Rooted in sunrise, p.21
Rooted in Sunrise, page 21
“I didn’t know anything about that.”
“I didn’t either until that day. I thought he was a farmer and he enjoyed that. He didn’t tell me if he did or he didn’t. He did tell me that women oftentimes were overshadowed by strong men. He urged me to not let that happen.”
Ava tried to imagine her seemingly traditional grandfather saying that. She couldn’t picture it.
“I told him I knew Max was the one for me. The signs were all there. And he told me to always look for the signs to see where they would lead me.”
“And have you?”
Lizzie shrugged. “As best I could.”
She stood and set the hairbrush in front of Ava.
“There’s no chart to write them on that will plot your path. But I think if we both follow his advice, we’ll know what the next move is. One sign at a time.”
The restaurant where Chester took Ava felt low-key and local. Conversations in Spanish floated around tables that were situated in sand rather than on a deck, and the table settings boasted locally carved wooden flowers as their centerpieces. The menu was in Spanish, with a list of choices that Ava didn’t think had been at the other restaurant. She settled on a chicken and rice dish with warm and sweet spices and mashed plantains.
Chester was easy to talk with and to listen to. He had a string of stories about fascinating places he’d traveled for his work. Where Ava once wouldn’t have understood why anyone would choose to travel that frequently, she felt a rush at the idea of exploring the pyramids in Egypt. Learning to samba in Rio de Janeiro would be fun. Seeing great works of art, in person, at the Uffizi—what a thrill that would be. Chester had done them all.
After they ate, Chester took her hand and led her out to the beach for a stroll in the moonlight. Although she had enjoyed her solo walk the other night, having Chester for company made for an entirely different experience. The sand was hard and wet beneath her bare feet. A cool breeze ruffled her hair. Chester’s hand around hers felt so strong, so capable and dependable. Ava wondered how a person who spent little time in one place could feel so steady. It was something she’d never felt with Donovan.
Ahead, Ava spotted lights and heard a drum. Then a guitar joined the music. Chester guided her in that direction. It was a dance floor with a band. Shoes lined the sand along the wooden platform. As the gathered crowd watched, a man and a woman wearing matching turquoise outfits walked through dance steps with two other people.
Ava watched and realized she was subtly swaying her hips. It had been so long since she had danced with anyone. And it wasn’t something she did well, even if she managed to lose herself in the movement and music. She glanced at Chester to see if he might be feeling the music too. Before she could discern his thoughts, a hand was reaching for hers, and the man in turquoise pulled her onto the floor.
She watched his feet as he stepped through a simple pattern. He pushed her chin up so she looked into his dark eyes. He smiled. “Feel it,” he said.
And so, she did. They stepped it out, moving a little faster each time.
“Hips,” her partner told her.
She watched the woman who was dancing with Chester and saw how she swayed as she stepped. Ava tried imitating her. Then Ava’s partner led her to Chester, and they joined the other couples on the floor.
Chester and Ava both laughed as they tried to match the rhythm of the music. Ava felt she was doing well, though Chester wasn’t as smooth as her first partner.
“I’m afraid it doesn’t come naturally for me,” Chester said.
“Maybe what comes naturally is the easiest but not the best,” Ava said.
“You’re a wise woman, Ava Winston.”
Wiser and braver than she had ever realized.
After Ava showered in the morning, she found Connie and Bernadette at the breakfast table with empty plates in front of them. Connie greeted her with a big smile, and Bernadette raised her eyebrows.
“I do believe you came in quite late last night,” Bernadette said.
“I didn’t. It was early this morning. Don’t be so Sister Alice Mary,” Ava said.
She took a seat, and Araceli brought her juice. Croissants and fruit sat on the table.
Connie touched Ava’s hand as she reached for a croissant.
“Was he a dream?” she said.
Ava nodded, and Connie’s smile widened. Ava felt like she was in high school, talking with her friends the day after the prom. She might look like a middle-aged woman, but inside she felt like she still had her entire life ahead of her.
