Page 10 of Where Are You Now
As Ava sipped her coffee, she flipped through a magazine she’d picked up at the airport shop, but all she could think about was her promise to find Lucas. In the hospital, shehadn’t even tried, apart from asking Dr. Watkins about him. Should she have been working harder since her life was at stake? Should she have asked her nurses or any other doctors passing by? The plane wouldn’t fall out of the sky because she hadn’t found him yet. Would it?
She peered around at the other passengers. The man across the aisle was dozing, a bright orange travel pillow circling his neck. Beside him a woman played a game on her phone. Ava’s mom was still asleep beside her. Surely their fate wouldn’t be decided by Ava’s inability to fulfill her promise.
She’d convinced herself of this, but every time they hit turbulence, Ava feared it was the end of her and everyone aboard. She’d never been so relieved when they touched down in Nashville.
In the BNA airport bathroom, under the white fluorescent lights, Ava took stock of her appearance. She’d been able to cover most of the bruises on her face with makeup, but the underlying blue of her injuries gave the liquid foundation a yellowish appearance. She took down her ponytail and fluffed her hair in an attempt to draw less attention to it.
By the time Ava got into her mother’s car, she was exhausted from making the journey with her injured body. She put the seat back and closed her eyes. Forty-five minutes later, they were on the outskirts of Marrowbone Lake. Ava sat up. The narrow lane wound its way through the countryside, Nashville far enough away now to feel nonexistent.
“Oh!” her mother said, braking gently as two deer appeared, clomping across the road, in front of the car.
The buck stopped midway and peered at them. It was as if the animal were looking straight into Ava’s eyes. The majestic moment took her breath away. As the deer darted across the street, the life Ava left in New York suddenly felt inconsequential. Those animals would munch on wild blackberries anddrink from the streams that snaked through the brush, completely unfazed by Ava’s ability to get a promotion at work.
“They’re used to us, and they come out during the day. I get excited every time I see one.” Martha nodded toward the buck that had lingered at the woods’ edge. “How beautiful are his antlers?”
The buck turned and made eye contact with Ava once more before disappearing into the brush.
They continued and came to a four-way stop at the town chapel, a clapboard box with a narrow steeple. Its bright white paint stood out against the fall foliage it was nestled in.
Ava motioned toward it. “Have you ever gone to church there?”
“I haven’t.”
“You used to take me to church growing up.”
“I know. I did go right after your dad died. But I went because I was hoping to know more about what happened to him after this lifetime, and I never got answers. So, eventually, I stopped going.”
Ava’s father’s death seemed to have affected her mother even more than Ava had realized. Had the loss impacted her mother’s faith? It seemed inconceivable.
Ava kept her gaze on the church as they passed, wondering if she would feel closer to the voice she’d heard if she went inside it. The longer she went with the echo of the voice within her, the more she was convinced that only God could have created the tranquil feeling she’d felt. She wanted to enter the church to ask God where he’d taken her and why she hadn’t been allowed into heaven. Would he have led the way to paradise had she opted to pass on? And what if she never found Lucas? How long did she have to make good on her agreement?
After a few more minutes, they arrived at the log cabin that sat under a canopy of fall foliage and got out of the car.
“You doing okay?” her mother asked as Ava paced carefully along the stone path.
“Yeah.” She gripped the wooden railing and took the three steps up to the front porch gingerly while her mom got their bags out of the car.
Ava stopped to rest, admiring the two rocking chairs positioned next to a pile of chopped firewood. She imagined sitting in one with her coffee and the view of nothing but nature. The air felt cleaner out here, and the smell of pine did something to calm her nervous system. Maybe it really would be okay to take a day or two to recharge.
Her mom lumped their suitcases onto the porch and unlocked the door. Ava stepped inside, the scents of old timber, lilac, and vanilla wafting toward her. She went to the back windows and leaned on the wide sill to admire the view. The entire cabin sat on the bank of the lake, its ground-level deck outstretched like a platform with no railings, so the view made it seem as if they were perched in the center of the water. Orange, brown, purple, and yellow leaves reflected off the sparkling surface. She could definitely see the draw of the place.
She’d been so busy with work that getting to the lake was difficult, so she’d limited her stays over the years to holiday family gatherings.
“How consistent is the Wi-Fi out here?” Ava asked, just as a fish jumped in the water.
When her mother didn’t answer, she turned around.
Her mom stood with her hands on her hips. “Does this look like the kind of place one should worry about Wi-Fi?”
Ava chewed at the edge of her cheek. “So just cellular LTE then?”
Martha rolled her eyes. “Let me make us some coffee.I got a new espresso machine.” Her mother gestured toward the large silver contraption on the counter. “I’ve always wanted one.”
Ava perked up. “I’m surprised. You never buy anything for yourself.”
“You know the quilted handbag I made? The one you liked?”
She turned around. “Yeah?”
