Page 79 of Substitute for Love

There. If he wanted to see her one last time, it was all in his hands now.

GABE: Emmett really loves your mom. I’m stopping by the school next week. Are you subbing?

AVERY: You know it.

When Avery got home, Mom was all smiles. Giddy.

“Check out this video of him!” Avery watched the recoding of Emmett following Mom’s commands, especially if she had a treat in her hand. Her laughter was infectious, but in between giggles, Avery was distracted but the guy standing behind Emmett in the videos. Gabe.

She’d have to get Mom to send her the video. Gabe squatted at Emmett’s level, rubbing his ears, then holding his face up to his dog’s. Avery’s heart fell for Gabe. He was leaving his best friend! And here she was worried about herself. At the very least, she could help keep Emmett safe while he was gone.

“How’s your foot, Patricia?” Gabe had asked in the video.

“Oh, it’s healing better this time around. Doctors say I should go for short walks.” Emmett’s ears perked up at the last word. “Oh, you like walks, Emmett?”

The dog wagged his tail and came up to Mom, who pet him and giggled. Behind Emmett, Gabe stood and put his hands on his hips.

Dang, he was fine. His messy curls, his goofy grin, his big blue eyes.

Emmett was a perfect fit, Mom kept saying. Over dinner, she couldn’t stop talking about how great his dog was. But then Mom must have sensed Avery’s disappointment.

“It’s too bad Gabe is leaving. You two seemed like such good friends. What happened?”

Avery shoved the food on her plate around with her fork. She didn’t have a good answer. “Bad timing, I think.”

Gabe and Mom had exchanged phone numbers and the date of final drop off was set: Thursday night. Five days from now. Gabe’s flight was early Friday morning, only six days away.

Wednesday September 9, 3:00 PM

Avery signed up to sub on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, wondering each day if it was the day Gabe would come in to say goodbye. Doreen shook her head practically every time Avery passed the front office.

The bell rang at the end of the school day on Wednesday. Avery robotically tidied the room, turned out the lights and locked the door. The halls were mostly empty, only a few students in the halls. Avery was looking down at her phone while she walked, the sub binder in her other hand.

As she rounded the corner to the front office, Doreen’s laugh echoed. A tall figure was leaning on the front desk. Gabe’s dark brown mop of hair bounced as he said something to her.

Avery’s heart skipped a beat, like it had when she first met him and they exchanged sub binders, like the one in her hand now. She walked up next to Gabe, holding the binder out for Doreen to grab.

“Thanks, dear. Look who finally decided to stop by!”

Gabe turned toward her, his blue eyes and smile taking her breath away. She had missed him so much. If only she could tell him to stay, but without stopping him from following his dream.

“Avery. Hi.” His voice melted her. She fought the urge to hug him, kiss him, tousle his hair. If only she had realized sooner how much she loved him. Let herself feel it and express it. Was she too late? Should she tell him?

“I saved all these muffins for you since I wasn’t sure when you were coming in.” Doreen handed Gabe a plate with five muffins covered in plastic wrap. Avery noticed her eyes kept switching between the two of them.

Doreen cleared her throat. “So, you’re flying out what day again, dear?”

She sounded rehearsed. What was Doreen up to?

Gabe turned back to Doreen. “I texted you the flight information. Didn’t you get it?”

“Oh yeah. I suppose I didn’t look at it close enough.” Doreen pulled out her phone. “Wait a second, Friday? Why did I think it was Saturday?”

Avery knew what Doreen was doing. But she was okay with it. Grateful, actually.

“So sorry, dear, but I can’t take you Friday, even though it’s before school starts. I have to, uh, come in here earlier than normal.”

Doreen was lying through her teeth, but since it was for a good cause, she was sure Doreen would be forgiven. How long had she been trying to encourage their relationship? And how long had Avery resisted?

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