Then she realized Lizzie wasn’t at the table.
“Max surprised her and arrived last night instead of waiting until today,” Connie said.
“She looked worried,” Bernadette said. “Is something up with them? We haven’t seen them this morning.”
“We’re not the only ones trying to find our new footing” was all Ava said.
She hoped Lizzie had brought her concerns up with Max. She wanted her cousin to feel the same airiness now washing over her. A bit of bravery to step out into something new—simultaneously lifting a burden and sending Ava’s mind in a thousand directions. She’d hardly slept since returning to the house, and it wasn’t because she was thinking of Chester. The evening had been the most fun she’d had with a man in years. And there promised to be more. Chester had a summer assignment in Kentucky at a horse farm. She could imagine welcoming him to a room at Aunt Lila’s, showing him around central Kentucky. Maybe he would take photos she could use to promote the business. Or maybe they would simply sit on the porch and get up to dance if the breeze was right.
Something about being with him helped cement her realization that she didn’t have to take the easy way. Her duty to Juniper didn’t limit her options. She didn’t need to go back to her old job. She didn’t need to rebuild her house. If Aunt Lila was willing to take on a business partner, they could divide duties. Lila could be the public face while Ava did the rest of the work. And maybe, at the same time, Ava could lessen the load for Juniper and her partners. None of them had professed proficiency with the bookkeeping part of the business.
The possibilities were still swirling through her head that afternoon when she finally saw Lizzie, without Max. Her older cousin was placid, not a word Ava had ever associated with her. Lizzie silently walked from pot to giant pot, watering the many flowers around the patio.
“Is Max here?” Ava asked.
“Gone to the golf course. That’s where he goes when he wants to think. He’s a person who needs time to process.”
“You told him?”
Lizzie nodded and moved on to the next plant, a bright-orange bougainvillea. She continued to water, avoiding Ava’s gaze.
“I’m sure you supported Max, listened to his ideas, boosted him for all these years. I hope he realizes it’s his turn to do the same,” Ava said.
“He’s seen me throw myself into something new every time we move, so he thinks it can be that way here too. It’s not the same here.”
“Please invite me to your place in New York when you’re there.”
With that, Lizzie draped the hose over a patio chair and smiled at Ava.
“My oh my, our little Kentuckian has transformed.”
“Maybe not transformed, exactly. I think I’m more like a dehydrated piece of fruit that needed water to plump it to its luscious potential.”
“And now you’re stunningly juicy.”
For the next two days, Ava and Connie spent most of their time on the beach. Lizzie joined them when Max golfed. Bernadette stayed poolside at Lizzie’s house to avoid the shopping.
Lizzie was more relaxed. Araceli came back, and the push and pull between the two of them eased into a loose string that no longer pulled taut. Lizzie even gave Araceli a morning off. Lizzie wanted to cook for everyone herself. Her favorite meal to make was breakfast.
“These crepes are divine,” Bernadette said. “What’s inside?”
“Mango compote.” Lizzie pointed to the trees at the back of her property. “I’m still enough of a farm girl to know that when trees give you fruit, you preserve it.”
“I’ll preserve these days, Lizzie. Thank you for having us,” Connie said.
“Thank you for putting up with me.”
“They’re tolerant,” Bernadette said as she smiled at her friends. Then she focused on Connie. “Is the cut permanent now?”
“I couldn’t go back.” Connie raised her eyebrows in an uncertain expression. “I’m going to San Francisco to see my son. Then I’ll go to Louisville to see my daughter, if she’ll have me. Then I’ll decide what’s next. By then Marvin might have gotten used to me being gone and not want me back, which will make it easier,” she said.
“Have your children told him where you are?”
“No. I asked them not to, and they agreed. It feels good to come back to the house and not dread checking my phone. Sometimes I wish we could go back to the no-cell-phone days. There was a time when you could travel abroad and it was so expensive to call home that you would only do it in an emergency.”
“We could all pitch them, start our own trend,” Ava said.
