Chapter Thirty-One
Avila tossed her paper plate into the garbage can, listening to the sound of Terence’s keys jingling in his hand as he left
the house. He had offered to run errands for her. With any luck, he’d be gone awhile. The tension between them this afternoon
had been unbearable, and Ebony’s moodiness didn’t help.
The work on the house was done, and so now she had time to fully focus on Ebony’s play. Avila had to also make sure that the
house was officially listed for sale. In the morning, she would clean up the space, and then she would meet with Samantha
to go over any last details before it was listed.
Ebony was practicing her vocal scales in the other room, and her melodic voice drifted through the house. Avila sent a quick
email to Samantha, and then she double-checked Ebony’s rehearsal schedule. When she was done with that, she grabbed a bunch
of clothes from the dryer and started folding them.
Ebony stood at the mirror as she practiced.
“I can drive you to rehearsals now,” Avila said. “My ankle is better.”
Her daughter hadn’t spoken to her all afternoon, and Avila wondered when she was going to unload. She always did eventually, and Avila really didn’t have the strength to deal with another confrontation today. She should feel happy that the house was done, that Ebony had landed her first Equity gig, but inside she wanted things between her and her daughter to be well.
“I really like it here. Why do we have to go back to Jersey, Mom?” Ebony asked, her lips turning down at the corners. Her
brown eyes looked sadder than Avila had ever seen them.
“I have a job there. You have school. There’s acting classes. And now you can build on your career now that you have this
gig on your resume. Plus, you’ll get to see your friends.”
“But what about Terence?”
Avila set a stack of shirts on her lap and folded one. “What about him?”
“Am I ever going to see him again?” Her voice rose. She crossed her arms and set her mouth in a straight line. “I don’t want
to go back.”
Avila gave her a smile. “You didn’t wanna come here either.”
“Well, I like it now. I want to stay.”
“My job is in New Brunswick, but Terence said that he will try to come to visit us. He might even stay permanently if he found
a teaching position.”
Ebony looked reluctant. “It would be better for us to just stay here. It’s prettier down here anyway. And you can get a job
here too.”
Life from a child’s perspective was always so simple. “You don’t understand, Ebony. It’s too costly to live here.” Too costly
in more ways than one.
“We already have a house here.”
She needed to find another line of reasoning. “What about school? What about theater? We have a whole life in New Jersey.”
“I want to live here with Terence near us.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Avila stilled. Did Ebony not want to live with her anymore? “What do you mean by that, honey?”
“He’s a nice person. Ms. Mable is nice too. And like I said, this place is beautiful. I want to stay here. Acting doesn’t
have to happen in New York or Los Angeles. As you can see, I landed something right here in Charleston.”
Avila’s head pounded. This wasn’t what she was expecting. Well, a part of her feared that this could happen, but hearing Ebony
say those words was a whole other story. Avila didn’t want to lose her daughter, and she’d have to be careful how she played
this, because she didn’t want to alienate Ebony.
Avila gathered a bundle of socks and underwear. She knew what Ebony was feeling. A part of her wanted to stay too. The negative
memories from her childhood had begun to disappear as she finished the house. It didn’t even smell or look the same. She had
begun to see her childhood bedroom as Ebony’s space when she awakened in the morning.
But Terence was here, and she didn’t have the courage or the strength to see him every day.
Avila turned to Ebony, softening as she watched the girl’s chin wobble in a sob. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m
sorry, honey. We have to go back home. I know you don’t understand.”
“I do too! I understand that you don’t care about anyone but yourself!”
She turned to go, but Avila caught her arm. “That’s not true. Why do you think we came here, Ebony? Do you think it was easy for me? It’s because of this house that you will find your future. That’s the only reason why I came back. You’ll be able to go to any college you want. Be anything you want to be. Do you know what that’s worth? I didn’t get that chance. Do you want to grow up and be like me?”
Ebony jerked her arm from her mother’s grasp. “I don’t wanna be like you at all.” She turned and stormed out of the room,
slamming the door behind her.
