"Mama!" Ava raced into the kitchen, looking more excited than usual. "Mama, guess what today is?!"
Her mother and her brother had to know what day today was. When she entered the kitchen, Ava couldn't smell anything baking and it didn't look like anything was really being cooked, but that didn't mean anything.
Taking an extra hard look, Ava couldn't see any presents lying around either. Just the typical french toast and pancakes for breakfast with orange juice in a pitcher on the table as a centerpiece.
Karen and Lucas shared a look of amusement before the woman answered. "Is it Thanksgiving Day?" She joked. "I hope so, because I'm making all this delicious food later."
"It's not Thanksgiving Day!" The child cried, not believing her mother had actually forgotten such an important date.
"Oh, I know." Karen snapped her fingers as if she had just remembered. "It's Labor Day."
"Mama!"
"I'm kidding, sweetheart." Karen laughed and pulled her in for a tight hug and fixed her Peter Pan collar, pulling it from under the Bugs Bunny pullover she was sporting. Giving her a once over, Karen found she needed to tuck the shirt into Ava's denim skirt and her hair was a mess. Honestly, Karen often wondered if Ava just threw her clothes on without glancing in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable. "Happy birthday, Sweetheart."
"Can I open my presents, now?" Ava bounced with excitement.
Not even her mother's fretting could ruin her mood now. Even though the woman's movements were a little too rough for her liking.
"No, you can open them after school at your party. Lucas, go get your sister's hairbrush for me...and a scrunchie, please."
"Sure thing, Ma." Lucas ruffled Ava's messy hair on his way to the bathroom.
"My party?" Ava grinned, scrunching her nose like a bunny when her mother tapped it.
"That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"
"Uh huh. Who's coming?"
"It's going to me, you, Uncle Keith, Maddie, Carter of course, and Haley." The woman listed off the top of her head.
They were keeping it small, because despite outwardly appearing to be very outgoing and rambunctious, Ava was still very shy. Whenever they went out in public to grocery shop or run other errands, Ava held tightly to her mother's hand or clung to her with a vice-like grip.
If people came over to speak to her, she'd hide behind her, hoping with all her might that whoever it was would just walk away and leave them alone.
"You're not coming?" She pouted in her brother's direction once he came back, carrying a Hello Kitty hairbrush and a blue scrunchie to match her sweater.
"Of course, I'm coming." He pulled her onto his lap, kissing her cheek. "I wouldn't miss this for the world…...how old are you again? Five?'
"No!" Ava giggled. "I'm nine! See?" She held up nine fingers as if that proved anything.
"Nine? Already? Are you sure?" The blonde pushed her back onto her feet and sized her up. "Because you look like you're at least eight." He teased.
"I was eight yesterday, Luke." She deadpanned.
"My apologies, Princess Ava. Happy birthday."
"Thank you." Ava scoffed at him before stealing a piece of meat from his plate.
"Come here." Karen lifted her up and sat her down in an empty chair so she could eat her own food. She already had a spray bottle ready to wet her wild and untamed curls, so she immediately got to work. As soon as Ava's hair was wet enough, she began working the brush through it, being as gentle as possible when she came across a few tangles.
"If you're good and you don't yell, I'll slip you some extra cake later." Lucas winked when he saw the look on his sister's face change.
He always knew when she was at her wit's end and right now, she was pretty close to it, but she was trying her best to contain herself because she didn't want to ruin her own day.
"What kind of cake is it?" Ava winced at a particularly stubborn knot.
"Strawberry." Karen supplied the answer having moved on to braiding the child's hair.
Ava liked this part of getting ready. Her mother's fingers glided through her hair, weaving one piece over another until a beautiful braid was made and secured at the bottom.
"There you go."
"Thank you! Mama? Can I go to school and come home by myself now?" She asked hopefully.
Because she was smaller than average, Karen was a little overprotective. It also didn't help that Ava was so timid. Karen wanted to keep her at her side where she would be safe for as long as she possibly could.
Ava's friends were allowed to walk to school on their own, but Karen was hesitant to allow Ava do it, too.
