Later that night, when the dishes were washed and put away, and things began to wind down for the evening, the adults were restless, except for one.
"Hey, don't any of you bother waking me up in the morning. Erika's going to open the shop up for me tomorrow, so I'm sleeping in," Jay said, grabbing the available blanket draped over a single lounging chair.
"Have fun with that, man," Johnny said with a smile, taking a seat on the couch.
"Plan to, Johnny boy, night."
"Night," the remaining adults said in unison.
"I still cannot believe we're both going to L.A. in two days," Ava said.
"You, Susannah nearly fainted when the call came," Johnny said.
"Well, this is a big deal, what did you expect? Isn't it great though, it's happening, it's really happening," Susannah replied, taking a seat opposite of Johnny.
"This could very well be what we need for our clothing line, its what we've always dreamed of doing, and it seems like its about to come true."
"Jay and I can watch the kids while you guys are away, it'll be a piece of cake. Better yet, we'll celebrate when you guys get back," Johnny said.
"I don't know about you guys, but its nearly eleven o'clock and I'm not the least bit tired," Susannah said, matter-of-factly.
"Me neither," Ava replied.
"Well, you girls must be awfully contagious, 'cause I'm not tired either," Johnny said, rising from the couch.
He stepped into the kitchen and grabbed three beers out of the refrigerator, then came back into the living room and handed one to Ava and one to Susannah. Once Johnny sat down again, and they had their bottles open, a toast ensued.
"To L.A." Susannah said.
"To L.A." Ava and Johnny repeated.
Just then, there was a soft knock at the door.
"Who could that be at this hour?" Ava said, puzzled.
"It better not be that next door neighbor again," Susannah said, getting annoyed. "I already told him twice that I wasn't interested."
Johnny set his beer down and walked to the door. He opened it, and was surprised to see a young girl standing there.
"Can I help you?"
"Oh, I figured you probably wouldn't remember me. You haven't seen me in years. It's me, Uncle Johnny, Audri."
Johnny stood there speechless. This was the last person he would have ever expected to see here, and he was interested in why she in fact was there.
"Please Audri, come in."
Audri stepped inside and became a little uneasy seeing Ava and Susannah's puzzled stares. Johnny closed the door and joined the group. He put a hand on Audri's shoulder and introduced her.
"Ava, Susannah, this is my niece, Audri Durant. Audri, I'm sure you remember Ava…"
"Oh, yes, of course. It's nice to finally meet you," she said, extending her hand. Ava took it kindly.
"And this is my other roommate, Susannah Rexford. Our other roommate, Jay, is currently snoring in the beach house."
Audri chuckled and shook Susannah's hand as well.
"Wow, all of you live here?" Audri said, disbelievingly, "Its even more beautiful inside, better than I imagined."
"Thank you very much, Audri," Ava said, "and my niece and nephews live here with us too, but they're all asleep right now."
Audri smiled and nodded.
"Please, sit down," Ava said, gesturing to the empty spot on the couch.
"Thanks, it's nice to meet all of you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Susannah replied.
Audri pulled her backpack off and placed it down beside her.
"You have nieces and nephews too?"
"Yes, I have one niece named Nikki who's 13, and my two nephews, Bradin and Derrick, who are 17 and 9."
"Wow," Audri replied, amazed.
"Would you like to hang up your coat?" Susannah asked.
"Oh no, that's okay."
Susannah nodded.
"Look, I know this is 'out of the blue' for you guys. I certainly didn't mean to just show up uninvited, but I didn't have anywhere else to go. My parents were arrested just as I left, I just…couldn't stay there any longer."
"Arrested? What do you mean they were arrested?" Johnny asked, a little alarmed.
"This is where the fun starts, I guess," Audri said, sarcastically, looking down at her feet.
"If you would feel more comfortable, Susannah and I could leave so,"
"No, please, you don't have to. I remember you Ms. Gregory, and Susannah, if you're a friend of Uncle Johnny's and Aunt Ava's then I trust you."
"Okay, as long as you're sure."
"I am."
They both nodded, and got comfortable again in their seats.
"Tell us what happened Audri," Johnny said, taking her hand in his.
Audri then began her story.
"Shortly after I lost contact with you, things starting getting bad."
All three of them listened intently as Audri let her years flow from her words. Ava and Susannah were in such a shock when she finished, that they had both started to cry, Johnny sat there, his hands folded in front of his face, deep in thought.
"Maybe the biggest surprise to me was this," Audri said, breaking the short silence that had occurred.
She stood up and unzipped her coat, tossing it aside on the empty chair next to her. She lifted up her shirt enough to expose her slightly rounded belly.
"Oh my God," Johnny said, astonished, "you're pregnant?"
Audri nodded, as tears started to fall down her pale cheeks. Johnny rose from his seat and embraced her tightly.
"It's okay, sweetie. We'll help you, we'll help you with what ever you need until its time."
His words comforted her and made her feel safe for the first time in her life. She broke down right there, a life's worth of anguish and fear flowing out of her in waves.
"Please help me," she sobbed into Johnny's shoulder, "I don't know how it happened, I didn't do anything wrong."
Johnny squeezed her tighter and told her it would be okay as Ava and Susannah rose from their seats. Ava stroked her hair, and Susannah gently rubbed her back.
"Audri, you don't have to worry about anything, you're home now."