Echoes in the Bayou

by Dukes, Ursula

  "Sinta," a soft voice called to her. A smile spread across her face when she saw her friend Sophie standing in the clearing looking as glorious as ever.

  "I's knew you'd come for me," Sinta hugged her friend.

  "I told you that I'd come when you needed me and now it's time for you to come home my friend, home to those who love and miss you. Your job here is finished and the spirits want to thank you."

  Sinta grinned as she took one last glimpse at the big house, it didn’t seem so large anymore. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before someone would purchase the old place and when they did, she felt confident in knowing that they would live a long and happy life in it. "You got a nice long life ahead of you, and all it gon' take is a nice young couple to brings you back to life," she shouted out to the big house. "My work here is done. I's goin home now, back to the earth."

  Sophie reached for her hand and together they disappeared into the bayou.

  When Sinta faded into the earth, the plantation began to return to the way that it was before Ava arrived. The columns began to crumble, the step where Ava had fallen unsealed itself, wildflowers wilted, and the bayou had begun to dry up. Summer was almost over, Ava was gone, the curse was lifted and the bayou sat barren once more.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Three Months Later

  "Magnus thank you for this, it means a lot to me." They had just finished checking into the luxurious Hotel Monteleone in the French quarter, when Magnus had surprised her by giving her a ring. "Think of it as a friendship ring," he told her as he slid the Cartier hand engraved platinum band on her finger.

  "Magnus it's beautiful," she said holding up her hand to admire it.

  "I had it engraved special, can you see the gardenias? Read what it says inside." He gently slid the ring off her finger and placed it in her open palm. "I Love you," she read the engraving.

  "Magnus." Tears flowed down her face as he pulled her into her arms. Her head was resting against his chest and he let out a heavy sigh. It would be a very long time before he would feel her body against his. "I love you," she said in between sobs.

  Everything had been finalized; she'd flown to Vermont a week after she'd gotten out of the hospital and viewed the property. It took her only minutes to decide that she wanted to purchase the antique shop and the Victorian house that stood about a mile from it. The owners were anxious to get to Florida and had accepted her offer right away. She had gotten a very good deal on the house and the shop and was quite proud of herself. The realtor had told her that the upcoming holidays would be a busy time for the shop and had suggested that she try and make it up there beforehand. When Magnus had suggested that he go with her to see the place, she objected. She told him that it was something that she needed to do alone and he'd reluctantly agreed.

  "I can't believe your leaving in two days," Magnus said. With the flight booked and her bags packed, she was ready to go, but it wouldn’t be until she allowed herself two more splendid days with Magnus.

  "You can always come with me."

  "I've got a book tour coming up Ava, I can't just pick up and leave," he said. He sounded angry.

  "I know you can't Magnus." She wrapped her arms around him and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt. "Let's not think about that right now, I've got something better in mind," she said and playfully pushed him onto the bed. "I am going to fix it so you'll never forget me Magnus," she purred and let her tongue run lavishly down his chest.

  He let out a sensual moan, "I could never forget you," he said and watched as she took him into her mouth. "God I'm going to miss you," he teased.

  Over dinner Magnus asked her if she was sure she wanted him to send the rest of her things to her new home in Vermont.

  "Yes please."

  "Ava, are you declining my offer to keep some of your things in case my situation changes while you're gone? So we're not obligated?"

  No, of course not," she said. But we know that could very well happen Magnus."

  He shook his head. "I suppose. But for me, if it ever did happen, it wouldn’t be for a very long while. I have no doubt that your life is going to change Ava and you're going to forget all about me."

  "Magnus, I could never forget you, I promise. And besides, you're talking as if you are never planning to come visit, what's up with that?" she teased. "I know," he said. And unless you tell me otherwise, as soon as the book tour is over, I'm on the first flight out."

  "That's what I like to hear," she said and smiled warmly. She'd almost lost it when he mentioned wanting to keep her things with him, she knew that deep down he'd wanted her things just in case she decided to come back. But there was no chance of that, she had guaranteed her new life in Vermont the moment she closed on the store and house.

  In her heart, she wanted him to have his moment in the sun and to find happiness along with a life that fulfilled him. She would never want the man that she loved to grieve over his loss of fulfillment. He deserves to be happy and I deserve a man who feels as if he already has a fulfilling life, with me included.

  It was her last night and no matter how hard they had tried to stay awake, it just couldn’t be done. They had just finished making love and were both relaxed and exhausted. "I love you Magnus DuPonte," Ava whispered before falling fast asleep.

  "You have no idea of how much I love you," Magnus replied and leaned over to kiss her goodnight. Although he too was tired, there was one thing tickling the edges of his mind, Ava. He was in love with her and this was a first. "Maybe after the book tour I'll come for a visit, and if I can handle the New England cold I'll stay," he'd told her last night. Could I do it? he thought to himself. Could I leave my family, my friends, and Louisiana for a life with Ava? If you truly love her you can, his conscience told him.

  Then, much too soon, the day came. Kelly joined them at the hotel for breakfast; she would go with Magnus to see her friend off.