Up until now, the little girl never expressed a desire to do so.
"I don't know, that's a big step."
"I think she's ready, Mom." Lucas backed his sister up. "She can do it."
"Pretty please?" Ava pouted, really turning on the charm. "I can walk with Maddie and Carter, too."
That was a pretty good point. Maddie lived two doors down and Carter lived down the block, so they could all walk together.
And there was safety in numbers.
"Alright." Karen relented. "But no talking to strangers, got it?"
Tree Hill was a pretty safe area and she doubted Ava would want to talk to anyone she didn't know, but it didn't hurt to cover all her bases.
"I got it!" Ava grinned, before grabbing her backpack and flinging the the door open. "Thank you, Mama! See you later!"
"Be careful!" Karen called after her. "And look both ways before you cross the street!" But as soon as Ava was out the door, she turned to Lucas. "Follow her."
"You got it."
"I think it's cool that your mom is letting you walk to school by yourself now." Maddie opened her lunch box and pulled out a cookie, breaking it in half and giving a piece to Ava. Since Carter was too busy playing baseball, the two had plenty of time to hang out together.
It was a routine of theirs. Lunch and recess coincided with each other, so all the kids would eat before running off to play in the school yard. Ava, Maddie, and Carter would sit with one another and split their desserts.
"Yeah, me, too." Ava smiled, biting into the cookie as a small breeze blew by. She loved the autumn weather. All the leaves were changing colors and the weather wasn't too hot or too cold. The sky was so blue and the air was so warm. "Are you still coming to the party today?"
"Yup." Maddie popped the 'p'. "Is your mom making the cake? She makes the best cake ever."
Maddie was cake crazy. She didn't care what flavor it was, if it was cake, she was going to find a way to eat it.
"She's making me a strawberry cake…..I think…" Ava trailed off once she noticed their class bully, Sarah, and Eliza making fun of a girl she had never seen before. She was sitting on the swing that Sarah usually occupied, so she knew the girl was new. "Who's that?"
The girl was visibly upset and she was staring at her feet while Sarah and Eliza taunted and teased her. Ava noticed that the new girl was wearing some worn out clothing that looked a little too big on her and she wondered if there was a reason for it.
Her gut burned with anger while she watched the two girls tear her down for no reason. She didn't like bullies and Sarah had been one for far too long.
Ava remembered when they first met in kindergarten. Sarah made no effort to be nice to anyone except Eliza and that's only because they were cousin. She made some kids cry, refused to share anything, and just made everyone as miserable as possible any chance she got.
She was so good at it that she never got caught.
"Oh her?" Maddie nonchalantly looked in that direction. "She's new. I saw her in the office earlier. Her name's Sam and I think she's gonna be in our class."
"Just leave me alone." Sam spoke monotonously, trying to drown out the noise of the two mean girls. "I've never done anything to you."
"So?" Sarah smirked. "We don't like you, and you don't belong here."
"Yeah, we don't like orphans." Eliza added.
Ava didn't find her to be truly nasty, but she always followed everything her cousin did. She guessed she couldn't blame her, not really. She always tried to do what Lucas and Haley were doing.
The only difference was, Lucas and Haley were nice people.
"Is she an orphan?" Ava asked Maddie.
"I don't know." Maddie shrugged. "Do you want to go help her?"
It was no use sitting around and getting upset. They might as well do something about it.
"Yeah." Ava stood up and the two made their way over to Sarah and her little sidekick. "Leave her alone."
"Well, if it isn't the orphaned bastard." Sarah grinned like a cat that had just found fresh meat. "Go away, this is none of your business."
That was the thing about living in a small town, everybody knew everyone else's business.
There wasn't one person in Tree Hill that didn't know about Ava's situation with her biological mother, Karen, Dan, and her brothers. s she got older, she was starting to notice the stares or the condescending smiles and the hushed whispers.
But all of that was a lot easier to ignore than this.
Sarah loved to tease her about her family situation. She knew just what buttons to press to get even the smallest of reactions.
