Echoes in the Bayou (35 page)

 Steve
was alone while he did a line of cocaine; they had just arrived in Arizona and
were due at a major book store that was located in downtown Phoenix the
following day. Magnus had gone into his room and immediately placed the
Do Not Disturb
sign outside his door.
Fine by me
, Steve thought to himself. He needed to relax anyway.
He knew that Magnus was still unsure whether or not he wanted to extend his
tour but when Steve told him that he could fix it so that they could go up
North and that he'd get a chance to stop by and see Ava, Magnus changed his
tune.

 
He got excited then and told Steve that he had been
unable to reach her. "Don’t worry buddy, we won't be able to get up there
until the end of the year anyway. There are a hell of a lot more states between
here and New England and it would be in your best interest if we hit every single
one."

Magnus
frowned at the thought.

"Magnus,
you’re a writer and a damn g
ood one. Now the way
I see it, if folks are coming out in droves to buy your books online and in
person, the least you can do is thank them for it by making an appearance and
signing a few autographs. I mean without your fans where would you be?"'

He had a
point, Magnus knew that he had to show his appreciation to his fans because
fans were fickle, one disappointment such as a no show at a book signing and
they would drop him just like that.  No best seller list, no more book
signings, and no more sales.

"Fine,
but once we get to New England; I'm spending time with Ava.
"

Steve smiled slyly. "Sure thing
buddy, sure thing. I can't wait to pay her a visit, it'll be long overdue.
"

He wanted to share the good news
about the book tour with his wife but he remembered that he no longer had one.
The divorce had gone through and he had not put up a fight. He still loved her
and had hoped that they could work things out. He'd even told her that once the
book tour was over, they'd go together and get some therapy but then he struck
her and that was all it took. She'd gone to a lawyer the very next day and
filed for divorce. It was all the stress he told her. It was the first time
that he'd struck her so hard and he was sorry.

But
then she'd gone and told that bitch Ava what I did and she told her to leave,
to leave and move to Vermont with her.
That
fucking bitch!" He shouted out. "Don’t know when to mind your own
fucking business you nosy little bitch. But I fixed you didn’t I? You took my
wife away and I took part of your life away from you. Magnus will be rising to
the top and he'll take me right along with him. Then I'll get my Kelly back,
I'll be so rich that she'll beg me to take her back and when I do, I'll make
sure that you Miss Ava are left all alone, you miserable, meddling bitch.

With Magnus being so trusting, it was easy for
Steve to manipulate him into giving him control over his social media accounts.

He was his agent after all and he should be in
charge of those things, he told him. So when he changed all of his accounts,
Magnus thought nothing of it. Steve told him that it was good to change his
accounts, because the more famous he became the more fans would to try and get
in touch with him and that was something that he didn’t want Magnus to have to
worry about. "You just concentrate on your writing and let me worry about
everything else," he told him.

And
Magnus did, he let Steve control it all. So all of Ava's emails, tweets and
messages went unanswered as they were all sent to accounts that no longer
existed.

But it
did not stop her from checking her personal email each and every day.
And just like Magnus, Ava had someone else
controlling her business email, but she was sure that either Kelly or Sterling
would tell her if she'd gotten an email from Magnus and since they did not, she
assumed that he never took the time to write one.

As time
went on and her belly grew, Ava found herself thinking less and less ab
out Magnus and more and more about her child. Things
were going good at the store and thanks to Kelly and Sterling; they had
developed a great new website, acquired some more fantastic antiques and were
making quite a name for themselves in the small town.

 
She was even thinking of expanding but that
would have to wait until after the baby was born. She didn’t want to take on
more than she could handle, and being able to take care of her child was still
her number one priority. She liked that she could confide in her friends and they
didn’t judge or make her feel silly when she'd have one of her days where she'd
lock herself in the house and cry. She hoped that Magnus was doing well and
that he'd not gotten caught up in the craziness of it all. Her mind flashed
back to that morning at the airport and what she told him.
If ever things get to be too much for you, you come
home to me. Maybe one day he'll heed that advice,
she
told herself.

Kelly
could hardly contain herself when she opened up the manila envelope. The post
mark was from Louisiana and she knew that it was her divorce papers; Steve was
finally letting her go. He'd put off signing the paperwork stating that the
book tour was taking up all his time so she had to be patient her attorney told
her and they'd wait it out. She had no reason to think that he wouldn't sign
them, but she also knew that if he found out that she was already dating
someone he would have put up a fight. He was possessive and wouldn’t be able to
stand the thought of her being with another man.

 
At that moment she was incredibly glad that Ava had
convinced her to move so far away from Louisiana and more importantly, away
from Steve. She was divorced now and she couldn’t wait to share the news with
her friends, especially Adrian. He had been so supportive and patient with her
and he was nothing like Steve, he was so very kind and gentle and he never made
her feel threatened or let his temper get out of control.

 
"You've
got yourself a good man there Kelly, and you deserve him." She and Ava
were at the doctor's office for Ava's checkup. It was almost the end of March
but you wouldn’t know it from looking out the window. There was still large
piles of snow on the ground but the grip of winter had begun to weaken. 
Signs of spring appeared, there were some patches of bare ground and the
precipitation came in the form of rain instead of snow. When Sterling told them
that March was sometimes called the "mud season," Ava told him that
she'd had her share of mud and hoped that "mud season" would forever
skip Dorset Vermont.

"Yes he is a great guy and I
have you and Sterling to thank for bringing us together," she said
.

Kelly
knew that besides bein
g tired and anxious, her
best friend was still hurting. She could see It in her eyes, no matter how well
she tried to mask it, she was still missing him.