  "Steve sends his best," Kelly said. "He's sorry he couldn’t make it, he's busy with client meetings, you know how it is," she smiled at them.

  Ava couldn’t help but notice a large bruise on her neck, it looked as if she'd been grabbed hard.

  "Magnus, would you excuse us for a minute?" She asked.

  When he was out of ear shot, Ava demanded her friend tell her what was going on.

  "It's nothing really, Steve just gets upset sometimes, he's been under a lot of pressure lately what with taking on new writers and deadlines from publishing houses. It gets to be too much for him that's all."

  "Kelly I wish you had told me something sooner; I would have put him in his place. Kelly listen to me, you need to leave him, and no man has a right to strike a woman. That son of a bitch needs to be taught a lesson; someone has got to tell him what will happen if he does it again."

  "Ava, I don’t want to waste this time that I have with you talking about my husband. I'll handle it, it will be okay."

  "Goddamnit!" She cursed. "Kelly, I want you to call me each and every day do you understand? And if I find out that he hit you again, I'm telling Magnus to drop him as a friend and agent. Then I want you to get the hell out do you understand?" She held her hand tight.

  "I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to give my Ava a proper goodbye and they'll be announcing your flight soon," Magnus said to them. "And Kelly, you'll be out to see me for the holiday's right?" Ava reminded her.

  "Are you kidding? I've already booked my flight," she grinned.

  "I'll give you two some space. Good Bye Ava, see you soon," she smiled but tears were inevitable as she they hugged and said goodbye. To Kelly, it was as if she was saying good bye to a childhood friend, a friend she had known all her life. She blew her a kiss before walking over to the airport bar.

  "Well this is it, are you sure you want to do this?" Magnus asked. His arms were around her waist and he was gazing into her eyes.

  She could only manage a slight nod, for a brief moment her thoughts drifted to last night and how they made love slow and sweet. And when h
e had released himself inside of her he whispered in her ear, "I'll never love another."

  Would she be able to endure the cold New England weather without the warmth of him by her side? She'd have to.

  When the tears came he could hardly contain himself. He pulled her close, lifted her chin and kissed her deeply.

  "I love you Magnus and I want to wish you well in all that you do. And please don’t lose sight of who you really are. Don’t let all that fame and fortune go to your head," she grinned. "I have a feeling that this book is going to take off and I don’t want to have to read about you getting caught in a rut or anything like that do you hear me?" She held her hands on either side of his face.

  "I hear you," he said, his expression one of sadness.

  "And one more thing she told him, "If things ever get to be too much for you, you come home to me," she said and listened as her flight was being called. "Take care baby, and keep in touch," she said tears streaming now.

  "Call me when you get there and every minute in between. I'll miss you," he said and kissed her once again and then watched her walk towards the security check point.

  As she took off her shoes, she glanced up and gave him one final wave before disappearing into the sea of people.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  After she arrived in Dorset Vermont, Ava did what she did best- she threw herself into her work. But she wasn't joyful or excited about it. Instead she felt as if she were in mourning, she hadn’t thought she'd be hurting this bad and it didn’t help that now that Magnus had left to go on his book tour it was harder for her to get in touch with him. She hoped that the feeling would pass soon. After all, she'd had many break ups and losses in her life and had weathered them well. At least Magnus was getting along well; he just wasn’t in her home or in her bed.

  She couldn’t wait for the holidays though, Kelly was planning on coming and she had promised that she would stay at least until after the New Year. By the time November rolled around she had pretty much settled into her new home, and the antique store was doing quite well. The previous owners had left the entire contents of the small shop and she was glad for that. She knew that she wanted a fresh start but having to start that fresh, with an empty shop would have been too much.

  Although she spent most of her time at the store she enjoyed coming home at the end of her long days. The Queen Anne Victorian home complete with gables had a great big yard along with front and back porches. Inside there were four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a formal dining room, living and sitting room. The kitchen was one of her favorite rooms. It was complete with weathered hard wood floors, and plenty of cabinets. "The perfect country kitchen," she'd told Kelly when they spoke on the phone one night. "It's really too much house for me, but I hope that one day I'll be able to fill it with family and friends."

  She had fun decorating each and every room and soon the large house became a home, her home that she hoped to one day share with Magnus. It had a widow's walk too, which is where she went when she wanted to be alone with her thoughts and think about Magnus.

  She also felt blessed to have had grandparents and parents that were able to leave her an inheritance. Especially considering that she was adopted. "That doesn’t matter, your papa and grandma love you like no other." She remembered her mother telling her that. It was right after her grandparents had died that her mother and father told her about the inheritance. It's quite a substantial amount of money Ava, take care not to blow it, they'd told her. And she listened to them, she was able to go to the college of her choice and study interior design and by the time she'd graduated, there were no student loans to pay back and she was able to get her own car and place.

  It was shortly after she'd landed the job at Gavin's Realty when she learned that her mother had been diagnosed with throat cancer. She'd been a smoker for over forty years and when her father broke the news to her she was devastated. And during the end, Gavin had been kind enough to let her take a leave of absence so that she could care for her mother and she did, she along with her father were by her side the night that she passed.

