Chapter Twenty-Four
Rain came later in the afternoon, changing their meal plans. Talking to Samantha about what still needed to be done with the
house had somehow deflated the fun. Terence brooded, and Ebony looked between the adults with speculation.
Later that night, Ebony took her bath. Then Avila sent her to bed. She must’ve been tired, because she didn’t complain. Terence
insisted on finishing the ceiling before he called it a night.
Avila sat on the couch, the pack of peas on her ankle growing soggy. Outside, rain still pattered against the leaves. The
damp carried through the screen, alleviating the smell of paint.
The afternoon had been filled with silence, and Avila never felt like more of a burden. She wished she could pay someone to
finish the house, but she had only eighty-two dollars left, hardly enough to get them through the week. Completing the work
alone would take too long, even if she could get extra time off from her job to work, and she couldn’t. Terence was giving
up his paid work time to help her out. As much as her helplessness rankled, she couldn’t forget that.
“I’m sorry you have to do this,” she told him.
He was near the doorway to her mother’s room, the ladder angling toward the wall. “I don’t mind.” His words were clipped.
Avila wanted to tell him to go. She wanted to get up and finish the work herself, but her pounding ankle stopped her. She couldn’t stand on it without pain. There was no way it could bear her weight.
“It’s obvious you’re tired. You’ve hardly said a word all afternoon.”
“I don’t mind being here. I’m glad to help. And I’m glad to spend time with Ebony too.”
Avila’s face warmed. “It’s nice seeing the two of you get along. Refreshing, actually.”
She watched his arm brush up and down in short strokes. His shirt revealed well-defined muscles. A man like that would have
no trouble attracting women, especially when the inside matched the outside. She couldn’t say that about many people.
“Have you had any serious relationships after your divorce?” She was suddenly unsure she wanted to hear the answer.
He descended the ladder. “As far as girlfriends go, there have been a couple. Not very serious though.”
Avila waited for him to go on, curious about the other women who had captured his attention. “Anyone I know?”
“Don’t think so.” He crossed the room and lifted the bag of peas from her ankle. “Better get this back in the freezer.”
“Wait.” She touched his arm. When he looked at her, she withdrew her hand and returned it to her lap. “Tell me about them.”
She tried for nonchalant. “Have pity on a bored, injured woman.”
“Are you implying my love life is boring?”
“On the contrary. I’m curious to know how the great Terence has avoided getting remarried.”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Maybe my first marriage wasn’t meant to be. We got married in Virginia, you know. That could be another reason why it didn’t work out with my ex-wife.”
There was a knowing expression on his face, and she remembered the conversation they had back in high school. The two of them
were talking about what their ideal wedding ceremony would be like, and they both agreed that the only perfect wedding would
be a wedding in the Lowcountry.
“You didn’t insist on getting married in Charleston?” she asked.
He chuckled. “There was no way I was insisting on anything. I was the groom, and she was the bride. This was her big day.
I was just along for the ride. All of her family was in Hampton and the D.C. area, so it was more convenient to have the wedding
up there.”
If she were to ever get married, she’d still want to have a wedding right here in Charleston. The place was too beautiful
to pass up.
“Anything else that you want to know about my joke of a love life?” he asked. The other end of the sofa sank with his weight.
“What do you want to know?”
Avila wanted to know everything. Had he been in love after his first marriage? Had he ever broken up with anyone after he
got divorced? Had anyone else ever broken his heart since then? “Whatever you want to tell.”
He leaned over, setting the paintbrush in the pan, then sat back. “After getting a divorce, I’ve had some relationships. With
the first one, we dated for about six months.”
When he didn’t go on, she prodded. “What was she like?” Avila asked without thinking.
“Outgoing. Vivacious.”
“The peppy type?” She had been right on target.
“Exactly. It drove me nuts.”
“Why?” She smiled back at him.
His grin slipped away. “There was never any quiet. It was all go-go-go, like life was a party and she didn’t want to miss
a moment.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It was exhausting. She was exhausting.”
“So that’s why you broke up?” Avila asked.
“Basically.”
“Who is the other person?”
Terence glanced up. “The other person I dated for almost a year.”
His expression changed. His gaze grew more thoughtful, and he looked down at his hands and scratched dry paint from his thumbnail.
The other person he dated had meant something to him.
“Recently?” she asked.
“Fairly. Broke up a couple months ago.” He propped his knee on the couch beside her, almost touching her side.
“What was she like?”
“She was quiet.” He smiled at Avila. “Sweet woman. The kind who wouldn’t say a bad word about anyone.” He laughed. “She used
to say I was the last honorable man on earth. She volunteered at the local soup kitchen.”
“You seem fond of her. What happened?” Avila wondered for a moment if something bad had happened to her. His talk held sadness.
“Nothing really happened. I just...” He puckered his eyebrows and shook his head. “There wasn’t a spark between us, you know? I cared for her a lot. I respected her. I enjoyed her company.”
