Just then her phone buzzed.
“Oh, the pizza’s here. Perfect timing. What do you want to drink? I have water and diet soda. And coffee.”
“Did I hurt your feelings?” Shannon asked as she started loading the stapled flyers back into boxes.
“Never,” Victoria told her with a laugh. “We’re good. Please don’t sweat it.”
“Okay, thanks. Because I wasn’t trying to, you know.”
“I do know, and we’re good.”
Which they were. Words couldn’t touch her. She was too strong for that. She always had been.
18
Ava was surprised when Cindy called and suggested they meet for coffee. Her first thought was to wonder if Milton would approve, but then she reminded herself that Cindy hadn’t been the problem at all. It had been Ava herself who had behaved thoughtlessly by sharing too much with Shannon and hurting Victoria. She hadn’t meant to injure their daughter—that had been the by-product of her needing to connect with Shannon, to let the young woman know how much she’d been wanted. And while Ava still wanted to make sure Shannon knew, she also understood the price of that was too high. She’d been wrong and had behaved badly. She was determined it wouldn’t happen again.
She pulled into the parking space. It was only when she picked up her bag and started to leave the car that she felt a whisper of guilt and uncertainty. When she and Shannon had met, Cindy’s daughter had confessed she was secretly engaged. What if she was still keeping the information from her mother? Ava could argue both sides. Cindy deserved to know her only daughter was planning on getting married, while Shannon would have her reasons for not sharing the information. The news was hers to tell, not Ava’s. She didn’t want to be in the middle but couldn’t decide which was the best action, which usually meant keeping quiet offered the least uncomfortable choice.
“Life is complicated,” she murmured to herself as she got out of the car and walked toward the coffee place.
As it was midmorning, only a handful of customers sat at tables, and the line for service was a mere three people long. She glanced around and saw that Cindy hadn’t arrived yet. Should she get her drink and find a table, or wait? Before she needed to decide, the front door opened and Cindy stepped inside. Their eyes met.
Ava felt an unexpected rush of emotion. Regret, of course, but also longing for what had been, and a wave of missing the friendship that had been so important to her. She instinctively took a step toward Cindy. The other woman moved toward her. Suddenly they were hanging on to each other, holding tight, as if they would never let go.
“I’m sorry,” Cindy whispered. “About so much. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
They stepped back and smiled at each other.
“I know this has been strange and awkward,” Cindy said, “but I’m so glad we ran into each other.”
“Me, too.”
They linked arms in that way they always had and went to the counter to place their order. Cindy insisted on buying, and she waited for their coffees while Ava claimed a table. When she walked over with the drinks, she handed one to Ava and sat down.
“How are you?” Ava asked.
“Good. Work is busy, which we like. The LA housing market is always crazy. In other parts of the country, housing sales can slow in the winter when the weather’s bad, but we don’t have that problem here. Every season is busy.”
After decades in the only home she’d ever purchased, Ava didn’t know much about real estate. She loved the house—if only she could figure out the kitchen remodel.
“How’s the wedding planning?” she asked.
“Slow. Now that we have the venue and the date, I need to get moving. Shannon’s been telling me the dress is the next big thing. I have an appointment to go looking at a store, but I don’t know.”
“About getting married?” Ava was surprised. Cindy and Luis had seemed so happy together.
“No. We want to be together. It’s the wedding.” She looked around as if making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. “I’m forty-two. Isn’t that a little old to be having a big white wedding? I know it’s what I want, but sometimes I feel foolish about the whole thing.”
“Don’t,” Ava told her firmly. “Don’t doubt yourself. You deserve the wedding of your dreams. What does age have to do with anything? Do what makes you happy.”
Cindy smiled. “You’re saying I should stand up for myself and the hell with what anyone thinks?”
“Exactly that.”
She reached across the table and touched Ava’s arm. “You gave me that exact advice twenty-four years ago, when I came to you crying because kids were making comments about me being pregnant. I listened then, so I guess I have to listen now.”
