AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My father put his elbows on the table. “How did you two meet?”
Ava fussed with the cuff of her blazer, tugging at a loose string. “The restaurant where he worked was just around the corner from my apartment and had some of the best food in town. I’d order takeout a few times a week, but I hated going inside to pick it up. It was always soloud. The music, the voices. It flustered me. I have sensitive ears. After a while, Alex noticed my discomfort and offered to meet me outside with my order when I called.”
“That was kind of him,” Dad said.
She nodded and smiled sadly. “It was. And it was nice to benoticed,you know? He asked me out early on, but I wasn’t ready. Instead, we built a friendship. Every few weeks, we’d go for a long walk, or to a quiet movie, or on a picnic lunch. He was funny as anything, always making me laugh, and he was whip-smart, too. He entertained me with his past adventures—he was a drifter at heart and had lived in a dozen different cities, at least. And he was always traveling, quick getaways. It felt like he was getting on a plane every few weeks.”
At the mention of his travels, I wondered if it was possible he’d been here, in Driftwood, when I typed the want ad. Summer was the height of our tourist season. But even if he had visited, it didn’t explain how he’d gotten hold of a piece of paper I’dthrown away. Unless he’d somehow seen it in the two minutes it had been posted and then fished it out of the trash can.
Smiling, Dad said, “I was once a drifter as well. I sure do miss those days. I hope to get back to it eventually.”
Wait. What? He’d never told me that. But he had mentioned it to Sienna, hadn’t he? Telling her he longed to travel the world again.
“The stories I could tell,” he went on, his eyes flashing with delight. “But do go on. This isn’t about me. I want to hear more about Alexander.”
Oh, but it was about him. Anger sparked and sputtered. How could he eventhinkabout traveling? Leaving Driftwood? My gaze went to the water, lingered there. As I watched the currents, my anger fizzled, replaced with a deep yearning to go back in time.
Ava said, “I’m pretty sure Alex knew a little something abouteverything. He was respectful of my sensitivities. I envied the way he never looked before he leaped, since I’m more of a baby-step kind of person. He was always encouraging me to be more outgoing, to be more like him. After a year, he asked me out again, and I said yes, finally ready to test those waters. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that we’d been better off as friends.”
Dad sipped his tea and said, “If you don’t mind my asking, what made you come to that realization?”
“Daddy,”I said on a sigh. He might possibly be the nosiest man on earth. Plus, he loved gossip. Couldn’t get enough of it.
“No, it’s all right,” Ava said. “I don’t mind sharing. I thought I knew everything about Alexander before we started dating. But I learned there are just some things you don’t discover until you’re spendingallyour free time together, opening yourself up more. Little things like how he left the cap off the toothpaste, the toilet seat up, and never cleaned up after himself. Bigger things like his increasing pressure on me to be more adventurous, and his obsessive need to check his phone all the time. He’d even wake up every couple of hours during the night to check it.”
Dad whistled and shook his head.
“It was unsettling,” she said. “He had such a big fear of missing out on life that he couldn’t settle down. Even in his short bursts of sleep, he was restless. He had a master’s degree in business but preferred to job hop than settle into a long-term role. He moved every one to two years because he bored easily. He felt like if he didn’t learn something neweverysingle day that he’d wasted the day. He had a hundred hobbies, at least. Stunt kites, photography, blacksmithing, guitar playing, rock climbing. The list felt endless. He’d see something intriguing, learn all about it, master it, then move on to the next thing.”
One or two of the things she mentioned could probably be overlooked or compromised on. But as a whole? It was a lot to overcome. No wonder they hadn’t lasted.
“When he confessed he didn’t want pets or children because they’d tie down his adventurous spirit,” Ava said, “I knew I absolutely had to end it with him. Those are deal breakers in my book.”
Dad flicked me a glance, and I knew immediately what he was thinking about—because I’d been thinking it, too.
Noah.
His father hadn’t wanted kids, either. Well, not at nineteen years old at least. My heart ached whenever I thought aboutTheo and me, two terrified college kids, holding our breath while watching for lines to appear in the small window of a pregnancy test, the rest of the dorm loud and rowdy and carefree.
Dad sighed, deep and heavy, and asked Ava, “How did Alexander handle the breakup?”
She took a sip of tea, then said, “For the most part, fairly well. He’d also come to the realization that we weren’t compatible as a couple. The breakup was amicable. Friendly, even. I think we were both more relieved than anything. He was going to move to Amsterdam.”
“The most part?” Dad’s eyebrow went up.
Suddenly, I was grateful for his nosiness, because I’d caught that too and wanted to know more. I leaned in.
The wind gusted, teasing light brown hair from her topknot. “After we broke up, he kept texting me, trying to get me to go here, there, wherever. Roller skating. Bowling. A concert. A riverboat tour. You name it. There was almost an obsessive tone to the texts that made me realize that at some point during our relationship,I’dbecome one of his hobbies. A challenge to master. I was a puzzle he hadn’t been able to solve, and he wasn’t going to be able to move away until he finished what he’d started in Cincinnati. He was bound and determined to get me fully out of my comfort zone. But I still wasn’t ready to be that adventurous. And then he passed away—he was hit by a car late one night a couple of weeks after the breakup.”
Dad smacked the table with his hand, making Ava and me jump. “Is that why you think he sent the letter? He’s still trying to get you out of your comfort zone?”
Looking pained, she nodded. “After reading that letter, something came over me, and I knew it was finally time to make my own leap, to start an adventure of my own. So here I am.”
After hearing what Ava had to say, I was starting to believe the letterhadcome from a ghost. It made a strange sort of sense. Yet… “But why would Alexander send youhere? Whythistown?Thisjob? There has to be a reason.”
“Did you not see the note written at the top?” Dad asked.“Ava is destined to find happiness here. Many do, you know,” he said to her.
“Really?” she asked.
