Timing is Nothing

(Chpt 9) So Serious

With the fire in the oven officially put out the night continued. As always, the Chinese food was delicious and extra fortune cookies were thrown in for our entertainment.
"What does yours say Mark?" I inquired.
"Man and wife make one fool" He looked skeptically at Ava as he bit the cookie.
"Ok then, what about you Ava?" Ava glared at Mark and his rude cookie, replying "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone" She smugly crossed
her arms.
"What about yours?" She questioned pointing in my general direction. When cracked the stale cookie I was delighted to find two fortunes.
"Well the first on says 'A man who turns green has eschewed protein'. Good to know" We laughed at the randomness of the cookie. "And the other 'The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it'"
"Between the sheets!" Ava blurted out. We all laughed at the random crudeness.
“I was waiting for someone to say it"
"You guys were thinking it." She was proud of her little joke.
My mother used to make us read out our fortunes when Ava would come over for dinner. It didn't matter what the paper said, she always concluded our sentences with 'between the sheets'. Years later it was still just as funny as the first time we heard it.
I looked at the two of them laughing up a storm, they were perfect together. Ava was laughing so hard that she was in tears and he was laughing just as violently while wiping away her drops of joy with his hand. That's what every woman should aspire to have in her life; A man who will wipe away the tears from her eyes even if they are happy tears over something that wasn't even that funny to begin with.
I sat blankly staring in their direction admiring for the first time since I was 16, what a beautiful relationship they had. He was the perfect modern gentleman who appreciated Ava's brain more than her beauty and she was the perfect woman. She was slowly starting her career as a fashion purchaser for Holt Renfue. She worked constantly but always seemed to make sure there was plenty of time for Mark. They made relationships and love look so easy, like anyone could pull it off.
Now they were poking each other and laughing even harder. I couldn't take it any more.
"So when do you want me to move out?" The laughing stopped as quickly as it had started and the happy couple turned to face me with matching looks of confusion.
I let out a nervous giggle to break the silence and hopefully in turn, encourage them to start blinking again. Part of me wanted to say “just kidding!” and continue joking around but the other half of couldn’t. That’s what this night was about when it started, finding out the details. It wasn’t about being the maid of honor or their decorator, it was about proving Collin wrong and figuring out where I went from here.
“Can you repeat the question?” Ava was still dumbfounded.
“When do you want me to move out?” I over enunciate every syllable slowly so she wouldn’t miss the question again.                                                 
“Are you serious?” she was on the verge of tears and so was I. Her big brown eyes were the size of spoons and glassed over like crystal.
“Well yeah. I mean you guys are getting married and married people usually like to live alone so they have their privacy to do whatever it is that married people do.” I couldn’t help but play with my finger nails and avoid eye contact with either of them. I felt like I was seven and caught doing something I shouldn’t have. I was a grown woman for god sakes!
“And?” Her voice was coarse and her face was ghostly white.
“And I just don’t know what I should do. If you guys want me out I understand but if I can stay that would be great to. I don’t want to intrude or anything.”                             
“Josie...” Mark finally attempted speech but was viciously cut off by Ava.
“Mark, let her do whatever she wants. I’m going to bed.” With that, she stood up and walked away as if in a trance. When the bedroom door slammed shut Mark tried to speak again.
“You talked to Collin didn’t you?” I could not for the life of me figure out why he looked so amused! It made me want to hit him in the gut but instead I nodded my head in agreement.
“Ava and I don’t want you to go Jo...you’re family. Whenever we fight you’re the mediator or if one of us is upset you’re her shoulder to cry on and you’re my strength. We’ve never known our relationship without you and its actually scary imagining you not around all the time. We talked a little bit about the living situation today on the way back from lunch and she did the same thing. Something about feeling like she’d be turning her back on you”
“Oh I know that’s not what it would be it’s just that...”
“Josie I know, I get it. We decided that we want to stay as long as you’re comfortable.”
“But Collin said that...”
“I know what Collin said; he called me today to tell me. I’m sorry that he brought it up to you, I would have rather done it but he was trying to help. This wedding is only 24 hours old, it’s a baby, and everyone already wants to help or put their two senses in! Everyone’s heart is in the right place but people just need to butt out.” I nodded my head again. “Do you want to move out?”
“No! I didn’t even entertain the thought until Collin said anything last night.”
“Then stay. We want you to, especially me. I don’t know if I can handle her myself right now. This wedding is going frazzle her!”
“Well that is true.” I laughed honestly and hugged him hard. “Thank you” I croaked in his ear as he hugged me back.
“If anyone was going to be moving out, it would be us”
“Why? You pay two thirds of the rent”
“Yeah but we’re the ones getting married and leaving you to fend for yourself. We wouldn’t want to hassle you with decorative duties and first mate stuff plus finding a new place. We have a whole family who would love to plan this shin dig for us so we would have time to find a new stomping ground. We’re not going to though so don’t worry.”
“This is such a relief!” I was elated. Collin was wrong for the first time in his life which also expanded the smile to my face. What did he know? He didn’t live here any more.
I went to bed that night satisfied with the nights events. Sure things could have gone more smoothly but overall I got what I needed, answers. I had kind of hoped that at the very least Mark and Ava would have talked to me together but it hadn’t worked out that way. After Ava slammed the door she stayed locked away. I would just have to wait until the morning to talk to her.

