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Chapter 3
Ava’sfirst day back at work on Monday after her graduation was uneventful. She was going to continue to work part-time at the firm for Victoria as her legal assistant until she took the bar exam. She had a ton of studying to do, and when Jacob wasn’t busy, he would drill her on different aspects of law. She wanted to pass the exam on the first shot. Every member of the Keene family had: Jacob, Jason, Daniel, Michael, even her sister-in-law had passed the first time. It would be embarrassing if she were the only one to have to retake it.
She went about her day working on contracts for several real estate transactions. After over four years, she had a much better working relationship with Victoria than in the beginning. The woman was actually nice to her, especially after she started attending law school. Where Ava had originally thought that real estate was boring, she was wrong. She found several aspects of it interesting and had often thought of concentrating on that area when she was admitted to the New York State Bar. Of course, that would probably be several months away, so she had plenty of time to decide what she wanted to do.
She checked her watch and saw that it was nearing 1:00 PM. For the last three years, she had worked a staggered schedule depending on her classes and test schedule. Some weeks she barely worked but others she worked more. Her Uncle Daniel had been kind enough to let her do this so she could remain employed, not that she needed the money. Her inheritance was still steadily earning interest and making gains in the stocks her advisor suggested she invest in. She wanted to use her salary for tuition, but her father had insisted he pay for her schooling just as he had done for Michael and Brooke.
Her investment portfolio had grown over the years under the watchful eye of her Aunt Mavis’ brother, Jack, who was a fund manager. She had more than enough money to survive the rest of her life without working, but she needed something to do. In two weeks after Memorial Day, she would be going to the Kids Afloat camp to be an instructor. It was one of her favorite things to do, and she looked forward to it all year.
She got together the contracts she had been working on and went to drop them off at Victoria’s office, whom she hadn’t seen all day. She knocked on her closed door.
“Come in,” Victoria said.
Ava opened the door to see Victoria on the phone. A large bouquet of red roses sat in a vase on her desk. Ava was a bit amused by it because Victoria rarely displayed anything personal. She gestured Ava over to her desk and whispered for her to sit.
Ava waited trying not to pay attention to Victoria’s phone call. It sounded like she was discussing a menu with someone. When she hung the phone up, Victoria turned her attention to Ava. She held her left hand out for Ava to see. On her finger was a large tear drop shaped diamond engagement ring.
“Oh my, what a beautiful ring! When did you get engaged?”
“This weekend. I was not expecting it since I have only been dating Don for six months. But he asked, and I accepted.”
“When are you planning on getting married?” Ava asked.
“In three months. Don is also an attorney, and his brother will perform the ceremony for us. I’m so excited.”
“That is wonderful news.” Ava felt her stomach tighten as she handed her the contracts and waited while Victoria reviewed them.
“Perfect, as usual. I will miss you when you are no longer my assistant. I think congratulations are in order since you graduated this past weekend.”
“Thank you, Victoria. I have a lot of studying to do and will remain as your assistant until I get my exam results.”
“I remember waiting for those. It caused me a lot of sleepless nights. Of course, I’m sure you won’t have any issues passing on the first try. You’ve had a lot of experience with the law already.”
Ava nodded. “This is true, but the test can be tricky. I hope I will do well, but it is still months away. I am going to study as much as I can before the end of February. I wanted to remind you that I’ll be gone for most of the month of June. I have two weeks away at Kids Afloat, and then I am going to Georgia to celebrate my niece’s and nephews’ birthdays. I should be back to the office on the third of July.”
“That’s fine. You deserve some time off. Just email me a reminder of the dates so I can put them on my calendar. Go ahead and head home; I will see you tomorrow.” Ava got up from the chair and retrieved her purse. She was going home to study or maybe just to veg out. She was exhausted from the past few weeks.
When she entered her apartment, she was hit with the fragrance of the roses from Xander. Riley and Boomer were sunning themselves on the carpet in her living room. She plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. She didn’t feel like doing much of anything, much less studying but she did. It was such a nice day out that she really should go running. The park was off-limits and had been for several years. She couldn’t bear to go running there and be reminded of Xander. There were so many places she avoided for the past few years, including where they used to eat.
Her mind would usually enjoy the wander to Xander, but right now she sat on the couch surrounded by study materials. Her head was ready to explode from all the time she was spending on studying. The horrible thing was that it was only early June. She had to wait until February to take the bar exam. But she was going to drill this information into her head for as long as it took. She wanted to score high on the exam, and that took studying.
She needed a break and went into her room to see if there was anything else she could tidy, though doubted it because that was her favorite study break. She was leaving in two days for camp, and she wanted to make sure her apartment was neat. Her twenty-eighth birthday had just passed the previous week, and she still needed to put the gifts away that her family had gotten her. Her closet was a mess, and she needed to pack.
She opened her drawer to see if any of the bathing suits from last year were still in good condition; she pulled out three, which should be enough because she was working in the art lodge this year. Last year, she helped with the boaters on the lake. She might not even get a chance to go swimming this year if she was busy.
She went to the hall closet to get a suitcase. She didn’t need a big bag and dug through the back of the closet until she felt one that was smaller. When she pulled it out, she recognized it as the case that Xander had used to bring her personal items and clothing from his apartment four years ago. She stared at it as if it were some creature that would come to life. After she had unpacked it years before, and shoved it way back into the entry walk-in closet. Until now, she forgot she still had it.
She hadn’t paid much attention while she unpacked it and now realized that Xander’s initials had been embroidered on the handle. She ran her finger over the raised letters — ARW. It made her angry, and she kicked the case far back into the closet. She chose the larger case without the reminders of him.
Ava finished packing and called to confirm her rental car. She didn’t have much call to drive in Manhattan, but she did have a license. She was going to make the five-hour trip upstate on her own as she had for the past two years. She preferred having her own vehicle rather than taking a bus and relying on someone at the camp to get her at the station.
The next day she hailed a cab to take her to the car rental office. They gave her an SUV; it was all that they had available. She had reserved a regular sedan, but she would have to wait for it to be cleaned, so she took the upgrade for the same price.
Ava set the GPS for the camp and got on the road. Three hours later, she stopped on the highway at a small roadside restaurant for some coffee. She had not slept very well the night before and was tired. She needed a pick-me-up and ordered a large black coffee with four sugars.
She couldn’t get out of there fast enough because three young men were leering at her from one of the tables. It made her uncomfortable, and she got into the SUV and hit the door lock button. The rest of the drive was uneventful, and she arrived at the camp by early afternoon. Paul Thoreau greeted her.
“Ava, so nice to see you again.”
