Page 78 of My One
“Yeah,” he agreed with a mournful sigh.
We were silent while he flipped through more pictures.
“Do you think if we have a son, he’ll look like you?” I asked.
Avery looked over at me and lifted a shoulder. “Maybe.”
For the past few months, Avery and I hadn’t used any sort of protection. I was off the pill, and we were leaving it up to chance. So far, fate hadn’t blessed us with another baby, but I knew that if we had a son, he would look like his daddy with blond hair and blue eyes. And he’d be happy.
I’d make sure of it.
Over the next few days, we accomplished everything we set out to do. We had the estate sale and sold everything. Apparently, white furniture was bougie, and the coastal people of Santa Barbara dug it. That was good for us. Now we just needed to sell the house, and our ties with California would be severed.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted that to happen. California was wonderful. Avery had taken me to Ventura where he grew up and given me a tour of all of his old haunts. We went to Malibu and Venice Beach and saw the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While we were in the L.A. area, we went to Doug’s former medical practice and settled everything there. The staff had moved on to employment elsewhere, but the office manager—the one who gave Doug’s will to the attorney—was the last to go. She gave us all of the business information and taxes, and in turn, Avery gave her three months of pay as a severance package.
We found the cemetery in Thousand Oaks where Avery Senior was buried and took an hour to visit him. He was laid to rest next to his parents, and it made me a little sad to think that my Avery didn’t have any blood relatives that we knew of.
“I met an FBI agent in Vegas. Maybe I can get her to find out if you have any family?” I’d suggested as we stared down at the tombstone.
Avery Moore
Taken Too Soon
But Never Forgotten.
The datesof his life were at the bottom. He died at thirty-one. Avery Junior was thirty-three now and had outlived his biological father.
“We don’t need to get the FBI involved,” he’d chuckled.
“Do you want to find your family?”
Avery had thought for a few seconds, still staring at the headstone. “Nope.”
My gaze moved up to look at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he’d sighed. “They probably don’t know about me, and I just want to move on. We’ll start our own family and do it right. I’ll be the father Doug never was, and the lover Avery was.”
I’d smiled thinking of the love notes Avery Senior had written to Denise. “You do seem to have the romantic gene from Avery Senior.”
“It all makes sense now.” He’d wrapped an arm around me, and we stayed until our bellies were hungry.
Then we went and got California tacos one last time.
We decided to take Edna to dinner to thank her for everything. We didn’t know when we’d see her again, and we really appreciated everything she did for Denise and us. Denise’s secret will didn’t matter in the end, but no one knew that, and Edna kept Avery’s mom’s secret until it was time. That showed me that Edna was an amazing woman. I just wished we knew more of her story. When we’d asked her on several occasions, she’d smile and tell us it was a story for another time. Avery and I took that to mean she didn’t want to tell us, so we’d change the subject, drink our lemonade, and tell her about us.
“I know we told you this last time,” Avery said as we waited for our food at a local Mexican restaurant, having our last meal in California with Edna. “But if you want to come to NYC, our door is open.”
Edna smiled. “Thank you. I haven’t been to New York in many, many years.”
“Then come,” I suggested.
“I’ll wait until after winter. Cold weather isn’t good for my bones.”
Avery and I nodded. “Just call us when you’re ready, and we’ll get you there,” Avery said.
“You two told me you went on a cruise to the Bahamas for your honeymoon,” Edna asked.
“We did,” I confirmed.