Ebony’s words penetrated Avila’s hard shell, exactly as intended. Avila walked to the window and watched her daughter march
down the slope of the backyard, her slim shoulders squared.
Avila turned back, grabbed an armload of clothes, and dropped them onto the couch. The house was still, and the emptiness
felt heavy and oppressing. She had managed to chase away Terence and Ebony yet again.
Ms. Mable’s words invaded her mind. Here I am, all these years later, heart intact. But lonely. I would trade almost anything for one true love at my side. Avila wondered if she would become like Ms. Mable, an older woman who dispensed advice to likenesses of her former self.
She finished all the clothes that she had pulled out of the dryer. She placed Ebony’s clothes neatly into the drawers in her
old bedroom. Then she placed her clothes into her suitcase. That’s what she’d been living out of all these weeks. She pushed
the heavy suitcase to the wall. She walked to the back window and peered out, checking on Ebony. Ebony was sitting on the
back porch, staring at the trees. Avila wondered what her daughter was thinking, then decided she didn’t want to know.
She needed to buy more toiletries and a few more groceries. Avila powered up the app to the nearest store and shopped for those necessities.
When she was done, she paid for it with her credit card. When her thoughts turned to Terence, she told herself she’d deal
with those later when she was far away. Still, the feeling inside her refused to budge. Maybe she just shoved it down deep
where all the other hurt was.
She set her cell phone aside and headed to the kitchen. They had some lunch meat left and a few slices of bread. She’d make
sandwiches for the two of them. It wasn’t the best dinner, but it would fill them up until she picked up the items that she
had just ordered. She probably would pick them up the next morning.
Avila wanted to get a start on the cleaning, but the clock on the wall told her the sun would be setting soon, and she had
promised Ebony that they could play a board game this evening. Granted, Ebony might not want to interact with her at all after
the conversation they just had, but Avila was going to try anyway. She slipped on her Crocs and left the house. When she looked
for where Ebony had been sitting, she found the spot empty. She let the screen door slap into place and walked across the
lawn, her eyes scanning the area.
“Ebony!” She called her daughter’s name over a gust of wind. When there was no answer, she wondered if Ebony had gone off
on her bike without asking. When she turned back to the house, she saw the bike was gone.
Avila’s pulse pounded. “Ebony!” She raised her voice, and Ebony’s last words echoed in her mind. Avila’s legs carried her quickly to the front of her house, her heart tripping in her chest. Her feet took the sidewalk quickly, as she ran along its length. She looked down toward the street where Ebony was likely to have made a turn and taken off. Seeing that Ebony was on her bike, she could move fairly quickly. This was bad.
“Ebony!” she called again, lifting her hand to block the light of the setting sun. Above the noise of the wind whipping around
her ears, she heard a car whiz by. She scanned the neighborhood. Anyone could quickly kidnap her child and take her away without
a trace.
Avila’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She needed to get into her car and try to catch up with her. She quickly
headed back to the house. Thankfully, she’d left the door unlocked this time. Avila retrieved the keys from the kitchen counter
and got into her sedan. She made a right onto Maple Court and scanned the area. Times like this she wished she had gotten
a cell phone for Ebony. Avila rolled down the driver’s side window.
“Ebony!” She was at least a half mile out. Ebony didn’t wear a helmet. Interstate 26 was nearby. Ebony wouldn’t be foolish
enough to ride her bike along the highway, would she? Tractor trailers drove up and down the interstate all the time. She
could easily get hit, and that would be the...
Calm down. She was worrying too much. Ebony would not have gone to the highway. She was riding around the neighborhood. That
was all. Avila would find her soon.
She made a left onto a side street and scanned the area. Please don’t let me lose her. Maybe she should report her as missing to the police. Was it too soon to do so? Would they think she was being overly frantic?
There wasn’t a mandatory waiting period before she could report a missing child. Avila knew that much. If she didn’t lo cate Ebony in the next half hour, she would call the police. Her jaw tensed, and her eyes searched frantically for her daughter.
