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There wasn’t much Xander could do but agree with his father. The sooner his mother got back to her doctors for Lyme treatment, the better. She seemed to be on the upswing until Lidia had her accident. Now it looked like she had relapsed.
“I received a call from the hospital equipment company. They said that they could deliver the beds and wheelchairs on Tuesday. Have you picked a day to go back to New York? I could use your help the first day that Lidia and Brett are home.” Xander said.
“I think we are leaving on Friday, the twenty-sixth. I spoke with your mother’s doctor, and he wants to set up an IV appointment for her on Monday. She will need a few days to recover from the travel so it would be perfect. I’m sure you can handle Lidia and Brett once they get settled.”
Xander wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t a nurse, and he was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to provide either of them the care that they needed. But he would try his best. He really could use another drink because he still had a pounding headache.
Ava could relate, as she woke up with her arm throbbing. The anesthesia had worn off and the place where she got stitches was hurting. She got out of bed, and her apartment was dark. It took a few minutes for her to acclimate. Her head was aching, too, but at least she had gotten antibiotics, and she didn’t have chills anymore. The one dose she took must have helped with her fever. A check of the clock told her that she had been asleep for almost five hours. She had almost expected Tim to be here still when she woke up. If it were Xander, he would have been with her until she did.
She went to the kitchen and found her purse on the counter. She hadn’t checked her phone since before she went in the shower this morning. She fished it out and noticed that Xander had called her and a voicemail was waiting. Ava listened and noticed how strained his voice was. She knew that he must be dealing with a lot. She decided not to tell him what had happened to her this morning. It would only make him more anxious to come home, and he couldn’t do that yet.
She called his cell and waited for him to answer. It took several rings, but he finally picked up.
“Sweetheart, how are you? I’m worried about you.”
“I’m doing okay. I went out to the doctor this morning. I have a strep infection, and he gave me antibiotics.”
Xander hesitated, “Are you okay? Do you have someone to take care of you while I am gone?”
Ava wanted to say that she was fully capable. He had been gone for four years, and she had managed. But she chose to take the high road.
“I can handle it. My fever is down, and I feel better already. How are Lidia and Brett doing?”
Xander told her about preparing to get hospital equipment into Lidia’s home so they would have it when they came home. He also told her that Peter and Gabby were leaving at the end of the week. She didn’t verbalize it, but she wished he were leaving at the end of the week to be with her. She didn’t want to sound selfish because she knew that Lidia and Brett needed help. Xander ended the call by hanging up the phone abruptly. Ava was going to call him back until she received a text from him.
I’m sorry. I was out on the patio, and my father came out. Since we aren’t telling anyone about us, I didn’t want him to hear me. I love you. Talk to you later.
I love you, too.
Ava calledTim to thank him for helping her to and from the hospital. He said he was happy to help and wanted to stop by to see how she was doing. She told him it wasn’t necessary and she would be going back to bed soon. His attitude seemed to change when she said it, but she told him they should get together for lunch during the week. In a few weeks, he would be busy getting ready for the new school year, and they wouldn’t be able to get together during the day.
After she had ended the call with Tim, she went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Since she had been back with Xander, her clean eating went down the tubes. She was back to some of the unhealthy choices she used to make. She stood in front of the open refrigerator deciding what to eat. The best choice was an apple and a couple of slices of turkey. She hoped that she would feel better soon so she could get back to working out.
She took her food into the living room and sat on the couch while she flipped through the channels. Nothing much to watch but there was a Braves/Mets game. She spent the rest of the evening watching the television, dozing and trying to figure out the New York Times crossword puzzle.
On Monday she still felt tired, but her throat hurt a lot less, which couldn’t be said for the wound on her arm which ached. It was hard for Ava to shower with a bag wrapped around it, she was careful to sit on the bench in the shower to wash. She couldn’t risk another fall. She chose to wear a long sleeve shirt to work to avoid questions about the bandage that adorned her arm.
Victoria was in a rare mood when she arrived at her office. She had been arguing with the caterer and Ava waited unseen, outside her door until she got off the phone. Her attitude towards Ava today was reminiscent of the way Victoria was when she first worked for her. She snapped at her and piled a bunch of folders in her arms. Ava hurried down the hall balancing the stack carefully so it wouldn’t fall to the floor.
She had to be careful not to put too much weight on her wound. Victoria had scribbled a bunch of notes in each and Ava had a horrible time trying to translate. But working for Victoria for four years helped her decipher the mess. She could tell certain words from previous notes and avoided having to see Victoria to clarify. She stayed away from her for the five hours that she worked in the office. The woman was a bitch on wheels lately due to her upcoming nuptials.
When she finished for the day, she went to Victoria’s office and briefed her on her activities during the day.
“Now that you are finished with school when are you coming back to work full-time?”
“I’m not planning to come back full-time until after I take the bar exam.”
“I don’t understand why you need all that time to study. You can certainly study on the weekend and evenings. I did it, and I’m sure plenty of attorneys do rather than work part-time.”
Ava wanted to tell her that if she needed her that badly all she had to do was ask her to work longer hours. But she had no intention of changing her plans. She needed a rest since she had attended school full-time and worked part-time for the last three years. Not to mention doing the same thing when she was studying for her undergraduate degree.
“Uncle Daniel feels it would be the best plan for me to continue to work part-time until I take the exam. Maybe I could swing it where I work an eight-hour day.”
“Don’t bother upsetting your schedule. I’ll make due. You can leave for the day,” she added sarcastically.
Ava was annoyed but chose not to engage Victoria in a battle that she wouldn’t win. She had become a lot less meek during the past four years. Losing Xander had helped her realize she needed to stand on her own two feet and stop depending on her family to protect her. They still did but to a much lesser degree. She was a twenty-eight-year old woman who was on the cusp of her new career. She didn’t need protecting; she needed to be loved by someone. Ava needed Xander back in her life full-time.
