by Amity Hope
“So, where are we going?” she asked over her shoulder. She was rushing through the indoor dining area of Bella’s to reach the door that led outside.
“Shopping,” Molly announced as they spilled out onto the sidewalk, into the beautiful, gloriously sunny summer day.
Ava stopped so abruptly, Julia slammed into her and bounced right back off.
“No,” Ava firmly replied. “Not shopping. You said you would show me where you saw Gabe.”
“We saw a guy,” Julia corrected. “Not necessarily Gabe.”
Ava huffed in annoyance.
“Also,” Molly said without remorse, “I said we’d make a deal with you. But eating your lunch was only half of it.” Ava started to shake her head but Molly ignored her. “The other half of the deal is that we have to take you shopping.”
Ava didn’t typically get upset with her friends. However, Molly’s comment was more than she could handle at that moment. She needed to find this person. Now. She was trying not to get her hopes up, though it was hard. How could she not? She wanted Gabe back, safe, more than she wanted the air that she breathed.
And if it wasn’t Gabe? She steeled herself for that possibility because she needed to know that, too.
“Molly, please,” Ava nearly whimpered.
“Here’s the thing,” Molly said as she took off down the sidewalk. Ava had no choice but to trudge along after her, just as Molly knew she would. “Your parents are really worried about you. They know you need some cheering up. I suggested retail therapy and your mom thought it wasn’t a terrible idea. Your dad agreed too. I promised him I would take you shopping. You have to go. If not, you’ll be making a liar out of me. I can’t lie to a pastor. That’s just all kinds of wrong.”
“You talked to my parents about me?” Ava groaned.
Julia looped her arm through Ava’s as they walked. “We’re all worried about you. They’re especially worried because you insisted on moving into your cabin. You’re all alone out there. There’s nothing to stop you from thinking about…well, sad things.”
“Your dad gave me this,” Molly said as she rooted around in her purse. She pulled out an envelope. “I didn’t open it, obviously, but I know it’s money. Enough money to have a little fun with.”
She handed the envelope to Ava who simply stuffed it into her pocket.
“So, after your retail therapy is complete, we’ll show you. But you have to shop and you have to at least try to enjoy yourself,” Molly told her.
“Ava, whatever is going on with Gabe right now, he’d want you to be happy, wouldn’t he?” Julia carefully asked as Molly held the door of their favorite store open for them.
Ava couldn’t answer. She clenched her jaw instead. Gabe had given up his life for her so yes, without a doubt, he’d want what was best for her.
Before stepping inside, Ava’s eyes scanned up and down the sidewalk. At least they were down by the river, where Gabe had been seen. Maybe, just maybe…She took in every detail, every person. No one looked like Gabe. Not even close.
Julia guided her into the little boutique. Molly had already begun circling the racks. Ava glanced around as Julia took off after something she’d spotted. Usually she loved this place with its unique collection of clothing but now…it just seemed overwhelming.
“No more looking glum,” Molly said as she took Ava’s hand to tug her along. “Graduation is behind us. High school is behind us. It’s summer. It’s time to have some fun!”
“That’s exactly why the two of you should shop and let me go home. After you show me where you saw this person. Then the two of you can have some fun without my grumpy mood dragging you down,” Ava suggested.
Molly stopped with two identical tank tops in different colors slung over her arm. “Do you really think Julia and I can have any fun without you? Knowing how miserable you are right now? We can’t. It’s not going to happen. So get used to the idea that we aren’t going to leave you alone any time soon. We all know that if it were Julia or me in your position, you’d be doing the exact same thing. Now, which one do you like better? Turquoise or fuchsia? Or both?”
“Both,” Ava decided.
Molly rolled her eyes. “I know you’re just agreeing to both to hurry things along.”
It was true. But yet…
“I do like them both,” she told Molly. She plucked the fuchsia one from her friend and held it up to her chest. “What do you think?” she asked.
Molly looked at her suspiciously.
