Ava Comes Home (7 page)

“She wasn't when she was a kid,” Gerard teased. “She was as homely as a hedge fence.”

Everyone booed him down. Uncle Angus held his hands up. “Hush now. Mamie's upstairs.”

Ava suddenly stood. “I better go see her now. Are you coming, Lola?”

Lola looked horrified. “Of course not. She doesn't want to see me. I'll meet her another time, you go ahead.”

Ava stayed rooted to the spot. It wasn't until Rose came over and put her arm around her shoulders that she took a step. “It'll be all right, Libby. It's only Ma. She's so anxious to see you.”

Ava had no choice but to go along with her sister. Walking up the back stairs, her feet seemed to get heavier with each step and her courage seeped away. By the time they stood in front of her mother's bedroom door, she was breathless. Rose turned to look at her. “Now it's going to be a shock, Libby. You haven't seen her in ten years and she's gone downhill pretty fast these last few weeks. But I'm right here, okay?”

Ava nodded. Rose opened the door.

CHAPTER THREE

Downstairs, the family turned their attention to Lola, who was busy chowing down on Aunt Vi's baking. Eventually she noticed there were about twenty-five pairs of eyes on her, if you counted the dog and various cats milling about. She coughed on the last bite of a pineapple square and took a sip of tea, then patted the napkin against her red lips and balled it up on a plate.

“Oh my, that was out of this world.”

“Did you like your lunch, dear?” Aunt Vi asked.

“Lunch?”

“That's what you had.”

“You call eating desserts lunch?”

Uncle Angus sat in the rocking chair. “Well then, my girl, what would you call it?”

“A diet crisis, but never mind, it was worth every mouthful.”

At that point most of the family left to go home and make their own suppers—as though with Ava out of the room there wasn't much point in sticking around. Aunt Vi and Ava's sisters Bev and Maryette, however, rushed to sit at the table with Lola. Their teenage daughters hung around the edges, hoping they wouldn't be sent home with their fathers and brothers.

Lola looked at these female relatives of Ava's and saw the family resemblance. They were all fair haired and none of them were what you would call big people, except of course for Aunt Vi. A few of them had red hair and almost all of them had a smattering of freckles—the same freckles Maurice said were the bane of his existence. Of course, they looked as if they could do with a little pampering, but on the whole, they were a pleasant-looking bunch. The one thing they did have in common was Ava's lovely smile. But there was a big difference: They smiled a lot more then Ava did.

Aunt Vi clasped her hands and put them on the table. “Right now, girlie. I'd like to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Is Libby happy?”

Lola was taken aback. “Goodness. You cut right to the chase.”

“No use mincing words, as they say.”

She had to think fast. “Of course she's happy. Why? Don't you think so?” Aunt Vi looked at her nieces. “What do you think, girls?”

Bev and Maryette exchanged glances. Bev spoke first. “It's hard to tell of course, since we've only seen her for a few minutes, but I'm not sure. I hoped to see her as she was before she left us.”

“And how was that?” Lola wanted to know.

“Bubbling.”

“She was like a fairy,” Maryette grinned.

Rose's daughter Vicky spoke up. “Mom always says that too.”

Maryette continued. “Oh yes, she was a fairy, all right. Never in one spot too long, always flitting about, smiling and happy. And that laugh. She had a sparkling laugh.”

Uncle Angus rocked and sucked on his pipe. “I remember we used to tell her jokes or tickle her so we could hear that laugh. It was like music.”.

An unsettling feeling came over Lola. “I never knew that.”

“What do you mean?” Bev said. “You must know if you're her friend.”

Lola cleared her throat. “Oh, I do. I do. She does have a great laugh. I mean, she never told me about you trying to trick her, that's all.”

The others seemed satisfied with that, but Aunt Vi didn't look fooled. “She doesn't laugh much, does she?”

Lola was stuck. She floundered for something to say. Aunt Vi reached out and gave her hand a pat. “You're not betraying her, dear. We aren't her public. We're family and we're concerned about her.”