"Why don't you leave her alone?" Maddie spoke up. "She's new."
"So?" That seemed to be Sarah's favorite word. "She was sitting on my swing."
"So?" Ava shot back. "It isn't even yours, and I heard some fifth grader pushed you off of it after school yesterday."
"You want me to leave her alone? Fine." Sarah shrugged, obviously the comment had gotten to her. "I will. But only because it's your birthday…...not that it means much anyway." The fourth grader rolled her eyes and turned away with her lackey following close behind.
"Thanks." Sam smiled shyly, fiddling with the sleeves of her sweater that was two sizes too large. "You didn't have to do that."
"We wanted to." Maddie assured her. "You're Sam, right? I'm Maddie and that's Ava. And that boy over there with the baseball bat is Carter." She introduced. "I saw you in the office earlier."
"Are you in the fourth grade?" Ava asked hopefully.
"Yeah. I just moved here." Sam nodded. "I hate moving to new schools...…no one really wants to be my friend."
"We can be your friends." Maddie said.
"But you don't even know me." Shock etched itself onto Sam's features.
"You never know someone until you become friends." Ava smiled encouragingly.
"Okay." Sam visibly relaxed. "Thanks."
"Hey, I have an idea." Ava perked up. "It's my birthday and I'm having a party today. Wanna come?"
She didn't think it'd be a big deal to invite someone else to the party and Sam looked like she could use an afternoon of distraction.
"It's gonna be so much fun." Maddie nodded. "We're going straight there after school."
"I don't have a gift to bring."
"I want you to come anyway."
Little did the three know, that this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
"Hi, Haley." Ava greeted as she and her friends entered the cafe. The place wasn't bustling with customers because of the time and her mother was planning on closing early. "Whatcha doin'?" She hopped up on a stool and looked over the counter.
She wanted to see if there were any presents hidden down there.
"Happy birthday, Ava." Haley smiled, knowing exactly what the little girl was up to. "I'm working, same as I do everyday. Who's your new friend?'
"Her name's Sam." Ava told her before turning to Sam. "That's Haley. She's weird."
She figured she'd break the ice now so things wouldn't get awkward.
"Havana-Rose!" Haley gasped, playfully hitting her with a rag she had been using to wipe down the counter. She didn't mind the joke, she and Ava were always playfully insulting one another. "I'm not weird." She couldn't help but insist. Though, she didn't know why she wanted to seem cool in front of a few third graders. "Hi, Maddie, has Ava been driving you crazy?"
"No." Maddie laughed.
"Carter?"
"No." The boy chuckled, swiping a brownie and splitting it with Ava.
As close as Maddie and Ava were, he and Ava were closer, but in their own way.
Maddie was fun to shop with and do girly things with, like sleepover parties and hair braiding. But Ava and Carter's connection was deeper, probably because they had known each other a lot longer.
"Are you sure?" Haley joked. "Blink twice if you need help."
"Haley!" Ava couldn't help but giggle.
"I'm serious. Sam, you still have a chance to get away."
That made the usually subdued girl smile. "I think I'll stick around."
"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear, Ava! Happy birthday to you!" All the guests sang as the birthday girl stood in front of her lit cake.
It was the most beautiful cake Ava had ever seen.
The baby pink frosting made her want to grab a fistful of it and shove it in her mouth, but at nine years old, she had enough impulse control to understand that wasn't a very good idea.
"Now make a wish and blow out the candles, so we can eat some cake." Skills told her as he, Junk and Fergie entered the cafe, making everyone laugh.
Every year, Karen would host her birthday party at the cafe. It was a nice venue and it was easy to get everything prepared and set up.
"Skills! You came!" Ava grinned, turning around to face him.
"You didn't tell her I was coming?' Skills gave Lucas a look. "You know I haven't missed a single one of her birthdays since she was a rugrat."
Skills was one of Lucas' closest friends and, by extension, he was Ava's, too. And he was the funniest person she knew. There was no one else that could get her to belly laugh on her very worst days.
