Echoes in the Bayou (32 page)

 
"The way I see it Magnus, you have two options,
you can sit and wallow in sorrow about Ava or you can get on with your life.
You know, throw yourself into your work, have you thought about your next idea?"

"No
I haven’t Steve, I've been busy singing book
s
and speaking to book clubs and creative writing classes, not to mention doing
radio promo's and going over my lines for a television commercial."

 
Steve let out a snicker. "Hey buddy, this is the
big time so you better get used to it. Say goodbye to the quiet plantation life
because things are about to take off in a huge way buddy and it's my job to
prepare you for it."

It was at
that moment that he wished for nothing more than to be back at the plantation
with his Ava
.

 
Sterling sat
nervously on the bed waiting for Ava to come out of the bathroom. "I need
more water," she yelled out.

He only
had to go to the hand carved dresser and take one of the five that she had
carried up from the kitchen.

"Here
you go," he said and placed it in
the hand
that reached out the bathroom door.

"Well?"
He said anxiously
.

She
gulped down half the water bottle before exiting the bathroom.
  Everything around her looked different; the
furniture that she had picked out suddenly looked dangerous.
A child could get hurt in this room,
she told herself.

"I'm
guessing by the look on your face that the digital test produced the words
p-r-e-g-n-a-n-t
in
big ole letters didn’t it?" He asked and led her over to the bed.

"What
am I going to do Sterling?
"

"You
are going to do whatever you feel like doing, it's your body and your decision
Ava.
"

Deep down
she knew that she was going to become a mother; the question was however,
whether or not she
would tell Magnus.

She
placed her hands on her stomach. "Looks
like congratulations are in order." She couldn’t help but smile, had she
gotten pregnant under different circumstances, perhaps after a one night stand,
she would have probably freaked out but things didn’t happen that way. It was a
mistake yes,
but not all mistakes are bad
, she told herself. She and Magnus were going to have
a baby and whether or not he wanted to be involved she'd leave entirely up to
him.

"We've
got to get you an appointment with an obstetrician and find out your due date
then you and I are going to need to do some major shopping," Sterling
beamed.

"And
did I mention that I've always wanted to be
a
fairy godfather/uncle?" He nudged her playfully on the arm before taking
her into a warm embrace. He could see the worry on her face and told her,
"Everything is going to be alright, he's a fool if he doesn’t drop what
he's doing to come be with you."

"It's
official," she said. "My due date is May eighth."
  She was talking to Sterling; he had been kind
enough to accompany her to the obgyn appointment and was waiting in the lobby.

"So…
how are we feeling about all of this?" He asked and wrapped his arm in hers
.

"We
are feeling surprised, still in shock, over w
helmed
but mostly excited."

"And
when are you going to make the call Ava?"

She
knew that he was talking about calling Magnus; she had wanted to put it off
until she knew for sure that she was pregnant and now that she had a due date,
the thought of tellin
g Magnus terrified her.

"Don’t
procrastinate sweetheart, he needs to know that he is going to be a
father."

"I
know, I know and I'll call him tonight," she said with a heavy sigh.
"I'm just nervous about telling him.
"

"Well
don’t be because I
will be right by your side,
if you want me to be," he said with genuine concern.

She
smiled broadly. "I'd like that very much Sterling.
"

Staying
true to her word, with Sterling by her side she made the call later on that
night.

Someone p
icked up after the first ring, but it wasn’t Magnus,
It was Steve.

"Hey
there Ava, no he's out at the moment. I don’t know if he told you or not but
he's headed to Europe."
 

"No
Steve, he didn’t tell me. Wow Europe, that's exciting." Her voice was dull
so
unding.

"Well
I've got plenty of book signings planned and several speaking engagements so
he'll be pretty busy. Then I think he wants to take some time off after that.
"

Her hopes
began to rise. "Oh yeah? Well I'm sure by
then he'll need some time away, maybe I can get him to come visit me here in
Vermont."

 
Steve let out a heavy breath. "You misunderstood
Ava, what I meant to say was that he'll be taking some time off while in
Europe, he wants to spend some time in the United Kingdom, tour some of the
English country side and things like that. I think he's researching for another
book."

Steve had
always liked Ava but she was still too fresh in his client Magnus's mind and
that, he could not have. He needed Magnus to be on his A game and a dist
raction such as Ava, would be nothing but trouble so
he lied to her; he made up the story about Magnus leaving the country, about
him researching for his next book.

All of it
was a lie, a lie he told himself that was completely worth it. Magnus was
rising to the top and he was going to take Steve right along with him.

"Sorry
Ava, he leaves in the morning and you probably won't be able to get in touch
with him for almost a year or so." The tone of his voice made it sound as
if he were telling
her that Magnus would be away
for a week.

Ava
plopped down in her chair, the look on her face told Sterling that things
weren’t going well at all.