Ava gave her a weak smile. “I’m trying. I promise. You’re completely right. I would want you and Julia to be happy. I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I’m so lucky to have friends like you.”
“Yes, you are,” Julia agreed as she tossed a lime green sundress over Ava’s shoulder.
“What’s with all of the bright colors?” Ava wondered. She wasn’t necessarily opposed but her friends seemed to be going to the extreme with them.
“I just read an article on the benefits of bright clothing. Bright colors are known to lift your mood. You know, like color therapy. And if anyone’s mood needs to be lifted, it’s yours,” Julia informed her. She held up a lemon yellow pair of shorts.
Ava took them from her and held them to her friend’s waist.
Julia gasped. “Not for me!” she cried making Ava laugh because she knew this already and had only been teasing. “These are for me,” Julia said, holding up a pair of khaki shorts that would surely come to her knees. “These,” she said as she pointed at the short, yellow pair, “are for you.”
“Aw,” Ava said, “they would be super cute on you, though.” She tried passing them off to Julia once more.
Julia shook her head, looking startled. “No. No way. I could never,” she gazed at them a moment, as if contemplating but then firmly shoved them back to her friend. “I could never pull those off.”
“Come on, Julia, live a little,” Molly urged. She held up the shorts, appraising them. “I realize they’re short but I promise you’re not going to contract pneumonia or anything.”
Ava was surprised that Julia looked like she was possibly considering.
“No,” she finally sighed. “But I think Ava should get this.” She held up another sundress, coral this time. “The color would be fabulous on you.”
Ava shrugged. “It would look good on you too. It would really bring out your eyes.”
The dress was short with thin strips. Not necessarily skimpy but far too skimpy for Julia’s taste. Ava could swear she looked at it longingly for just a moment but the moment passed in a blink.
“I couldn’t.” She looked appalled at even considering it.
Ava took it from her. “I will then. And if you ever want to borrow it, it’s yours.”
“Good choice Ava,” Molly added on. “These vibrant colors compliment your lovely olive skin tone and that gorgeous dark hair of yours. Which means they compliment my skin tone and hair, too,” she said as she dramatically flicked a strand of her long, dark, curly hair over her shoulder. “Which means my wardrobe just grew because I’m for sure planning on borrowing just about everything you buy.” She frowned. “Except you’ve got to stop losing weight. I had a hard enough time squeezing into your clothes before. Pretty soon, nothing of yours is going to fit me.”
Ava smiled. The action felt almost foreign to her and she decided her friends were right. She needed to work harder at pulling herself out of the gloominess that she had become entangled in. By no means did that mean that she was over Gabe or that she was going to forget about him but Julia was right. Gabe would want her to be happy. She was sure of it. And while being happy might not be obtainable yet, she could at least work at not being so miserable.
***
Several shopping bags later they were on their way down to the riverfront.
Julia had been insistent that she try on everything first. She’d gone into a dressing room and her friends had handed one thing after another over the door. Then they’d had to appro
ve each item. She’d then returned the favor as Julia and Molly picked out a few things for themselves.
By the time she was done, she was feeling better. Molly had been right. Shopping had been therapeutic. Of course, it wasn’t the spending of money that felt so good. It was that fact that she was doing something normal. Something fun. Something that at any other time, she would’ve enjoyed.
Molly was satisfied that Ava had purchased multiple tops, two sundresses, a pair of shorts and even a new bikini. She had faltered at the choice of swimwear but her friends were both persistent.
Sometimes it just made sense to not argue.
After the first boutique, Molly had ushered her into another. Ava was also now in possession of a new pair of sandals and an extra pair of sunglasses because Molly insisted she needed them. Fortunately, the money had run out after that and the shopping excursion was complete.
To her astonishment, she was almost enjoying herself. Perhaps it was the sunshine, the warm breeze, her friends’ constant attention to her or, most likely, a combination of it all. Regardless of the reason, she felt just a little bit peaceful inside.
