Page 58 of Ava
“Really, he actually smashed the light out and gave you a ticket for it?”
“He did, Justin and I just came from court for the ticket, but the judge threw it out.” She looked at Morgan with wide eyes. “Oops, I might have pissed Tanner off when we left.”
“How?” Morgan demanded.
“When he asked me how much my fine was, I told him it was thrown out. He was pissed, and demanded to know why. I made sure the truck was running, and in gear when I called out it was because of shoddy police work. He didn’t like my answer.”
“But, it was a good one,” Morgan laughed. “You know I don’t have to tell you to be careful.”
“That’s a given,” Ava said, and looked up when Justin entered with a plate with two steaks on them. He wasn’t alone, an older man followed him in. Dolly hurried around getting plates and silverware, and Justin put the steaks on the table. Before they took some of the salads, he brought the man over and introduced the man.
“Ava, this is my father, Chad Stuart. Dad, this is Ava.”
“Hello,” the man said, and stuck out his hand. Ava shook it and greeted him. In no time they had potato, macaroni, and coleslaw on their plates. Sitting at the table, they dug into their meal. At one point, Justin jumped up and went to get them both a can of soda. He didn’t see the looks Dottie threw her daughter, but Ava did. She’d have to wait and talk to Morgan later about it.
Ava dug into her dinner, and closed her eyes several times as she ate the perfectly cooked steak. “Did you cook this?”
“No, Dad did, but I do know how to cook.”
“I know, I’ve tasted your breakfasts, remember?” They shared a smile and continued to eat. When Ava finished as much as she could, she pushed her plate away, then leaned back with a heavy sigh, resting her hands over her stomach. “That hit the spot, and it was delicious. Are these from the steaks that will be served tomorrow?”
“I think so,” Justin answered as he finished up his own meal. He watched as a beautiful smile spread across Ava’s face. He had to suck in his breath at her beauty. “What?”
“Since I had the steak tonight, then that means I can eat the pork tomorrow.” They shared a laugh, and when they were both done, Justin picked up their plates, and disposed of the bones, then washed the dishes by hand. Because there was a sink full of the stuff from the women cooking, he washed them up too.
At one point, Dottie gave him the stink eye, only to demand, “Who are you, and what have you done with my son?”
“Huh?” Justin turned to ask, and Ava noted Morgan covered her snickers, and grin.
She turned to Ava, who stood next to her, and whispered, “In the past, all my brothers would demand the women they dated to wait on them. Their words were along the lines of get this, do that. I have never seen any one of them wait on a woman.”
“Oh,” Ava said, then frowned as Justin’s parents continued to stare at him. He only shrugged, and turned back to what he had been doing. Dottie’s next actions surprised the hell out of Ava.
The older woman, cleaned her hands, came over to her, took her shoulders in her hands, then pulled her forward and gave her a huge hug. In her ear, she whispered. “Thank you.” Then, she kissed Ava’s cheek, and went back to work.
Ava didn’t know what to make of it, so she remained silent.
The women continued to make the salad, and baked beans, and it seemed like every time Ava turned around, at least four new pies were being pulled from the oven. It was controlled chaos, and she loved being in the middle of it. Justin didn’t stay inside with them, he went back out with the cookers, but before he left, he’d pulled her away and kissed her. Right there in front of everyone.
As the hours passed, it seemed like all of the men, even Wilson, would come and go for some reason or another. Around eleven that night, Ava felt her body waning, and she wanted to go over to the house to get some sleep, but she didn’t know who to ask for a ride. Her bike was already over at the garage, and she didn’t want to take anyone else’s vehicle to leave them stranded. She looked around, and by this time, most of the cooking, or at least the salads were done. They had packed them in the refrigerator and coolers. Ava had never seen so many coolers in her life. At one point she thought she’d counted thirty, but if six hundred people were supposed to be there the next day to eat, then they’d need them.
“What time does this BBQ begin?” Dottie asked at one point.
“Noon. People will be coming and going all day. Some come in the afternoon before their night-time chores, others come later at night, after their chores. It depends if they have anything to do during the day.” Dolly told her. “With the J’s and A’s helping Wilson with the meat, most of the hands from here will be out in the fields mowing, and raking the hay. They’ll go back out and bail it up on Sunday. If they did it tomorrow and brought it to the barn, they’d be in the way, but there’s no reason why they can’t rake what’s already cut, and mow several more fields.”
“Ah, so if I got up early, there would be plenty of time to make more cookies? If it’s alright with Morgan, I’d like to use the kitchen in the new house.”
“It’s not up to me.” Morgan pointed to Ava. “Ava’s the permanent resident there.”
Ava shook herself out of her stupor and looked around. “I don’t mind. You’ll have to talk to Aunt Peggy, to see if there’s enough supplies for what you’ll need.”
“I already did, and when I got here, she and I made a run to the store. What wasn’t perishable is stacked on the counters, and I have to ask, Morgan, or Ava, who made those fabulous kitchen cabinets?”
The younger women looked at each other with a grin, and said, “Alan.”
“What about me?” the man just mentioned asked as he and Justin walked in the back door.
“Mom just asked who made the kitchen cabinets. We told her it was you.”
