"You stole away my chance of making it big and now it's my turn to take away your chance at living, bitch. It's Just a matter of time, and fortunately for you, I've got all night."
"So everybody, Adrian and I have an announcement to make," Kelly smiled as the two joined hands. "Adrian has asked me to move in with him and I accepted," she grinned and kissed him on the lips.
"Kelly you don’t have to move out," Ava said. "You know there's plenty of room."
"I know there is Ava, but I want to start a life with Adrian and besides, we both think it's time to move in together. This is a good thing," she smiled at her friend.
"Alright, but if you don’t like it, you know that there is always a place for you here."
"I know, and I appreciate that. But it's not like I'm going that far. He lives just two streets over," she joked.
"I know, but I'm still going to miss you," Ava began to cry. Kelly had been there for her through the good times and bad and she was going to miss not having her in the house.
"You've got Magnus and soon you'll have your baby. Something tells me that you won't miss me that much," she teased and hugged her tight.
"I'll always be here for you," she whispered in her ear.
An hour later as he watched her guests begin to leave, Steve had to slump down in the front seat of his car, he didn’t want to be seen by anyone. When he was sure that all the vehicles had left he crept along the large shrubs that lined the long driveway and made his way quietly towards the house. He panicked when he was near the front porch and heard the familiar "chirp" of the car alarm being disarmed.
"Where are you going?" he heard Magnus ask. The front door was open and he could hear their entire conversation.
"I just need to run out for some chocolate chip cookies, I have been dying for some chocolate chip cookies she laughed.
"Okay well hold on and I'll go with you."
"Magnus, I'm just going up the road, I'll be alright really. You stay here and call your parents. You promised that you were going to call them and you haven’t yet so take your time and call, I'll be right back."
It's now or never, he said to himself as he carefully opened up the door and crawled into the back seat.
"Only if you're sure. But I can go with you Ava," Magnus had begun to get persistent.
"Magnus, I love you but I don’t need you to go to the store with me," she grinned. "I'm not helpless you know. I'll be back, love you," she said before making her way down the stairs and getting into the car.
"Love you too," he shouted.
She let out a sigh of relief as she started the car and made her way down the driveway. She took no notice of the strange car that was parked on the side of the road.
Steve hoped and prayed that she wouldn’t hear him breathing and run off the road in fright. He wanted to make her squirm and he wanted her to see the man who was about to take her life. When she pulled up into the parking lot of the convenience store she cursed when she saw that it was closed. "Shit!" she said as she sat trying to think of another place to go. It felt good to be on her own and out of the house. When she decided to take a road that was unfamiliar, she smiled. It felt good to be independent; it had been a while since she'd been allowed to do anything on her own what with Sterling and Kelly always looking out for her. And now with Magnus being there, one would have thought she loved being waited on and doted over but she did not, not all the time anyway and tonight was one of those nights. She felt like a teenager out on the prowl.
When she saw a sign that read, "Gas and Go convenience store" she smiled again. "Sometimes it pays to take the road less traveled," she said as she pulled into the empty parking lot. "Might as well get some gas while I'm at it," she said and fished in her purse in search of her wallet. A young man appeared and knocked on her window causing her to jump.
"Sorry about that ma'am what can I get for you?"
"That's okay," she said. "Wow I didn’t think there were any full service gas stations left in this country," she grinned.
"We are a dying breed," the young man joked. Want me to fill it up?"
"Yes please." She grabbed her purse and climbed out of the car. "You guy's carry chocolate chip cookies? I'm having an awful craving," she told him and patted her belly.
The young man hesitated before placing the nozzle inside the gas tank. "Yes ma'am all the way in the back, right across from the bread."
"Great, I'll be inside," she said and made her way towards the store.
When she walked in, she noticed that the appearance of the store reminded her of an old station from the fifties. She smiled at the vintage signs and the remnants of what looked to be an out of date soda fountain. There was a sense of nostalgia about the place that she found very soothing. "I have got to tell Magnus about this place," she said and took out her cell phone.
"Ava, where are you? I was getting worried," he said.
"I'm fine, the convenience mart was closed so I went in another direction and found the coolest gas station," she said. She hadn’t noticed the attendant rapidly making his way up behind her.
"Magnus, I swear this place is …Oh my god you scared me, again!" She cried out.
"Ava, who scared you? What the hell is going on?"
"Nothing, I'm alright Just hang on a minute."
"Sorry to scare you again ma'am but there's something you need to know."
Magnus could hear the attendant talking to her.
"What is it?" Ava asked. "Is there something wrong with the car? There better not be, I've only had it for about seven months," she began to complain.
"No ma'am, there isn’t anything wrong with the car. Ma'am I've placed a call to the police and they're on the way."
"Ava, where are you?" Magnus was shouting now but she couldn’t hear him as she held the phone away from her ear.
"Why would you do that?" She asked and slowly began backing away from him.
"Because the poor guy is trying to tell you that there was someone hiding in the back seat of your car you stupid bitch!" Steve said as he burst into the small store.
