27. AVERY
AVERY
Callie looks up at me from across the table, fluttering her lashes in my direction like that’s going to make Nora’s invite to the fundraiser any more appealing.
“I think Rafe is dreading the idea of going into this without your dad, and maybe having you there will…I don’t know…make him feel better?”
“It’s his career choice, not torture,” I laugh even though the mention of my father makes my heart squeeze a little too tight.
Not to mention that the smell of coffee and milk in the coffee shop is overwhelming today.
“I’ve got this fear that if I go back to DC, Carl will find a way of making us stay there.
What if he takes Iris from me? You’re asking me to be Daniel. ”
“Daniel?” Callie looks at me baffled as she sips her coffee.
“You’re asking me to go into the lion’s den, and I’m not sure I’d make it out alive like he did.”
“With all your sinful ways,” she snickers, “sometimes I forget that you’re a good, God-fearing girl.”
Something about her words hits harder than I know she intended, but that’s how things are. Even if they don’t feel wrong, I guess that’s how it looks to the outside.
You want people to think you’re a whore? A cheap, two-bit whore.
Carl’s words come back to haunt me even though I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m left wondering if this is how it’s going to be until Carl decides he’s done.
“Oh my God, Avery, I was joking.” Callie rests her hand over mine, squeezing as she adds, “Even if I wasn’t, which I honestly was, it wouldn’t matter.
You’re happy, you’re healthy, and you’re safe…
the rest can go to hell. But if Mike isn’t having any luck helping you out, maybe you can work this fundraiser in your favor. ”
“Yeah?”
“Nora likes to invite all the important people.” She air quotes the last part of the sentence, and with the roll of her eyes, it’s obvious that’s not how she feels toward her mom’s VIPs.
“There’s always a judge or two in attendance.
People that loved your father…maybe you need to use that to your advantage? ”
“Wow, you are good.” Holding my coffee up to my mouth, I can’t bring myself to actually drink any of it.
“Listen, I worked a mighty SEAL over…”
“Oh yes, I forgot how you’ve tamed the wild beast and made him your bitch.”
“My oh my…sweet little Avery’s found her sass again. Put it to good use and charm the old folk—if it works for Rafe, it’ll work for you. Trust me.”
“Callie, I don’t even have anything to wear, and the thought of having people talk to me about Dad…”
“I get that it stings, and like most things, the first time is the worst because it’s like being stabbed in the heart, slapped in the face, and punched in the gut all at once.
” Her words get to her as deep as they get to me; it’s obvious from the way she takes a moment to clear her throat and catch her breath.
“But then, you listen past his name and you focus on all the amazing things people have to say and…it feels good to be a part of someone so incredible.”
“When you put it like that, it makes me feel even worse for avoiding his attorney and all things to do with his estate. Rhett said that it was okay for me to take my time, but the more I think about it…I guess a part of me is still waiting to wake up and find him there.”
That part I try to keep at bay chooses this precise moment to recall all those times I would fall asleep before Dad got home from work and he would wake me with a kiss just to tuck me in again and wish me good night.
“Regardless of whether or not you have closure, that whim never goes away. Especially with the kids. I always wonder what kind of grandfather he would’ve been.”
“Rafe used to talk to Dad about him a lot.”
“It’s all you can do. Talk about them and remember them through your memories and other people’s memories too. Tying up loose ends doesn’t give you closure. But—” Callie pauses, screwing her eyes shut with a groan. “I’m about to sound like mother dearest. It hurts so bad.”
Resisting the urge to laugh, I shake my head at her dramatics, sneaking a peek at my phone when it vibrates on the table. Butterflies fill my stomach when Rhett’s nickname pops up with a message notification.
Doc
We need to add The Shallows to the movie night list. X
“No, Avery, focus.” Callie flips my phone over. “Eww, was he sexting you?”
“What? No!”
“Then why are you so flushed and smirky?” Cocking an eyebrow, she sits back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest as though she means business.
“Movie night.”
“Is that code? Like fertilizing the flower bed or—”
“No, it means exactly what it means. It’s what we do on a Sunday evening once Iris and Jo have gone to bed. We stay up and watch random sea-themed movies.”
The lunchtime crowd starts gathering around us in the quaint coffee shop, and she leans forward again. We must look like the town gossips with the way we’re both huddled in our corner.
