Shannon followed her, taking in the other woman’s tailored pants and silk blouse. Her shoes were probably designer, her jewelry understated but substantial. Shannon was aware of her on-sale black pants and slightly oversize, thrifted blouse that had a small tear by one of the buttons. She’d only noticed after she’d gotten to the office and had decided it didn’t really matter. Only, next to Ava, she felt badly dressed and embarrassed.
They reached what she assumed must be the sun room. There were glass walls on three sides with huge windows. The ceiling was high, the doorways wide. Outside was a gorgeous formalEnglish garden with box hedges and climbing roses. She also saw lavender, foxgloves and daisies.
A round table stood by the windows and was set for two. There were plates, glasses and teacups on saucers, and a green salad at each place setting with a large charcuterie platter in the center. Shannon stared at the dainty, cut-up sandwiches, the berries and what seemed to be four or five kinds of scones and petits fours.
“My mom and I make charcuterie boards,” she said, happy to see something so familiar on the table. “We always have. When I was young, they were her way of getting rid of leftovers. It’s kind of our thing.”
Ava motioned for her to take a seat, then settled across from her. “I believe I’m the one who taught her about them,” she said, offering tea, then pouring when Shannon nodded. “When she came over, we would put them together and hang out.”
She looked at Shannon and smiled. “I started making them when I was quite young. My father was a nibbler. They were a way to get him to eat.”
Shannon tried to make sense of the information. It was difficult to comprehend that something she’d always thought of as her and her mom’s special thing had, in fact, come from Ava. Growing up, none of the other moms had made charcuterie boards. It had only been Cindy. And, apparently, Ava.
“I didn’t know,” she murmured, wondering what else Ava and Cindy had in common. Aside from her.
“Your house is lovely. Have you lived here long?”
“Milton and I bought it shortly after we were married. We talked about keeping the house I’d grown up in but decided we’d rather get something we could make our own.” She smiled. “Memories are important, and we wanted to make them ours.”
“How nice.”
Shannon thought about how large the house was and how expensive the neighborhood. How had Milton and Ava beenable to afford such a grand place when they were still relatively young? She remembered hearing Ava came from money, but even twenty-five years ago this place would have been several million dollars.
“The only problem with the house is that it’s time to do some remodeling.” Ava wrinkled her nose. “Not my favorite thing to deal with. The kitchen is the most pressing of the projects. I’ve hired a designer and have her options. I just have to decide.” She sighed. “There are just so many choices. Cabinets, placement, flooring, countertops.” She waved her hand. “Do you know how many door-pull options there are? Literally hundreds. I’m overwhelmed, so I keep putting off making a decision.”
“I get it,” Shannon told her. “When my mom went to work for Luis and Gina, one of her jobs was staging the smaller houses. It was cheaper for the seller to have us do it in-house rather than hire a professional. She would walk around to get ideas, then figure out what to take out and what to add. I remember begging her not to take so long picking out throw pillows, but she wouldn’t listen. Oh.” She stared at the other woman. “You should talk to my mom. I mean if it isn’t too awkward. She knows about remodels and how to make a space classic yet contemporary. In the last few years, Luis has started flipping houses. They’re all very upscale. My mom works with the designers and makes the final decisions on all the finishes.” Shannon paused. “Unless you think talking to her about your kitchen would be too strange.”
Ava offered her a kind smile. “Thank you for suggesting that. I’d like to have someone to brainstorm with. I know it’s just a kitchen and I should manage, but I don’t seem to be making any progress at all.”
Shannon wasn’t sure if that meant Ava would reach out to her mom or not, and considering how Cindy had reacted after their last meeting, maybe it was better if she didn’t.
Ava moved the platter close to Shannon. “Please,” she said. “Help yourself. The sandwiches are homemade, but the sconesand petits fours come from a wonderful bakery not far from here. They’re some of my favorites.”
“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
Ava waved away the comment. “I didn’t. What we don’t eat I’ll take to work later.”
Shannon took a couple of the small sandwiches and some berries. “I’m not sure what you do,” she admitted. “Mom said something about a foundation, but I don’t know what that means.”
“I run a private foundation. To keep our tax-exempt status, we’re required to give away a certain amount every year.” She smiled. “So my job is to work with a team to figure out where the money should go. We focus on helping teenagers in need by granting money to organizations who already have the infrastructure and experience to do the work. Rather than reinventing the wheel, so to speak, we provide the funds to keep the wheel running.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Shannon said. “You spend your day making people’s lives better.”
“I’m very fortunate. I love what I do. While our mission statement is about teenagers, I also give a bit to animal causes because I simply can’t help myself.”
Shannon had a feeling that Ava’s version ofa bitwasn’t like the forty dollars she’d sent to a local animal shelter last Christmas.
“Milton mentioned he’s a studio executive,” she said. “I have no idea what he does in a day either.”
Ava laughed. “I can tell you he’s not involved in the day-to-day moviemaking. It helps if you think of a studio as any large corporation. There are different departments responsible for the various parts of any business. But instead of, say, building cars, they’re making movies. Milton is in upper management, so in a way, everything is on his shoulders.”
Despite the relatively mundane topic, there was so much love in Ava’s voice. Shannon had noticed it the night of the dinner. While Milton had been speaking, Ava’s attention had been completely fixed on him. Her gaze had followed him. Cindy was like that with Luis, of course, but their relationship was so much newer. At least the romantic part of it. She liked knowing there were couples like Ava and Milton in the world. She wanted her relationship with Aaron to be like that. Steady and long-lasting.
“How old were you when you met?” Shannon asked.
“About your age. I’d finished getting my MBA and was working with a lawyer to set up the foundation. My normal social circle was charity events as I was trying to learn all I could about philanthropy, but a girlfriend insisted I go with her to aHollywoodparty.” Ava used her fingers to make air quotes, then smiled.
“I couldn’t have been less interested in that sort of thing. I must admit back then, I was very serious about what I wanted to do and didn’t take much time to play. I was feeling very smug about myself as I watched my friend flirt with a famous movie star. I would never do anything so foolish.”
