Page 59 of Inheritance With a Catch

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va glanced at herself in the mirror again. The dark blue shirt she was wearing had the words ‘GIVE THEM A CHANCE’ stamped across it, with a logo made up of two hands in a firm grip. It was a big day for her and the shelters in her church’s district. They had pulled together a neighborhood fundraiser at a local partner shelter and hoped to get enough money together to fix the church’s roof—little more than a band-aid on all the serious work that needed to be done, but better than nothing.

I should be optimistic, yeah,she told herself, staring into the mirror as she got ready.

Her relationship with Benjamin had changed from enemies to almost friends; if it weren’t for Lucy, this would be a walk in the park culminating in a nice retirement for her father. But that woman could not be trusted, constantly lurking around, analyzing every breath Ava took, her mind working full steam on how to get rid of her.

She almost considered talking to Lucy, just asking her nicely to leave Ben and her be until the agreement would be fulfilled in two months. But then, this was Lucy she was talking about here. This woman would probably still stalk her, even after everything was done and over with. That is how much she seemed to hate her.

Sometimes, Ava wondered if it was still about the money or if Lucy had taken all her past anger and frustration and focused it on a new target—Ava.

But then, as bad as things stood with Lucy, things were also improving drastically in other ways—Benjamin was funny and charming, and Uncle Barney’s presence over the past month had been a breeze of fresh air.

It was easier coming home in the evenings, and although the mandatory dinners still had their fair share of awkward silences here and there, even those moments had a certain feeling of comfort, as if she and Benjamin could laugh together but just sit in together in silence.

What thrilled her most was how no one seemed to pay any attention to Lucy’s sour attitude.

Looking at herself in the mirror once more, Ave recalled an incident from last week and it cracked her up. She chuckled and slipped into a dark blue pair of sneakers.

It had been on one of those mornings Lucy was irritable. That morning she’d gone on and on about Ava’s Converse sneakers, which she’d left out in the grand entrance way.

“I mean,” she bawled, “there are places for stuff like that… like the bin or the trash!”

Then Barney walked into the kitchen and did what Barney does. He instantly took the conversation over. “Come on, sis,” he said with a grin, “that’s not so bad.”

Lucy looked at him with a blank face. “Not so bad?”

“Yeah. We all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. Not even Lucy Radcliff. Remember the Amusement park?”

Lucy freaked. “Stop it!”

Ava looked at Barney. “What are you talking about?” She ignored Lucy’s scowl, eagerly awaiting the story from Barney.

“No one wants to hear that,” Lucy snapped.

“I do,” Ava countered.

Before Lucy could say another word, Barney had already drawn in a deep breath, pouring out the story. “Happened a long time ago, when we were kids,” he pulled out a chair.

“Barney stop now please…”

“We were off to an amusement park, woo, fun! I remember Dad asking us to, you know, go potty and stuff before leaving.”

Lucy buried her face in her hands, her cheeks growing red. “Please don’t.”

“Lucy here had a notorious bladder, so Dad made sure to tell her more than once.” Barney looked at his sister. “She said she’d already gone and off to park we went, except she didn’t actually go and so by the time we got there, standing in a line full of hundreds of people, little Lucy here started dancing and wincing. Of course, she didn’t say anything, and before our parents realized what was happening…the floodgates opened.”

Ava giggled. “WHAT?”

“Yeah, she wet herself right in front of everyone.”

“No, she didn’t!”

“Stop it, Barney!” Lucy wailed.

“Ran down her legs like a river. I have never seen so much pee before.”

Lucy grunted and angrily waved her finger at Barney.

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