8.

She didn't have time to process seeing him again. Even from a distance.

Avery was guided toward their waiting car by Ted. She climbed into the back with Emily and ignored the puzzled look on her daughter's face.

"Oh. I remember him." That came from Joe, sitting up front with Ted. They were slowly moving out of the cemetery. Mark was still looking toward them, but he had moved away from the narrow road. Keeping his distance. Avery watched him turn and walk to the plot where his own mother was laid to rest. And then they rounded a turn and he was out of sight.

"Mark Calaway." She finally said. Now that she wasn't looking at him, Avery found her voice. "I used to tutor him. He's been gone a long time." She smiled distractedly at Emily.

"I wonder if he ever made it to college. Didn't he get that scholarship?" That came from Ted. "Never came back to school. Although I think he picked up his diploma and a transcript. Long time ago. But he left an impression."

Avery mentally seconded that opinion. He had left a major one on her. She didn't believe that she'd ever felt the same way about any guy she'd dated, up to and possibly including her ex-husband. First love. No man had ever made her feel the same way. Jack had been close. And she had loved him but it just hadn't been the same. Maybe time and experience had something to do with it.

And she had said earlier she wasn't going to dredge up the past. And there he had been, staring in her direction. She had been too stunned to do more than register him though. She wished she had gotten a better look. Then again, maybe it was better this way. Especially since just a glimpse at the man made her feel strange even now.

Avery pushed her thoughts to the side. Already, there were dozens of cars parked around their house and lining the block. Someone had blocked off a spot for them, thankfully. She mentally braced herself but still wasn't quite prepared enough to deal with all the people. So many strangers offering hugs and condolences. Emily was in her element. She pretty much took over as hostess, and Avery let her. Once again, not one for public speaking or other shenanigans, she was content to fade into the background and observe.

She was also convinced that people were never going to leave when Ted started ushering out the first of them. And then more. The stress of the day had been a lot for all of them, and as the afternoon turned to evening, he was a lot more gracious about showing people the door than Avery would have been. It was after 8 when the last of them were finally gone. The caterers took a little longer to head out. They at least stayed to help clean, for which Avery would be forever grateful.

She offered to let both Ted and Joe spend the night at the house, but both had declined. Joe was staying with his dad at the lake, and they had planned to get up early the next day to fish. Avery could only roll her eyes as she hugged them goodbye. It wasn't like it was so far away but they had it all figured out.

That left her with Emily. Finally. The house seemed much bigger and way quieter once the catering team was finished and headed out. Emily yawned and hugged her mother. "I'm done. This day has been crazy. I'm going to get ready for bed."

"I'm gonna be right behind you in a bit." Avery kissed her daughter's forehead and smiled at her noise of annoyance. She had decided, way before she had ever had a child, that she would not withhold affection as her mother had done. Emily loved it even though she sometimes tried to act as if she didn't.

Avery shut off a few of the downstairs lights before heading for the stairs. She took her shoes off and sighed in relief. One of the perks of working elementary was that the dress was much more casual than at higher levels. The low-heeled pumps were practical but her ankles were going to protest for a couple of days. She stopped in Emily's room and gave her another hug goodnight. Her daughter was already in bed, curled on her side, blankets tucked around her.

She pulled out pajamas and then cranked the shower to the hottest setting she could handle. It was almost as good as a massage. She let the tension of the day melt as she washed, mentally trying to find her footing. She had a few more days of work before summer break, tomorrow was a school day. She'd done pretty well by focusing on the important stuff. Once school was out, she figured her mother's death would really hit her. Because she'd have time on her hands.

By the time she was done, Emily was already sleeping. Avery went back downstairs. Even though it had been a long day, she knew it would be a while before she could fall asleep. She looked at the TV and decided to sit on the porch instead. It was late, and quiet. And it was still a warm evening. So she headed outside to the porch swing.

A mild breeze had started sometime after sunset. There was no noise other than the occasional muffled engine noise from the street and the rustle of tree leaves overhead. Avery set the swing into motion and leaned her head back, just listening, eyes closed. It was relaxing. She forced errant thoughts from her mind because to be honest there were some things she would rather not think about. Who she had seen today was one of those things.

With a sigh she sat up straight and opened her eyes. And almost as if she had conjured him up, Mark was there. Standing on her walkway between the road and the porch, hands in his pockets. He'd gotten rid of the dark suit at some point and was wearing a pair of snug blue jeans and a dark t-shirt. His hair was long, tied back in a braid. And he was sporting a goatee. Time had been good to him. He was still one of the best looking guys she had ever laid eyes on. Maybe better looking now. He was still incredibly tall, but he'd added quite a bit of muscle. All of the boyish traits she remembered were long gone. She could only imagine how frumpy she must look from his point of view.

The silence stretched out. Avery frowned at him, waiting for him to say something. Anything. Way back when they had been friends, she would be rushing to fill the awkward silences between them. Time had given her perspective and she wasn't the naive little mouse she used to be. Plus working with kids meant she had learned the art of waiting out a hardheaded troublemaker. Of course that usually only applied to willful 7 year-olds but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Mark heaved a sigh and finally walked forward. "Hey." Lord help her, even his voice had matured. It was deeper than she remembered, lower.

"Hey." She said it right back at him. And nothing else. She wasn't going to make this easy on him.

He had finally reached the porch but he didn't climb the stairs. Maybe he was just waiting for her to tell him to get lost. Avery knew if she were as smart as she thought she was, she would do exactly that. But damn it, she had questions. 20 year old questions.

"Sorry about your loss. Of your mom." Mark added that, and it hit Avery that he was actually nervous. She had never made him, or anyone else, nervous before. Weird.

"Thanks." She pushed against the porch floor with one bare foot, setting the swing in motion again. "What were you doing there?" Avery asked bluntly.

Mark shrugged. "I figured I owed you. Since you went to my mom's funeral."

Avery narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. "How did you know that?"

He looked up at the house for a long moment. "Because I saw you." Mark took a deep breath. "I couldn't make myself go to her grave. Not then. I was watching from a distance."

"You were here?"

"Yes." He finally looked at her again. "I saw you. A couple of times. At the diner. At the library."

Avery vaguely remembered thinking she had spotted him ducking out the door. "Wait...so that was you?"

"I didn't want you to see me. I wasn't ready to face you."

"You weren't ready to face me?" Avery asked, incredulous. What the hell did that mean? He was embarrassed that he'd slept with her? Her ego was plenty fragile enough without knowing that particular sentiment.

He didn't seem to notice the anger in her voice. "I couldn't. I wanted to..."

"Are you serious right now?" Avery brought the swing to a halt. "You couldn't stand to insult me to my face? You didn't want to risk one of your friends finding out? Or one of your girlfriends?" It was amazing, how fast that old anger had come back.

Mark just stared at her in stunned silence.

"You sure picked a hell of a day to pop up to remind me how beneath you I was." Avery rose to her feet. "So low you couldn't be bothered to even leave a note when you ran off." She kept her voice low. Emily's room was in the front part of the house. She didn't want to risk waking her up. "Thank you for your condolences. You can pull another disappearing act now." She didn't wait for him to leave. Avery went into the house and resolutely shut and locked the door behind her.