“How did she feel?” Avila leaned her head against the sofa and watched him.
“She said she loved me, and as much as I cared for her, as much as I wanted to fall in love with her, I just didn’t return
those feelings.”
“So you broke up with her?”
“It was hard. She didn’t deserve to be hurt, but it wasn’t fair to stay in a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere.”
“Have you seen her since?”
“A few weeks ago. Enough about me, though. Tell me about the men in your life.”
“After Ebony’s father, I only dated a few men, here and there. Most of them meant nothing. There’s only one that was serious.”
Now that it was her turn, Avila felt herself under the microscope.
“Go on.”
Avila didn’t want to talk about herself, but Terence had opened up. “His name was Carl. He was an accountant in New Jersey.”
What did she want to share about Carl? He’d been as close to a boyfriend as she ever had. They went everywhere together for
over a year. After a while, he complained that she didn’t let him in, that she pulled away when he hugged her.
“What happened?”
“He wanted to marry me. Ebony was eight, and he was great with her.” Avila had thought they were headed for marriage, but
once he got down on his knee, fear rolled through her. Her heart felt like it would burst from her chest, and she couldn’t
breathe fast enough to keep up with her pulse.
Even today her heart pulsed just thinking about it.
He studied her. “You said no?”
She remembered the way Carl’s face fell, like gravity pulled everything downward, in one slow, agonizing move. She had known
they were moving in that direction; she just hadn’t known how she felt until he’d asked.
“It didn’t feel right. I was afraid.” There was no denying the fear she experienced when he pulled out that jewelry box and
opened it. She didn’t stop to question her decision at the time. Avila just knew she couldn’t do it.
“Remember when we were younger and we had that make-believe wedding?” he asked.
Her mind scrolled through all the memories of her childhood, until it landed on that one. Sweet. “Yes, I remember. We were
at the park, and I had a bunch of dandelions in my hand.” She chuckled. “I took some random white blankets from my house and
made a makeshift wedding veil too.”
“You said that you wanted to get married in the Lowcountry one day. That it was your dream to do so.” Terence smiled at her.
“And you said that you wanted to make my dreams come true. So we had a make-believe wedding there.”
Terence looked at her, and she couldn’t keep her gaze off him either. Sitting here with him felt different. Electricity buzzed
between them. She couldn’t deny the invisible pull. It had been there all along, even when they were young. This time, instead
of denying it or shoving it away, she fell into it.
“You never proposed to anyone after your first wife, huh?” she asked.
“Nope.” He brushed her hair behind her shoulders, sending shivers along her scalp. The earlier tension had faded, but a new kind of tension filled the air, mingling with the smell of damp earth.
“Too scary to propose again?” It came out as a whisper.
His gaze swept across her face like a gentle caress. He was Terence, the boy who protected her from bullies, the man who was
still her savior. His love for her showed in his eyes, and she soaked it up.
He clasped his hands. “Avila, you already know the answer.”
Her stomach tightened, and she forgot about the pain in her ankle.
His eyes locked with hers, then lowered to her lips. Terence leaned toward her, and she could feel a desperate anticipation
building inside.
“Mom?”
Avila drew back quickly at the sound of her daughter’s voice.
Terence’s head fell forward, his chin nearly touching his shirt.
She looked around him at Ebony, who stared at them as if she’d forgotten what she was about to say. Avila realized her daughter
was grown-up enough to know she interrupted something. “What is it, honey?” She sounded out of breath.
“I was just... wondering if we could run lines together tomorrow. I want to make sure I’m prepared for the first day of
rehearsal.” Her sentence seemed as if it wasn’t important, in light of the new discovery she just made.
Ebony’s question was sweet, especially after the disagreement they had. “I’d love to, honey. But can we talk about that tomorrow?
Go back to bed now.”
“Okay. Good night.”
“Good night,” Avila said.
Ebony padded back through the bedroom doorway and pulled the door shut. Avila leaned her head back. The mood had been broken, and now she only felt awkward. She wondered what Ebony was thinking.
“My daughter has rotten timing.”
Terence pursed his lips.
She really couldn’t help but smile at the look on his face.
“It’s late anyway,” he said. “You need your rest.” He stood and stretched. Then he retrieved three aspirin and a glass of
water from the kitchen. When he returned, he handed her the pillow and helped her shift on the sofa, so that her foot was
propped on the couch arm. When she was settled, he draped a faded quilt over her and set the phone nearby.
He sat on the edge of the sofa beside her. “Want anything else before I go?”
She wanted that moment back. She wanted to feel his lips on hers. She wanted him to stay. She wanted to be in his arms forever.
“No,” she said instead.
“All right, then. I’ll lock the door on my way out.”
“Okay.”
He pulled the quilt up to her chin and tucked it around her. Then he placed a kiss on her forehead. “’Night.” The movement
was quick and left her wanting so much more.
As he walked away, turning the lock and shutting the door behind him, she felt a yearning for him that grew deeper than ever
before.