I shake off the unease curling its way around my middle and grab the towel hanging over the shower door. I’m not going to waste any more time on last night when Ava is downstairs.
Dressed in my comfiest navy-and-cream-striped pajamas, I go in search of her.
She’s parked in front of the TV, armed with snacks and drinks, our typical setup for a night in together. From the day this two-story bonus room was built, it became our favorite part of the house. Ava, Garrett, and I spent many Saturday and Sunday afternoons curled on that oversized gray cloth sectional, watching movies and laughing until we cried.
“Hey, Mom.” She smiles when she notices me. “I ordered a pizza from Angelo’s. Should be here in about thirty minutes.”
I return the smile. “Pizza sounds good.”
She pats the couch next to her and I take a seat, cuddling up under the blanket she set out.
“What should we watch?” I ask, grabbing the remote.
She shakes her head. “Nope. You have some explaining to do.”
“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?” I mumble, avoiding her eyes by keeping mine trained on the maroon blanket and pretending to pick lint.
“Not a chance,” she answers with a smirk. But that quickly fades with her next words.
“What happened? I sent a text to Aunt Lanie and Aunt Nina to ensure they were with you, and neither one of them responded. When I asked Aunt Lanie today, she danced around the subject.” She nibbles on her full bottom lip, a giveaway that she’s nervous. “You and I both know that’s never a good sign. Are you fighting?”
Those two only ever ignore her when they’re trying to hide something. They couldn’t be any more obvious if they showed up with detailed sticky notes from last night taped to their heads.
I groan because there is no way of getting around this without leaving Ava to worry about her aunts and me.
“Nothing like that. They showed up here and we had a night out and then... ended up going to see a psychic.”
Ava’s eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. “A psychic?” She laughs, sounding even more nervous. “Oh boy... Do I even want to know what happened from there?”
I widen my eyes in aprobably notexpression, but fill her in on everything anyway. I don’t spare a detail about what occurred at Cori’s Nail Spa with Corinne. When I’m done, Ava’s worrying her bottom lip, and her eyes are narrowed in thought.
“Do you think that was a good idea?” Here we go. Mother Avaclawing her way to the surface. “It’s just that—” Her words stop, and she shakes her head.
“It’s just what, Aves?”
Her head lifts and our eyes meet. “I don’t want to ruin our night by talking about this.”
I force a smile. “It won’t.”
She takes a deep breath and continues. “That stuff isn’t real, Mom, and it isn’t healthy for you to think otherwise.”
I pull a face, not loving her tone. She must notice because she rushes on.
“It’s been two years and you’rebarelyliving life,” she stresses. “Trying to chase down Dad’s ghost isn’t a healthy coping mechanism.” Her head shakes. “Dad wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want you suffering like this, Momma.” Her voice hitches and that lump in my throat intensifies.
Momma.
It’s been so long since she’s called me that.
Tears stream down her cheeks, and my hand lifts to wipe them away. I pull her in to my chest, running my hands down her back soothingly.
“I’m doing better, Aves.” I whisper the promise into the top of her head. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
She pulls out of my grip. “But I do.”
Inhaling deeply, I close my eyes and swallow down the tightness building at the base of my throat.
“What should we watch?” I ask, trying to turn this day around.
