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Ava read the text, waiting for her date to come back from the bathroom, and hurried to reply to Leon.
What’s going on?
Debating whether or not he should be cagey, he decided he had nothing to lose by being honest.Just thinking of you,he typed.
Aw, well, can we get together tomorrow?
Smiling, he typed back,Yes, please.
She quickly answered,Get some sleep and we’ll chat in the AM.
He let her have the last word. It was enough; they’d talk in the morning.
When he got up the next day, after taking care of Violet’s needs, he followed his mother around the house while she threw things he said he’d always liked into a box. Boxes was more accurate. She took stickers and applied them to furniture he’d admired, starting with his nineteen forties bedroom furniture, which had belonged to his grandparents—the family lived in the old Saint family homestead after all, so much of the furniture had been there originally—and ending with the gray Formica kitchen table and red vinyl-covered chairs.
“I see a theme here,” Roberta said. “Kind of mid-century modern.”
“Is that what it is? I want it to be more of a mix.”
“Oh, it will be. I can’t wait to get new kitchen furniture. You’re saving this stuff from Aunt Carol’s garage sale,” she said when they tagged the kitchen set so the movers would know what pieces to take.
“I can’t believe my knucklehead brothers who moved out before me didn’t take it. It’s a treasure.”
“They all moved out with women,” she said. “And no self-respecting woman is going to want any of this old stuff. You get a new couch and mattress though.”
“And a recliner. Thanks again, Ma. Today I want to start cleaning out my closet. I have cleats from high school in there.”
While Violet slept, he managed to fill another two boxes with stuff he no longer wanted, lugging them out to the garage. “I’ll go through them myself,” Roberta said. “There might be something in there Violet will want when she grows up. Some memento you don’t appreciate.”
“Whatever, Ma.”
“I’m headed out to my hair appointment,” she said, waving.
It would be his chance to leave without making excuses. He and Ava were going to the beach. It was a warm, beautiful fall day. He wasn’t sure what they would do yet. Going to the beach with a baby would be a new experience, and it would be the last day that he’d have for a while to just chill out before the big move.
When he arrived at her house though, he was nervous about his truck being seen there by Roberta.
Out in front, he texted. Turning around to see the baby, he added,Baby asleep.
In seconds, she answered,Be right out.He waited, watching the door, nervously checking the surroundings in case Roberta should drive by. Then Ava came out, looking beautiful, her hair wound into some kind of twist at the back of her head.
Pushing the door open for her, he smiled at her. “You look beautiful.”
“I do? Thanks.”
“I like your hair like that,” he said, looking around one more time. Maybe he’d better get out of there, just in case.
“It’s up so it won’t bug me if it’s windy.”
“I’m going to level with you about something,” he said, changing the subject before he lost his nerve.
“Okay,” she said hesitantly.
“I don’t want my parents to know about us. Not just yet. Is that okay with you? It feels disrespectful to you, but the reason is I just don’t want to hear about it while I’m still living there.”
“Do you think they’ll object because of the age difference?”
She had to admit, at least to herself, that it had hurt a little bit. They were only going to the beach. Why would that have to be hidden? But she wanted to hear him out.
