Ava

James is curled around me, kissing my hair softly. We’re in the king size bed in the master bedroom. We didn’t ever get to dinner, even though that’s what he promised me. Instead we sort of skipped right to desert, if you know what I mean. I’m so glad he picked this place for us. I was having fun sneaking around, but there were more than a few close calls. And I like relaxing like this, naked, open, with James. It feels... intimate. Something that we hadn’t had when we had sex before.

I turn around and wiggle closer to him so I can watch the rise and fall of his breath. I wish I could stay here forever, enveloped in his strong arms, protected and safe, forever. My heart flutters with something more than attraction for this man. It’s love, and it’s stronger than any other emotion I’ve ever felt before. I lift my head to kiss him, laughing as his stubble tickles my chin. I’ve wanted this moment for so long. I never want to be anywhere else.

“I think you should move in with me,” James says, just as I’m about to drift off to sleep.

“Move in with you?” I ask.

“Yes. That’s what couples do. They move in together,” he says. He props his head up on his arm.

“Are we... we’re a couple?”

He leans in, locking his eyes with mine.

“Ava, I have never felt the way I feel about you with anyone else. It’s not just a temporary thing for me. I’ve tried to date, but I always compare them to you, and every woman falls short. I’m older now. I want something steady. I want children one day. I love you Ava, and this love isn’t going to go away. It’s never going to change.”

Happiness bubbles up from somewhere deep inside of me.

“I love you too,” I say softly. “But my parents...”

“Don’t worry about your parents,” he says with confidence I don’t feel. “Just think about us right now. I want to be with you. The question is: do you?”

I bite my lip. I do, more than anything else in the world. Even if I lose everything else, I know I’ll be okay if I have James.

“I do,” I say softly to him. “But what am I going to do if I can’t be a part of the B and B anymore?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” he says, sitting up a little bit. “And I have an idea. I think you and I should go into business together.”

I stare at him. Is he serious? What on earth could I help him with? I don’t have anything more than a high school education. And James, the business he owns is huge and complicated. I wait for him to go on, but he asks me a completely unrelated question instead.

“Tell me Ava, what do you want to do?”

My eyes drop down onto the bedspread. There’s a thread there, and I pick at it. I hate this question, more than anything in the world. I don’t understand why everyone I know seems to think that I should know when I’m only twenty years old.

“If you could do anything you want,” he encourages.

“I just want to stay at the B and B,” I say in a small voice. “My mom thinks it’s a waste of my potential, but I think that’s overrated.”

“And what is it about the place you enjoy so much?”

This I have to think about. I know that my mom loves the B and B because she can meet all sorts of people, and my dad likes it because he likes making my mom happy. But me?

“I like the history of the place. I like that we’re preserving it for the future. Restoring the place, scouting out furniture pieces, learning all about its history, all that sort of stuff.”

James nods, like he expect my answer. He takes a hold of my hand.

“I think you’re great at it. And that’s what I want to do with you. There are tons of homes in New England, old homes that people want to renovate and restore. You could be the designer, learn all about the place, its history, what sort of things we should do to restore it properly without destroying the character of the home. I’ll take care of the business side of things, arrange for the crews to come and do the work, find the craftsmen and artisans if you want special pieces made, that sort of thing.”

My eyes widen as I take in what he says. At first, I want to say no, I couldn’t do that, but the more I think about it, the more it sounds like the perfect job for me. I didn’t love the job of managing a hotel. No, what I loved was being in all that history. And if I could do what I did for Selkirk House, preserving all the old houses, learning about it, well, I think I wouldn’t mind leaving the B and B after all.

“Are you sure though? I mean, I don’t have any experience with that sort of thing.”

“I’m sure. You’ve done a great job with Selkirk House already. I hear it from the guests all the time. And you don’t need that much experience. You have a good eye and a natural talent. And most of all, I think you have passion, and that’s what you need for this sort of work.”

“Then yes,” I say with glee, throwing my arms around James’ neck. “I do want to do this with you, more than anything in the world.”

“Good. Now how about some of that dinner I promised?”

“Yes please!”