“And what about you, Ava? Is life new for you? Is fear gone?” Lizzie said, a slight challenge in her voice.
“I didn’t think I would be starting anything new at fifty-five. By this time in life, shouldn’t we all be settled into who we are until we’re old and close to petrification?”
“Don’t mention petrification. It’s hard enough to stay attractive at this age. I can’t imagine what it will be in thirty years,” Bernadette said.
“Whatever word you use, we’ll continue to evolve,” Connie said. “What’s really different now is that we better understand that we have choices.”
At that, Ava’s phone dinged. They all laughed, but she didn’t pitch it. She picked it up and saw a message from Juniper.
“MOM, I MISS YOU. BIG NEWS TO SHARE WHEN YOU GET HOME SO BE SURE TO CALL. LOVE YOU.”
Ava relayed the message to the others.
“You think it’s the big news I already know?” she asked Lizzie.
“Unless she’s pregnant,” Lizzie said.
“I doubt that. I don’t think she’s even dating anyone.”
“Come on, Ava. You said she’s living with her ex-boyfriend. And you really think he’s still the ex?”
Ava peered at Connie, who had seen the two young people together.
“Did you pick up on anything?”
“I’m not the best judge, yet they seem to get along naturally, the way I imagine people relate to one another when they’re meant to be.”
“Maybe it’s only about the job at the library. But I will not be afraid of what she has to tell me. I will not be afraid. I will not,” Ava said. “Besides that, I like Washington.”
“Do I hear you starting to practice fear-free living today?” Lizzie said.
“Seems like as good a time as any.”
Max walked in, and the women fell silent. They hadn’t seen him much since his arrival. He bent to kiss Lizzie’s cheek, then took a seat while Lizzie got him a plate and coffee.
Max’s blond hair edged into white, and crow’s feet defined his gray eyes. To Ava, he looked too young for retirement.
“Well, Max, will I see you in Kentucky anytime soon?” Ava said.
Lizzie placed the filled coffee cup in front of Max, who served himself a crepe.
“That’s up to Lizzie. We’ve decided that retirement for me means she’s in charge. I’ll have to learn to take orders.”
His congenial attitude softened Lizzie’s features. She appeared genuinely happy.
“We’ll keep this place, at least for a while,” Lizzie said. “You can come back with your families, even if we’re in New York. Araceli will be here.”
“Do you have a guest room in New York?” Bernadette asked. “The shopping must be fabulous.”
“For you three, the door will always be open.”
Chapter 14
On the flight home, Ava sat next to the window. She gazed outside without feeling sick and didn’t need Connie to keep her distracted. She didn’t even panic when the plane hit an air pocket.
Ava and Bernadette followed Connie through the long line at customs. Someone ahead of them stood at the window for quite some time, talking so rapidly that the person in the booth couldn’t say a thing. Ava couldn’t help wondering what they would ask her and whether they would inspect her luggage.
The officer in the booth in front of them waved Connie on. Ava stood behind the yellow line, waiting to be called forward. She rolled her shoulders. The hurricane hadn’t hit the Dominican Republic during their visit; Ava had escaped disaster number three. She had made it safely back to her homeland. No reason to be afraid at customs. She couldn’t think of anything that might deny her entry back into her own country. Still, she heard so many stories about crazy things happening at international borders.
A green light came on at booth 3, and a uniformed woman waved Ava down. Ava studied the middle-aged man inside the booth and wondered how many days he had spent in that small enclosure. She handed him her passport with the paperwork inside. He opened the booklet, glanced from Ava to her picture, removed the papers, stamped the page, then handed her passport back to her.
“Welcome home,” he said.
Ava smiled. They were good words to hear.
Bernadette’s family, every one of them, surrounded her at the luggage carousel. It didn’t look like they would ever let her travel without them again.
Connie and Ava went to Ava’s car and drove to Aunt Lila’s. As they headed up the tree-lined lane, Ava held her breath, hoping she wouldn’t see Marvin or a FOR SALE sign in the yard. Instead, she found Aunt Lila had expanded her flower garden. The sign read: BLOOM LIKE A FLOWER.