“This is it,” Molly said dramatically as she flung her arms out. The bags she was holding bounced at the movement. “This is where we saw him.”
Ava spun around, taking it in. The wooden boardwalk was high on the riverbank, overlooking the river. A wooden railing ran along the edge on the side facing the water. On the other side, there was a grassy strip that led to a sidewalk that was lined with shops. It seemed that there was an overabundance of restaurants for such a small area. But the patrons loved the scenic view of the river and all of them seemed to remain quite busy.
The strip was almost two blocks long. She and Gabe had been inside almost every one of those shops as well as a few of the restaurants.
She took a deep breath. Her eyes darted around. It was the middle of the week, a workday for most. There weren’t a lot of people out and about.
“It was when? What time yesterday?” she finally asked.
“Um,” Julia’s brow furrowed. “I had to work at five. So maybe around four? We were coming from the lake,” she vaguely pointed in the direction of the lake, the one that fed the river. “We decided to walk down this way because I wanted one of those fruit fusion smoothies. The one that’s loaded with ginseng and vitamins and—”
“We were heading that way,” Molly interjected, pointing. “He was heading the opposite direction. There were a lot more people. I suppose people running errands at the end of the day or something. He just, well, he stood out in the crowd because he was so tall.”
Ava’s heart flipped in her chest before plummeting to her toes.
“He was tall?” It felt as though she had to push the words through her lips.
Julia nodded. “Tall-tall. Like Gabe tall.”
Ava backed up against the railing, letting it help support her. She closed her eyes, rubbed her temples and tried to clear her head.
Her friends were at her sides, like a pair of mismatched bookends, instantly.
“That’s what made me think for sure it was him,” Molly admitted. “I mean, sure, people can look similar but that was a pretty distinguishing feature of his.”
She nodded. She was tall as well, at least taller than average. She towered over her friends and yet, she’d barely reached Gabe’s shoulder.
Yes, she thought, his height would be hard to miss.
“We were right over there, by that tree, but we were walking on the boardwalk when we saw him. I don’t know if he even saw us but as he passed by I said his name. Oh, I already told you that part,” Julia muttered. “Anyhow, he didn’t look. Didn’t even flinch, just kept walking. I said it again, louder, but still,” she shrugged, “nothing.”
“You don’t know where he went?” Ava asked.
“Not really,” Julia admitted. “Maybe we should’ve followed him. It’s just that it was so unexpected. We really didn’t have much of a chance to think it over. And it would’ve felt weird to chase after some stranger. I wouldn’t want him getting the wrong idea, especially if it wasn’t him. That could lead to a potentially hazardous situation.” She shuddered at the thought.
“Have you tried just calling him?” Molly blurted out.
Ava nodded slowly. She had. Not that she had expected him to answer. She knew he wouldn’t. She had simply wanted to hear his voice. But there was no message prompting voicemail. “His phone’s been disconnected.”
“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” Molly grumbled.
“Can you remember what Grier told you?” Ava asked. She had been meaning to ask for a while. But a part of her had not wanted to hear the answer. Grier, the girl…no, not a girl…the angel she had thought of as her friend had taken care of things after Gabe’s disappearance. She’d done that by manipulating everyone’s memory of the situation. Ava’s frustration with Grier was so intense she had a hard time even bringing her up. But now, now seemed like an important time for answers.
“She said that…” Molly’s voice faded off. Her brow furrowed and she looked to Julia.
“That Gabe…” Julia started but then a look of confusion spilled across her face as well. She shrugged but looked suddenly wary. “I can’t remember what she said. Not exactly. That he had to go away?” She looked to Molly for confirmation.
“Right,” Molly agreed but she didn’t look so sure. Her eyes got a distant look to them, as if she was trying to put herself into the past, into the conversation that they’d had. “Did she actually say he was sick? Or did we just assume…?”
“She must’ve said so,” Julia supplied but she didn’t look all that sure. The space between her brows had creased with concern and confusion.
