Echoes in the Bayou (30 page)

She could feel him tense up now.
"So what are you saying Ava, you want to move somewhere alone, is that
what you're saying?"

"What
I'm saying is that I'm not sure I want to live
down South anymore, I feel like all of this has drained me Magnus, this is your
deal and your dream, not mine. I'm twenty eight years old for god sake, I want
to do something with the rest of my life, not just sit and watch you write. No
matter how much I love watching you work, it's not satisfying for me."
She could see the hurt in his eyes and wondered what he was thinking.
"Magnus, I know that I was sent here to do a job and well it's obvious
that other factors got in the way of that but because of those other factors, I
now want no part of staging, renovating, redecorating Montieu Plantation. I'm
done, I want to move on. You wouldn’t know this, but I've been looking at
properties up North."

"North? You mean you want to move to
Arkansas?" He asked confused. "You've never
mentioned Arkansas before."

She couldn’t help but smile at his sensibility.
"No Magnus when I say North, I don’t mean Arkansas I mean North, way up
North, like Vermont or Maine, New England."

"Oh.
"

His head
was turned and she moved so that she could face him. "Magnus, it's just an
idea but I am guessing from the look on your face that you wouldn’t be willing
to come with me.
"

He shook
his head. "Ava, my parents ar
e here, I've
got friends here. And as soon as the book is released Steve and I are heading
out on a book tour. Just the southern states, but if it takes off like we think
it will who knows what'll happen next, there might be more states added on, I
can't move that far away Ava I'm sorry. What is that you want to do there
anyway?" He asked, she could hear the cynicism in his voice.

 
 She couldn’t help but feel insulted by his show
of arrogance. "You're not the only one who wants something out of life
Magnus. I want to buy an antique store, an authentic antique store. I want to
own it, run it, have a couple employees working side by side with me and live
my life, that’s what I want to do. You know how much I love antiques and I do
have a knack for reading people and knowing what they want and there is one
place in Vermont that seems ideal.

 
The owners have had it for sale for a while, they are
planning on moving to Florida, and the best part is that along with the shop is
a gorgeous Victorian home…"

Magnus
held up his hand stopping her. "Well it looks
to me like you've got your mind made up already Ava," he said. His voice
was distant now and he was trying hard to block out what it was she was trying
to say.

"No,
my mind isn’t made up yet Magnus, I just wanted to know what you thought and
where you stand with the whole situation. Look, I understand where you're
coming from I do, if I had a family I wouldn’t be so quick to want to leave
them but I don’t and I really think that I need to pursue this Magnus. There is
no denying that we both love one another but it isn’t the right time that's
all. We want different things out of life right now and if we look at it that
way then the both of us will be okay."

"Don’t
give me the let's just be friends speech, we're a little too old for
that," he said through gritted teeth.

"Magnus,
I'm not giving you the le
t's just be friends
speech but I am telling you that we were brought together to reunite Will and
Celeste, we accomplished that and maybe now, it's time  for the both of us
to move on. Yes I would very much like for us to remain friends, but I'll
understand if you want to sever all ties and call it quits. You go your way and
I'll go mine, no qualms and no worries."
He knew that doing that
was out of the question, Ava was the first woman to whom he had confessed his
love and he wanted nothing more than to see her succeed.
"I love you Ava," he said and held her
in his arms.
"I love you too Magnus.
"

 
"Well
maybe it's for the best buddy; I mean the two of you did just go through some
major supernatural shit. It's no wonder she wants to move on." Steve and
Magnus sat in an outdoor café, eating lunch.

"I
understand that she's been
through a lot but
Vermont? I mean mon dieu, she might as well have said Alaska, it's at the other
end of the world."

"Okay
now you're over exaggerating and I've heard some wonderful things about New
England so if she wants to go, let her go Magnus. You know,
there's this mode of transportation called an
airplane that lots of folks seem to have taken very kindly to so maybe you
should think about that before you knock New England okay?" He said with
sarcasm.

"I'm
not knocking New England Steve, all I'm trying to say is that It hurts and I'm
going to miss her, that's all."

"I
know it hurts buddy but all I'm trying to say is that you can see her anytime
you want and I think you should spend every moment with her until she leaves.
Stay at a hotel, he
ll you guys can stay at our
place. Just make it memorable, so that the both of you will have something to
cherish besides ghosts and goblins."

"You're
right Steve,
 for the first time in a long
time you're actually right," he winked at his friend.

Sinta was
forced to linger around the plantation for several days after the ambulance
came and rushed Ava to the hospital. She had been unable to go visit her now,
but thanks to Magnus, she knew that Ava would be alright. When he told her
about Ava's plans, Sinta let out a bellowing chuckle for she knew that Ava was
restless and that once the curse was lifted and Will and Celeste reunited she
would want to move on. No matter how much she loved him, Ava wanted to spread
her wings just as much as he did Sinta told him, and he understood.

The bayou
had reformed back to its original beauty and she once again marveled at the
sounds. A loon bird called out in the distance and the giant oak that was now
surrounded by gardenias, courtesy of Magnus, stood like a statue guarding them.

"Sinta,"
a soft voice
called to her. A smile spread
across her face when she saw her friend Sophie standing in the clearing looking
as glorious as ever.

