by Cat Mann
****
“He loves you so,” Aggie said quietly as the plane taxied down the runway.
“I know,” I laughed. Even then, after all Ari and I had been through, my cheeks still turned pink at the mention of him.
Aggie took my hand and placed it in hers. She fidgeted with my wedding ring.
“You were right at the gym … I need to be more respectful of the fact that the two of you are married. I did overstep my bounds, Ava and I am sorry. I will give you two the space you need. I am glad I have you as a daughter-in-law. I couldn’t imagine losing my son to anyone else.”
“You haven’t lost him, Aggie. Ari would do anything for you.”
“It’s not the same,” she said and frowned out the window.
The flight to Athens was sixteen very long hours. I stayed up and worked my way through my mother’s journal. “She agreed to give the man her soul to spare your life but only temporarily.” My tray table was covered in post-it notes as I arranged and rearranged the sentences. But I couldn’t come up with the sequences that fit into my interpretation of what had happened. As we readied for landing, I sighed and repacked the notes for another try later on that day.
As soon as we arrived, Aggie and I took a cab straight to Maya’s home. I found Max there with a social worker. He was quiet, scared and sad. He sat perched by the garden door with his ball. The social worker spoke English, so I explained who I was, providing the proper documentation. She told me that she had been trying to call me and had reached Ari earlier, who told her I was on my way. I sat at the table with her to figure out some of the arrangements for Max while Aggie took him to his bedroom to pack.
The following day we attended a small service for Maya at a church down the street from her home. People gathered from various neighborhoods and hill-top homes to show their respect. Women dressed in black patted Max on the head and looked down at him with sad eyes. Clearly Maya had been loved. The day was very long and we didn’t get to our room until late in the evening. Aggie and I were beyond tired and Max was exhausted. Aggie took the smaller room down the hall and Max and I snuggled into the bed in the bigger bedroom. One minute we were awake and the next we were dead asleep. I don’t know how much time passed before I woke to Aggie shaking my shoulders and calling my name.
“Ava!” she yelled. “Wake up! You’re screaming in your sleep again. Max is terrified. Ava, open your eyes!”
I shook my head trying to clear my mind and wake myself up; Max was crying so hard his whole face was bright red. I had scared him bad.
“Oh Max! I’m so sorry. Sweet boy, come here.”
I took him out of Aggie’s arms and held him close, hugging him and kissing his crumpled forehead.
“I was just having a bad dream, it’s okay… calm down. Shhhh,” I crooned over and over. But Max pushed against me and pawed at the air in Aggie’s direction in an effort to get back to her arms. I couldn’t blame him. I was sure he was scared and confused. Ari was a grown man but still my screams scared him most nights.
My heart sank. “I’m so sorry,” I cried to him again, willing him to understand.
Aggie ran her fingers down my cheek. “Max knows you are sorry, don’t worry,” she said. “This situation will just take some getting used to, that’s all.”
She took Max from my arms and carried him out the door and down the hall to her room, where the two of them slept for the rest of the night. I stayed up and worked through the rest of the night on my encrypted message. At dawn, I had no more information than I had at dusk.
Aggie spent the next two days with Max while I took care of some of the legal matters dealing with Maya’s will. Back home, Andy stayed up half the night helping me with legal documents and addressing all of the questions I had. Maya had left everything to Max. Her little home was beautiful and quaint. It had been in her family for years, so I arranged for a caretaker. I boxed up some things that belonged to Max and some of Maya’s personal items and had them shipped home to Ari.
I met up with Aggie and Max for dinner on our final evening in Greece at a kid-friendly restaurant by the sea. Max had seemingly forgiven me for scaring him and sat on my lap for a while, coloring the back of a menu. He sang a little song that Aggie had taught him and I applauded and cheered when he finished.
What a sweet little boy … chubby pink cheeks, wide-open brown eyes like Ari’s, and a wonderful, loving smile. Brown spiky hair flopped forward over his brow, sometimes covering his eyes and I fell totally in love with him.
After dinner, I called Ari. The phone rang three times before he answered my call.
“Hi,” he whispered in a sleepy, groggy voice.
I smiled into the phone and longed to be in the bed next to him.
“Hi. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“Mmmm,” I could hear him stretch and yawn. “Don’t be. I’m happy to hear from you.”
“We’ll be in California tomorrow at three thirty in the afternoon; will you be okay to pick us up at the airport? Ari, Max is so adorable. But he’s sad; we will have to be careful with him.”
“Yes, I promise to be there … and I am ready to do whatever I need to do to give Max a secure and happy home … and I am so excited to see you, to see you both.”
“It’s not the same here in Greece without you,” I whispered softly in the phone. “I miss you. The balcony at The Loft misses you, too.”
“Is that so?” I could hear him smile into the phone. “Well I miss you and that little freckle.”
“I love you, Ari.” Tears stung the backs of my eyes and my throat clenched with emotion.
“I love you. Be safe, Ava.”