  A week to the day that her mother passed, Ava's father died in his sleep. It was such a blow to her heart and soul that it took her several months before she could even manage to go back inside the house and clear everything out. She'd held on to the mementos of course and they were still in a storage unit back in Savannah. "When things slow down I'll have to send for it all," she whispered to herself.

  "What was that?" Sterling asked. Sterling Baringer was the new sales associate she'd hired shortly after she renamed and opened up the shop.

  "Oh nothing, just thinking out loud," she said and patted him on the back.

  Sterling had been the first of several applicants who she interviewed for the job, there was something about him that told her she'd be sorry if she didn’t hire him and she was right. He had quite a knack for selling big ticket items and she loved watching him work his charm on the customers.

  Even the customers who came in to browse or introduce themselves to Ava would end up walking out with something. Sterling would introduce them to an item and manage to convince them that the item in question was something that they could no longer live without. She remembered when a young woman had come in hoping to find an antique watch for her husband. It was their one year anniversary and she had wanted to get him something special. Well after talking with her for several minutes, Sterling talked the woman into purchasing a centuries old grandfather clock. The woman didn’t even attempt to haggle over the price, even after he told her that the clock was twenty five hundred dollars.

  It was delivered that very day and the following day the young man returned to the store to thank Sterling for selling his wife the clock, turns out that the maker of the clock was the young man's great, great, grandfather and that clock was the first ever made by him.

  "I've a flair for making sales," he'd flamboyantly told her when she congratulated him on making the sale.

  "And honey, you need me. You're new here and this is a very small town but we look out for one another and you are going to need a friend and co-worker," he winked.

  And after making him sweat it out for half a day, she called him and told him that he got the job. "Honey you look tired. Why don’t you head on home and get some rest, I can close up. Besides, I highly doubt that within the next hour a ton of customers are going to come barging through that door," he gave her a silly frown.

  "I am tired, I don’t know why though, I get plenty of sleep," she thought out loud.

  "Oh you're just probably getting your time of the month, you know my sister Nancy? Well we all know when it's her time because that woman falls asleep where ever she's at. Honey, I'm not kidding, folks like to call her narcolepsy Nancy," he joked. "Most women get moody or have the sudden urge for salt and chocolate but leave it to my sister to get the sleepies," he grinned.

  "Maybe you're right," she said. "Come to think of it with all that's been going on… Oh my god no!" She let out a gasp.

  Sterling jumped down from the step ladder and rushed to her side. "Honey what is it?" He asked concerned.

  "Sterling will you please come to the pharmacy with me?" She begged.

  "Sure honey what do you need?"

  "I need to get a couple hundred pregnancy tests," she said, the color leaving her face.

  "Magnus, the book is climbing buddy. I bet this time next week, you'll be on the top ten best sellers list. You have got to be loving this buddy," Steve said as he poured them each a drink. Magnus stood staring blankly out the window at the garden. They were in Alabama and staying at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa. When he was making the reservation, Steve knew that booking an appearance at Books-A –Million in Montgomery, Alabama was going to cause a problem, but they had to stop there.

  Magnus had a large fan base out of Montgomery and it would have been bad publicity had he not agreed to do a book signing. It's just a name Magnus, stop acting like a child," Steve scolded h
im.

  He took a big swallow of scotch before responding. "I told you that no matter where we go I was going to have a hard time trying to not think about Ava and its worse being here in Montgomery, well for obvious reasons!" He shouted.

  "Look buddy, I am sure Ava is fine and I know she'd want you to do this tour so why don’t you try forgetting about her for a while and concentrate on your adoring fans because they are going to be coming out in droves buddy and you can't disappoint them."

  Magnus simply nodded his head and finished his drink. He planned on calling her the minute they returned to the hotel. He hadn’t spoken to her in several weeks and it was killing him. The schedule that Steve had lined up for him was excruciating, and he knew that it was because he didn’t want to deal with the marital problems that he and Kelly were having.

  Kelly had moved out of the house and Steve wouldn’t tell him why, he only told him that she'd been bored and was thinking of leaving him and moving back to New York. "Let her go," Steve had said. "Things are starting to progress at an extremely high rate buddy and she can't keep up so I told her, if you go don’t plan on coming back. So it is what it is my friend."

  He spoke with insensitivity. Maybe Kelly is better off, he thought to himself.

  "The way I see it Magnus, you have two options, you can sit and wallow in sorrow about Ava or you can get on with your life. You know, throw yourself into your work, have you thought about your next idea?"

  "No I haven’t Steve, I've been busy singing books and speaking to book clubs and creative writing classes, not to mention doing radio promo's and going over my lines for a television commercial."

  Steve let out a snicker. "Hey buddy, this is the big time so you better get used to it. Say goodbye to the quiet plantation life because things are about to take off in a huge way buddy and it's my job to prepare you for it."

  It was at that moment that he wished for nothing more than to be back at the plantation with his Ava.