Page 31 of This Love
We fell quiet. I tried not to despair over having to spend what should have been my wedding night in the bed I’d slept in for thirteen years after I’d arrived following my family’s accident.
My head buzzed again, like it had in the car at the hospital. This time, I had my magnet in my pocket, so I pulled it out and passed it over the device in my chest to add an extra electrical zap, just in case.
Gram watched me, her gray eyebrows furrowed. “How often do you have to do that?”
“Rarely. But the stress might be getting to me, too.”
She stood and picked up our plates of scrambled eggs and toast. Neither of us had eaten much. “Do you tell your doctor when you have to manually set it off?”
I shrugged. “No. Not unless something breaks through. And it hasn’t.”
The dishes rattled in the sink. “Do you think Ava will see you today?”
I had no idea. Ava hadn’t been using her phone. I texted her a few times, careful, easy things, asking her how she was. She’d have to relearn how to use it. Knowledge like that never stuck. Harry wouldn’t prioritize it.
“I’ll go over there later. Knock on my own door, I guess.”
Gram turned on the water, passing her hand beneath it occasionally to check the temperature. “You can stay here as long as you need.”
I was hoping I wouldn’t have to, but the way this reset was going, I might not have a choice. Ava always emerged fearful and untrusting, except with Harry. Maya, too. They’d known her for a long time, Maya the longest. She was her neighbor from her early teens.
Harry had given her a job when she’d lived in a women’s shelter, a position that had allowed her to get an apartment and live on her own. He’d protected her since she was eighteen, even from me, at first.
I had to rely on him to guide her back to me, at least in these early days.
Marcus must have gone down the same mental rabbit holes because he texted me a few minutes later.
Marcus: I assume I should cancel the flights and excursions in Alaska?
He was staying at a hotel near the country club, where Ava and I were supposed to be as well.
Me: Yes. She asked me to leave. Harry is with her.
Marcus: I planned to stop by again before heading back to Houston. Or I can stay and send Tina on with the girls.
I understood why he might want to push. We all had to reestablish who we were.
Me: Maybe go see her and then decide. Let me know when you go so we don’t overwhelm her with too many visitors.
Marcus: We’re about to check out here. I’ll go there first and see how she is. I’ll report back.
I set down my phone. I was grateful that Marcus always included me. He could have tried to take Ava with him, set her up with doctors in Houston, three hours away. But he always respected our relationship, even when it was completely one-sided, like now.
Gram finished washing the dishes, and I hadn’t helped. I stood to dry them, but she motioned me back down.
“Let me dote on you for today. You’ve earned it. Was that Marcus texting you?”
“Yeah. He’s handling the honeymoon. I hate how much money he’s out with all this.”
Gram sat opposite me again. “It was a lovely dinner. Everyone was so sad for both of you. There were many toasts that Ava would come around quickly, and we’d get to gather again for vows.”
“I don’t even know what sort of wedding we’ll attempt next time.”
“Something simpler, I’d assume.”
“Definitely.”
“Why don’t you put together some photos from your phone and have them printed out? If Ava wants her book, create more pages for it. Do it now while things are hard, and you’re motivated. That way, it’s done in case, God forbid, anything happens again.”
