Other Side of the Wall (15 page)

He
looked touched. “Thank you, I’m sure they’ll be great. Ava has a tendency to be
right.” He offered to pay for them, but my momma absolutely refused.

I
think I heard Tucker say, “Kiss up,” under his breath. Both my parents gave him
warning glares.

Scott
said he would like to take us all out to dinner one night as a way to say
thanks. My parents accepted, but told him it would have to be after Christmas
as we would be too busy until then. Scott had no idea what my parents put into
this party of theirs.

“But
I’m sure Ava could spare some time to have dinner with you,” my daddy said. He
looked at me and smiled. “Right, sweet girl?”

Scott
looked over to me with hope in those beautiful blue eyes of his. “Tonight
then?”

I
had no choice but to say yes.

He
smiled wide. I looked at my daddy who winked at me. I wasn’t sure what I
thought about my daddy tag-teaming with Scott. I don’t think Tucker liked it.
He scarfed down his food and went straight back outside. I think Tucker was
having such a hard time because he had been the first one to come and see me
after my break up with Peter and with Scott. He got an up close and personal
look at the raw emotions. There was nothing I could do at the moment to make it
better between the two. That wouldn’t get resolved until or unless Scott and I
could fix our relationship and the jury was still out on that.

As
soon as lunch was over, the men headed out, and my momma and I got to work in
the kitchen pre-making and baking anything we could for the big party. My momma
loved to do everything herself; she could have been a caterer if she had wanted
to, but she loved real estate too much. Not only did the food have to taste
good, it had to look good. She was planning on having one table dedicated to a
cascading tiered tower of just fresh fruits and vegetables. I made several dips
from the sweet to the savory to go along with said table, as well as chopping
what could be done this far in advance. To top it off, I made a million
individual cheesecakes in all varieties. Ok, maybe not a million, but it sure
felt like it. There were meat and cheese trays to be made, all in different
holiday shapes like trees. It was not going to be a relaxing holiday vacation.

Several
times I found myself looking out the window to catch a glimpse of Scott and to
make sure Tucker was behaving. Scott and my daddy seemed to get along well. It
didn’t surprise me that they did, Scott reminded me of my dad.

I
couldn’t help myself, I glanced at Scott again.

Scott
looked really good, too; he looked masculine in his well-fitting jeans, plaid
flannel shirt, and work boots. I’ll admit it was a total turn on.

Even
my momma remarked about how nice looking he was. “Don’t get me wrong, he can’t
hold a candle to your daddy, but he is definitely easy on the eyes. I noticed
that this morning when you were in the pool.”

“Momma!”

“What,
Ava? I’m not
dead
.”

“Yeah,
well, quit checking out my…” Hmm, I didn’t know what to call him. I lamely
said, “Neighbor.”

My
momma just laughed at me for a bit before she became solemn. “Ava, you never…
you know, with Scott?”

“Momma!
No, we never…and he knows I won’t unless I’m married.”

She
looked visibly relieved.

A
sudden thought entered my mind and I panicked. “Please tell me that’s not why daddy
wanted to take him to the hardware store alone.”

My
momma just grinned.

“Momma,
he’s a grown man and we’ve both been married, this isn’t like we’re in high
school.”

She
rested her hand on my cheek. “We’re just trying to judge the character of the
man that says he’s in love with our little girl. We’ve already misjudged
before, so we’re just being extra careful.”

I
knew she was talking about Peter, and we were all wrong there.

“I
appreciate that, momma. Just know, no matter his other faults, he’s been a
gentleman in that regard.”

She
smiled, and then we went back to work. I missed baking with my momma. She did
everything with elegance and grace. I had always wanted to be just like her—still
do. Wherever she went, she was respected and admired. She had this way of
making people feel good about themselves no matter the situation. She was
beautiful, but far from vain. To me, she was perfect.

Well
after sundown the men dragged themselves in, but not before they turned on the
thousands of twinkle lights that now illuminated the backyard. It was
breathtaking. The night of the party we would add floating luminaries to the
pool as well. I think I was finally starting to be happy about being home. I
forgot how much I missed this.

My
momma went straight to my daddy and kissed him and thanked him for a job well
done. She also thanked Scott and Tucker, but without the kisses. Scott came and
joined me in the kitchen. I was looking at my parents and how happy they still
were after thirty-five years of marriage.

Scott
noticed my gaze and looked their way, too.  “Your parents are great.”

“Yes
they are.” I responded. “The backyard looks amazing. Thank you for helping.”

He
smiled. “It’s the least I can do. So, are we still on for dinner?”

“Aren’t
you tired?”

He
embraced me. “I’m not too tired to take you out. Just let me shower and
change.”

I
sighed. “Ok.”

He
kissed my forehead softly and then he went off to get ready. I took a deep
breath. I decided if I was going to do this, I better get ready too. I untied
my apron and said goodbye to my parents and Tucker. I received dual reactions:
my parents were happy and Tucker not so much. I kissed Tucker on the cheek. “I
love you, big brother.” He at least smiled.

I
figured I should shower and change too. I felt a little gross from all the
baking today. I quickly jumped in the shower and scrubbed and shampooed
hurriedly. I knew Scott liked to take long showers, but he didn’t have to do
his hair, per se. I threw on a black turtle neck sweater, some nice jeans, and
black high-heeled boots. Just before I started blow drying my hair in my
bathroom, I heard a knock on my door and Scott calling my name.

“Come
in.”  I called out. I figured he would just wait in the living room, but he
scared me when he came back to my bathroom where I was. I was blow drying my
hair, and I looked up to see him. He could tell I was startled. He apologized
but laughed.

