Ava and Susannah awoke around seven, and went straight up into their designing room contemplating what to bring for their interview the next day. Susannah had called the night before and reserved two plane tickets to Los Angeles. Still, they talked excitedly and prepared what to say and show, hoping that they could dress to impress. Around nine o'clock, Johnny came upstairs, a worried look on his face.
"Ava?"
"Oh, hey Johnny. Did you just get up?" Ava said, sorting through material, not bothering to look up at him.
"Yeah, I did. Is Audri up here with you?"
This time, she looked up.
"No, I thought she was still downstairs."
"She's not, I just checked. Her stuff is still here, so I don't think she left."
"Did you check for a note?" Susannah asked.
Johnny clapped a hand to his forehead.
"That would be a no," Susannah asked, going back through a pile of clothes.
"I'll go check," Johnny said, running back downstairs.
Ava and Susannah exchanged glances and smiled, knowing that the parenting wheel was starting to turn in Johnny's head.
Johnny raced to the kitchen and looked on the counter. Nothing. He kept checking, but still he found nothing. Then, he looked on the refrigerator and there was a piece of paper with words scrawled on it that said:
Aunt Ava,
I took Audri to the beach with me to see the dolphins. We'll be back soon.
Love, Bradin
Johnny breathed a sigh of relief as Jay walked in the door.
"Hey there Buddy boy. Sleep good?" Jay asked, entering the kitchen.
"Somewhat. Hey, uh, I didn't want to wake you up early, so I decided to wait until you got up."
"What's up?" Jay asked a little concerned.
"My niece dropped by last night, and she –"
"Whoa, whoa, stop!" Jay interrupted. "You have a niece?"
"Uh… yeah."
"New news to me."
"Yeah, well anyway, she's going to be staying with us for a while, so look out for her if you would please. I know Ava's already talked to Bradin about it, but you know, he's only a teenager. So, will you just kinda, keep your eye on her."
"Sure, man. Can I teach her how to surf?" Jay asked excitedly, playfully elbowing Johnny in the arm.
"That's not a good idea right now Jay."
"Aw, c'mon, I'm sure she'd do fine, and besides we let Bradin do it and he just started, so they can learn together."
"Jay, number one, Bradin isn't my kid, so it wasn't my call. And number two, Audri's… different from Bradin."
"Audri's only difference is that she's a girl, and I'm sure I can get Erika to help me."
"No, Jay, that's not her only difference."
"Oh yeah, and what's the other?"
"She's pregnant."
Jay's mouth dropped, "Oh."
Bradin stood there in shock, not believing hat he had just felt. A baby, a living, breathing, growing human being inside this girl. This was the last thing he'd thought she'd show him, but somehow he wasn't surprised. He just stood there staring at her.
"How…?" he stammered.
"I don't know," she said shaking her head, "I have no idea."
Slowly, he removed his hand from her stomach, and cradled his elbows.
"I wanna hear your story, the whole thing."
Now, it was Audri's turn to be in total disbelief. Bradin hadn't run, or cursed her, or even judged her. He wanted to hear what she had to say. He wanted some kind of explanation to what he had just witnessed.
"Alright," she whispered, "let's take a walk and I'll tell you."
He nodded and followed her down towards the shoreline.
RIIIINNNNGGGG!
Pause.
RIIIINNNNGGGG!
Pause.
Nikki groaned, rubbed her eyes, and sat up in her bed. The sunlight was pouring through her window, proof that another day had begun.
RIIIINNNNGGGG!
Nikki looked around from where she was sitting and found her cell phone ringing madly on her nightstand. She threw back the covers and crossed the room. By the time she got there, the ringing had stopped and the screen read:
1 missed call
voicemail received
She dialed her voicemail, punched in her password, and waited for the message.
Hey Nikki,
It's Cameron. I'm sorry for calling so early, but I wanted to know if you'd like to join me at the promenade around noon for a smoothie. Then maybe afterward, we can catch a movie or something. Call me back later. Bye.
Nikki's heart leap into her throat; her stomach did flips and formed the ever famous butterflies. She grinned from ear to ear at the thought of seeing Cameron after two weeks. Her grounding from Founder's Day had been officially over for three days, so she was allowed to see him again.
The day had just started for Nikki Westerly and already she knew exactly how she was going to spend it.