Ava startled, jumped back and screamed as Steve had made his way into the store making sure to lock the door behind him. She couldn’t help but notice the nine millimeter in his hand. Magnus could hear every word. "Ava if you can hear me, please do what he says. Ava? Can you hear me?"
She'd tried putting the phone to her ear as she stared at the back of the young attendant in front of her; he was trying his best to prevent Steve from getting any closer to her.
He roughly pushed the young man aside as he approached her.
"It's okay I know who you're talking to, tell him goodbye and then hang up the phone." The tone of his voice was one that she had never heard before, and it was unnerving.
"I said, tell him goodbye Ava!" This time he shouted and got so close she could see the dried blood that had caked just underneath his nostrils. He forced the phone to her ear. "Now say goodbye."
She fought hard to find her voice. "Goodbye."
"Now say I love you."
"I love you."
"Jesus, you've got to say it with more feeling than that," he grabbed the phone from her.
"Hey Magnus, say how do you like Vermont so far?"
"Steve, let her go and we'll forget this ever happened."
"No can do buddy she ruined my plans, she ruined our plans, we were supposed to climb to the top together. I mean shit, I was about to get you locked into the network for four movies Magnus, four! Do you know what that would have done for your career? For my career? I'll tell you what it would have done; it would have opened a hell of a lot more doors. But you let it all go, and for what? For a woman? For love? Oh that's bullshit man, these women don’t want love, they want money. Money talks and bullshit walks my friend but your old fashioned aren’t you? You always did believe in that love bullshit."
Ava felt the contraction while Steve was using her phone. The pain was something she'd never experienced before and she hoped
that it would subside and quickly. She looked at the attendant and swallowed back tears. In a soothing voice he said, "Everything is going to be alright, trust me."
"Looks like somebody might be going into labor," Steve said, a devilish grin crept across his face.
"Let me talk to Ava Steve, I'm begging you. Please!" He shouted into the phone.
"You've got ten seconds."
"Ava?"
"Magnus, I think I'm in labor," she said her voice shaky. She was fighting back tears.
"Magnus, if I don’t make it…"
"And she won't!" Steve shouted from the background.
"Ava listen to me, try and keep him calm. I'm coming for you. Ava I …"
"Time's up buddy goodbye."
Magnus screamed into the phone but it was no use. He called 911 the moment Steve disconnected the call. He remembered the Gas and Go station but his memory drew a blank when he tried to recall its exact location. "Goddamnit why can't I remember?" He cursed and punched the steering wheel. As he started to drive in the general vicinity of the gas station, his conscience interjected. Listen for the sirens, it advised. And when he heard them, the sound was like music to his ear's, he got behind them as they sped by.
"Now I want you over here and you over there." Steve waved the gun at them.
"Why are you doing this?" She cried. At first it only felt like bad cramps, but now the pain was getting more and more intense.
"Did you not hear me when I was on the phone talking with Magnus?" Steve roared.
She was staring at him now, sweat was pouring down his face and his nose had started to bleed.
"Steve I know you're hurting but please, you can't do this. I'm in labor for god's sake!" She screamed at him. She was getting agitated with him and needed him to go away.
The harder she tried pleading with him the angrier he got. It wasn’t until the attendant drew Steve's attention away from her and towards himself that she was able to hear the sirens.
"Listen buddy you don’t want to do this," the attendant said his voice incredibly calm.
"Oh no? And why not?"
"Because I won't let you. You see, Ava here has helped me and my wife out of quite a bind and I owe it to her to save her life. So if anybody is going to die tonight I'm afraid it will be you and only you. But it's definitely not going to be Ava or her baby."
Ava was in such pain that she could barely make out what the attendant was saying. She held her stomach and doubled over in pain. Her back felt like spears of flames were being shot at her and she had begun to sweat. All she wanted to do was lie down and push. A loud and powerful scream escaped her mouth as she gritted her teeth and tried to breathe through the excruciating pain.
"This woman needs to go to the hospital, she's having a baby and the police will be here any second," he said. His voice still calm.
The hand that held the gun had started to shake, and Steve wondered what the attendant had meant when he said that he owed Ava his life.
Magnus followed the line of police cars and as the headlights of the cruisers shined through the gas station window, he couldn’t help but notice that now, the place looked completely run down and abandoned. This cannot be the one that he'd stopped at when he first arrived in town. And it looked nothing like the place that Ava was describing to him over the phone less than twenty minutes ago. What the hell is going on? He asked himself. But there was no time to worry about the circumstances that led her to being there, because Steve was still inside and was refusing to let her go.
Several more police had arrived and this time the lights shining through the window were blinding. "I told you that the police were on the way.
"Fuck you!" Steve shouted at the clerk.
"Put down your weapon!" An officer shouted from outside, but Steve was not listening. He raised his weapon and aimed it at the attendant. The one shot was enough to shatter the plate glass window and hit him in the arm with such force that the gun was knocked out of his hand. As he went down, several officers rushed in and subdued him.
