by Cat Mann
Chapter 12
Intruder
“Call me right after you leave the doctor’s office.”
“I will, I will.”
“Talk to him, please. I mean really open up -- that’s what he's there for.”
“Ari! I will!”
My finger brushed her pink, pouty lips. “Love you.”
“Love you.” She buried her face into my chest and inhaled deeply. I kissed the top of her sweet, midnight smelling hair goodbye.
A foolish, too-big-for-my-face-smile was stretched across my mouth on my commute to the office as I thought about the night before – an evening alone with Ava in our bed, and then again in the middle of the night up against the wall and then all morning, causing me to be late again for work. Following doctor’s orders, I was taking full advantage of the newly found and wildly fun boost in Ava's sex drive. No nightmares plagued our sleep and Max caught up for lost time and babbled to Ava and me half the evening about all sorts of silly things. He never offered us his fears and we didn’t want to push the subject on him either. The only thing that mattered to us was that he was speaking again. Three days without the sound of his sweet and innocent voice was too long for us.
“Morning, Ari!”
I waved hello to the daytime security guard and practically danced through the front entrance of the building. Businessmen and women dressed in summer suits and dresses were scattered about the expansive main floor lobby as they made their way to the various business offices. Cutting a path through the groups to the bank of elevators, I selected floor number twenty-two on the key pad.
The baio cooperate office hummed with conversation and people talked about their weekend over coffee, ignoring the early Monday morning phone calls. Fashion week had just kicked off and the office was crawling with people. On my walk back to my corner office, three people asked how my family was doing. Jeff from marketing got a word in about his precious L.A. Angels pulverizing my White Sox. Caroline from design rushed down the hall to get to the show site but stopped me to say that Frank from IT’s wife had had a baby over the weekend.
“A boy, right?” Frank and I had discussed our pregnant wives one morning after he noticed Ava’s framed sonogram picture on my desk while he fixed my computer.
“Yes, a boy. They named him Conner.”
“Everyone healthy?”
“Yep! Mother and son are doing great.”
“Thanks, Caroline. I’ll send a card. And maybe some diapers? I dunno -- you have three kids...what’s the protocol for something like that?”
“Diapers are always welcome.”
“Will you have your assistant email Frank’s address to Fauna so she can send over a gift package to their family?”
“Uhh, err, sure…”
I rapped my knuckles on the reception desk outside my office and I turned to greet my assistant with a hearty “Good morning” that fell quickly off to an embarrassed… “ah, hmm, you aren’t Fauna.” I blinked and my own happy smile slid straight off my face into a deep knitted frown.
The redhead blinked her wide, doe-like eyes at me. Her glossy lips framed a mouth full of white teeth. A light dusting of freckles dotted her nose and fell across the very tops of her cheeks. Her skin was the color of porcelain and accentuated her dazzling, big blue eyes. She was beautiful. Too beautiful.
“Err,” I sputtered and coughed on a heavy feeling that hit my stomach. “Hi.”
“You don’t know who I am, do you?”
Forcing composure, my shoulders squared and I straightened the knot Ava had put in my tie. “Forgive me but I am not sure if I ever learned your name. Mine is Ari, Ari Alexander.” I pushed back my initial feelings of uneasiness and extended my hand to greet her.
I couldn’t help but take in the full sight of her as she rose from her chair in high, peep toe, ankle strap heels. Her long and slender pale legs carried my eyes all the way to a close fitting black skirt that hugged her thin waist. My eyes met hers and I cleared my throat once more and tightened my jaw. Her lips curled up to kittenish grin and she reached to shake my hand.
“I know who you are, Ari. And I am Lirik Nino. I had the pleasure of a quick meeting with you a couple of weeks ago when I interviewed with Yvette in human resources.”
“Lirik Like A Song.” It all came back to me.
“You remember.”
