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“So you keep telling me. I hope your expectations are met next time around. You deserve better.”
“I love you too. Hey, have a safe flight and if you get time, look up Paul Davis in Charlotte. Remember him? He just got off a long job and might need someone to kick around with.”
“I always liked him. Text me his number and I’ll make sure he gets into a healthy bit of trouble.”
“Not too much. I don’t want to have to clean up after a scandal.”
“Would I do that?”
“Yes, and you have.”
“One time. You’ll never let me forget it.”
“Nope,” I tell him as I pop the p for extra emphasis. “What are big sisters for?”
“Mine’s awesome with a side of pain in the ass.”
“Thanks, Bro. Check in with me when you get back to Chicago, okay?”
“You know it. Be good. See ya.”
“See ya.”
He kills the call first. He knows that’s our routine. I don’t want to be the first one to hang up. He’s a scout for a junior hockey club in Seattle. He works remotely and flies all over the country, and sometimes the globe, looking for recruits. He normally calls when he misses me. He won’t say it, but that’s what the call is about. I miss him too. I’m so proud of him. If I was able to talk about all the things going on with me, he’d be my person, right behind Sylvia.
Everything came at me in a rush after I hung up with Austin. That scandal I warned Austin about happened with someone else. There are some pictures I have to find a creative way to spin, while legal does their song and dance. This client is on his last leg. I don’t want to have to suggest to the team we cut him, so I have to give him a dose of an Ava I don’t often show.
She’s the ballbuster with a cold shoulder that could freeze ice on the equator. Sylvia likes her. I wouldn’t expect less. Aaron likes to know I have it in me to do it. It makes me well rounded, he says. I hate the guilt and the ire that it leaves inside me. It twists me up, even though I know it’s the right thing to do in the moment.
The other thing I’m not used to is waiting for the phone to ring. I have a flutter inside me that doesn’t seem to go away while I wait for the next message or call. Is it the excitement of a secret? Is it because it’s him? If I’m honest with myself, I think it’s a little of both.
I’m in my car stuck in traffic…again.
I’m listening to one of my favorite satellite stations and the song comes on that Rafael and I danced to that first night in the bar. That night was the male version. This is the female version. I hadn’t heard this version before. It set visions of him and us together in motion. Traffic or no traffic, I am transported to that place in my mind where nothing but good things reside.
About ten seconds before my car is shut off in my neighborhood, my phone rings, startling me like a car horn would have in the trance-like state I’ve found myself in. I hit the answer call button on my steering wheel.
“This is Ava.”
After a momentary pause, the bass of his voice fills the inside of my car.
“Ciao, Bella. How was your day?”
I’m sure I have a goofy smile on my face that could indicate to a stranger the voice on the other end is very special. “Hi. This is a surprise. I didn’t think I’d hear from you until later.”
“I know, that was the plan. Unfortunately, my plan doesn’t match the work plan today.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Just a change in shooting order today. We needed more time than we have slotted in the middle of the day, so we’ll be here until quite late. It was now or not at all. I wasn’t satisfied with not at all.”
“I’m sorry. I know all about best-laid plans. Will this extend your stay by a couple of days?”
“No. That would have been a welcome addition. I have a proposal for you, if you’re willing to accept.”
“And that would be?”
“Have dinner with me.”