"A
Year? Steve listen, there's something really important that I need to speak to
him about s
o I would appreciate it if you could
please have him get in touch with me, he's got my cell, and email." She
waited for him to respond.

"Hello?"

"Sorry
about that Ava I was just writing everything down, now I've got to go but I
promise I'll give him the message. I can't make any guarantees that he'll get back
to you though, he's very busy and has a lot to do now he's not able to just
drop what he's
doing and call you. You guys
aren’t on the plantation anymore; he's got a life now. I'm sure you can
understand that take care Ava, bye." Before she could even respond, the
line went dead.

"Who
were you talking to?" Magnus asked. He had just gotten out of
the shower when he saw Steve holding his phone.

"Oh
Barnes and Noble was just confirming the book signing for tomorrow buddy, but
listen I think we should go ahead and get you another cell, this one keeps
cutting out and deleting calls. The new iPhone fiv
e
is just what you need and a new number too. We don’t want any crazy fans
stalking you," he joked.

"That's
fine but I need to make sure they sync all my contacts because I've got some
important numbers in that cell.
"

"Sure
thing buddy, sure thing. I'll ta
ke care of it
first thing in the morning."

 
And that'll take care of Ava and her bothersome calls
; he grinned and deleted the call.

 "Well
isn’t that convenient," Sterling snarled. She had just finished telling
him what Steve had said.

Her eyes
had begun to water and the tears that she had been holding in for so very long
came flooding out of her. Sterling took her into his arms and held her tight as
she cried on his shoulder
. "You're going to
be alright Ava, I promise sweetheart."

"You're
lucky," she said. "You've got Anthony, and me? Who do I have? No
one," she sobbed
.

"I
am lucky, but so are you Ava, because in nine months you're going to be blessed
with a little baby and that is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing that a
ny woman could hope for. And don’t ever let me hear
you say that you have no one because that is so not true, you've got me, you've
got Anthony, and you've got your friend Kelly so you my girl are loved,"
he said and wrapped his arms around her. "And let's not forget that you've
only been here a few months and look how many of the people in this town have
fallen for you."

She
smiled at him then, he was right. The people in the small town welcomed her
with open arms and that had made her transition all the better.

"What
would I do without you Sterling? Thank you for being you," she said and
kissed him on the cheek
.

Because
she was depressed over Magnus's leaving the country for almost a year, Kelly
had taken to calling her several times a day, she was worried about her. Even
though they had only known each other for a short period of time, their phone
calls were a means of getting to know each other a lot better. And it didn’t
take long for Ava to tell Kelly her news. She was also painfully honest about
how much she missed him and how lonely her days and nights were, especially the
nights.

 
"Did you think that Magnus was going to come to
Vermont with you or maybe compromise in some other way?" Kelly asked.

Ava
stifled
back more tears. "I did Kelly, I
really did. You know, I wouldn’t be getting all hormonal and crazy if I weren’t
pregnant with his child," she sniffled.

"I
know. It's very hard to let go of a man you love, so give yourself a break will
ya?
"

"You're
right, I
'm going to get through this," Ava
said.  "Women do it every day; I'll get over it and take care of me
and mine. Because apparently that's exactly what Magnus is doing."

"That's
the spirit Ava, and don’t forget, you're not alone. This time next week I'll be
there and I might not leave." Ava could hear the desperation in her voice.

"Kelly,
all kidding aside, that's exactly what you need to do. You left the abusive son
of a bitch so the worst part is over. Listen, I've got four bedrooms and two
and a half bathrooms, pack your stuff, and move in
with me."

The
sincerity and insistence brought them both back to tears.

"Ava,
are you serious right now?" Kelly asked
.

"Yes
I am Kelly, I've got plenty of room and I'd be lying if I told yo
u that I am only thinking of what's best for you.
Because I want my best friend here with me, I can't go through this alone Kelly
so what do you say?"

"Just
like that?
"

"Yes
Kelly, just like that.
"

"Well
then I say,
yes."

Kelly
arrived three days before Thanksgiving and as promised, Ava took her in. Soon
she was working at the shop; Ava had put her and Sterling in charge of the
online auctions. Now that she had two employees, each one could bid either
online or over the telephone. She was excited about that because there was a
set of English Majolica teapot's that she wanted for the shop. An older couple
had come in last week and asked if she carried anything like that. "I
haven’t acquired the Majolica yet but I will try my best to see what I can do,"
she told them. So when Sterling found a set of teapots going up for auction,
she was more than happy to let him take control and do the bidding.

 
"I told you that moving here was the best thing
for you Kelly," Ava said. She was so excited to have her friend living
with her. Not only did having her around lighten the heavy work load but it
kept her mind off of Magnus, which was something that she so greatly needed.

It was
the week before Christmas and the store was bu
sier
than she could have imagined, but she loved it. She loved getting up every
morning, and taking the short drive to work where she and Kelly would make
fresh coffee and hot chocolate for their customers to sip on while they shopped.