool and casual as well as he could. “Hey, Dad.”
“Terence.”
“Glad that I got ahold of you. How’s the cruise?”
“Beautiful. Just beautiful. I’m glad that we made this trip.”
“And Mom’s doing well?” he asked, knowing that she had some health issues. They had almost canceled the trip because of those issues.
“Very well. When we get back, she has an appointment with her doctor. Whatcha call me on my vacation for?”
Terence smiled. For a man who had been the consummate business professional during his working years, his dad sure sounded
like he was country. Guess old age made a person not care about keeping up appearances. “I called for some advice.”
He guffawed, really guffawed. “You really asking me for advice? Now this I would’ve never expected.”
“Yes. It’s about Avila.”
“Avila? Haven’t heard you talk about her in ages.”
“That’s because I hadn’t seen her in ages. She’s back in town for a few weeks.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Terence paused, trying to figure out how he was going to tell his father the other part of the story. “She has a daughter.”
“Oh really. She married?”
“No.”
Another silence.
Terence realized that his father was probably judging Avila in that silence. “Her name is Ebony. She’s twelve years old.”
“Good to know. You two were good friends back in the day.”
Here was the hard part. “We were. We still are. Avila came down to Charleston to try and sell her mother’s home. She passed
away.”
“Oh my. That is sad. I would’ve gone to the funeral if we weren’t here on this cruise. How come you didn’t tell me earlier?”
“I don’t know. I was focused on Avila and her daughter, I guess.”
“Is Avila with the father of her child?”
“No.”
His father paused. “You want to marry her or something?”
He got straight to the point. “I would like that, eventually, but she doesn’t seem to be keen on being more than friends.”
His father sighed. “Do you love her?”
“I do. With all my heart.”
There was a silence on the other end of the line, but then his father spoke. “When your mother was pregnant with you, she
got into a bad car accident. I was away on a business trip. When I got the call and confirmed it wasn’t fatal, I didn’t leave
right away. I waited two days to end my trip and return home. I’ve been so selfish.”
Hearing his father’s self-appraisal moved him.
“Your mom, though, she’s different. Soon as she had learned of my cancer scare, she took unpaid leave from work. Made me feel
like an awful human being, I tell you. I don’t deserve your mother, but she loves me anyway. From what you’re telling me,
I suspect that someone is more of a giver than the other. And I suspect that giver would be you.”
“How’d you know that?”
“Because Avila has lived her daughter’s whole life without even contacting you.”
This was true.
“My advice to you is to take things very slow with Avila. And look out for them. Take care of them, if need be. It must be
tough out here for Avila all by herself.”
“That’s what I plan to do.”
“No, you don’t understand,” he said, a hint of irritation in his voice. “Take care of both of them.”
What did he mean by that one? Terence intended to do just that. “I will.”
“Are you trying to have a love relationship with Avila?”
He didn’t want to talk about that one. “Yeah. Kinda.”
“It’s not ‘kinda,’ son. It’s a yes-or-no question.”
“Yes. I am.”
“No. No. No. Don’t even try it. That’s gonna muddy the waters. Just look out for their well-being. And stay friends. Nothing
more. Keep your emotions out of it. I know that the two of you are good friends and all, but I think you should find someone
else to have a relationship with.”
This was a tough piece of advice, and Terence didn’t even want to hear it. He contemplated his father’s words, taking a long
time answering. Maybe he could do that. He didn’t know.
“I never finished my story about your mother’s car accident. When I finally saw her in the hospital, hooked up to all those
machines and pregnant, I knew that I had to make a choice. I could’ve lost my family to some freak accident, let alone because
of my bad choices. I made a decision to not make work such a priority, but, as you know with time, it causes you to forget.
I had returned to my workaholic ways by the time you were three.”
Terence’s father was being really honest with himself. “So why are you telling me to not even consider a relationship with
Avila?” Terence asked.
“Because if the two of you had wanted to be together, then you would’ve found a way by now, but you haven’t. The answer to your relationship questions is right there in front of you.”
Ouch. But what his father had said held a semblance of truth.
“I never told you this, but I feel as if I can share it with you now. Your mother was tired of me throwing myself into work.
She filed for a divorce three years ago. When the realization hit me, I changed up real fast. I’d taken her for granted, thinking
she’d always be around. So I retired from my job, and I got serious about putting your mother first. Family is first. If what
you say you have for Avila is real, and if the feeling is mutual, the two of you will find a way to make things work. Otherwise,
just stick to being friends.”
Terence let that advice settle in his bones.
“And we will send our condolences to Avila,” he added. “I’ll send flowers.”
“I’ll tell her that you send your sympathies.”
“You know, your mother is a good woman, a different kind of woman. When you have someone good, you don’t make it easy for
them to walk out on you, and you make them number one. Number one. Time will tell if Avila is that good woman for you, and
vice versa.”
“Thanks, Dad.” He hung up. His father’s advice wasn’t so bad. He’d keep it in mind.
Terence drove home. A bolt of lightning pierced the gray sky, and the rain picked up. The dark clouds made it look three hours
later than it was. Soon as he parked his car in the driveway of his house, he spotted Avila sitting on the rocking chair on
her front porch.
Terence headed toward Avila’s house. Did she look forward to seeing him at the end of the day? Or was he just a means to an end? Maybe she just endured his company so she could get the job done quickly and get back to New Jersey.
He walked up to the steps and onto the covered porch. She looked distressed. “Happy New Year.”
She grimaced.
“You okay?”
“Barely. I’ve been locked out of the house for several hours.”
“Several hours? How come you didn’t call me?”
“Left my cell phone in the house,” she said.
Thunder rumbled across the sky again, and this time the rain poured down. He wiggled the doorknob. “You don’t have a spare
key?”
“If I had a spare key, I wouldn’t be here,” she said sarcastically.
Terence thought of what he had on hand to pick a lock. Then he grabbed his credit card from his wallet. After a few minutes
of trying, the latch turned, and he twisted the knob.
Avila quickly stepped inside the house. “Thank you so much. Being out here for so long was stressful.” She clung to him, her
fingers grasping the small of his back.
Terence put his arms around her. “It’s okay. It’s okay now.” He rubbed her back. What would he give to crawl into her mind
and know what she was thinking.
He wanted to ask her how she locked herself out of the house, where Ebony was, but he didn’t want to break the spell. He wanted
to just stay a moment in a world where he could be her sanctuary.
Terence laid his head on hers, sheltering her from the sound of rain. She smelled of cocoa butter, and vanilla, and fresh air. She felt warm and soft, and her vulnerability made him want to keep her in his arms forever.
“You good?” he whispered against her hair.
She spoke into his shirt. “I am now.”
Terence tried to find the meaning of her words but couldn’t.
Before he could ask, she spoke again. “I was feeling stressful.” Her throat sounded scratchy, her voice raw. “Like that day.”
He moved his palm to cradle the side of her head, dread creeping into his heart. “What day?”
She clutched at his shirt. “I was just sitting out here thinking about when I used to pray in the closet for my father to
return. He never did, and so that closet became a place of disappointment, rather than hope. I had a lot of time to think
while I was out here for hours.”
Terence’s eyes burned. He could feel her heart beating against his, mimicking the same level of worry. “You prayed for your
dad to return?”
She nodded, her head moving against his palm.
Empathy surged within him. Now he understood her reticence toward religion.
Terence also recalled the frustration that he held toward Avila about everything, about her not staying in Charleston and
her reluctance to pursue her dream career. Avila went up against a lot in her life. Who knew what other demons she’d had to
fight? She’d been wounded and rejected by her dad. He wanted to hold her until he knew that she was safe. Until she knew she was safe.