My grip loosened and I plunged my hands deep into my suit pants pockets. “Welcome, Lirik! Feel free to get yourself settled in here, the break room is down the hall to the left, help yourself to the coffee but fair warning, it usually sucks. Fauna left you a binder full of useful information. I suggest you take some time this morning to go through it all before the day gets ahead of you. This can be a hectic department, my phone rings off the hook most days and you’ve come at a real busy time. This is Fashion Week and it's going to be chaotic. I’d like to apologize ahead of time for the stress -- stick it out past the weekend and the rest will be a breeze.”
“Thanks, but I think I am all settled in. And you are right this coffee is weird, it’s kind of…”
“Soapy and bitter?”
“Yes! Why is that?” She said with a peal of giggles and looped a red tendril through her fingertips.
“You can blame the nightly cleaning crew for the soap taste. Sometimes the coffee actually has bubbles. Nevertheless, the first floor lobby has a café and you are free to go down there whenever you need a cup.”
“Great. I have really been looking forward to working with you, Mr. Alexander. I can’t wait to get started. I know everything there is to know about you.”
“Everything, huh?”
“Everything.” She closed the thick, heavy binder that Fauna had compiled with a thud.
“Well, that cannot possibly be true. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I will be in and out of the office all week, making several trips to the show site and to some lunch meetings, but you can always reach me on my cell.”
“I’ll be sure to do that. I think we will make a good team.”
I could only nod.
After a quick escape to my desk, I signed into my computer and reviewed the day’s schedule. Fauna had always been kind to me, she knew me very well and kept my Monday agenda to a dull roar. I had only a small number of agreements to work through and an informal meeting with Margaux followed by an afternoon trip to the fashion district. My computer chimed an alert when an email from my new assistant came through, cataloging a small list of messages from the early morning. I swallowed air after I saw that Rory had called me.
“Holy hell,” I picked up my office phone and dialed.
“Alexander and Alexander,” my aunt, the receptionist at my family’s law firm, promptly picked up the line.
“Hey, Aunt G.”
“Hi Ari! How’s your tongue?” She teased.
“Good, G,” I laughed along with her. “Thanks for asking. Is Roar busy this morning? He left a message for me earlier today.”
“He’s never as busy as he should be. I’ll put you through. I think he can use a good friend right now.”
“Yeah?”
“You know him -- he wears his heart on his sleeve…”
The phone beeped a few times as Gianna transferred the call to the file room where Rory had recently gained employment.
“Alexander and Alexander, Rory speaking,” he grumbled.
“Hey, man it’s me.”
“Oh! Hey, Ari! What’s up?”
“Uh …” apparently, we were back on speaking terms. “Not much, I just got into the office and I have a message here that you called.”
“Yeah, hey, when did you get a new chick to answer your phone? What happened to the last one? Fawn? What’d Lauren always call her? Spawn?”
“Oh, um, Fauna left and her replacement started today.”
“She sounds hot as hell on the phone. Is she bangin’?”
“Umm …”
Rory laughed through the l
ine in his big, boisterous cackle. If the joke wasn’t funny, Rory’s laugh was still enough to make me crack a smile. “Your silence says is all, dude -- she must be freakin’ smokin’.”
“What’s up, Rory?”
“Hey, so um, Julia keeps talking about some baio fashion show, she wanted tickets and I’ve tried and I can’t get any. Apparently, they’ve been sold out for months. Do you know how I can score a pair? I really want to surprise her.”
“Relax, I got you two tickets already.”
Julia had mentioned wanting to go months ago.
“Honestly?”
“Of course.”
“Sweet, thanks dude. How much do I owe you? I’ll pay you back tonight.”
“Nah, don’t worry about paying me back, I’ve got this one.”
“No seriously, you aren’t paying for Julia and me to go out. I can buy my girl a ticket. Just tell me how much I owe you and I’ll pay you back tonight.”
“It’s fine, I held back a row of seats for everyone. Don’t worry about it. This one’s on me.”
“I don’t want you buying her things. I can afford to do shit for my girl.”
“I know you can.”
“So how much?”
“Alright then, they're thirty-five hundred a person.”
“Shut up. Thirty-five hundred bucks to watch way too-skinny chicks walk up and down some walkway in clothes Ava’s been wearing for two months already?”
