The innocent words sent her mind into a tailspin. Instead of examining it further, she created a new little box to shove those feelings into. A new one, labeledhome, and tucked it away to be dealt with another time.
“Hi, Ms. Dora. It’s been a while,” Ava said.
“Can I look around?” Avery asked.
He was looking at her, his face so open and earnest. That pinch in her chest came back.
“Go for it,” she said.
Avery beamed at her and wandered away to the shelves on the other side of the room, making a beeline for the books.
“I like your shirt,” Ava said, gesturing to what Dora wore.
Dora pinched the shirt away from her frame and looked down at it. Her smile grew bigger when she met Ava’s eyes again. “Thank you. Would you believe someone donated this thing? Pulled it from the hanger when I saw it. Just don’t repeat that to the pastor.” She winked at Ava in solidarity.
“Don’t repeat what?” Ava responded reflexively. The annoying joke her dad always said left her mouth before she realized it. A pang lanced her heart at the silly reminder of him. She’d never hear him say the quip again.
“You’re a good woman, Ava.” Dora opened one bag and started pulling out the items to inventory. “I didn’t realize you and Owen had gotten back together. That kid of his is just the spitting image of him running around Cedar Falls. I keep telling him to bring Avery to vacation bible school. Maybe you can talk some sense into him and get him to come this summer,” Dora said.
“Oh, I’m not. We’re not—” Ava stopped herself and tried again. “Owen and I are not together, Ms. Dora. I’m just doing him a favor. Watching Avery for a bit is all.”
Dora stopped what she was doing, her eyes widening at her faux pas. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. Just wishful thinking on this old woman’s part. Don’t mind me,” Dora said, patting Ava’s arm. “And I’m sorry about your dad. The whole church has been praying for your family.”
“Thanks.” To cover her awkwardness, her head swiveled to look for Avery. He was still near the books, flipping through the pages of a paperback.
Dora finished going through the items in the first bag, stacking the clothes in one pile and the collection of stuffed animals in another. Her dad held on to all their beanie babies over the years, convinced one day they’d be valuable. They had the protective cover on the tags and everything. After a quick search showed their value hovered around five dollars and not exactly the windfall her dad was expecting one day, Ava chucked them into the donation pile.
Dora moved to the second bag. “Is this everything?”
Ava shook her head. “There’s two more bags in the car outside. I’ll go grab them,” Ava said.
“Nonsense.” Dora brushed Ava off and shouted over her shoulder toward the back.
“Nathan, we need your strapping young muscles out here.”
Moments later, heavy footsteps stomped down the hallway behind the purchase counter. A tall teenage boy stepped into the room; his cutoff t-shirt printed with the Cedar Falls High School football team across it. “Need help?”
“Be a dear and grab the rest of the bags out of her car,” Dora told him.
“It’s the Subaru,” Ava added.
“I’m on it,” Nathan said.
He stomped outside, the breeze from the open door making the various fliers on the bulletin board near the front flutter. Curiosity got the better of her. “Mind if I have a look around, too?”
“Of course not. Browse away. Will you need a receipt for your donation? I’ll have Nathan put that together when he comes back.”
Ava almost said no before the years of her older brother’s tax advice kicked in. Lucas would be annoyed if she didn’t keep a record of the donated items.
“Yes, please. That would be great,” Ava said.
Dora nodded and continued taking stock of the items.
Ava walked over to Avery to check on him. “Find anything good?”
Avery peered up at her, a worn paperback book tucked under his arm and another in his hand. “I found the next book in my series. And it’s in paperback, so it matches the first two books I have. I can bring it to camp with me next week,” he said.
“Sounds like a good deal.”
