AVA
Ava jumped off the toilet seat and lunged for the door, stumbling, nearly falling as she yanked up her underwear and pants. She flung the door open and dashed out, not even noticing it slam against the wall knocking a hole in the wallboard.
"Mom! MAAAAHM! Where are you?" She pitched herself down the stairs. "Maaahm?"
"What is it, Dear. What the heck is going on?"
She held up the small plastic thing in her hand. "I'm pregnant! I'M GOING TO HAVE A BABY!" Tears of happiness filled her eyes as she embraced her mother.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Ava! That's incredible! I'm so happy for you. We need to get Kyle on the phone and let him know."
"No! No. I'm going to leave right now and drive home and surprise him. We've been trying for months. He's going to be so happy! I want to see the look on his face when I tell him. Oh, I just can't wait. Oh, Mom, I'm sorry. I know I was going to stay for the weekend and see all your friends tonight. But I have to go!"
"Of course you have to go. Let me help you gather your stuff so you don't forget anything. And don't drive like a maniac! Remember, you've got someone else to watch out for now."
"You're right! Dang, I am so excited! Kyle is just going to crap himself! If I leave now I should be home by seven." She seized her mom and clinched her tight to herself. "Mom, I love you! Thank you for always being there for me. I'll keep you posted."
Three hours later she pulled into the drive of their tiny starter house. Great! His car was there so she wouldn't have to track him down. But what if he went out with friends? She left her suitcase in the car, ran up the steps to the doorway and quietly entered. She wanted to surprise him.
The lights were on as she crossed the living room. No Kyle. She stopped. Why would he have two glasses of wine on the table? Not in the bathroom...she stepped quietly down the hall to the bedroom clutching her pregnancy test. Maybe he's not feeling well. She stepped into the bedroom and though the lights were off she saw her husband lying face down on the bed, his buttocks naked. Panic filled her. Maybe he's...But then she noted that he was moving up and down and from the rhythm she could tell he was approaching his orgasm.
The features of her face transformed from panic and concern to shock, horror, grief. She took a step towards the head of the bed and let out an agony filled moan as she recognized the woman underneath. In nearly a whisper, "Emily?"
The woman under Kyle swung her head to the right and was pierced to her soul by the look on her friend's face and let out a pain filled scream. "Noooo! Ava! Ava, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Kyle! Get off me! Get off me!"
They stared at each other. Life long friends. Since kindergarten. Kyle rolled onto his side and just looked on. Emily jumped out of bed, sobbing. "Ava. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She held her arms to the sides hoping for some signs of understanding of...of anything other than the horror on Ava's face which was now being replaced by anguish and grief.
Ava turned and ran to the cupboard grabbed a couple of garbage bags, then back to the dresser and started stuffing in clothes. Then the bathroom. Just shoveling things into the bags. Not caring if they broke or not. Emily looked for her clothes, a tee shirt, anything to hide her nakedness. She felt so ashamed so dirty. "Ava, please, let me explain. I don't know how it happened. I don't know why I let it happen. Please! Let me talk to you!"
"What's there to talk about, Emily." Both were crying, feeling alone, needing each other's comfort. Both feeling the torment of the painful emotions.
"I never thought..."
"Never thought what? How did you think it was going to end, Emily? What did you think was going to friggin' happen?" Shaking her head in disbelief as she packed, anguish still clearly contorting her features, then in almost a whimper, "You thought we would all be some big happy family or something? I don't know which hurts worse! The fact that my husband of two years cheated on me or that YOU, my best friend for over twenty years, you would do this to me. How long?" Between sobs, "How long!"
Emily shrugged, "About six months?"
"Six months! So you and Kyle...Six months and I never knew? Never suspected? Six months and all the things you and I did together and you were stealing my husband?" She looked bewildered. "He spent twenty-five percent of our marriage with you! How dumb am I?" She mopped her cheeks with her sleeves, "But today? Today of all days. My special day. One of the happiest days of my life!" Looking skyward, "Why?"
In minutes she was out the door, dragging two bags and an arm full of clothes. Into the car they went, angrily thrown onto the back seat. They slid off the seat onto the floor of the car and formed a messy heap. The heap was just like her life, she thought, a mess. The difference was she was being ripped apart, shredded by what had just happened, not just thrown into a heap. She roared out of the drive and then remembered the baby and slowed down. She stopped, pulled out her phone, blocked their numbers and shut it off. Onto the interstate headed back to her mother's.
As the door to the house closed, Kyle got out of the bed and hugged Emily from behind as she stood staring at the door, her right hand still reaching towards her friend who was gone. Gone in every way possible. "It'll be fine, Emily. She'll be fine. We were essentially separated and getting a divorce. We have an understanding. These things just happen."
She turned around and clutched him to herself. "Oh, Kyle. What have I done? How DID I think it was going to end?" She sobbed onto his shoulder.
"Come on. Let's sit on the couch for a bit and let it out."
Three hours later she pulled off the interstate and drove past the gas stations, fast marts and fast food outlets; past the three auto supply chain stores and multiple tire shops; and into town. Her town. The town she grew up in. The town she loved. She knew every corner of it and made the full loop of the square in the center of town. The square that was home to the Santa Village at Christmas and now decked out with Spring flowers.
It was getting late, but couples still walked hand in hand or snuggled on benches. While usually comforting, now it caused the knife to twist again in her heart and her back. Tears started falling anew. Four roads met at the square. Very different roads from very different parts of town. She loved them all. Each offered different opportunities, different neighborhoods, different people, but she chose the one that headed to her mother's house. The real home within her home town. Maybe there she could make sense of it all, stop the pain that was ripping her apart.
She dragged her bags up the red brick steps that matched the red brick walls of the house, between the tapered white wooden columns supported on waist high brick stands that supported the porch and opened the door, not bothering to knock. She was glad it was still unlocked, mom always forgot, and into the living room she stumbled like a small child dragging her blanket. And like that child she collapsed to her knees and gave out a cry of anguish, "Maaaahm!"
Her mom came out of the bedroom not even bothering with her house coat. Dropping to her knees and embracing her. Enfolding her daughter to herself, "Ava! What on earth! Are you okay. Did you have an accident? He didn't like the news? What is going on?"
In almost a wail, "When I walked in the door, he...he was on top of her!"
"On top of who, Hon?"
"He was screwing Emily!"
"What! Oh, dear God. No way. Oh, dear. I just can't believe...Are you su...of course you're sure. Here, just cry it out, Ava. We'll figure out next steps tomorrow." She continued to enfold her and later steered her to her old bedroom, still filled with the mementoes of childhood and college, where she fell asleep, in her old bed. Also a place of comfort and solace. Her mom covered her with the quilt she had made for her years ago and Ava closed her eyes and slept, exhausted, but awakened by the scene, over and over. Emily! Why Emily?
Seven months later Ava was dressed in a loose black dress, the only one she could find that would fit over her enormously swollen abdomen, 'Guess you're gonna carry the baby all out front like I did,' her mom had said to her and parked in the back of the church lot where hopefully no one would recognize her. She still couldn't believe that she'd gotten an invitation to Emily's wedding. What the hell! Was this to rub it in her face? But why had she come? Maybe she should just leave.
She waited until the last possible moment, when every one else had entered the church, drove to the front of the lot and waddled into the church. She knew the layout, Kyle and she had always gone to this one, entered a side door and plunked down in the last pew all the way on the side next to the aisle. She kept her head down, a large bonnet with her blond hair stuffed up into it, praying no one would recognize her.
