Page 78 of Hula Girl

She stares into my eyes for a moment before breaking the connection and putting her hand on my chest to push away.

“But we have no other option,” she says. “You know that.”

“I—”

“At the end of tonight, you’ll walk me out and I’ll give you back this gorgeous but ridiculously expensive ring.”

“No, you have to keep it.”

“I don’t, and I can’t.”

“Ava, at least to keep up the pretense for a while. That’s what we said we’d do, right? To make this seem real? A ‘long engagement’ and then subtly let people know it didn’t work out. You need the ring for that.”

“But, how will I get it back to you then?”

“Come visit me,” I tell her.

She shakes her head, her eyes filling with tears.

“Ava, promise me you’ll visit. Promise me one visit.”

The struggle for how to reply maps itself across her face. Finally, she shakes her head a little in capitulation. “Sure, if I can get away for a few days, I will.”

Not the most enthusiastic response, but I’ll take what I can get. “Okay, I understand.”

“It’s just,” she starts and leans in closer to me, “I think I’m going to be needed at the firm. I learned something today that means I’ll have to put in even more hours than usual.”

“Is it Manny? Did he—”

“No, it’s not him. He and I are actually on good terms right now.”

I squint at her, trying to sort out what she isn’t telling me. But she doesn’t offer anything more. And before I can push her, the catering staff has begun walking through the crowd, chiming little bells to signal that it’s time to sit down for dinner.

“I’m going to go find my mom,” she says before slipping away, and leaving me both curious and concerned about what will be taking up her time at the firm.

Perhaps it’s a good thing. Perhaps she’ll be getting a promotion, or the opportunity to take the lead on a big case. That would indeed be a good thing for her. She’d love the recognition and challenge. But it’d stack the odds against me having her in my life, and that is the last thing I want.

31

Ava

At dinner, I’m glad that Randall is seated to my right as it gives me the chance to subtly test the bombshell Manny dropped on me earlier. Ford is across from me with my mom next to him. There are low candles and a mixture of tiny vases holding one or two colorful flowers each and small potted succulents lining the center of the table. Those combined with the overhead string lights give the still warm evening a charming feel. Rather than bask in the lovely event, I repeatedly try to connect with Randall.

“Randall, I was in the office today,” I tell him, “catching up on the Flores case.”

He nods, but I see no recognition in his eyes.

“Hey, now that I’m back from vacation and all caught up, let’s start up our lunches again.”

“Oh, sure,” he says.

“You missed the last few before I went away,” I remind him. We’ve had a standing bi-monthly lunch date to catch up on both personal and work issues for years. But he hadn’t shown up for the last two we had, claiming after the fact to have been caught up in work. It’s only after my talk with Manny that I’ve taken this into account as another sign that he’s slipping.

“I’ll have your secretary do a better job of reminding you,” I say.

He nods but it doesn’t seem like he’s absorbed this conversation. And then he surprises me with what he says next.

“Ava, is this boy, is Ford’s boy really the one for you?” he asks.

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