--

“Ava will you please talk to me?” I was literally pleading my case to the closet door in the hallway. I had got up extra early before work so I could talk to her; I wanted to start our days off on a good note. I had made a starbucks run grabbing us our favorites, grande no whip café mocha light, and I had made us our beloved yogurt and berries for breakfast. When she came out of her room, looking fantastic as usual, she didn’t even acknowledge me. She walked past me and the pending starbucks and to make her own coffee.
“I got you a starbucks” I had said with a smile. She continued doing what she had been doing all along as if she were alone. I couldn’t figure out why she would be mad at me, I hadn’t done anything wrong. Basically I tried to corner her every chance I got until we were near the back of the apartment where I thought she had no escape. However, Ava is brighter than I and locked herself in the little storage closet. She had been inside now for almost 5 minutes with no sign of changing her mind any time soon.
“f*** Ava! Get out!” I was starting to become red with anger as I banged violently on the white door.
“No. Go away!” She was talking now so maybe that was a start.
“If you don’t come out I’m going to tell Mark and he’ll break down the door.” I doubted very much that he would do such a thing but maybe he could get her out so I could to talk her. That’s really all I wanted.
“He will not! He’d know better than to do that. I can play the wedding card now” How right she was. All she would have to say is “The wedding is off!” and Mark would do whatever she wanted so much as the wedding was back on. I was officially exasperated and my hands were bruised from the constant hammering on the door.
“I’ll break down the door then! You’re going to listen to me!” As I wound up for a body check when she spoke, causing me to pause centimeters from the door.
“Why am I going to listen to you? You’re just going to abandon me anyway!!!” Her voice was full of hurt and anger that I had never heard before.
“Honey what are you talking about?” I didn’t think that we were talking about the same things anymore. I slide down the outside of the door and sat there, head in my hands.
“You’re trying to leave me. So fine, just go”
“Ava, you’re getting married. You will be Mrs. Mark ******* and I don’t want to be intruding on your married life. Collin brought it up to me the other night and I got scared. I don’t want to leave. I can’t imagine living in a place without you or Mark, but I don’t know how this all works. I just wanted to know sooner rather than later what I had to do so you guys could get on with the wedding stuff and be happy. I’m not abandoning you.” I was tearing up despite my best efforts. Really though, how could she think such a crazy thing? I shook my head in dismay.
“You mean it was Collin’s idea?”
“He just asked me if I had put any thought into it and I hadn’t so I thought that I should ask you guys instead of just dwelling on it for months”
“That prick!” Ava flung the door open and I tumbled backwards hitting my head on the vacuum. She stepped over my limp body totally unaware of my pain or presence. Walking into the kitchen she threw the starbucks into the microwave and started walking aimlessly in circles around the table. I slowly lifted myself to my feet, one arm out for balance and the other holding the newly forming lump.
“He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Yes he did!” She wheeled around and looked me very seriously in the eye. “Yes he did, he’s trying to turn you against me, the prick!” never had I seen Ava so serious or mad before. I was beginning to become strangely afraid of the little woman I saw pacing the kitchen. I placed my hands firmly on her shoulders and held her gaze.
“You’ve cracked Cookie. It’s too early into your marriage, especially since it isn’t official yet, for you to have a break down. Snap out of it! There’s no conspiracy theory here. He just thought he was helping and he did have a valid point.” My hands dropped dully to my side as I watched her take the coffee out of the microwave and head for the door.
“Don’t defend him.” With that she was gone from the apartment and I was left totally stumped.  What the f*** was she talking about?
I decided to skip my class that morning and make some phone calls instead. I sat on my bed and pulled out my second best friend, my mobile. I pressed speed dial two.
“Hey how’s it going? That’s great, yeah I’m alright. We have a problem. Yep, type A. Tonight at six sounds ok? Yep, at seven. The usual. Of course the pajama’s what else? Ok see you then. Thanks”. The same conversation followed with speed dial three and four. It was always the same questions on their part and the same answers on mine as if it were all a routine.