He winced at the word but took it as a compliment.
“Here, let’s sit for a second. I’ve made a couple of drinks for us.”
Avvie walked over to the deck chairs and looked out at the lake. She sat down, and Stone handed her a drink. He sat down beside her.
“I don’t know what kind of time you have, but we can go to town for dinner. Or I can take the little boat out there to my friend’s place. He’s got a lovely dockside restaurant.”
“Both sound great, whatever. But, before you do, I need to ask you a favor.”
“Anything, you know that.” He was instantly worried. She never asked for anything. She never wanted for anything, financially at least. The rest of her needs were met by her mother. She’d never needed a thing from him.
“Well, you know it was match day a couple months back.”
“Yes, your mother told me you were successful and that you'd call and let me know. I missed that call.”
“Yeah, that’s on me. I was floundering a bit. She wanted me to call you right away. Said you owed me. But that’s not how I wanted to play it.”
Stone shifted in his seat. He didn’t want to know about his ex-wife’s conversations with Avvie about him. Had they all been negative? Was Avvie’s only view of Stone through her mother’s lens? Probably.
He held his tongue and let her continue.
“I’m matched at Bixby.”
“What? Bixby here, in Lenawee County?”
“Yes.”
“How in the world don’t you have to put a location in? You live in Seattle. How did you wind up around the corner from here?”
“I asked for it. My grades, tests, and interviews were all good. The algorithms gave me my pick, they say.”
“Okay, so you picked a small rural hospital?”
“I don’t want to disappoint you, but I don’t want to be in Seattle, New York, or L.A. anymore. I love Mom, but not the places she likes to be. And when you told me about this place. Well, I decided it sounded good for a couple of reasons.”
“It is good. Great, really.”
Stone could scarcely believe what he was hearing. It was the best news he’d ever gotten.
“But I don’t have a place to stay.”
Stone wanted to leap to his feet, pick up his baby girl, and squeeze her tight. He wanted to thank her for choosing to be close to him. He had a thousand things to ask her, to show her.
But he thought of J.J.’s advice about letting time and togetherness forge the bond.
“If you’d like to stay here. I’d be honored. There’s a lot of space. You’d never even have to see me if you don’t want to.”
“Hmm. Well, seeing as I decided to move across the country to this little town to get to know my dad, I think I would like to see you. Every once in a while, between hospital shifts. If you’re okay with it.”
“I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”
They sat for a few more minutes and drank J.J.’s green juice.
“Whoa, this is strong.”
“Yeah, another friend says it’s the only way to make a margarita.”
“Am I going to get to meet some of these friends?”