“It’s called a runway and like I said, I’ve got this one.”
“I said I’ll pay you back and I will. Just not today. When is this thing anyway?”
“This Saturday night. I've already arranged a car for the four of you. A driver will pick you, Julia, August and Collin up at six. You guys will have lounge passes before and after the show. Wear something nice -- it is a fashion show after all and we’ve got front row seats.”
“Cool. Is Ava goin’?”
“She’s going but I don’t think she’s all too happy about having to be there. This is more of a command appearance than anything for her.”
“Thanks man. Jules will be pumped when I tell her we're going. I am sure she thought I wasn’t listening to her or some bull crap.”
“Sure. Are we good now?”
“Yeah, we’re good. I guess I overreacted. I know you have your hands full with Max and all that crap with Ava. I can’t expect you to keep track of my girl, too. She’s going through this thing right now … I dunno what’s wrong with her but it sure as hell isn’t your problem. I guess I was just kinda taking some of my aggression with the situation out on you.”
“I am happy to be your punching bag whenever you need it.”
“I know you are.”
“Are you and Julia doin’ alright?”
“We’re awesome,” he answered, but I could hear the lie in his voice. “I gotta go man, thanks again for getting the tickets and I will pay you back as soon as I am able.”
“No rush.”
The morning pressed on in a busy blur. My line of sight bounced down to the corner of the computer screen all morning long as I waited for Ava to call me. I ran through travel details with Piper, finalized last-minute agreements and attempted to balance various spending accounts.
I grew annoyed with the wait for Ava’s call and eventually broke down and called Lauren.
“Hello?” My sister yawned loudly into the phone in a groggy voice.
“Are you seriously still asleep right now?”
“I am on summer vacation and I don’t have a job. Yes, I am seriously still asleep.”
“I am half way through my day already!”
“Well, la-de freakin’ da. What the heck do you want?” She moaned and her blankets rustled in the background.
“I’m calling to see if Ava brought Max over to the house in time.”
“Ugh … he's been running up and down the darn hallway outside my bedroom for the last hour and a half ... does that count for anything?”
“Why is he doing that?”
“You know mom, she probably gave him a platter of double fudge brownies for breakfast and now he’s turned into a sugar-crazed three-year-old.”
“Great.”
“Bye.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. I haven’t finished with you yet.”
“Uh! Ari!” She whined and the blankets rustled some more.
“When is the last time you talked to Julia?”
“Yesterday, why?”
“Did she say anything to you?”
“It’s Julia -- she said a lot of things!”
“Like?”
“I dunno. Mostly we just talked about how hot Cameron Gallo is. Did you know he’s getting a divorce?! His wife is gorgeous, omg, I just cannot believe he would cheat on her …”
“Alright, alright, no one cares about that crap. Julia didn’t say anything else?”
“Nope. Hey, how’s your tongue?” she snickered.
“Doin’ real good, Lauren thanks. Ava kissed it all night long to make me feel better.”
“Bleh! Oh, God! Gag me! I’m sorry I teased you! Jeeze, Ari, so gross! I do not want to hear about it! I am literally dying, like, I mean -- literally.”
“You need to look up the definition of the word “literally” – you sound stupid. Did Luke head back home yet?
Her boyfriend is from somewhere in Washington and was only staying with my family for a couple of weeks during the summer. I didn’t like the idea of him staying with them. I offered to let him sleep in our home so the two could have more separation at night, which would cut back on any possible temptation to act on teenage urges, but Lauren threw a major fit, accused me of being a hypocrite and ended up getting her way.
“He left early this morning. We stayed up all night together until he had to go.”
“Are you screwing him?”
“OH. MY. GOD. Who are you, the sex police?! I can’t believe you just asked me that! I’m your sister for crying out loud. You make me wanna puke!”
“Well?”
“God, no! Not that it is any of your business but I am going to do the Ava thing and wait for a big fat ring and an over-the-top, lavish and expensive wedding before I ‘screw’ anyone. Yeesh!”
“Keep it that way.”