But she'd
made a promise to Sterling that she wouldn’t bring up his name. "She needs
to forget about h
im, at least for the time being
anyway so the less we bring up his name the better," Sterling had said.
"So promise me that you won't bring his name up, like ever!" He
insisted.

"I
promise," she'd told him and she'd keep her promise
.

 
If Ava didn’t bring him up, then neither would she.
She just wished that there was some way that she could get in touch with him.
Just to let him know that Ava was still in love with him and that she was
pregnant with his child. She wanted to tell him to snap out of it and to get on
a plane right this minute and come be with Ava. She watched as Ava went through
the motions but she could see that her heart wasn’t in it.

Ava
didn’t want anyone to pity her or feel sorry for her so she decided to lighten
up the mood. "Hey how about we all go out tonight to celebrate your
divorce? I could use a night out and I know that Sterling and Anthony would be
up for it too, what do you say? My treat," she said.

"Sounds
good to me, but you've done enough for me Ava,
let
me treat this time."

She
couldn’t help but smile. "Kelly, that's what friends do, they help each other
out but if you insist on treating then be my guest," she grinned.
"But I warn you, I'm hungry and I'm eating for two," she joked
.

 A
night out was just what she needed and she smiled when they entered the small
restaurant. No one minded the long drive to the Steakhouse, not even Ava and
she only had Adrian stop once so that she could use the restroom. Sterling said
that once they got into the restaurant, if the line was long he would simply
inform the waiter or waitress that Ava was in labor and that she had a craving
for steak on the way to the hospital. Ava laughed so hard that for a moment she
thought she was going to have to ask Adrian to find another restroom, but they
had arrived at the Steakhouse and luckily for her, they were seated almost immediately.

 
While they sat in the oversized booth and talked, Ava
couldn’t help but feel as if this was where she belonged. So what if she wasn’t
with Magnus, she was starting to get angry with herself for missing him so
much. She was sure that he was moving on with his life and that the whole
I'll never love bullshit was just that,
bullshit
. She
vowed then and there not to let Magnus DuPonte be the master of her thoughts
anymore
. I'm done with you
, she thought to herself as she looked over the menu.

In the booth
next to them sat a group of animated women who looked to be in there late
forties, early fifties. There were four of them and Ava could not believe the
conversation that they were having. Everyone seated in the booth could hear it,
and Anthony had to put his mouth over Sterling's in order to stop him from
making an insensitive comment. At first it sounded like they were talking about
a movie they'd just seen but when the name William Nomiuet came out of one of
their mouths, Ava knew exactly what they were talking about. They were members
of some kind of book club and were discussing their latest book, "Secrets
in the Bayou," and all the things they'd love to do with the author of the
book.

Everyone
pulled their menus down from in front of their faces and stared at Ava. "I
just cannot get away from the man can I?" She tried making a joke out of
it.

"Ava,
you just say the word and we can leave, go somewhere else," Adrian said
.

She
looked at him and smiled. "Honey, I have been craving a big steak meal all
day and besides that I think you all are forgetting, I've got the best of him
right here,
" she said and patted her belly.

"That's
our girl," Sterling and Anthony chimed in
.

When it
came time to leave as he was scooting out of the booth, Sterling leaned over
and said to the ladies, "Secrets in the Bayou is extremely overrated and I
hear the au
thor is a real asshole."

"What?"
He said when Ava grabbed him by the arm and pulled him outside. She was
secretly glad that he did what he did.

"Sterling,
remind me never to go anywhere without you," she said and gave him a hug
.

Chapter
Twenty Five

"How's
it going son?" His father asked.  "Your mother's on the other
extension.  "Hello son, how are you?" His mother chimed in.
Magnus had made it a point to check in with his parents at least once a week
but he had been so busy these past couple of weeks that he'd forgotten to call.
Now when he heard their voices he felt guilty.

"Hey
mom, da
d things are going alright," he said
sounding tired.

"You
sound exhausted son, have you been getting any sleep?
"

"Not
much,
I will be glad when this book tour is
over. Steve's got me going all over the place and I am not liking it."

"Son,
just don’t do anything that you'll regret," his father warned him.
"You’ve come such a long way and we'd hate to see you resort back to your
old ways," he said.

"I
know dad and you don’t have to worry about that, I'm not going to start using
again if that's what you mean.
"

"That’s
exactly what I mean son. Your mother and I are here for you if you need to talk
and I know that this
is your dream son but it
seems to be a dream that comes at a cost, a high one at that. Is it all worth
it son? Are you truly fulfilled? Are you happy son?"

Magnus
knew the answer to that, and the answer was no. The last time he felt fulfilled
was when he was with Ava.

"By
your silence I'm going to guess that nothing about this is making you happy so
why are you doing it son?" His father asked
.

"You
know what dad? I don’t know, I really don’t," he said confusion in his
voice
.

"I mean
don’t get
me wrong, you’re a wonderful writer
but do you need all the glitz and glam to feel appreciated son? You've been
more than responsible with your money and you've hit the New York times best
seller list so answer me this, why in the world subject yourself to all of
this? This craziness when it doesn’t even make you happy?"

 
At that moment he knew that there had been a reason
why he chose to call his parents tonight. He knew that they would talk some
sense into him, just like Ava would have if he had been able to get in touch
with her. He hoped that she hadn’t given up on him because he was going to come
home, visit with his parents for a while and then he was going to get on a
plane and surprise her. Now all he had to do was tell Steve, and that wasn’t
going to be easy. Steve had his heart set on continuing the rest of the tour.
He told Magnus that he as beginning to feel like a super star but Magnus knew
that Steve was using and he no longer wanted to be a part of it.