"Avalon, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ms. Parker asked entering the living room where Roger and Ava were watching tv.

"Sure mom. What's up?" she asked looking up at her.

"Can I see you in the kitchen please?" she asked standing in the doorway.

"OK. I'll be right back." she said looking over at Roger before kissing him and following her mother to the kitchen. "What's up mom?" she asked looking up at her.

"Your dad called. He's gonna be in town and he wants to see you?" she said sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why? I mean, why now? We moved here almost a year ago and now he wants to come and see me?" he said looking over at her.

"Avalon, he's still your father." she said looking over at her.

"But mom, he hasn't acted much like a father since we left Cleveland." she said leaning against the counter.

"Well honey, I can't make you see him, but I think you should think about it. Don't not see him because you're angry with him, OK?" she said getting up from the table to go to her.

"But mom, he knows nothing about me. I've only talked to him like, 3 times in the last year." she said looking up at her.

"Sweetie, just think about it, OK?" she said looking down at her.

"OK mom. I'll think about it. When is he coming?" she asked looking up at her.

"This weekend." she said playing with her hair.

"This weekend? Me and Roger have plans this weekend." she said looking up.

"Ava, it's your father." Ms. Parker said moving away from her.

"But mom, I have a life and I have a boyfriend. He can't expect me to break my plans just because he's decided to grace us with his presence." she said starting to pace the kitchen.

"Avalon Marie Donnelly." Ms. Parker said looking over at her.

"No mom. I mean, what did he expect? That I'd be sitting on the porch waiting for him to come for me? No. I have a life." she said looking over at her.

"Ava, just think about it. He'll be here saturday morning at 10." Ms. Parker said leaving the kitchen.

"Ugh." she said dragging her feet as she went back into the living room.

"Is everything OK Baby?" Roger asked as she re entered the living room.

"No. My dad's coming this weekend and he wants to see me." she said plopping back onto the couch.

"So, what are you gonna do?" he asked looking down at her.

"I don't know. I mean, we have plans this weekend. What does he expect, that I'm just gonna break all my plans just because he wants to see me? No, I'm not gonna do it. I haven't seen in in a year and now he's just gonna come here and I'm gonna put my life on hold for him?" she said as he put his arms around her.

"Ava, you really should see him. He is your dad." he said looking down at her.

"But Roger, what about our plans? We have practice on saturday and then we were gonna go to the movies and stuff." she said looking up at him.

"But Ava, it's your dad. You really should see him." he said looking down at her.

"That's easy for you to say. Your dad is awesome. And he's home every night. My dad acts like I'm an accessory in his life." she said getting up off of the couch.

"Well if you don't want to see him, just say you don't want to see him. But don't use me as an excuse to blow him off." he said getting up.

"I'm not using you as an excuse not to see my dad. It's just that he acts like I'm just waiting for him to want to see me and I'm not. I'm not a little kid. I know my dad cares more about his career than he does about me." she said looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Ava, give him a chance." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah and what if I get hurt Roger? At least with you I know I'm not gonna get hurt." she said looking up at him.

"If he hurts you, he'll have me to deal with. But you have to see him." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you Roger." she said looking up at him as he reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I love you too Ava." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before holding her tight.

"Ava, are you ready? Your dad should be here any minute." Ms. Parker called out from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah mom, I'm ready. But what does it matter? He's not coming." she said sitting on her bed looking at the pictures of her and Roger that were on her nightstand and her dresser.

"Sweetie, it's gonna be OK." Ms. Parker said standing in the doorway.

"How is it gonna be OK mom? It's almost 12 o'clock. He's not coming. I just wish Roger was here. At least I know I can depend on him." she said looking up at her with tears in her eyes.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry." she said sitting on the bed next to her.

"It's OK mom. He sucked you in too." she siad looking up at her.

"Do you want me to call Roger sweetie?" Ms. Parker asked playing with her hair.

"No, I'm gonna just go over there. I'll be back later." she said getting up.