“Can I go back to bed now? I am literally praying for a nightmare so it will wash all thoughts of my conversation with you away.”
“No. Get up and help mom with Max. Fix him a healthy lunch before Ava gets there and finds him acting like an animal.”
“Aaarrriii!”
“Grow up, Lauren.”
She hung up on me.
“Everything alright in here?”
Lirik balanced on her heels in the open doorway.
“I have a sixteen-year-old sister. I deal with a lot of unnecessary drama and sub-par vocabulary.”
“Ah, well I’m an only child.”
“Lucky you.”
“So this is where you work.” She walked in and over to my window and inspected my view of the city.
“It is. Sorry ... I should have given you the tour.”
“You have a great view.”
“It’s not bad.”
“Your desk is huge.” Her finger slid down the edge of my desk and stopped near the middle, by my photos. One of Ava and me, our faces smooshed together in matching sunglasses, sitting on the beach at home, another of Max and then the newest picture, the framed sonogram Ava gave me for my birthday. Lirik selected the photo of Ava and me and smiled down at us.
“Your wife.”
“Mmm. That’s Ava.”
“She is beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“I want you to know that I prayed for her when she was missing.”
“Me too.”
She set the photo back down and the sleeve of her blouse inched up her arm. Just under the inner bend of her elbow was a curve of dark of ink. She had a tattoo.
L
irik was quick to slide the blouse sleeve back in place.
“What do you have?”
“Pardon?” She smiled at the picture of Max.
“Tattoo?”
She pulled at the sleeve again, tugging the silk fabric down tight. Her gaze stayed pinned on Max with messy hair and a cute, monster grin.
“Ava’s got them, a half sleeve of birds and then another smaller collection on her wrist.”
“I’ve seen pictures,” she told me as if I should have already known that and put Max back down on the desktop. “I came to remind you of your meeting with Ms. Baio. It’s in five minutes.”
“Oh. Right. Thank you.” I checked the time again, “Ava hasn’t called yet has she?”
“No, I’m sorry, she sure hasn’t.”
“If she does call, transfer her down to Ms. Baio’s office will you?”
“Of course I will.” Lirik smiled kindly and closed my office door behind her.
Ava had already been with the doctor for well over a half hour. I hit the speed dial to call her. My call was forwarded to Ava’s voicemail before the line would even ring. “Baby, don’t forget to call me … please.” I left a rushed message and then waited around in my office for as long as possible.
With no return call and seconds to spare, I knocked on the doorframe of Margaux’s open office door. Her office space is vast and white. White walls, white furniture and white shelves. But what the office lacks in color is more than made up for by the photos on display. Pictures are everywhere. Some are of her with very rich and famous people -- politicians, musicians, actors and other designers -- but most of the pictures are of Ava, and I always pause to look at each and every one of them.
She has photos of Ava as a baby that I adore. I stare at this tiny little girl with her head covered in dark hair, eyes wide and wild green, and I think of our future children together and how loved they will be. There are images of Ava in diapers with a toothless grin and chubby rolls for thighs. I look at Ava in school uniforms, Ava in Halloween costumes, and Ava in frilly red Christmas dresses with huge over-the-top scowls marring her face, Ava in baseball hats holding foul balls. Each one makes me smile. The pictures track every cute, fun and awkward stage of her life, including the time from when she met me to our wedding and then our son and now her pregnancy.
A new frame had taken front and center stage on Margaux’s desk and it included the three of us, Ava, Max and me, sitting close to one another on my parents' deck on the Fourth of July. We have bare feet, suntanned cheeks and easy smiles. Each of us has an absent-minded palm pressed against Ava's belly, where the baby rests.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Margaux watched as I looked at the pictures, the same ones that I had seen in her office dozens of times before.
“The most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s the first thing anyone who comes in here does -- they stare at my Ava. No one cares that I dressed The Rolling Stones,” Margaux pointed to a picture of herself with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. “It’s always Ava. One glance at her is all the inspiration I need to make an entire line of clothing,” she mused. “Anyway, Ari how are you?”