Just then, Avila spotted the tail end of the bicycle as it rounded a corner. Avila gently pressed her foot on the gas in order
to catch up to her. As Avila did so, the worry that she felt was replaced by a mother’s anger. She pulled up alongside Ebony
as she rode her bike.
“Ebony! What are you doing? You had me worried.”
Her daughter slowed her pedaling, but she didn’t stop completely. “Going out for a bike ride,” she said, not looking at her
mother. “That’s all.”
Avila was trying to drive at a snail’s pace, keep her eyes on the street, and hold a conversation with Ebony all at the same
time. This was too much. “Stop pedaling or else I could run over something. Stop now.”
Ebony pedaled forward, a look of determination on her face. This wasn’t going well.
A stray tabby cat crossed the road in front of Avila’s car, and she slowed down. Ebony kept riding past her. After the cat
crossed her path, Avila resumed driving at a snail’s pace.
Just then, Ebony’s bike tilted to the side, and the wheels shimmied. Ebony lost control of her steering. Her arms flailed,
apparently trying to maintain her steering, but she hit the sidewalk with a thud. The motherly anger that she had felt about
Ebony soon changed to motherly worry when she saw her daughter grimace in pain. Avila found an empty spot to park on the side
of the street and pulled over, turning off the ignition. She quickly exited the car and rushed to her daughter’s side, kneeling
beside her on the sidewalk.
“Ebony. It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”
Ebony’s skinny elbows were propped against the sidewalk. Then she tried to sit up, reaching for her mother’s shoulders.
“You’re okay, honey. You just have a few scratches.” Avila’s pulse was still frantic, her mind going in a million different
directions. She looked down the street. Everything appeared peaceful and idyllic here, but the tension between her and Ebony
had belied the scenery.
Ebony’s groans pierced Avila’s thoughts. The girl’s fingers pressed down on Avila’s shoulders as she tried to stand up.
“Honey, hold on. I am just getting over an injury, and you may have one too. Don’t lean on me too much. I have to figure this
out.”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to get you hurt again.”
“You’re okay, baby. We’ll get through this. We’ll get through all of this.”
Her daughter’s breaths were so rapid, Avila feared she would hyperventilate. She took Ebony’s face in her hands and leaned
her back, forcing eye contact. Panic laced Ebony’s eyes, and fear shadowed her face.
“Ebony, listen to me,” she said firmly. “You have to calm down. You can’t make rash decisions and run off like that. The world
is an unsafe place; I was worried. I almost called the police to report you as missing.”
“Yeah, but I was mad at you, Mom!”
“I know that you’re mad, but you have to... You have to settle down. It’s going to be okay.”
“I just needed to ride my bike and think....” Ebony wailed.
Avila helped Ebony situate herself somewhat comfortably, and then Avila did the same. Her ankle throbbed from running over
to Ebony, but it was the least of her worries at this point.
She needed to figure out how to get Ebony, her bike, and herself back to the car. The pain in her ankle wasn’t helping, however, and she left her cell phone in the car. Why hadn’t she grabbed her phone from the car? Well, she couldn’t chide herself over that now. She’d have to figure it out.
“I feel dumb now. I should’ve stayed home.”
Avila wrapped her arm around Ebony; Avila’s hand gently grasped her daughter’s shoulder. “No need to apologize. But I will
need you to listen to me. We need to walk to my car.” She took a few deep breaths. “Are you in pain from the fall?”
“A little.”
“We’re going to have to do this in one trip. That means we have to take your bike along with us and somehow shove it into
the back seat of my car. Terence did it before, and so I think we can manage.
“I will help you along. Just make sure that you don’t lean on me. Don’t put too much weight on where you are hurting either.
That’ll make it worse.”
Avila gently got to her feet by using a nearby tree to stand up. “Come on, my dear. Grab my hand, and I’ll help you up.”
Ebony placed her hand in her mother’s, and then she slowly stood. “Good girl. Okay, now we have to get this bike.”
The bike was off to the side.