Unlike some teenaged guys, Skills didn't mind spending time with Ava. He never treated her as if she were someone's annoying little sister, even though somedays, Alya knew that's exactly how she behaved.
"I wanted it to be a surprise." Lucas fist bumped him. "Thanks for coming by."
"Make a wish." Maddie nudged her friend. "You can wish for anything you want."
Ava leaned over the cake and closed her eyes for a moment, in deep concentration.
She knew exactly what she wanted to wish for.
She wanted to get to know her father and her brother…..but if that was asking for too much, she could live with just getting to know her father.
So taking a deep breath, and letting her wish go, Ava moved to kneel down on her seat, placing her hands on the counter to brace herself before she blew the flame of all nine candles out and opened her eyes.
"Can I open my presents now?" She turned to her mother with a cheeky grin.
"Yes, you can open your presents now." Karen pretended to be tired. "She's been asking me that all day." She told the adults in the room, making them laugh.
"Here." Lucas handed the nine year old a big brown bag. "This is from me and all the guys on the court."
Ava accepted the gift, popping the bag open before she tore the green paper out of it and pulled out a brand new basketball. "Wow. This is so cool." It wasn't just a regular basketball though, it was blue and purple, her two favorite colors. "Thank you."
"Now you can go out on the court and play whenever you want." Lucas squeezed the back of her neck.
"Yeah, work on that crossover and you'll be breaking our ankles in no time." Skills joked as Ava reached out to hug him, giving Junk and Fergie a kiss on the cheek.
"This one's from me and your mom." Keith handed her a box that was covered in blue wrapping paper, topped off with a red bow. "Go nuts."
Like the last gift, Ava didn't waste any time tearing the wrapping paper off, revealing a boxed set of vintage car models. "Thank you!"
Because of Keith's influence, Ava was really into cars. She could spend several hours at a time in his garage, just watching him work on all the different models that were brought in. These days, Keith was teaching her how to work on the engines and change tires.
It was better that she learn it all now, because when she was old enough to drive, she'd need this knowledge.
"Open mine." Haley handed her the gift she had bought. "I had a hard time hiding this one from you."
And that was no understatement.
Ava was like a bloodhound when it came to sniffing out presents. Haley couldn't believe how many times her gift had almost been found.
"Thanks, Haley!" Ava squealed, looking at what the teen had gotten her.
A boxed set of children's classic books, because she loved to read.
While other kids longed to play outside and run wild, Ava enjoyed the company of a good book. There was nothing like sitting at the window sill of her room, with a blanket on her lap and a book in her hands.
She loved to explore different worlds without having to leave her front yard.
"I used to love these as a kid, so I thought maybe we could sit down and read them together."
"I'd like that."
The rest of the party was wonderful.
They danced, they had little karaoke sessions, and the best part of it all, was Ava got to stay up way later than she normally did.
It was just a really great day, which apparently, wasn't over yet.
"Hey." Keith called her attention after everyone had cleared out and they had gone home to get some rest, pulling a small box from the pocket of his jean jacket. "You have one more gift from me."
"What is it?" Ava asked, taking it from him and opening the box. "A necklace?" Her eyes widened.
It wasn't just a necklace. It was a heart-shaped, gold locket with her name engraved on the front of it, with room for more than two pictures at a time.
It was beautiful.
"Open it up."
Inside, there was a picture of Ava and Keith that she immediately recognized.
It had been taken on her fifth birthday when they had gone down by the Riverwalk for ice cream. Being the five year old that she was, Ava wanted two scoops of chocolate ice cream on a cone, despite her mother's warning that she might end up spilling it on herself. Miraculously, she didn't. She just ended up getting it all over her face.
The picture was taken after Karen had wrestled her with a baby wipe, killing her mood.
So Keith lifted her up onto his shoulders and got her smiling again, ready for the camera.
"Thank you." Ava whispered, touched by the gesture. "I love it. Can you put it on me?"
Keith nodded and did just that before the two shared a heart warming hug. "I love you, kid." He spoke after pulling away, placing a gentle hand over her heart. "No matter what happens, or where we end up, you open that locket of yours and look at that picture. I'll always be right here."
