Page 13 of Little Fury

“Nothing,”James mumbles, just loud enough for us to hear.

“That’s what I thought. I didn't think you would be so stupid that you would forget what happened the last time you ran your mouth about the accommodations.”

“No sir. I'm just showing the ladies to their new home,”James sneers in response to the voice.

We step up onto the porch of a little house. James opens the front door and walks in, dropping our bags just inside. He tips his head to Beth and me as he leaves the house. Apparently, the faceless voice makes James listen very well. My mom had that kind of voice.

“Beth.” says the voice.

“Harry,”she replies.“Let me introduce you to Ava Landry,”she tells the voice.

Iturn around to see who she’s speaking to just as a man approaches the porch. He’s a bit older than my dad is,a bit older than my dad was. Was, because my dad is dead now. He has a head of short red hair and a full beard to match. He’s big.

Harry sinks down to one knee, bringing his green eyes in line with my grey ones.“Hello, little Ava, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”He says extending his hand to me. I shake it, always polite.“I’m really happy to have you here. There is a lot to do and learn, and I think you will thrive here.”I cock my head to the side, finding his words odd. He lets my hand go and stands up.

He looks at Beth.“It's good to see you, Beth. You’re looking lovely, as always,”He says with a smile.

“Knock it off. I'm not some random woman who doesn't know exactly who you are, so just keep your smile and twinkly eyes to yourself,”Beth tells him matter-of-factly.

“You think I have twinkly eyes, Bethy?”he winks at me when he says it, and I hear her huff out a breath.

“You wound me. You know I’ve always been on my knees at your feet, lass.”Harry says it all of a sudden with an accent.

“No! Harry fuck off! Put that Scottish brogue right back on ice where it belongs. I’m not about to lose my head for you just because you think no woman can resist your charms.”she tells him as she turns to grab my bags and moves further into the house.

“I think she likes me. Don't you, little Ava?”Harry asks me with mischief in his voice.“I don’t know, Bethy, you did just drop an F-bomb in front of our little guest, so maybe you aren’t so immune to me after all?”He calls after her, a laugh behind his words.

I pause to look at him cocking my head again,“Not sure about that sir, I think maybe she just thinks you're an ass to be honest.”

Harry throws his head back and lets loose a sound that startles me a bit. It’s the biggest laugh I’ve ever heard. When he is done laughing, he looks at me and wipes actual tears from his eyes.“Well, shit. That may be one of the funniest insults anyone has ever thrown at me.”

That made me smile for the first time since all this started.“Thank you,”I said to him with a small grin. It’s the first real smile I’ve given since the accident. It makes me feel like a tiny piece of me has moved back into place.

“Ava, come this way, and I can show you your new room and bathroom. Let that jackass carry the rest of our bags this way.”Beth calls from the top of the stairs.

I follow her voice. Harry picks up the bags and follows along. We find her in front of a door just down a short hall. She opens it and I get the first look at my new bedroom.

It's a lot smaller than my room in my old house, but it hasa set of doors leading out to a deck. The room is pale blue with darker blue accents. The bedding is a deep navy with light blue and white pillows. The carpet is a plush grey. A closet is on one side of the room, and a desk is on the wall by the door. The bed is large, like the bed I used to have. A chair in front of the glass doors and a nightstand on either side of the bed. There are some shelves are on the other wall, but everything is bare.

“I wasn't sure what colour you would like, so I just painted it in a colour I thought was nice. Sorry, it's not pink, but I just can't do pink,”Harry says from behind me.

“I don't like pink, this is perfect. Blue is my favourite colour. Thank you.”I see Beth look over me towards Harry, and I glance over my shoulder to see why. But Harry is just staring at me.“Did I do something wrong?”I’m not sure how to read the faces they’re making.

“No, you didn't do anything wrong. We just weren't expecting you to say thank you. Your entire life has been upended, so we were expecting something, ah, different.”she tells me.

“Well, I guess I could throw a tantrum if it would make either of you feel better.”

Harry laughs again behind me, and Beth smiles at me.

“No, I think we can do it without a tantrum. There is no sense in forcing one if you're not feeling it,”she laughs.

Looking at me and she pats me on the shoulder.“OK, let me show you the bathroom, and then we will leave you alone for a bit? Let you settle in? I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen. So, if you need anything, or you don't want to be alone, or you need help putting your stuff in drawers or in the closet, please come and ask. I want to help you, Ava, as much as I can. So please ask me for help.”she tells me, and I can see that she is being honest.

“Thank you, Beth. I will.”

“All right, the bathroom is one door over. It's all yours, I have one on the main floor in my bedroom. Let’s go, give her some space.”Beth insists and pulls him behind her as she leaves the room.

Unsure of what to do with myself, I look at the room again and realize I really do like it. It’s similar to my room back home. So that feels good.

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