“But why? Why are you concerned? That's what I don't understand.” Aunt Vi sighed, as if impatient with such a question. “Girl, what do you call running away from home and never coming back? Does that sound like someone who's happy?”

There was nothing else she could say. “No.”

Rose's daughter Vicky spoke up again. She actually raised her hand, as if she were in class. “But I don't understand. Why wouldn't she be happy? She lives in Malibu, she's hot, she goes out with all kinds of super hot guys and she makes millions. I'd be happy, wouldn't you guys?” She looked at her cousins and they nodded furiously.

Aunt Vi dismissed her with a wave of her hand. “What's that got to do with the price of eggs?”

“Huh?”

“Child, you're too young to know what you're talking about.”

Vicky looked peeved. “Well, if she isn't happy, then she's nuts.”

Bev leaned towards Lola. “Does she have a boyfriend? Someone other than her co-stars?”

Lola shrugged. “From time to time.”

“But they don't last, do they?”

“Not really.”

“Why?”

Lola shrugged again. “It's a hard life, believe it or not. You never know whether a man wants you for you or for the actress on the screen.”

“That's a problem?” Bev's daughter Samantha snorted. “Who cares? She's dated Toby James for heaven's sake!”

“Who hasn't?” Lola muttered.

Samantha's mother got cross. “Okay Sam, will you girls go somewhere else, please? This isn't your concern. We shouldn't be discussing this in front of you anyway.”

Samantha and her cousins huffed off into the living room with complaints of always having to leave when the going got good. Once they were gone, Lola couldn't resist.

“What happened to make her run away? She's never said a thing to me about it. Not a word.”

Ava's sisters looked at their Aunt Vi, who in turn looked at Uncle Angus. He nodded ever so slightly. She leaned closer to Lola and whispered, “A romance gone sour.”

“A romance? When she was seventeen?”

The ladies nodded knowingly.

Lola didn't believe it. “Come on. No one runs away because of a high school crush.”

“This was no ordinary crush,” Maryette frowned. “We tried to tell Ma that, but she wouldn't listen.”

“Well, what happened?”

Bev shook her head. “No one knows. That's the strange part about it. One minute they were so in love it was scary. The next minute… poof! She was gone.”

“Well, not the next minute,” Maryette corrected her. “She was here that summer after Seamus went to New Brunswick. She was sad when he left. She didn't want him to go.”

“She was sad before he left,” Bev added. “She wasn't quite herself, probably because she knew he was going.”

“Who was he?”

“Only the most gorgeous boy you ever laid eyes on,” Maryette sighed. “Even we were jealous of her and half of us were married!”

“What was his name?”

“Seamus O'Reilly.”

Lola laughed out loud. “You're making that up.”

They looked at her in confusion.

So they weren't kidding. “I'm sorry,” she stammered. “It's just that he sounds like someone from a Harlequin romance…”

Uncle Angus kept rocking. “No, my girl. There's lots of O'Reillys around here. And Seamus is a good, old-fashioned name. Lots of Scots and Irish in this part of the world.”

“What happened to him?”

“There's a sad story,” Aunt Vi tsked. “I'll never forget when his mother came up to the house to speak to Mamie, saying her son's heart was broken and who did that little madam think she was? Girl, the fur was flyin' that day. Mamie had her finger in that poor woman's face telling her it was all her son's fault her daughter run off and how she'd never let another O'Reilly cross her threshold ever again. Then I think she went after her with the broom.”

“It was the coal shovel,” said Uncle Angus.

“You're right, Angus, it was the coal shovel. Chased her halfway down Water Street. Lord have mercy, what a sight.”

Lola couldn't believe her ears. “Good heavens, it's like a bad movie. But where is Seamus now?”

Maryette crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “He's still around, but we hardly ever see him.”

“Did he marry?”

“Yes,” Bev replied. “A nice little girl, Sally Hooper. A shame about her, too.”

Lola was reeling at this point. In the back of her mind she saw a Hollywood script in the making. “What about her?”

“She died after their second child was born.”

“Are you serious?”

Aunt Vi gave her a look. “Why do you think we're lyin' to you all the time?”