Before heading to bed, Ava crept out to the kitchen to see if she could sneak a piece of cake back to her room.
But she stopped when she saw a bag at the door.
It hadn't been there before she was sent to bed, so someone must've dropped it off without any of them knowing.
But the question was, who did it?
There was no name written on the little cards that usually come with gift bags, but it was addressed to her.
Whoever sent it, must not have wanted her to know who it was from…..
But who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth?
So quickly and quietly, Ava brought the bag to her room, forgetting all about the cake she had gone into the kitchen for, and shut the door behind her.
Pulling out the wrapping paper as quietly as she could, Ava found a card in an envelope with her name on it.
Maybe this would tell her who it was from.
Havana-Rose,
Happy Birthday, Baby. I hope you had an outstanding day with everything you wished for. You're one special little girl, don't let anyone take that from you.
Love, your father, Dan Scott and your brother, Nathan Scott. The card read.
Looking further into the bag, she found a stuffed Lady plush.
Now, how Dan even knew that she liked Lady and the Tramp was beyond her knowledge, but she was far too excited by the fact that he acknowledged her existence to care.
Best. Birthday. Ever.
Ava squealed when her uncle lifted her up in celebration.
After the train wreck Lucas called his first game with the team, he decided that he was going to quit and go back to the Rivercourt. It was too hard having to go into the gym, knowing Dan was going to be there. The game stopped being fun and became very stressful and unnerving, as if a piece of him was taken.
Ava didn't think that he should quit doing something he loved, but when Lucas set his mind to something, he was hard to shake.
That is, until their mother had a heart-to-heart with him, sharing her own feelings and experiences. Of course, Ava didn't know what was said, but whatever it was, it worked.
Because, now, Lucas was back on the court and he was on fire!
Ava wished she had a video camera with her so she could record just how many shots her brother made!
He even made the final shot just as the buzzer went off!
She couldn't wait to get down from the bleachers to celebrate with him, so as soon as the coast was clear, she wiggled down from Keith's arms and raced towards him.
Lucas heard her coming and caught her just as she threw herself at him.
"I knew you could do it!" She grinned, hugging his neck. "You were so cool!"
"Thank you, Babygirl." Lucas kissed her cheek before setting her down again.
"You rock." Keith smiled at his nephew once he and Karen made their way over.
"Thanks, Uncle Keith." Lucas hugged his mother.
"For a kid that was about to quit, that was something to see."
"But I picked up fouls too early, and I was slow getting back into it."
"You were great." Karen assured him.
While they spoke, Ava noticed a basketball laying around and picked it up, walking away from her family so she'd have more space to dribble.
She passed the ball from her left to her right with a steady rhythm before passing it between her legs and shooting.
"Well, I'll be." A voice startled her when the ball went in the hoop.
Ava whirled around and saw Coach Whitey smiling at her. She knew who he was, of course, she just never really interacted with him.
He was an older man, bald, with wrinkles by his eyes and he looked severe. He didn't seem like the kind of person Ava wanted to make angry.
"I'm sorry." She fiddled with her sleeves.
She knew she probably wasn't supposed to be playing on the court, but the ball was just so irresistible that she couldn't help herself. Seeing Lucas playing and enjoying himself made her want to do the same.
"What are you apologizing for?" The grin never left his features. He was looking at her in such a way that Ava had her suspicions that he knew something she didn't. "I can't be that scary."
At the joke, Ava giggled a little and relaxed.
He didn't seem so bad, besides, Lucas liked him. And if Lucas liked him, then he was a good man.
"How long have you been playing?"
"My whole life." Ava's gapless smile nearly split her face and she beamed with pride.
"Well, you keep it up. I might have to put you on the team." The old man placed a gentle hand on her hair before walking away.
"Pass me that wrench." Keith addressed Ava as he worked under the hood of a car. Today, Ava was truly interested and very hungry to learn anything her uncle was willing to teach her. So she stopped by the bodyshop on her way home from school just to hang out with him. "Well, Luke, I owe you an apology."