“I’m well. How are you?” She didn’t look well at all.
“I am just fine, thank you. Busy week, lots of stress. We have a lot to do.”
“We do.”
I took a seat across the desk from her, next to a photo of Ava celebrating her seventh birthday, missing her two front teeth and wearing a purple plastic princess crown and a Montreal Expos jersey back from when they were still a team. Her nose crinkled the same way Max’s does when he is excited. “I have a list ready of the buyers for the new children’s line and also, I met with Corina Harris last week.”
“Oh, wonderful, I cannot stand that woman.”
“Hmm. She’s the worst.” I agreed.
Together, Margaux and I scanned through pages and pages of notes for Fashion Week. Scores of last-minute issues that were highlighted and asterisked still needed to be addressed. She added a pile of more work onto my already too-busy schedule.
“Everything is a go for the musical acts?” Margaux looked up at me from over her eyeglasses.
“Yes, but I'll have my assistant call the agents to do a final follow up.”
“Good. How do you like Lirik?”
“She seems fine. We only just met.”
“You are going like her, Ari. She will take good care of you. I have had the pleasure of working with her in the past. She’s a very aggressive and determined young woman. We are lucky to have her on our team. She’s brilliant, Ari. She comes from a much different line of work, in all honesty, she’s too good for the position as an assistant. I expect that you’ll treat her with respect. No yelling at her like you did the other one.”
“How do you know this woman?”
“Like I said, we’ve worked together in the past. Lirik and I share the same passion. Go easy on her this week. Fashion Week isn’t something she’s used to. It’ll be hell on her. It is hell on everyone.”
“Hmm.” My glasses bumped up my forehead as I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. “Ava hasn’t mentioned Fashion Week much.”
“I talked with her about the show over lunch just the other day,” Margaux reassured me. “She’s excited to announce the new children’s line with me. She’s nervous, naturally, but she’ll have you there for support. She’ll be great. People love seeing Ava, you know that.”
“They really do.”
“Beauty like hers is rare. She has a certain je ne sais quoi that most people would kill for.”
“Mmm.”
Margaux sensed my hesitance. “I need you on board with me. If Ava sees that you are wavering about her attending the Saturday show, she’ll back out on me. This entire event is based around her -- the future of baio is riding on this.”
“I am protective of her. I can’t help but have cold feet about this situation.”
“I know you are protective, Ari, and that is why I like you. You always put her first.”
“Someone has to.”
“Let’s just get this issue between us off our chests right now.”
“Fine.”
“I know that you never approved those images for marketing. I did it myself. The photo hit print. It’s a done deal. Ava is baio. Her image is what sells. The timing on this couldn’t be more perfect, ten years, new faces, new babies, new clothing line. I want this. Let’s not forget that I still own this company. Baio is mine until I die, and then you two can piece if off, burn it down, or run my name into the ground, but not a moment sooner.”
“I thought Ava would want to review the images first.”
“She’ll be fine with the ad campaign. She is darling in it, what’s not to love?”
“We are really putting her out there. I worry she’ll get too much exposure. The media has a frenzy when she is spotted already. What if this hype pushes her image too far into the spotlight? Privacy is important to us.”
“You’re thinking too much about this. It’s one little week. She’ll be at the show for three hours tops and I have given approval for just one interview. By the way, her dress is ready. She’s going to love it! I am so excited to see her in it.”
“I’m sure she will love the dress. She always does. There is nothing I can do to get you to change your mind on this? Did you see the other campaign ideas?”
“Decorators are at the show site with the image right now. You’re too late.”
I stood from my seat, our informal meeting was nowhere near finished but I didn’t want to talk another minute about exploiting my wife in order to sell new jeans.
The image she approved for marking the event was a series of photos from Ava’s private life. The most intimate in my opinion was a photo taken ten years earlier at the first ever baio show. Billboards, posters and baio stores and merchandise bags would be plastered with a picture of nine-year-o
ld Ava in a sunny yellow dress squeezing Margaux’s bony fingers right before the two walked down the runway at the close of the show. To me, it was obvious that Ava was scared out of her mind, but to everyone else, the photo would be sweet and would show the strong bond of a loving grandmother who set out to design clothes with her granddaughter in mind. The images seemed harmless but the intent was what hit my gut all wrong.
