by Cat Mann
Chapter 25
August Fourth
The sound of screams woke me on Saturday at dawn; within a few seconds I realized the screams were coming from me. No. 6 had been taunting me, playing with the corners of my mind. He never showed his plan or even himself for that matter, but over and over, in my mind, I heard, “I am coming for you, Ava Baby.” Trying to convince myself that his message was nothing new gave me little solace and I told myself that his threat was a good sign – let him come, the sooner the better, so I could off him and get on with my life.
But in all honesty, I was terrified. I made my way down the hall and took a long shower, scrubbing myself clean. I covered myself in lotion and then put on a tee shirt and Ari’s old sweats. All my clothes had been moved to the new house, so I had to settle for whatever was in the back of Ari’s closet. I headed to the kitchen for some much-needed coffee.
I was expecting a dark, quiet kitchen. After all, the sun had hardly even begun to peek across the east lawn … but what I expected was far from what I found. Aggie’s kitchen was in complete chaos, full of women eating breakfast and talking about how they were going to do their hair and makeup.
“There you are!” Aggie frowned, looking exasperated. “I was beginning to think you were never going to wake up!”
“Aggie, what are you talking about? The wedding isn’t for twelve hours.”
Ignoring her angry stare, I poured myself a cup of coffee, and sat down to read the paper. I needed to distract myself to keep from being sick. Aggie knows that I have issues with clearing my mind, so after a moment she backed off. I think she could tell that my façade was wearing down and that I was on the brink tears, or worse.
“Ok, Ava, you’re right,” she relented, and sat down next to me, pretending to read various sections of the paper as I finished with them. Gently she took my hand and I looked up into her eyes. Tears filled up in my own and my hands shook.
“Oh, Ava Baby,” she whispered, “I am so sorry. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be fine.”
I nodded my head and stood up.
“I think I need some fresh air.”
She followed me out to the back deck and I let go and cried. Aggie and I might not always agree and we may give each other grief from time to time, but I love her and right then I needed a mom. She held me tight in her arms as I cried nervous tears into her mother-of-the groom tee shirt.
“Shh, Ava, everything is going to be okay, Baby, I promise,” she crooned, trying to comfort me. “If anyone can do this you can. I know you’ve gone through much more than a little wedding.” I nodded and sat down on one of her deck chairs. She took the seat next to me. “What are you so afraid of, Ava?” she asked. I let out a quick breath and shrugged my shoulders.
“Is it the wedding? Because, honey, all you have to do is show up and say ‘I do.’”
“No, I don’t think that’s it,” I said shakily.
“Well, is it all the people in the kitchen so early? Because I can send them to Gianna’s.”
“No, they’re fine; don’t worry, Aggie.”
“Ava,” she spoke quietly, “are you worried about tonight – you know, when all of this is over?”
Fresh tears poured out of my eyes and I felt as though a huge weight on my chest was keeping me from breathing.
“Oh, Ava Baby,” Aggie said softly, as she turned my left wrist over and began to stroke my tally marks absent-mindedly.
“Ava, I am so proud of you. I am so honored that you have chosen to be a part of our family. Please believe me when I say that you have nothing to worry about. This is Ari, after all. He loves you more than I have ever seen a man love a woman. He has never looked at anything the way I see him look at you. Nothing makes him happier than you do. All tonight is, is love, Baby, nothing else but love.”
I took a deep breath and stood up. She pulled me into another hug and I whispered a quiet thank you into her ear.
I was able to manage the rest of the day a little bit better. Julia kept my mind busy by babbling on about some fight she and Rory had gotten into the night before, and about how making up afterwards had made the argument totally worthwhile. She told me she had seen the guys all leaving for the golf course and that Ari had told her he missed me already.
