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Ava sighed and fell on her bed. She felt the overwhelming urge to go see her father, talk to him and cry. He would be the only person who understood how crushed she could get when she got her hopes up and was disappointed in the process. But she did not want to worry him too much. He just wanted to see her happy; crying in his lap all the time would only sadden him.
A soft knock on the door got her attention. Benjamin came in, a wide smile spread across his face.
“You ready to get back on the horse?”
She sniffled and wiped her eyes, “Not quite yet.”
He came closer. “Well. You better get ready anyways because guess what?”
Ava smiled at him and rolled her eyes at the same time. “I’m not good at guessing.”
He clicked his tongue and came a step closer. “Heard that before. Anyway, we got an anonymous donation for the shelter. Just thought I’d let you know. It was—”
“No way! You’re kidding!” Ava jumped to her feet; her eyes wide.
“Joking about a donation to the homeless? Who do you think I am… a cold-blooded serial killer?”
She ignored his joke. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Who knows, rich people are crazy. Probably some guy trying to buy his way into heaven.”
Still grinning, he showed her the transfers, each wired in anonymously. He was saying something about how the money came in split in two, “Five million each. I mean, I guess all I can—”
His words were cut short when she squealed and threw her arms around him. Stuck in surprise, his arms remained frozen, as if he was not sure if he should hold her tight or just let her be. Her excited squeals soon turned into soft sobs. Her body was fragile against his, and her heart thumped so fast when he held her.
“So? Ready to get back up then?” he said with a smile.
Her body shook as she chuckled. “Ready to get back up on the horse,” her voice muffled into his shoulder.
“Good. For a moment I thought I had lost my feisty Ava. Who else would keep me in check?”
“You mother?” she joked. He rolled his eyes.
“I said keep me in check, not drive me insane.”
They broke the embrace, and both laughed, looking right at each other.
“I told you it’d be alright,” Benjamin said. She smiled timidly and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yes, you did.”
“That makes me a good husband, right?”
Gorgeous, wonderful, kind, incredible,she almost blurted out but held her tongue. “Don’t get cocky,” she giggled, giving his arm a light jab. “But yeah, maybe you are a good husband.”
They became very aware of how close to each other they stood, and of the increasing tension sparking between them. She looked up at him, her eyes deep and soft, and he held that gaze, tempted to reach out and hold her again.
Not sure how she’d react, he touched her cheek. “I’ll see you later, okay? Make sure you do a lot of good with that donation.”
“Yes, sir!” she said and watched him leave the room.
“Yes, sir…” she repeated and smiled, holding her right hand with her left to stop the fidgeting.
Ava was late for work, which was unusual for her. She had slept in, something she never did. But in her defense, she had remained awake all night, filled with the excited anticipation of showing up to work with the donation. When she had finally closed her eyes, it was well past 4 a.m.
She rushed into the bathroom to brush her teeth when she heard Lucy yelling in the hallway. Again. She thought about the endless lists of things she might have done this time to upset her. Forgot a glass in the kitchen or maybe just breathing the air of the estate? She walked out her room to see if Lucy shouted her name. But this time it wasn’t her name she heard thunder in the world-famous Lucy yell.
"You did what!" Lucy shouted.
"You shouldn’t have messed with the fundraiser. It was—"