Ava reached into the metal toolbox and fished around for the crescent wrench she knew Keith wanted before handing it to him. She tried not to crowd his space, but she needed to remain close in order to see what he was doing.
She loved the smell of the bodyshop. The grease, the oil, the musty aroma that just wouldn't fade no matter how many little trees were hung from the rearview mirror of the cars.
She loved getting the oil all over her face and hands because it meant that she had accomplished something and it made her feel proud.
"For what?" Lucas questioned while sitting in the front seat of the car they were working on.
"I told you not to take things personally, but they're making it personal." Keith explained himself.
Ava heard about all the mean tricks the team had been playing on Lucas ever since he joined the team.
And she didn't understand it.
Why would they waste their time torturing him, instead of sticking together? Isn't that what a team was supposed to do?
Maybe when she got older, she'd understand. But for now, she thought it was stupid.
"Alright, let's give her a try."
Lucas nodded and turned the key in the ignition, making the engine rumble.
Another successful job.
Ava's head turned as she saw someone enter the bodyshop from the corner of her eye. He looked like he was Lucas' age, and the nine year old couldn't help but think he was handsome.
He had beautiful brown eyes and brown, curly hair where if Ava looked close enough, she'd be able to see the reddish undertones. He was tall and he had a few muscles on him which she liked.
But when he looked in her direction, she quickly turned away.
"Sorry, we're closed." Keith told him, before he looked up to see who it was.
Ava moved to stand by his side, part of her wanting to reveal herself to this new person.
"Hi." The boy waved awkwardly. "I'm Jake."
Jake was such a handsome name. Ava thought he could be a prince like the one in Sleeping Beauty and she wondered if he danced.
"Oh, hi, Jake. I'm Keith."
"How're you doing?"
Ava knew she only had one shot at making a good first impression, so she mustered up as much courage as she could hold in her little body and let it rip.
"I'm Ava." The child smiled shyly, shocking both her uncle and her brother.
"Hi, Ava." Jake bent down slightly to shake her hand. "Your brother's told me a lot about you. You sure are prettier in person."
Ava blushed a fiery red and her face grew as hot as it looked. The dirty blonde was pretty sure she could feel the smoke coming out of her ears. She wanted to cry, giggle, and scream all at the same time. Feeling embarrassed, she pulled her hand away and buried her face in her uncle's jacket, hugging him around the waist to make herself even smaller.
"Well, uh." Keith tried to keep himself from laughing at his niece's expense. He knew first crushes happened young, but he didn't think Ava would develop one on Lucas' friend. "We've got some paperwork to do." He lifted her up onto his hip to put her out of her misery before leaving the two kids on their own. "See ya."
"I think she's sweet on you." Lucas joked once they were out of earshot. "I've never seen her blush like that."
"Yeah?" Jake chuckled. "Well, I'm honored. She seems like a good kid."
"Thanks."
The two fell into an awkward silence before Jake cleared his throat and did what he came to do. "I heard about the court." He said, referring to how the guys on the team completely destroyed the River Court just to rattle Lucas.
"You heard about it, or you were there?" Lucas accused.
"Hey, I don't buy into that mob rule nonsense, alright?" Jake defended himself. "I play defense. I live my life. That's it."
He had better things to do than to vandalize property.
Much better things.
"Yeah, and what about the rest of the team?"
"Look, Luke." Jake sighed. He knew this was hard on the guy, but he had to know that he would be there for him every step of the way. "The guys on the team — they're in a tough spot. Because of the suspension, most of these guys are younger, and they're not going to stand up to Nathan…..it's not right, but that's the way it is."
"Yeah, well, the way it is doesn't work for me, and it doesn't work for my friends."
"Yeah, I know." Jake nodded. "But that's — that's kind of why I came here. This thing could easily get really messy if someone doesn't take the high road. And, I know this isn't my place to ask, but I was just hoping that you could rise above it."
"I don't think I can do that."