Ava and Margaux would once again be walking down the runway together at the close of Fashion Week during the Saturday night event. Max and I were set to join them. Baio would be making the official announcement of Ava’s pregnancy, the newest heir or heiress of the company, and Margaux would also be announcing her new venture, baio babe; a baio clothing line for babies and children. Ava loathed the idea of carting Max out in front of all those people but Margaux can be persuasive and she had somehow won the battle.
“I didn’t realize we were finished here.” Margaux frowned at the untouched stack of agreements.
“I think we are good here.”
“I’m on your side, Ari. Really, I am. ” She said and I left without a second glance.
It had been nearly two hours since Ava’s scheduled appointment and I had yet to hear from her. Ava is always good about calling me as soon as she leaves Phillips’ office. Given our past together, when I don’t hear from her right away, I assume the very worst. My heart was already beginning to pick up its beating pulse and my mind raced with an endless supply of what ifs.
“Messages?” I asked Lirik without breaking my stride.
She shook her head no and opened her mouth to talk, but I shut the door behind me before she got a word out and phoned Ava again. My call was sent back to voicemail. I left another rushed message and then called my mother.
“Has Ava picked Max up yet?” I didn’t even give her the chance to say hello.
“He’s still here. I haven’t heard from Ava yet. Why? Is everything alright?”
“Go next door and check to see if she’s home and then call me back on my cell.”
The ache in the pit of my stomach was like an alarm bell. Something wasn’t right. I had been ignoring my feelings of unease all morning, blaming my disquiet on stress and the new assistant. From the moment I reached the reception desk, something felt wrong. I paced the floor in front of my office window and impatiently waited for someone to call me.
My cell phone rang from my pocket and I scrambled to answer the call. It was my mother.
“I am here and Ava’s nowhere in sight, Ari. She is probably still with the doctor.” Her footsteps echoed through the line as she walked into our home.
“Is her car in the garage?”
“Let me check…” The quick opening and closing of the door leading from the kitchen hall to the garage sounded in the phone while my mother opened and then closed it again. “No, it isn’t… Tsk. Here’s the problem …”
“What, what is it?”
“Ava left her cell on the kitchen counter. And her new watch. Oh, lookie here and her wedding ring and necklace.”
“Great.”
“Ari, how many times do I have to tell you two to stop leaving your bedroom TV on? I mean, seriously that is so irresponsible -- you waste so much energy doing that.”
“Ma, we didn’t leave our TV on.”
“I can hear talking coming from the TV in your room -- it’s clear as day.”
“No you can’t,” I sighed. “Believe me, we weren’t watching TV this morning.”
She tsked again. “Boy, you two are messy. There’s stuff everywhere, Ari.”
“Whatever … just check to see if she left a note. She might have gone to the gym or something.”
“Oh no!” My mother breathed into the phone.
“What?!” I shouted.
“Sorry!” she squeaked. “Calm down. It’s nothing -- just an accident.”
“What the hell are you talking about!?”
“Is that how you talk to someone who is doing you a favor?” She scolded me for yelling at her. Her tone was too playful for my frantic and worried mind. She caught on to my annoyance when I breathed heavily into the phone and then my mother went on to explain the situation she stumbled across. “It’s nothing, a photo frame must have somehow fallen from the wall. There’s some broken glass on floor. It’s not a big deal. I’ll clean it up before Ava gets home.”
“What? Why would a frame just fall from the wall?”
“Accidents happen. Darn…” She kept talking but her chatter was mostly just to herself, “That was my favorite picture of you three. You’ll need a new frame for that one for sure … completely shattered as if someone ripped it from the wall and threw it across the room ... what a shame. There is a lot more glass than I would expect from that tiny frame … oh, wow, there’s glass everywhere…”
Fear hit me like a tidal wave. Sweat stung my pores and I froze in my chair and hairs painfully pricked the back of my neck. Something was wrong, -- the bedroom TV was rarely on, when I left our home that morning the place had been clean, the frame would not just fall from the wall.
