by Cat Mann
Chapter 9
A Goodbye
“Morning, Fauna.” My knuckles rapped on the top of my assistant’s desk.
“Ohh!” she wailed. “Don’t do that! You’re gonna make me cry!”
“Oh, right last day, huh? You know you don’t have to leave. They haven’t hired anyone to replace you yet. We can pretend this whole resignation thing never happened.”
“I do have to leave. And, yes, they have hired my replacement.”
“Oh? News to me.”
“You said you wanted to stay out of the hiring process remember?”
“Yeah, but that was when I was in a bad mood. Things I say when I am in a bad mood don’t count -- you know that.”
“Well, it’s too late. Yvette offered some woman the position and she accepted. She is relocating and everything.”
“Do you know anything about this person?”
“No. You’re the one who met her. Remember?”
“Did I?”
“She starts Monday, you can figure it all out then.”
“Monday? That fast?”
Fauna held up her palms and shrugged.
“Ok, so what’s on my agenda for your last day?”
She rattled off a page-long list of meetings and conference calls I would have to endure and I barely listened as I backpedaled away to my office.
My morning was spent holed away and I bored myself near to tears by settling more contracts and paying travel expenses. I finally cut myself a well overdue overtime check and then sat in the longest conference call meeting of my life. In the meeting, I gave a quick five-minute chat concerning some figures and then put myself on mute. While I resisted the urge to bang my head on the desk, I pulled up my email to check my messages. Three missed calls from my mother and two from August.
The conference call ended and the real work began.
“Oh! So you are alive!”
“Hi, Ma.”
“Ari!” She whined and I could hear her stomp her foot on her kitchen floor at the same time.
“Ma!” I mimicked her whiny noise and playfully thumped my fist on my desk.
“You didn’t come by the house on Sunday -- I made your favorite dinner and everything. You haven’t stopped by to say hello once this week. I left several messages for you with Fauna. Does that girl ever tell you that I call? Hopefully, the next girl knows how to use a pen and a pad of paper.”
“I get all of my messages.”
“So you just choose to ignore me then!?”
“Now you’re catching on…”
“Ari!” She whined again and I leaned back in my chair in preparation for a long, drawn-out conversation about the weather, or my father’s poor eating habits, or how she spotted Max wearing a wrinkly shirt and how she can’t image why Ava won’t ever iron.
“I went with Ava to her doctor’s appointment today.” She said.
“That’s nice.”
“It was nice. I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time.”
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“Oh, wow, yes. I cried.”
“Me too.”
“Ava had another anxiety attack, Ari.” She dropped a bomb.
“What the hell!” I shot up in my seat and screamed into the line at her. “Why are you just now telling me this?”
“Excuse me, but I called you three times.”
“If you tell Fauna's there's an emergency, she’ll put you right through to me -- it’s her job.”
“It was a small panic attack. I was with her while it happened. We got through the hard parts together. She’s alright now. I just wanted to catch you before you got home tonight. I wanted to make sure you were aware of the situation.”
“What triggered the attack -- do you know?”
She puffed out a loud, weighty breath, “I don’t know. One minute we were talking and then the next thing I know she’s… gone… no life in her eyes, struggling to breathe, it was as if Ava had been trapped somewhere deep and scary inside her mind.”
“What were you two talking about before the attack happened?”
“Nothing really. I was talking about you and how happy you are to be a father.”
“Did you get her some meds?”
“She took some, yeah. The whole thing really frightened Max.”
“Christ, he was there?”
“Well, yeah, Ari. He and Ava are always together. Andy had the afternoon off, so after it happened, I called him and he took Max up to the surf shop to try and help get his mind off things. Don’t be surprised if Max comes home with his own board.”
“So where is Ava now?”
“Home.”
“Alone?”
“I just left your house. She really is better. She said she had work to do. I swear I wouldn’t have left her if I had thought she wasn’t well.”
“I’m coming home…”
“No. Give her space. She needs some time to clear her mind.”
“How long did the attack last?”
“The bad part lasted no more than five minutes. I hung around for an hour and talked with her while I ironed shirts for you and Max. I waited to see if she was going to have another one but she was acting completely normal.”
“She let you iron our clothes?”
“Well she wasn’t happy about it but gosh, Ari, someone has to iron and she sure as hell won’t do it.”
“Ugh. Whatever. Are you sure she’s okay?”
“I promise you, she is perfect. I wouldn’t have told you about it but I think it’s important that you know. I know how you like to call her doctor but I don’t think it’s necessary this time. Let’s see if she has another one before you get him involved.”
“Alright. Thanks for taking care of her.”
“You know I love her. I would do anything for Ava. Don’t get mad, but I made you dinner. It’s just spaghetti and some garlic bread, nothing special. You can find it in the fridge next to the milk. The bowl is microwave safe, so you can heat it up and then stick it in the dishwasher when you're finished. Remember, I want the bowl back.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you this weekend. I promise.”
I reached across the desk and ended my call with my mom and as soon as the line was released, another call rang through.
“This is Ari.” I answered before Fauna could intercept.
“It’s me, August. I called you twice today.”
“I got your messages, I’ve just been busy. What’s up?”
“I did it!” He shouted excitedly at me.
“Did what exactly?”
“I took your advice.”
“That’s not like you, but what advice of mine did you take?”
“I called The Dana Point Institute and told the Dean I’m not coming back for fall semester. Collin and I start our work partnership effective immediately!”
“Wow… I cannot believe you really did it. Congratulations, August.”
“Thanks! I’m nervous but this decision feels right and now that the two of us aren’t tied down, we can travel and work from the road. I’m not as effective as he is with the programs he runs, but I’m learning and he thinks we can do it! Which is the reason that I am calling you…”
“Why?”
“Well, we'll be leaving...”
“Ohhh.”
“And Ava doesn’t know yet. We were thinking of taking her out to dinner to break the news. How does the four of us this Saturday at Pow Pow sound? Let’s say around seven? I’ll make the reservations. I’d really like to talk with her about everything in person.”
“When do you plan to leave, exactly?”
“Collin and I both agreed we would stick around until after the baby is born. We’ll spend the holidays with your family and then we’re off to Paris for the New Year.”
“Can you wait a while longer before you tell Ava?”
“Why?”
“Just… she loves you guys and I know she’ll be thrilled for y
ou both but she is also going to be upset. I don’t want to add the stress to her right now. Can you give it a few weeks? Maybe after her big fundraiser or maybe even after the baby is here?”
“You sure about this?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. House to Home has her really busy and stressed, the pregnancy is wearing her down, her nightmares and anxiety are back. If you can hold off on telling her, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Ok, then. I’m on your side, Ari. I’ll let Collin know not to say anything and we’ll plan to tell Ava… later…”
“Cool. Thanks. And congratulations again, August.”