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My brothers came in as I was getting everything set up.
“What’s going on?” Matt asked. “It looks like you’ve already gotten the place ready for the night.”
“I had to. I don’t have time tonight to play catch-up,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” Tyler asked. “Where Ava?”
“Ava is at home with food poisoning,” I said. “She’s been sick since last night.”
“No, no,” Jesse said. “I am so sorry. Was it the sushi?”
Part of me wanted to blame him, but he looked so upset. And the truth was, we didn’t know what had made her sick.
“We’re not sure,” I said. “All we know is we went from here to dinner, then for a walk on the beach. That’s when she started to feel sick. And she’s been sick since.”
“Ava’s sick?”
I turned toward the voice and saw Tom walk into the bar. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Of course he was showing up now. I had no idea he was going to be there, and irritation crawled up my spine. I hated that it always seemed he had the control. He was the one who had the last word. For the past month I had been trying to talk to him, and he’d done everything he could to avoid it.
But now, he showed up and I hadn’t even had the chance to think about what I was going to say to him. Tom walked up and stood close beside me so our other brothers couldn’t hear him.
“I need to speak to you,” he said.
He headed for the office, and I followed him. Tom closed the door behind us and looked at me.
“I’m going to need to talk with both you and Ava when she’s feeling better,” he said.
“She should be feeling better soon. Food poisoning only lasts a couple of days,” I said.
“It better be food poisoning,” Tom said.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you mean?”
No sooner had the words come out of my mouth than it hit me. My mind went back all those years ago to right before she found out she was pregnant with our baby. I could feel the color drain from my face and worry well up inside me.
I walked out of the office without another word, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I headed for the back parking lot. Three calls later, Ava still hadn’t answered her phone. It wasn’t an emergency because I knew she wasn’t in danger, but I wanted to talk with her. It couldn’t wait until after work.
For once, I left the bar for my brothers to clean up rather than staying late. I headed right for Ava’s place, but she didn’t come to the door. She still didn’t answer my calls. I fought not to let myself panic. I didn’t know for sure what was going on. She really could have food poisoning. For that night, I would let her rest. Then we would figure things out.29AvaI had come to the realization over the last couple of years that our idea of shopping and customer service had done a major boomerang since our grandparents’ generation. While we were used to big-box stores and mega mart, they liked to go to specialty markets and could call up the general store and ask for a grocery delivery.
The concept of that kind of convenience and service was foreign when I was a bit younger. The only thing I could hope to have delivered to my house was a lukewarm pizza or some of the fantastic greasy Chinese food from the place in town. But over the last couple of years, that had changed. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and various other businesses started delivering again.
I hadn’t thought much about it. A run up to the grocery store or the corner pharmacy didn’t seem like so much of a burden I couldn’t handle on my own. The service didn’t really matter to me much until the next morning after my date with Mason when I woke up still feeling sick. I knew this feeling. I didn’t want to admit that, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind.
I felt horrible. Exhausted, shaky, and sick to my stomach, I barely even wanted to open my eyes, much less get dressed, get in the car, and go to the store. Besides, the chances of people noticing my purchases were a lot lower if they were delivered to me. Anybody could catch me wandering out of the pharmacy with a bag and get a glimpse.
A gangly teenage boy with watery blue eyes showed up at my door an hour and a half after I called in my order to the pharmacy. I shoved a handful of bills at him and snatched the bag before he could say anything. Then I went to spend a truly nerve-racking three minutes alone in the bathroom.