An officer held Magnus back as his shouts for Ava went unanswered. The room began to spin and the attendant dove to catch her so she wouldn’t hit the hard floor. She could feel him gently cradling her. "You're going to be alright beautiful lady," she heard him whisper right before a funnel of darkness encased her.
Chapter Thirty
"Ava, we're prepping you for surgery. You're going to have to have a C-section."
"Magnus?" She groaned in pain.
"I'm right here," he said and held her hand. He was dressed in a pair of scrubs and his eyes were tearful.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" Panic set in as she watched the nurses moving frantically around.
"You and the baby are going to be fine," her doctor reassured her. "The baby is in distress Ava so we’ve got to get to work now. We're going to numb you from the chest down and you won't feel a thing, but you and Magnus will be able to see and hear everything alright? Now just relax, take some deep breaths and watch the birth of your baby."
Magnus leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "I love you," he said before holding onto her hand. Tears rolled down her face as she watched them make the incision. Magnus held her head up during the process and tears of joy ran down their faces as they watched their baby girl being born. Magnus stepped away so that he could cut the umbilical cord and when he carried the baby over to her, Ava once again burst into glorious tears. She kissed her little baby and welcomed her into the world before the nurses took her to the nursery.
"Are we still going with Nina Celeste?" He smiled and inquired about the baby's name. "Yes we are," she smiled weakly. They were sewing her up and she was anxious to hold little Nina. "I love you and I'm so very proud of you," he said and kissed her once again.
"I love you too," she said.
An hour and a half later, both she and Magnus were able to kiss and hold their new baby girl.
"Nina Celeste DuPonte, has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" He smiled warmly as he cradled her in his arms.
"Are you daddy's little girl?" He cooed.
It was a sight that Ava had dreamt about during her entire pregnancy. She hoped that Magnus would come back into her life, and want to share in the joy of being a parent. And here he was, on cloud nine enjoying every minute. She frowned for a moment when her thoughts took her back to the night at the gas station. She'd almost lost the baby and had it not been for the brave clerk, she had no doubt that things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. Steve had been out of his mind with anger and she believed that had the clerk not been able to stall for time, both she and the baby might not have survived.
Because she did have a caesarean, she had no choice but to stay in the hospital for a couple more days. It wasn’t until her second day there that the police had come to speak with her; they needed to ask her some questions about the night Steve held her at gunpoint. He was still in custody they told her and that local authorities were working with the state of Louisiana. They wanted to have him extradited; It seemed that he was in trouble there too. He had forged several contracts and had misappropriated royalty funds from several of his clients.
Ava only shook her head when they told her that no matter where Steve ended up, he wouldn’t be seeing the light of day for a very long time. But it was more than likely that he would be extradited back to New Orleans to serve out his sentence. Magnus was glad that he'd severed all ties when Steve when he did. The fact that his contract had not been renewed brought him great peace of mind. He held his daughter and sat close to Ava while the police questioned her. "Miss Montgomery, would you mind telling us again how it came to be that you ended up at that Gas and Go?" The detective asked her.
"Sure," she said barely being able to take her eyes off her newborn daughter. A warm smile stayed on her face as she told the detectives her story.
"Well the convenient mart was closed so I drove around looking for someplace else that was nearby and I happened to see a sign for the Gas and Go."
"And then what happened?"
"I pulled into the parking lot; the attendant came out, knocked on the window and asked if I wanted him to fill up my tank and after a bit of small talk I went inside."
The detectives looked at one another briefly before asking her to continue. And by the time she'd finished telling them the rest of what happened that night, the two men sat dumbfounded. "Oh my god I completely forgot to ask about the clerk, is he alright?" Ava asked. She was concerned about him, and wished she'd asked about him sooner, but in all the confusion, she'd momentarily forgotten about him.
"Detective, forgive me but I think we've told you all there is to know about Steve and that night. Now how come neither one of you know the whereabouts of this clerk? I mean the man saved their lives and I'd like the opportunity to thank him," Magnus said.
The younger detective said to his partner, "You want to be the one to tell them?"
"Tell us what?" Magnus said and softly cooed as little Nina yawned sleepily in his arms.
"Sir, ma'am that Gas and go has been abandoned for over 45 years."
Ava sucked in a deep breath. "What?" She struggled to sit up and the detective helped her.
"That's what's got us so confused. You say there was a man there that helped you? An attendant. But there hasn’t been anyone employed there for like I said, over 45 years."
"That's impossible," Magnus said. "When I first arrived in town I stopped there and spoke to a young man who told me exactly where to find her," he said looking at Ava.
"That's what you say Mister DuPonte but I am here to tell you that what you're telling me is impossible. Look, the Gas and Go station was shut down after the owner shot himself."
Ava and Magnus exchanged looks; it was slowly starting to sink in.
"Detective, do you know the story of what happened?" She asked. The look on his face told her that he did.
"Oh no not this legend again," The rookie let out a mocking snicker. He'd heard all about the legend from the old timers down at the station.
His partner shot him a look that told him to respect his superiors. "Sorry sir," he said to his much older partner.
Echoes in the Bayou Page 28