Ava wasn’t surprised by their vague answers. Having an angel manipulate your thought process, even slightly, was bound to cause some confusion. She shrugged and tried to look calm. It didn’t really matter what, exactly, Grier had led them to believe. Whatever thought she had put into their heads was simply not true. It was only out of curiosity that Ava wondered.
“Where was he the other time you saw him?” she asked as she turned to Molly. She was trying to keep up the pretense of feeling calm and logical but she wasn’t so sure she was pulling it off.
“I was sitting over there,” Molly pointed to a bench, looking relieved at the change of subject. “That was one day last week and I was with Oliver. I didn’t get a good look at him. We had just finished eating lunch. I just happened to glance up. He was by himself. It wasn’t busy that day so I didn’t really notice how tall he was. There was no one nearby to compare him to, or to make it so obvious. I only saw the side of his face. He kept walking toward the lake. I should’ve asked Oliver what he thought but since he’d only met him once, I figured he probably wouldn’t know. I just assumed it couldn’t be him. But then after yesterday, I thought maybe I was wrong.”
“He’s definitely not here now,” Julia announced and Ava felt a sizzle of panic course through her. She was sure her friends were going to want to leave. They’d been in Granville for hours already. “None of us work today,” Julia pointed out as she glanced at Molly who discreetly nodded to her.
Ava was used to the two of them playfully bickering all of the time. She wondered when they had become so in sync with each others’ ideas. Then she realized that since they both just wanted her to be happy, they were probably both sharing the same thoughts on how to get her there.
Or possibly they’d simply discussed it before they’d picked her up that morning.
Molly turned to Ava. “If you promise to eat something, for example, a double scoop Butter Brickle ice-cream cone, we’ll promise to sit here with you. All day, or for however long you want,” Molly said.
“You’re bribing me with food?” Ava asked as she stifled a small giggle. She was giddy with relief.
“Yes,” Molly solemnly replied.
“We can even walk up and down the strip. Or go check out the beach,” Julia offered.
“We can stay through the evening and have dinner here, too. We can pick one of the restaurants with outside seating. That way we can just people watch.”
“You would do that?” Ava asked, feeling grateful again for such good friends.
They both nodded and Ava’s eyes darted to the ice-cream shop down the block. She’d once told Gabe they had the world’s best homemade ice-cream. She still thought that was true. Her heart ached a little at the memory. Even more so when she recalled how Gabe had gotten them each a pint of her favorite flavor—Butter Brickle, of course—to take home. She hadn’t been inside since.
“Okay,” she said slowly, “let’s go get some ice-cream.”
Gabe had managed to conquer the real demon that plagued their life.
It was time, she decided, that she start to conquer her emotional ones.
Chapter 3
Her friends had stayed with her, just as they said they would. There had been no sign of Gabe. However, that didn’t stop Ava from coming back the next day. She’d brought a magazine, pretending to read it while she people-watched from the bench Molly had pointed out to her.
Her parents had been surprised when she’d announced on her eighteenth birthday that she planned to move into the cabin that had been left to her by her grandfather. They were against the idea because of her recent frame of mind. But she had been adamant. She tried not to think about how they, or her friends, would react if they knew she’d spent the majority of two days in a row waiting for a glimpse of the impossible.
She sighed as she ruffled through the pages of the magazine. Her sunglasses hid her eyes so she could watch the boardwalk and not really look at the pages at all. It was busy tonight and she would’ve feared missing Gabe, should he walk by, if not for the fact that his height would make him stand out.
There was something else that she hadn’t been able to share with her friends. At one point during their last day together, Gabe had told her what he’d found out about her birth mother. He had contemplated his decision but finally decided that she had a right to know. He had learned that she was gone and that his brother, Rafe, had been partially responsible for her death. So on top of losing Gabe, she was grieving for a parent she would never get to know. A parent she would never have the opportunity to search for. She couldn’t share this with her friends because there was no reasonable way to explain how she knew. So this, too, she dealt with in silence.