"Ava, I love you." Ms. Parker said looking up at her.

"I know mom. I love you too." she smiled before leaving her room. She left her house and began walking to Rogers house. She couldn't believe her dad stood her up. She didn't know why she was surprised. When her parents were still together, he did it all the time. He would promise to take her out for ice cream or to the park and he wouldn't be home to come through on that promise. The more she thought about it, the more upset she got. She started crying. When she entered the Davis garage, Roger was sitting on a stool strumming his guitar. He didn't see Ava come in at first. "Roger." she called out crying as he looked up.

"Ava, Baby what happened? What did he do?" he asked putting his guitar down rushing to her.

"He didn't show up. The bastard stood me up." she cried as he brought her to his chest to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry Baby. If I knew he was gonna..." he started before she interrupted him.

"You didn't know Roger. And I was so stupid. I was hoping he changed, but he didn't. He's never gonna change. It's why we left him." she cried looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Ava. I'm so sorry." he whispered kissing her head as she cried into his chest.

"Roger, do you wanna...? Oh, sorry. Are you OK Ava?" Mr. Davis asked standing in the doorway of the garage.

"My dad, he stood me up." she said wiping her eyes.

"I'm so sorry sweetie. Listen, I was thinking of taking Roger to the batting range to hit some balls. Would you like to come with us?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, that's a great idea Baby. It's a good way to blow off some steam." he said looking down at her.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your father son thing." she said looking over at them.

"Nonsense. You won't be intruding. It'll save me from hearing all about how great you are the whole time." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them.

"Thank you Mr. Davis. I would really like that. I'm gonna go home and get changed. I'll be right back." she said leaning up to kiss Roger before leaving to go home.

"We'll pick you up in 10 minutes Baby." Roger said looking down at her as he watched her leave.

"I don't know how anyone could disappoint their child like that. Especially one as sweet as Ava." Mr. Davis said watching Ava rush down the block.

"Dad. Thanks." Roger said smiling at him before leaning over to hug him.

"You love her Roger, which means I love her too. She's a great girl Roger." Mr. Davis said hugging his son.

"I do love her dad." Roger said looking over at his father.

"I know son. Come on, go get changed. You can't wear your leather jacket and combat boots to the batting range." Mr. Davis teased looking down at him.

"OK dad. I'll be out in a minute." he smiled before rushing into the house.

"I can't believe that bastard stood her up." Mr. Davis said entering the house as his wife sat in the living room.

"What happened?" Mrs. Davis asked as he entered the living room.

"Ava's dad. He stood her up. You should have seen her Abby. She was so upset. How could a man stand up his little girl like that?" he asked pacing around the living room.

"I don't know Luke. She doesn't deserve that. She's such a beautiful, sweet girl. Look at the effect she has on Roger." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, they're really in love. I can see it. Every time they look at each other. It's not the teenaged kind of love either. It's the real thing." he said looking over at her.

"But they're only 16 and 17 Luke. How could they be truly in love?" Mrs. Davis asked looking over at him.

"I don't know Abby, but they are. You should see how protective Roger is of her. I've never seen him so protective of anyone outside of his guitar." he laughed taking his wife into his arms.

"Do you think they're...?" she asked afraid to finish her question.

"Yeah, I think that's a safe bet. I'll talk to him. You know, make sure he knows how to be responsible and make sure we're not grandparents before he's out of high school." he said looking down at her.

"Dad, I'm ready." Roger called out as he came running down the stairs.

"OK son. I'll meet you out in the car." he said looking up at him.

"Dad, would it be OK if I meet you at Ava's house?" he asked tying his sweatpants.

"Sure Roger. I'll see you there in a few minutes." Mr. Davis smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks dad. You're the best." Roger yelled running out of the house.

"Good luck, you'll need it." Mrs. Davis laughed looking up at her husband.

"Nah, I think they'll be OK." he smiled leaning down to kiss his wife before leaving to pick Roger and Ava up.