“I can get it.” Ebony reached for the handlebars and put it upright.
“Thanks. Okay, let’s go. Slowly.” The two of them walked in silence back to her car. The sound of the wind rustled the nearby
leaves and they swirled around and around.
As they made their way back to the car, Avila wondered what would’ve happened if she hadn’t found Ebony. What if she’d lost Ebony for good? The thought sent a fresh jab of worry in her heart. There was no way that she would’ve ever been able to forgive herself for the disagreement they held just before Ebony took off on the bike.
They made agonizingly slow progress to the car. Avila prayed that Ebony didn’t injure her leg. If she did, there’d be a chance
that she couldn’t perform in the play. “Come on, love. We’re almost at the car.”
The car was only about fifty feet away, but it felt like it was miles away. For every step they made, her ankle sent a pulse
of pain through her, reminding her that she wasn’t fully healed yet. Soon as they got home, she would take the time to rest
for a bit.
They finally arrived at the sedan, and Ebony put the bike into the back of the car since Avila’s ankle was bothering her.
The fact that Ebony was able to put the bike in the back seat of the car indicated that she might not have hurt herself too
much. At least that was what Avila hoped.
Once they were seated in the car, Ebony sighed. “I’m tired.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you stress me out like that,” she said to her daughter. “Let’s go home.”
Avila turned on the ignition, and they drove home in silence. How was she going to continue this parenting life alone? Yes, she’d been making things work for the past twelve years, but Ebony was getting older now. She had opinions and ideas, and some of those ideas clashed with hers. There was only so much that Avila could push back on when it came to her daughter. One day, Ebony would decide to do her own thing anyway or, even worse, cut off contact with her, just like Avila had done with her mother. Ebony was growing up, maturing, and Avila couldn’t use the same parenting techniques she had utilized when Ebony was a young girl. She was becoming a young woman.
And Avila needed support as she navigated these changes. I can’t do this alone.
The thought gave her a burst of hope, surprisingly. Avila turned onto their street and, after a few minutes, pulled into the
driveway. Avila handed her the keys, and Ebony got out of the car. She took the bike from the back seat and rolled it to the
backyard. When that was complete, she opened the front door and stepped inside the house.
This was tough. Was she ever going to get anywhere with Ebony? She hoped so. Avila closed her eyes and leaned back her seat.
Working on their relationship would take time, and she couldn’t give it the proper attention it deserved if she resumed the
life they had lived prior to returning to Charleston. Their schedules were too busy. Life was too hectic, and if she was truly
honest with herself, Ebony’s theater friends—and their mothers—were too competitive. They needed to be in a supportive and
nurturing environment.
Avila headed inside the house and plopped down on the couch. Her legs relaxed, and she did too. She could hear Ebony in the
kitchen.
“You want some tea?” Ebony asked.
She was going to make her tea? Interesting. “Sure, honey. That would be great.”
The quiet movement of cabinets and pots filled the space. After a few moments, Ebony entered the living room with a mug of
tea. The steam from the hot water wafted from the mug. Ebony sat next to her and nestled close.
Avila took a sip, glancing at the photos on the fireplace mantel. They didn’t have a fireplace at their place in Jersey. There were photos of the two of them here and there, but it never felt like a space she could call home. It was more like a place where they slept, showered, and ate before going to the next activity.
She thought of her daughter, who depended on her. Was she depriving Ebony of a place that could be better called home by returning
up north? Avila couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing her daughter. She couldn’t bear the thought of Ebony resenting
her decisions.
“You know that I love you,” Avila said.
Ebony turned her wide brown eyes to her mother. A fresh batch of tears trembled on her lashes. “I know, Mom.”
Avila held her mug in one hand, and then she held Ebony’s hand with the other. Ever since Avila learned of her pregnancy,
she had done what was necessary to survive. She had made decisions out of practicality, and she’d done it all on her own.
She had always managed to get them through, but now she wondered if she alone was enough—or if the village here in Charleston
would truly help Ebony thrive.