Aunt Lila sat in the kitchen, awaiting them with lemonade and shortbread cookies. Some pink colored her cheeks, and her voice sounded mellow.
The air had warmed while they were gone, though it still lacked the sun-kissed heat they’d enjoyed on the island. Aunt Lila wanted to know all about Lizzie; of course, Ava only shared the good parts. Lizzie would tell her mom more when she was ready.
“It’s such a gorgeous place,” Connie said. “You should go visit again.”
“I’ve never been much of a beach person. Some people love it, but that sand between my toes makes me feel all itchy. I would rather feel the mud of a good pond all over my feet,” Lila said. “Besides that, I can’t be pondering vacation. I’ve got decisions to make here. Maud’s insistent that I can’t keep this up, and Fawn agrees with her.”
“Are you feeling better?” Ava said.
“Considerably.” Lila stared out the window. “I walked out in the field where Daddy kept the goats. When I’m out there, I can see the three of us running around—Maud, Jeannie, and me. It’s like I’m there again, transported by Jeannie’s laughter and Maud’s bossiness. What a blessing sisters are.”
Ava thought of her brother, Jarvis. She hadn’t seen him in so long. Maybe she would invite him and his family for a visit. Or—now that she knew she wouldn’t perish in flight—she could go to see him.
“Will you miss that if you go?” Ava asked.
“When I think of it, I can’t imagine going. I can’t imagine staying, either. This place is so much to keep up. Maud invited me to live with her. She said she would move into a bigger apartment with space for two.”
Ava made a face, and Aunt Lila laughed.
Ava went to her grandfather’s desk. She sat down and idly ran her palm over the curve of the ribbed top. Then she used both hands to roll it back into its hiding slot.
She knew all the niches and the remnants of her grandfather tucked in them. She pulled out his reading glasses, which were so delicately made. He would never have believed that today he could walk into a store and find a rack of reading glasses in varying styles with whichever prescription level he needed.
Ava replaced the glasses, and her fingers traced the calendar pad she had left there. The top of it read 1987; she had never seen a need to remove it.
Remembering Lizzie’s urging to search for the photo of their grandmother, Ava sorted through all the cubbies again but didn’t see anything other than what she already knew was there. Then she picked up the desk pad, and out slipped two photographs. One was a photo of Grandma Marsh in her wedding dress, a simple white dress that went to her knees. She wore a small hat atop her dark hair.
The other was Ava’s high school graduation photo. The two women looked so similar that there was no doubt they were related.
It was her grandfather with whom Ava had always been infatuated. She had to work harder to remember her grandmother—the one always busy in the background, keeping things together.
Maybe her grandfather had always known Ava would never be a manager or business owner. She had a different role to fill that suited her temperament. The routine of supporting those around her energized Ava. That was why she had been able to work an office job all those years. For others, routine dimmed the sparkle they arrived with falling away like fairy dust gone stale.
She couldn’t let Juniper do this to herself: work at the library just to try to make enough to keep the farm afloat. Juniper wasn’t meant to be dusted in ashes.
Aunt Lila appeared at Ava’s side. Connie had drifted outside to the porch.
“No, I do not intend to move in with my sister,” Lila said. “Love her, I do. That would be much more difficult if we lived together.”
“You and I can, don’t you think?” Ava said.
Aunt Lila smiled, and Ava saw the faint resemblance to her own mother.
“Yes, I do.”
“I need to call Juni, let her tell me about what’s happening there, and see how she’s feeling about the house,” Ava said. She took one more sip of her lemonade, then headed to her room, suitcase in hand. She closed the door behind her.
One thing Lizzie had been right about was that Juniper likely did feel as strongly about their ruined house as Ava felt about Aunt Lila’s house. And if it meant that much to her, maybe Ava had to be willing to rebuild. It didn’t feel like the right thing for her, but for Juniper, it might be.
