Page 82 of Where Are You Now
Ava went inside and grabbed the box of tissues. She brought them out and handed one to Dorothy. The old woman accepted and dabbed her eyes.
“Y’all are such a blessing.” She cleared her throat. “You know, I go to church and put on a brave face, but what no one knows is that the only time I feel alive is when I’m there. The rest of my weeks are dark and empty. Henry and I never had children, and I don’t have any more family.” Her lip wobbled. “Today at church, when it was our turn to pray, I asked God to either take me tonight or send me a miracle, because I couldn’t live alone anymore. I’d been strong through the years, but I’d used up the last of my energy.”
“God has more for you to do,” Ava said. Because that’s exactly why he hadn’t taken her.You’re not finished yet.
Just when she’d thought she’d done all she was sent back to finish, Ava found yet another miracle happening with Dorothy. She hadn’t seen that coming. God was full of surprises. Did he have any more up his sleeve? She started to think that as long as she was alive, she’d never be finished because everyone she came in contact with could benefit in some way from their interaction.
Martha whippedthem up a simple chicken noodle soup with a buttery grilled cheese, which they ate in the kitchen. After lunch, Lucas helped Dorothy into her chair when they all went back out on the deck.
“You remind me so much of Henry when he was a young man,” Dorothy said, setting her cane against the side of the chair. “Put a military uniform on you and, from a distance, I’d swear you were him. That was what drew my eye to you that first time you came to church. You make me feel as though my Henry’s near.”
“I lost my husband too,” Martha said. “And having Ava home does the same thing for me.”
“While this life can be difficult,” Dorothy said, “it’s moments like these that make it all worthwhile.”
“I think so too,” Ava agreed. “This has been the best last day.” She told Dorothy about her accident and how much she’d changed afterward. “I leave tomorrow to go home to New York, though.”
“What do you want to do on your last evening?” Lucas asked.
“You know what I’d like to do?” she said. “Since his favorite people are all together. I’d like to fish. For Dad.”
“I’m always up for fishing,” Lucas said. He strode over to the side of the house where the poles and tackle box still sat and brought them to the edge of the deck.
“Henry adored fishing,” Dorothy said as Lucas opened the tackle box and fished around for bait. “I used to sit on the boat and watch him for hours.”
“You had a boat?” Ava asked.
“We did. But that was many years ago.”
“I’ll get us all some hot cocoa,” Martha said.
Ava went over to the tackle box and ran a finger through her dad’s lures, settling on a spinnerbait. She tied it to the line and took her fishing pole over to Lucas, standing next tohim. The two of them worked on their rods, getting them ready to cast.
A few minutes later, Martha came back out and set two mugs on the side of the firepit near Ava and Lucas; then she went back in to get the other two drinks. She returned and settled in next to Dorothy, handing her one. They got lost in small talk, and her mother made Dorothy laugh.
Lucas held up his rod. “Who’s casting first?”
“Let’s do it at the same time,” Ava suggested.
This felt like a full-circle moment. The act wasn’t about catching a fish, but rather honoring the kids they’d been with the adults they were now.
“To Dad,” she said. “Wish you were here.”
The two of them cast their rods off the deck in opposite directions. Ava didn’t have lake access in New York, so she’d definitely be coming back home more often. As Ava reeled and recast, she promised herself not to forget the serenity of this moment with Lucas, her mom, and their new friend, Dorothy. This was what life was all about.
After a few minutes, her line hung up on something. Ava reeled in, keeping the tension onthe rod as she pulled to get it loose, making her wish she could move her body the way she used to before the accident. Exercise had been her go-to during all her free time in New York and now she was barely able to reel in a fish.
“I’m hung up on a branch,” she said to Lucas.
He reeled in and set down his rod, coming over to assist her.
She wiggled the rod to jostle the hook from whatever it was hung up on. “It’s stuck pretty badly. We might have to cut the line.”
“Nah, we can get it free.” He put his arms around her and helped her reel, taking her breath away.
“The line’s gonna break.”
“We’ll get it. I’d hate to lose your father’s bait.”