“Ma,” I swallowed a balloon-sized gulp of air, “Ma, get out of the house now.” I could only whisper to keep from screaming.
“There is glass everywhere, if I don’t vacuum this up, Max will end up with a cut on his foot or worse.”
“Ma, you need to listen to me. Get out of the house. We will clean it later. Go check on Max and Lauren.”
“They're fine, they were watching a movie. This will only take me a minute to clean.” The tinkling of lose shards of glass rattled against the dustpan.
“Ma,” I yelled at her at the top of my lungs, “Get out of the God-damn house right now! Someone is in there … Go!”
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. The broom handle clattered on the hardwood floor and a cold chill trickled down my back, goose bumps crawled up my skin.
My mother ran through the house, the muffled sounds of her quick footsteps were the only reassurance I had that she was safe, the swooshing of the glass door was next, followed by the roaring ocean waves letting me know that she was outside the house.
I kept her on my cell phone and reached across my desk to dial 911. I reported a break in, shouted my address at them and hung up the line.
“Where are you?” I yelled at my mother.
“Home,” her voice trembled and she started to cry. “I’m home.”
“Stay there. Lock your doors, the police are on their way.”
I left the baio office without a word to anyone. The soft side of my closed fist pounded the elevator key pad until it dinged upon arrival. My tires squealed out of the parking lot and I drove further into L.A. towards the hospital and Dr. Phillips’ office. If I didn't find Ava there, then I would know that something terrible had happened to her.
Clinging on to a speck of hope, I left my car idling in front of the doctor’s office and raced through the doorway to the main lobby. Too impatient for the elevator to take me three flights up, I opted for the stairs and took them two at time. The waiting room was full. I scanned every face looking for her. The receptionist was on the phone and I talked over her conversation, uncaring that I was interrupting her. “I am looking for Ava Alexander. This is an emergency.”
She held her pointer finger up, gave me an annoyed and incredulous scowl and then pushed a sign-in sheet attached to a clipboard across the desk at me.
Reaching across the cheap laminate countertop and over the small Plexiglas barrier, I pushed my finger down on the phone piece, ending her call.
“Excuse me, Sir! You will have to sign in and take a seat like the rest of the patients.” She gestured to the full waiting room.
“I need to know if Ava Alexander is here with Dr. Phillips. This is an emergency.”
“We respect the rights of our patients. Due to the confidentially laws, I cannot release any information to you.”
“Listen to me. This isn’t ‘rel
easing information’ -- this is an emergency. I need to know if my wife is here, or when she left. Please.”
“Ari?”
My heart soared. My burning lungs finally let go of the oxygen they had been holding since the phone call with my mother.
“Ari, what the heck are you doing here?”
“Christ, Ava. Are you ok?”
Dr. Phillips and Ava had walked together through the door that separated the exam rooms from the waiting area. He frowned at me.
“Ari, you are crossing a line.” Ava’s arms folded tightly across her chest in disapproval at me barging in on her at the clinic.
“No, you don’t understand. We have an emergency at home and I couldn’t reach you. I needed to make sure you were here and safe and not somewhere else.”
Her face fell. “What is it? Is it Max? Is he alright?” Her fingers shook as she brought them up to her lips.
“Max is fine.”
“What is going on then, Ari?” Worry filled her big pretty eyes.
“My mother walked in on someone breaking into our home. We need to get back to talk with the police.”
“It’s the middle of day.” Her brow pulled into a deep stitch of confusion.
“I know… I don’t understand it myself, but we have to go.”
“Ava,” Dr. Phillips said with emphasis, “Call the office if you need us.”
“I will.” She nodded at Dr. Phillips. “Thank you for all your help today.” Her voice was weak and full of emotion.
I glanced at the time on my watch while she talked. She had been with him for over two hours. Something was going on with her. She was keeping a secret from me.