“I thought The Shallows was code for some hot sex move or something. You know, like edging…”
“What the what is hedging? And why do you use gardening references for your sex code?”
“Edging.” Callie rolls her eyes. “It’s basically extreme teasing. Hot as fuck and frustrating as hell.”
“Yeah…” My snicker cuts me off as the waitress brings over the grilled sandwiches we ordered for lunch. “You don’t need to worry.”
It feels so good to have a friend of my own. Someone that I know will have my back beyond any doubt. I think back to my friendship with Kayla, and it’s funny how now that I know about her affair with Carl and all the other shit they’re in together…realization has hit home.
She hadn’t been my friend in years. All the private conversations we had were never between us at all.
No wonder she always pointed out that I didn’t need my job.
Iris didn’t need to have friends over. Kayla loved to point out how I was too stuck in the ideals society painted rather than living my own life.
She was wrong and selfish. She was nothing but a liar because all I wanted was to be a good mother and a decent person.
“Worry about what?” Callie asks, swallowing a bite of her lunch while I pick at the stringy cheese of mine.
“Sounding like your mom.”
“Can you imagine if Nora heard this conversation? The woman that can’t handle the use of ‘bullshit’ would probably have an aneurysm.
” Taking a deep breath to calm her laugh, she sits straighter and takes a drink from her coffee before she says, “You should get the will over and done with. Rip that bitch of a Band-Aid off so you have one less thing to stress over. Have you heard back about the job at the aquarium?”
Excitement rolls through me in a way that has my insides vibrating, making the mouthful of grilled cheese I was chewing hard to stomach. I can’t remember ever being so happy and excited that I can’t physically take it. It’s almost as though it’s too much.
“Yeah, the project won’t start until the New Year, and until then I’m kind of jobless.”
Although it makes me emotional to walk away from the job I fought so hard to keep over the last few years, the reasons for giving it up more than overshadow that slight sting.
In fact, the loss of that part of my life, that I loved, doesn’t even begin to dull what Iris and I have found here with Rhett, Jo, and Callie.
Forcing myself to eat through overwhelming butterflies in my stomach, I can’t hide my smile. Sure, the storm is far from over, but one day it will be. The dark clouds will pass, and the blue sky will still be there, bluer than ever.
“It’s sort of a good thing that I’m getting good at mucking out the stables and cleaning out the coop. Makes me feel useful.”
“You lost me at mucking out. There’s a reason we are a no-animal household, I can’t deal with actual stinky shit.”
“You have two kids.”
“Exactly, I’ve paid my crappy dues.” Our laugh is loud enough that the tables closest to us look our way. “We should go find you something to wear.”
“Why are you Morgans so damn hard to say no to?”
“You’ve met Nora. Rafe and I learned from the best.”
We’re putting on our coats when her phone rings. And while she’s on it, we wander out of the coffee shop toward the small row of boutiques that lead to the bigger shops.
What was meant to be a catch-up turned into a day of trying on dresses and shopping. Thank God I managed to get the aquarium to pay my last couple of months’ salaries into my solo account now that Carl’s and my joint accounts are frozen.
Iris jumps out of the Jag more excited than ever about it being almost Friday, and while I’m relieved that this week Carl hasn’t shown up at the school again, like I feared he would, I’m now feeling all kinds of anxious about asking Rhett to come with me to DC.
Deep down I know that he won’t turn me down, but there’s always that one chance…
At the sound of the pickup coming up behind me as I pull the dress bag from where it’s hooked up in the trunk, I turn to catch my first glimpse of Rhett since he left this morning.
One of his patients was having open-heart surgery today, and he wanted to be there with them.
He’s the most dedicated person I know, and at the sight of his smile, part of the apprehension I’ve been carrying around all day dissipates. The outcome must have been good.
“Hey!” Getting out of the truck, he comes to stand in front of me. Nudging the tip of my nose with his, he tilts my face up to his so that he can kiss me while grabbing the dress and shoe bags in my hands. “What’s all this?”
“Callie.”
“Okay.” He nips another kiss to my lips, pressing the button to close the trunk before he guides us up the porch. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sounds serious,” I muse, taking my dress and hanging it in the closet with the coats while I listen to Iris tell Jo all about her day and how the school is planning an Addams Family–type Thanksgiving performance.