Page 102 of Left Behind

A few minutes later, Ava was sitting up at the table, waiting and watching, and when everyone sat down with their bowl of chicken and dumplings, Ava watched them, then picked up her spoon and took a bite.

“I like this!” she said, and ate her way down to the bottom of the bowl. By the time they got down to eating gooey chocolate brownies, she’d forgotten about tornadoes.

***

The rain let up before dark, but Wiley and his girls were already home. Ava was playing in bubbles in her bathtub. Wiley was across the hall folding a load of towels, and Linette was in the shower. He was close enough he could still hear Ava’s chatter. The curtains were drawn, and the shades pulled down. One more day together, and then they’d have a new routine. He hoped she was better prepared for it than he was.

Tomorrow was all about Wiley going back to work. He’d already called in to the precinct to make sure they had him on the roster, and Dani had checked in to remind Wiley to pack a little bag for Ava so she’d have a change of clothes and whatever else he thought she might want while she was at their house.

Ava was excited. She was talking about bird feeders and learning how to feed birds, and playing with Dani, so Wiley rode the wave of her excitement with her. He kept reminding himself that Ava was used to being moved from place to place. And she had come to trust him enough to know that if he said he would pick her up after work and they’d go home, she believed him.

Dani told him not to worry about feeding her breakfast before he brought her over. She could eat there. Dani was excited. Ava was excited. Wiley was resigned to their reality.

***

The next morning was a whirlwind of hustling, and the first thing was getting Ava awake and dressed. He woke her with a pat on the shoulder while Linette was in the kitchen making coffee.

“Wake up, baby girl. Today you go to Dani’s house and I go back to work, remember?”

Ava unrolled herself from the covers like a hatchling coming out of an egg. First one leg and arm, then another arm, and then her other leg before sitting up on the side of the bed.

“I get to feed birds,” she mumbled.

He tousled her curls. “Yes, you do.”

“What do you do at work, Bubba?” Ava asked.

“Oh…all kinds of things, but mostly just making sure people follow rules, like don’t drive too fast. And don’t take things that don’t belong to you, and helping people who get hurt. Now hustle. Brush your hair and teeth and get dressed. You’re having breakfast with Dani.”

“Yay!” Ava said, and headed for the bathroom.

Wiley laid out clothes for her to put on, and got a kiss in passing from Linette, who was on the way into the bedroom to get dressed.

“Dani’s making Ava’s breakfast, and I’ll grab something at the precinct before briefing. Don’t try to cook for either of us. It will make you late,” he said.

Linette wrapped her arms around his neck. “Okay, but I will definitely need hugs before I leave.”

He lowered his head and kissed her until she forgot to breathe, then cupped her backside and pulled her close enough to feel what she was doing to him.

“Thank you for the reminder, and hold that thought,” Linette whispered, and went to make sure Ava was getting dressed.

The next time Wiley came out of his bedroom, he was wearing his uniform and his gun and carrying his hat, and Linette was across the hall, talking to Ava and helping her make her bed. He poured himself a coffee to go, then went to check on both of them.

“You’re going to have such a good day,” Linette said. “You’ll have to tell me all about it this evening, okay?”

Ava eyed her closely. “I will save my memories for you.”

Linette hugged her. “That might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever promised me. Thank you, baby. I need a goodbye hug now. I have to hurry so I won’t be late.”

Ava wrapped her arms around Linette’s neck, giggled when Linette kissed the side of her cheek, then patted the bow Linette had clipped in her hair today to make sure it was still in place as Linette left the house.

Ava was putting on her backpack and tucking Pinky under her arm when Wiley appeared in the doorway. Startled by his gun and uniform, she stopped, suddenly remembering this was how he looked when she first saw him.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“You look like before.”

“Before?” And then he got it. “Oh. You mean when we first saw each other? Well, I’m supposed to look like this when I go to work,” Wiley said. “You know policemen wear uniforms, right? This is how people know who we are.”

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