Chapter 3

 

Andre

 

. ~ . ~ .

 

HE COULDN’T SLEEP much last night. After Ava stormed out of the bedroom, she locked herself in one of the guest bedrooms down the hallway – the one furthest away from their master bedroom. He’d stood there for a few minutes last night, knocking on the door, then just stopped, not wanting to wake up Andrew.

This morning, he sat up in bed, alone. With his feet on the floor now, he rubbed his eyes, adjusting his vision to accommodate the morning sun streaming in bright through the windows. The first thing on his agenda was sitting down with Ava, apologizing to her and then, after they made up, they would spend the day together as a family like they did every Saturday.

He stood up from the bed and strolled down the hallway to the guest bedroom where she’d slept last night. The door was opened, partially. He pushed it all the way open and walked into the room. Ava wasn’t there. The bed was made, and it almost appeared that she hadn’t been there at all. Hadn’t slept there.

Walking out of the room now, he said, “Ava,” calling out to her. She had to be downstairs, or maybe she was in Andrew’s room. He took a few steps down the hallway, opened the door to Andrew’s room, but she wasn’t there either. And Andrew wasn’t in his crib.

“Ava,” he said, jogging downstairs. “Where are you, baby?”

He searched the kitchen. The office. The library. Family room. “Ava, where are you?”

He stepped outside, standing on the porch and that’s when he noticed her car wasn’t in their horseshoe driveway. He dialed her number, waiting anxiously for her to pick up. Before she could get out a hello, he said, “Where are you?”

“I’m spending time with my son,” Ava responded.

He sighed, felt his anger settle deep at his temples. “Ava, I need you to come back home so we can talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Andre. You said everything you needed to say last night.”

“Where are you?”

“Don’t worry about where I am. I never want you to ever worry about me again. Contrary to what you believe, I can take care of myself.”

“Ava—”

“I’m not a fragile, ninety-year-old lady,” she interrupted.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not being ridiculous. That’s how you treat me...like I can’t do anything on my own. Like I have to have assistance just to walk up and down stairs or to get in my car. You insist on doing everything for me.”

Andre sighed. “Ava, just come back home so we can talk and get started with our weekend.”

“Our weekend? You’re bored, remember? So why don’t you go on an adventure or something, Dre? Or better yet, why don’t you just work? That’s what you would be doing if we were together anyway, so go ahead. Do it now. You’re free to do whatever you want without Andrew and I being in your way and holding you back.”

“Ava, you and Andrew are not—” he said and then the phone went silent. He looked at his cell to see if it was still connected, not believing she’d just hung up on him. But she did. Andre immediately dialed her number back.

He didn’t get an answer.

He sat down and shook his head. Even though he felt the way he did about his life as he had confessed to Todd, he didn’t want to hurt Ava. But telling her that he was bored on their family days had done just that.

From his perspective, hiding the truth from her was better than hurting her. But holding in his true feelings proved to be more detrimental than he thought it would be.

He sighed. This sucked, especially since he was the one who had convinced Ava that he would never grow to resent her. That he wouldn’t let her condition hold him back from loving her. He promised that he’d love her no matter what and while that was true, he couldn’t predict how he would feel now.

He buried his face in his hands, thinking of what to do next. He had to find out where she was so he could make things right between them.

 

* * *

 

After he’d showered, he called his mother-in-law, assuming that Ava was probably there, and if she wasn’t there, Maria would no doubt know where Ava would be.

Pacing the kitchen floor near the island, he dialed Maria’s number.

“Hi there, Andre,” she answered.

“Good morning, Maria. How are you this morning?”

“I’m well. What about you?”

“I could be better,” he said. A lot better. “By any chance is Ava over there?”

“No, she’s not.”

“Has she been by there this morning?”

“No, Andre. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. I don’t mean to cause you any alarm. Ava’s just a little upset with me. I’m sure she’s fine, though. She’s probably out shopping or something. I’ll just try her cell phone again.”

“I’ll try her too.”

“Alright, Maria. Talk to you later.”

Andre sat down, feeling a wave of guilt consume him. He had no desire to eat breakfast. He had no desire to do anything but find out where Ava had run off to. As he sat alone in the house, he thought about what had transpired between them last night. Ava was actually trying to do something nice for him. She’d massaged him. Lit candles. Played soft tunes. And it was all for him.

Instead of being an appreciative husband, though, he’d fought her in every way possible to prevent making love to her. He didn’t want to push her away, but he didn’t want to hurt her either. But did that mean he had to make her feel like her efforts were a wasteful use of her time? That there was nothing she could do to satisfy him?