"Okay. Just know that if you do, the team's gonna come around." Jake could understand Lucas' frustration, but he really needed him to think clearly about this. "They're gonna see that you're a good guy and a great player."
"And if I can't?"
"Then I got your back." Jake assured him.
And he meant it.
Ava couldn't believe she was doing this.
She had just gotten back from the playground with Maddie and Sam, and she was supposed to go straight home, but her legs were taking her in a different direction.
Specifically, to her father's house.
She had been hanging onto the card he had written to her like a security blanket ever since she read it the week before.
So here she was.
Standing outside of her father's house with nothing but a birthday card and some unhinged courage that was fading faster than she cared to admit. The brick house was huge and it made her feel tiny in comparison. The lights were so bright and the whole atmosphere changed when she got to the front.
Her hand raised to ring the doorbell, but she lost her nerve at the last second, rushing away from the door to sit on the curb and reevaluate this plan.
What if he didn't want to see her? What if he had just written that card to make it seem like he cared, but he really didn't? What if he laughed at her?
Would she be able to handle that kind of rejection?
She didn't think so.
"Hey." A new voice startled her.
Ava looked up from the ground and saw Nathan looking down at her, clad in Tree Hill High sweats. "Hi….you're Nathan, right?"
Nathan was on his way out to hang out with his friend, Tim, when she saw Ava sitting all by herself. He could've just gone about his business and left her there, but that wouldn't have felt right.
"And you're Havana-Rose." Instead, he sat down next to her. "I heard your birthday was last week.…happy belated."
"Thanks. I'm nine now."
"I know." Nathan nodded. He did know. He kept track every year since he found out about her. "What're doing here?"
"Oh….I got a card on my birthday and…." She trailed off with a shrug. "It doesn't matter now."
"You know, we've met before." Nathan decided to change the subject. "When you were a baby."
"Really?" Ava lit up, wanting to know more.
"Yeah." He confirmed. "You were really small and…..shy. Kinda like you are now." He shoved his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt as a chill ran through the air. That's when he remembered the gift he was going to give to her. "Here." He handed her a small red corvette model. "I heard you really like cars and I was gonna give it to Keith to give to you….."
"Thanks." Ava took it and held it in her hands. "It's cool. I like it…..one day I'll drive one just like it."
And Nathan couldn't really explain it, but he felt really happy that Ava had liked his gift. It was almost like he would've been crushed if she didn't like it and he didn't even know her. "My dad's inside — if you want to see him, I can take you."
Ava nodded and allowed him to lead her into the large house to a small office space.
There was no turning back now.
"Dad?" Nathan caught his attention. "There's someone here to see you."
"Send them in." Dan answered, busy looking over some paperwork.
Ava gave Nathan one last look and dragged her feet into Dan's home office. "Hi."
The office was nice. The accented wood was shown off nicely in contrast with the warm overhead lights. Like Ava, it looked like Dan like to collect model cars because he had several decorating his bookshelf.
At the sound of her voice, Dan immediately looked up and put the paperwork down. "Come in, sit down." He motioned to the chair at his desk. "What — What brings you here?"
Ava didn't say anything, she just showed him the card as she sat down.
"You got it."
"Yeah…..I really like the stuffed animal." Ava told him. "Lady's my favorite."
"I know." Dan spoke without thinking. "I mean I heard…..from your Uncle Keith. How's your mom?"
"She's okay." Ava responded.
"How's school?"
"Okay." Ava shrugged.
"School isn't supposed to be okay. It's supposed to be fun."
"Sometimes it is, but there's this girl that always picks on me and calls me names."
"Oh yeah?" Dan quirked an eyebrow. Now Ava knew where she and Lucas got it from. "And what do you do about it?"
"Nothing." Ava fiddled with the car Nathan had given her, making it move across Dan's desk.
"If you don't stand up for yourself, this kid is never gonna leave you alone." He told her. "You may think it'll go away, but it'll only get worse."
"Mama told me to ignore her."
"And how's that working out for you?"
"Not good." The child sighed.
"Exactly, so stick up for yourself and don't let her get to you."