“What
are you doing back here?”

“Are
you kidding me, I’ve watched you do your hair several times. It never bothered
you before. Besides, I like watching you get ready.”

I
rolled my eyes. “Fine, you can stay.”

I
blew air in his face before I started back on my hair. He smiled playfully. It
seemed like old times, but I knew it wasn’t. He leaned against the wall and
looked at me the whole time while the blow dryer was running.

“Ava,
I know I keep saying this, but you’re so beautiful,” he said as soon as I
turned off my blow dryer.  

I
gave up and shook my head. “Thanks, Scott, I think you’re beautiful too.”

And
I meant it, but he thought I was teasing.

I
looked up at him through the mirror. “I’m not kidding; even my momma was
admiring you in the pool this morning.”

A
wicked grin spread across his face. “Speaking of the pool, do you swim every
morning? Because I could seriously get used to waking up to that every day.”

I
pointed my comb at him. “Don’t let my daddy or my brother hear you talking like
that.”

“Yeah,
your dad already grilled me today.”

I
cringed. “Sorry about that, I had feeling that was going to happen. I hope it
wasn’t too bad.”

He
walked over and jumped on the counter near me, so he was facing me. “It wasn’t
too bad, I only had to blood oath swear we’ve never had sex together and that I
hadn’t slept with anyone else the whole time we were dating and while you’ve
been here.”

I
looked directly in his eyes and nervously bit my lip. “And so…were you able to,
you know…make that oath?”

He
pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Ava, the last person I
slept with was my wife and you’re the only woman I’ve even kissed since then.
The only woman I’ve wanted to. Ok?”

I
let out a huge breath. I don’t know why. No, I do know why. I couldn’t stand
the thought of him being with anyone else but me, and I was worried about what
he and Beth had done together. And if he had, I knew it would have been a deal
breaker for me.

I
shook my head. “Ok.”

He
ran his finger softly down the side of my cheek. “I’m sorry that I’ve even made
you question that.” He clapped his hands together. “Ok, now that we’ve cleared
that up, and you look gorgeous already, let’s go get something to eat because
I’m starving. Your dad is a task master.”

I
smiled up at him. “Ok. Just give me two more minutes.”

He
jumped off the counter and kissed my cheek. “I’ll meet you in the living room.”

As
soon as he left, I took another deep breath and slowly let it out. I thought,
maybe
this will really all be ok
. I finished my makeup as Scott repeatedly told
me the two minute warning was up. I didn’t care, I wanted to look my best, and
I had been waiting for him for a lot longer than two minutes. I walked out, and
as he stood up and walked toward me, he reached for my hand. I didn’t hesitate
this time, I just placed my hand in his and we walked out together.

He
led me to his rental car. It was a nice rental car too, a Lexus convertible,
and surprisingly not a hybrid. I have nothing against hybrids other than the
fact that Jenna thought if you didn’t drive one, you were evil. As he opened my
door, I commented on the car.

“I
wanted to make sure I drove you around in style,” he responded.

I
just shook my head at him.  

As
soon as he got in, he turned toward me. “Ok, this is your hometown. Where to?”

“I
know the perfect place.”

It
was a quiet, small, out of the way place mostly frequented by locals, which was
nice. I told him where to drive. Because the hour was late, we missed the
dinner rush. They were able to seat us right away in a small, cozy circular booth.
This place served a variety of dishes; they didn’t just stick with one nationality.
That was one of the things I liked about it, and they frequently changed up
their menu.

Scott
and I sat close to one another in the middle and studied our menu. I decided on
their special which was grilled salmon placed on cheesy grits with a side of
seasoned greened beans. Scott ordered their citrus tapenade game hen. That
sounded yummy too. We decided we would be sharing since both dishes sounded
decadent. The ambiance of the restaurant was perfect. The low lighting and the
lit Christmas trees made me feel all warm and in the spirit of the season. I
think Scott had something to do with it, too, and they served complimentary hot
wassail this time of year. It was quite lovely.

Scott
turned to me, and our faces were mere inches apart. He reached up and he tucked
my hair behind ear. “Have I mentioned how much I missed you?”

“A
time or two,” I responded with a smile.

“Well,
I’m telling you again. I missed you, Ava.”

“I
missed you too.”

He
grinned.

“But
don’t let it go to your head. You still have a lot of explaining and possibly
begging to do.”

He
leaned his forehead against mine. “I will beg and explain and beg some more,
but let’s enjoy dinner first, just you and me.” He lightly brushed my lips
once.

I
had missed kissing him, but I wasn’t going to get carried away with it because
it would only cloud my judgment, and I needed my wits about me.

As
we sat there waiting for our food and drinking our wassail he offered up some
surprising information. “So, I ran into Peter last week.”

I
set down my drink. “Really, how odd. Did he say anything to you?”

He
looked at me funny. “We ended up having coffee together.”

“Ok.
That’s really odd. Why?”

“He
asked about you and if we were still in touch and it just kind of ended up
being two guys commiserating over their stupidity and losing the woman they loved,
in our case the same woman.”

I
looked over at him. “You’re not going to become buddy-buddy with my ex-husband
are you? Because that would be a tad weird for me.”

He
shook his head. “No. Neither of us appreciates the feelings the other has for
you.”

“You
know I don’t feel that way about it him, right?”

“Yes,
we both know. Obviously, one of us is very happy about it. But I think he took
great pleasure in telling me what a, let’s just say jerk, I am.”

I
could only imagine what word Peter actually used.

“He
reminded me that I was lucky that you were even willing to love again after
what he had done to you. He also told me if he had any chance at all, he
wouldn’t be in Chicago.”