"I's
knew you'd come for me," Sinta hugged her friend
.

"I
told
you that I'd come when you needed me and
now it's time for you to come home my friend, home to those who love and miss
you. Your job here is finished and the spirits want to thank you."

 
Sinta grinned as she took one last glimpse at the big
house, it didn’t seem so large anymore. She knew that it wouldn’t be long
before someone would purchase the old place and when they did, she felt
confident in knowing that they would live a long and happy life in it.
"You got a nice long life ahead of you, and all it gon' take is a nice
young couple to brings you back to life," she shouted out to the big
house. "My work here is done. I's goin home now, back to the earth."

Sophie
reached for her
hand and together they
disappeared into the bayou.

When Sinta
faded into the earth, the plantation began to return to the way that it was
before Ava arrived. The columns began to crumble, the step where Ava had fallen
unsealed itself, wildflowers wilted, and the bayou had begun to dry up. Summer
was almost over, Ava was gone, the curse was lifted and the bayou sat barren
once more.

Chapter
Twenty One

Three
Months Later

"Magnus
thank you for this, it means a lot to me." They had just finished checking
into  the luxurious Hotel Monteleone in the French quarter, when Magnus
had surprised her by giving her a ring. "Think of it as a friendship
ring," he told her as he slid the Cartier hand engraved platinum band on
her finger.  

"Magnus
it's beautiful," she said holding up her hand to admire it
.

"I
had it engraved special, can you see the gardenias?
 
Read what it says inside." He gently slid the ring off her finger and
placed it in her open palm. "I Love you," she read the engraving.

 
"Magnus." Tears flowed down her face as he
pulled her into her arms. Her head was resting against his chest and he let out
a heavy sigh. It would be a very long time before he would feel her body
against his. "I love you," she said in between sobs. 

Everything
had been
finalized; she'd flown to Vermont a
week after she'd gotten out of the hospital and viewed the property. It took
her only minutes to decide that she wanted to purchase the antique shop and the
Victorian house that stood about a mile from it. The owners were anxious to get
to Florida and had accepted her offer right away. She had gotten a very good
deal on the house and the shop and was quite proud of herself. The realtor had
told her that the upcoming holidays would be a busy time for the shop and had
suggested that she try and make it up there beforehand. When Magnus had
suggested that he go with her to see the place, she objected. She told him that
it was something that she needed to do alone and he'd reluctantly agreed.

"I
can't believe your leaving in two days," Magnus said
. With the flight booked and her bags packed, she was
ready to go, but it wouldn’t be until she allowed herself two more splendid
days with Magnus.

"You
can always come with me.
"

"I've
got a book tour coming up Ava, I
 can't just
pick up and leave," he said. He sounded angry.

"I
know you can't Magnus." She wrapped her arms around him and slowly began
unbuttoning his shirt. "Let's not think about that
right now, I've got something better in mind," she said and
playfully pushed him onto the bed.
"I am going to fix it so you'll
never forget me Magnus," she purred and let her tongue run lavishly down
his chest.

He let out a sensual moan, "I
could never forget you," he said and watched as
she took him into her mouth. "God I'm going to miss you," he teased.

Over
dinner Magnus asked her if she was sure she wanted him to send the rest of her
things to her new home in Vermont
.

"Yes
please.
"

"Ava,
are you declining my offer to keep some of your
things in case my situation changes while you're gone? So we're not obligated?"

 
No, of course not," she said. But we know that
could very well happen Magnus."

He shook
his head. "I suppose. But
for me, if it
ever did happen, it wouldn’t be for a very long while. I have no doubt that
your life is going to change Ava and you're going to forget all about me."

"Magnus,
I could never forget you, I promise. And besides, you're talking as if you are
ne
ver planning to come visit, what's up with
that?" she teased.
"I know," he said. And unless you tell
me otherwise, as soon as the book tour is over, I'm on the first flight
out."

"That's what I like to hear," she said
and smiled warmly. She'd almost lost it when he mentioned wanting to keep her
things with him, she knew that deep down he'd wanted her things just in case
she decided to come back. But there was no chance of that, she
had guaranteed her new life in Vermont the moment she
closed on the store and house.

In her heart, she wanted him to have his moment in
the sun and to find happiness along with a life that fulfilled him.  She
would never want the man that she loved to grieve over his loss of fulfillment.
He deserves to be happy and I deserve a man who feels as if he already has a
fulfilling life, with me included.

 
It was her last night and no matter how hard they had
tried to stay awake, it just couldn’t be done. They had just finished making
love and were both relaxed and exhausted. "I love you Magnus
DuPonte," Ava whispered before falling fast asleep.

"You
have no idea of how much I love you," Magnus replied and leaned over to k
iss her goodnight. Although he too was tired, there
was one thing tickling the edges of his mind, Ava. He was in love with her and
this was a first. "Maybe after the book tour I'll come for a visit, and if
I can handle the New England cold I'll stay," he'd told her last night.
Could I do it
?
he thought to himself.
Could I leave
my family, my friends, and Louisiana for a life with Ava
?
If you truly
love her you can,
his conscience told
him.