Page 57 of Left Behind

“I’ll be in the one right next to you,” Linette said. “When you finish, just wait for me and we’ll wash up together, okay?”

“Okay,” Ava said, then went inside and pushed the door shut but didn’t lock it.

Linette hurried and was waiting when Ava emerged from the stall. “Oh…forgot to flush,” Ava said.

“It’s okay, honey. They automatically flush themselves,” Linette said.

“Really?” Ava asked.

Linette smiled. “Yes, really. Let’s get washed. We don’t want to keep Wiley waiting.”

“Bubba will wait. He’s gonna take good care of me.”

“Your Bubba is a really good man,” Linette said, and turned on the water for Ava to wash.

She thrust her little hands beneath the water and started talking. “Corina didn’t want me. Bubba does. I have four brothers now, and a bed and a pillow. Bubba bought me clothes today and a dolly. I never had a dolly before. I have to pick a name.”

The matter-of-fact tone in the child’s voice was as horrifying as what she’d just said, and Linette couldn’t begin to imagine what hell this child had been through. Her hands were shaking as she handed Ava a handful of paper towels to dry off.

“I’ll bet you pick the best name for your dolly ever,” Linette said, and then opened the door.

Wiley was standing in the hall. They locked gazes. Linette handed Ava over without a word, then put her hand in the middle of Wiley’s chest.

“You rock, and so does she,” she whispered, then brushed the hair away from Ava’s eyes and walked away.

Wiley felt like he’d just been struck by lightning. Thank you, God, that Linnie didn’t balk on us. Then Ava reached for his hand and pulled him back to earth. They went back to their table and settled in, and a few minutes later, their food arrived. He wished Linette was sitting with them, helping him through this transition, but one thing at a time. Nothing mattered today but Ava, so he put a tiny bite of his meat loaf on her plate and a spoonful of mashed potatoes and gravy, while Ava watched in silence.

“Those are little bites so you can taste my stuff and see if you like any of it,” he said.

Ava nodded, then immediately put a chicken nugget and three french fries from her plate onto his.

“And you can taste mine,” she said.

“Thank you, baby. We’re sharing, right?”

She almost smiled. “Yes,” she said, and as soon as he popped a french fry in his mouth and rolled his eyes at how good it was, she picked one up from her plate and took a nibble. Then another, and another until the whole french fry was gone.

“That’s good,” she said. “I like them when they’re not cold.”

“Right,” Wiley said, and took a bite of his meat loaf and rolled his eyes again. “Mmm, good stuff,” he said.

Ava scooped up her bite of meat loaf with a spoon and cautiously slipped it in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

“So?” Wiley asked.

“I like it!” she said, and ate the mashed potatoes and gravy next. “And this, too,” she said.

“Awesome. You can taste a green bean, too, if you want,” he said, and pushed his plate close so she could fork one, then watched the expression on her face change from distrust to delight.

“You choose good stuff!” Ava said, and took a bite of a chicken nugget.

“Do you like to dip your chicken in a sauce?” he asked.

“I don’t know? What’s a sauce?”

“My gravy is a sauce.” He spooned a little on her plate, then opened a honey packet on the table and squirted a tiny bit on her plate. “Swipe your next bite of chicken through one of those before you eat it, and then tell me what you think.”

Ava didn’t hesitate. She was used to doing what she was told and completely unaware she had choices in the world. She tried the gravy first and gave him a thumbs-up, then swiped the last bite of nugget through the honey.

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