We get out of bed, and because my dress is down in the kitchen, I pull on one of James’ shirts. It’s a soft flannel, and it smells like him. It’s like wearing a hug. He pulls on his boxers and jeans, and together we head down the hallway back into the kitchen. James pulls out the chicken and puts on a pot of water. I walk around the cabin. There’s a cozy family room opposite the kitchen, with a big TV and a huge sectional couch. A bunch of books line the shelves around the TV, including some kid books, battered by many little hands.

This is a family cabin, I realize. And suddenly I’m thinking, is it possible? Could I have a family with James? My hand holds onto my belly. We didn’t use protection this time, but it didn’t seem like James cared at all. If anything, it made him excited to finish in me. If I got pregnant, the whole world would know I was his for sure.

Suddenly there’s a knock at the door.

We look at each other.

“Did you-”

“Is there-”

We both stop. Neither of us would have told anyone. What’s going on?

“Maybe it’s the landlord,” he says.

James strides through the doorway into the living room, but I hang behind so that I can’t be seen. He unlocks the door and opens it, and I gasp.

Dad!?

“Where’s my daughter?” My father demands. He pushes past James, who looks shocked. “AVA!”

I know there’s no use in hiding, but I have to close my eyes and take a deep breath before I step forward. My mother’s hovering on the threshold. Why is she here too?

“I’m here,” I say, my cheeks burning with shame. This wasn’t how I wanted things to come out. 

My dad takes one look at me in the flannel shirt and puts two and two together. I can see his face turning red with rage, and my mother rushes forward to put a hand on him.

“You bastard!” he roars, and to my surprise, he punches James. Luckily, James’ reflexes are much faster, and he holds up a hand and stops my father’s fist. My mom screams.

“Dad, what are you doing?!”

“What am I doing? I’m killing this son of a bitch that came under my roof and, and ruined my little girl.”

James has remained remarkably calm. Maybe he doesn’t realize that my dad isn’t joking.

“That’s not true dad. Listen to me,” I plead. “It didn’t happen like that at all. I wanted to be with James.”

He looks at me in disbelief, as if I’m speaking gibberish.

“She’s right,” James says. “We’re two consenting adults, and I didn’t force her. I know you don’t like it, but you have to know, I love Ava. This isn’t a fleeting thing for me.”

My dad’s face gets even redder at the words, and he breaks out of my mom’s grasp to get right in James’ face.

“I don’t believe you,” he snarls.

I run forward, putting myself between the two of them, which is no easy feat, considering how powerful and big James is.

“Dad, listen to me. James is right. I’m here because I want to. I love him dad. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. I just, I just didn’t want things to be ruined.”

I can see my words are slowly sinking into his brain. He’s still fuming, but he isn’t lunging at James anymore, so I relax a little. James comes up to me, putting his arm around me, which gets my dad going again, but he manages to hold back.

“This, this is what you want Ava?” he says.

“It is,” I say, putting everything I have into the two words so he knows I mean it.

He glares at James, then turns away and heads through the door. I turn to my mom.

“Do you think dad will forgive me?” I ask.

“He will Ava. He loves you,” she says. Turning to James, she adds, “I’m not so sure about you.”

“How’d you find us anyway?”

“Norman Laird, from church, owns the cottage,” she says. “He saw our car parked outside and saw you going in. Since he rented it to an older fellow, he thought that he should let us know. I better go with your dad now.”

She turns to the door, but then stops and pulls me close to her in a hug.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” she whispers.

“Yes, more than anything,” I reply.

She looks at me for a moment, and then nods. I watch her as she leaves and walks to the truck. My dad turns on the engine and backs up without looking at me. After a minute, they’re gone. James closes the door quietly.

“Well, that’s one way to get things out in the open,” he says wryly.

“I don’t think you really helped there, holding onto me like that,” I say. “Do you think dad will come around?”

“Oh sure. He’s more pissed about the fact that he had to find out from some nosy fellow more than anything. I’ll go talk to him tomorrow, and we’ll sort things out, I promise.”

Even though I’m still not sure at how things are, there’s no point in trying to chase after my parents tonight. They’re upset, and they had every right to be. Maybe tomorrow, when tempers have cooled, things will seem better. For now though, our secret is out, and James and I are together at last.