Lola put her hand on Aunt Vi's arm. “I'm sorry. It's not that I doubt you; I just can't believe all this. It sounds so…”

“Dramatic?” Maryette volunteered.

“Yes, I guess that's what I mean.”

“Everything about Libby's life is dramatic,” Bev smiled. “I guess that's why she's such a great little actress.”

Lola had to know. “So Seamus is raising two children by himself?” “His sister helps out,” Aunt Vi said. “Now there's a nice girl. Kids of her own, but she's always there when he needs her.”

“Does Ava know about Seamus…about his wife, I mean?”

Aunt Vi frowned. “Well, Rose opened her big gob and told her he was married, but no, we never told her Sally died. Too afraid I guess. She's never asked about him. It's best to let it be.”

“He lives out Mira,” Bev continued. “And I think that's a shame. I've never understood why he doesn't come into town with those babies and be closer to folk. It would make his life a whole lot easier.”

“Maybe he's afraid of running into all of you,” Lola said.

Aunt Vi and her nieces looked at each other and suddenly Lola was sorry she opened her big mouth. “I didn't mean that. I'm sure that's not it.”

Aunt Vi slapped the table. “You've hit the nail on the head, girlie! Why didn't we think of that before?”

Uncle Angus chuckled. “We never were too bright.”

All of them laughed, so Lola joined in as well.

Upstairs Ava and Rose sat on either side of their mother's bed. Mamie was fast asleep, which was just as well, because the minute Ava laid eyes on her, she put her hand up to cover her mouth so she wouldn't gasp out loud.

Rose put her arm around her. “It's okay, Libby. Sit down.”

Ava did as she was told. She couldn't have stood much longer anyway. It was a shock to see her loud and bossy mother lying faded and weak on her pillow.

“She looks so old.”

Rose chuckled as she sat down herself. “She is old, honey. She'll be eighty in a week, God willing.”

Ava shook her head. “I can't believe it. I thought she'd live forever. I never thought she'd get sick.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but we're all ten years older than the last time we laid eyes on you.”

Ava glanced at her sister before looking at her hands. “I know. I'm sorry. I always meant to come home, but there never seemed to be enough time.” Rose didn't answer, but one look at her face told Ava what she thought about that statement.

“I always missed you,” she added.

“And we missed you,” Rose replied. “It's a terrible shame that you only come home when one of us is dying.”

“Don't. Please.”

“It's the truth, isn't it?”

“I know, I know. I just can't deal with it all at once.” Ava reached over and grabbed a handful of tissue from her mother's bedside and began to shred them into little pieces. “I feel badly about it.”

“Why, Lib? Just tell me why. You don't know what it was like here, after you left. Ma was so hurt. She read that letter over and over and asked us what she did wrong. It was awful.”

Ava's heart was heavy, so heavy she had to take shallow breaths. But there was also something else below the surface. “You're telling me the only time she paid any attention to me was when I was gone?”

Rose looked shocked. “Is that what you think?”

Ava didn't trust herself to speak, so she shrugged.

Rose shook her head. “Libby…”

“Ava.”

“I can't call you Ava. Ava is the girl I saw at the movie theatre last Friday night. Libby is my baby sister and I want to tell her to grow up.” Ava clenched her teeth. Here it comes.

“You've been saying that so long, I think you actually believe that Ma was never there for you.”

“It's true, Rose, and you know it.”

Her sister pointed her finger right in her face. “Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about what it was like for her.” Rose paused to look at her mother. “I've got four kids and I can hardly see straight. She had nine! Nine kids to bring up and suddenly her husband dies horribly and leaves her to cope with everything on her own. It wasn't easy. She'd be so tired at the end of a day, she couldn't move, let alone speak, and all you remember is that she didn't play patty-cake with you? She was in her sixties when you were a bratty teenager. Are you honestly telling me that you felt cheated somehow? You had four mothers! Maryette, Bev, and I looked after you like you were a baby doll. No, my girl, I don't know where you ever got the idea that you were neglected, but it sure wasn't in this house.”