Faing the Vows

Chapter 1

Max

The coffee shop was bustling as usual. A long line of customers snaked across the narrow but deep storefront which I found myself in, waiting for my chance to grab a cup of caffeine on my way to work. I always enjoyed the atmosphere of this little shop, where the hiss of the espresso machine and the aroma of coffee beans roasting always filled the air. It was one of the only places in the world that felt like home, though I credited that to the warm smile on the beautiful brown-haired barista.

The line inched forward but I watched her interactions with every customer. Always polite, always smiling, but with a slight cough every now and then. She told me it was allergies; I told her a dozen times to go get some allergy meds. She was stubborn and independent. I wanted her so bad I could taste it.

Ava was perfect in every way to me. She loved her job as a barista, though she'd told me how it didn't quite pay the bills. She was always at work, always on time, always with the same warm smile. She never complained, always had a cheery disposition, and always told me "no" every time I asked her to go on a date with me.

But the flicker of intrigue in her eyes when she looked at me was enough to let me know I was wearing her down. She was interested but she was just so stubborn as to refuse my invitations on principle--which one I couldn't tell you, except that she felt we were worlds apart, and maybe we were. My millions contrasted with her penniless life, but I didn't care. The fact that she resisted me made her all the more desirable.

"Morning, Max." Ava's smile only grew warmer when she met me at the order counter. The single strand of sandy-brown hair that dangled by her cheek hugged it and made my fingers itch to curl it around her ear.

"Good morning, Ms. Brooks." I stepped forward and rested my hands and wallet on the Formica countertop. This entire place was brand new, part of the gentrification efforts my firm had been involved in. Old neighborhoods like this needed some life pumped into them, and projects like this one were so important and vital to the health of the city of Phoenix.

"What'll it be today?" She stood waiting with expectancy in her expression and a bit of curiosity in her gaze.

I liked to keep her on her toes, ordering something different every day so she never had my drink ready ahead of time. It gave me a few extra minutes with her during the morning coffee rush. I used the time to soak up her presence and enjoy being near her.

"How about one of those caramel apple dumpling drinks with the sugar sprinkled on the top." I winked at her and leaned over the counter resting my elbows on it as I unfolded my wallet and pulled out my card. "How are you feeling today?"

Ava's fingers pecked away at the touchscreen in front of her, and I swore she was moving slower than she had for any customer before me. Her cheeks had a dusting of crimson and her lips shimmered with lip gloss which she smacked a few times as she concentrated on putting my order in. The bright rainbow polish on her finger made me smile. She was a very colorful person in every way including her bubbly personality.

"I'm feeling okay today. How about yourself?" Her slight cough didn't escape my notice, but I didn't bring it up again. I watched her expression shift as she turned to me and handed me my card back. She was waiting for me to say it the way she always did.

"I'm better now that I've seen your smile. Have you changed your mind yet? Have lunch with me." I took my card back and slid it into my wallet only to receive the same response I always got from her.

"Max, you're a sweet man, but you and I won't work out." She patted my hand and turned to make my drink and I lingered there studying her every move. She carried herself with such grace and poise, it was hard to look at anything else.

"Girl, a billionaire asks you out and you say no?" One of her coworkers gave her a hard time and she chuckled at them while she prepped the espresso machine.

"A billionaire with a knack for saving broken things, like this city block." Ava believed I had a hero complex or something, simply because I was a ringleader in the upgrading of this neighborhood. I just believed any person with this much money had a responsibility to give back, which I loved doing too. It made me feel better about the disparity between my lifestyle and those who weren't as well off as me. Like it balanced things out a little.

"She's just afraid he'll make her fix those split ends and get new sneakers," another coworker jibed and Ava's cheeks flushed red as she returned to the counter with my drink. I didn't notice any split ends. What I noticed was a woman so captivating and breathtaking I had a hard time controlling my thoughts.

"Here you are," she said politely, with the same smile I enjoyed so much.

"Thank you... I'll be back tomorrow. Same time, different drink. Same question." I put my wallet in my pocket and picked up my drink. "Unless you change your mind now?"

The line of customers behind me seemed just as intrigued to hear her answer as I was. The woman directly behind me seemed to be hanging on every word of our conversation. My identity in this neighborhood wasn't a secret. Everyone knew who I was and the part I played in making this place what it was.

"Have a great day, Max." Ava smiled and turned toward the woman and I backed away, but I watched her shift back to her happy barista face, and the "excited potential paramour" face vanished. I was affecting her in every tiny interaction, and soon she'd at least consent to a coffee before work.

I headed out a little lighter in my step with hope that tomorrow, she'd be eating out of my hand.

Chapter 2

Ava

I kept an eye on Max as he backed out of the coffee shop and onto the sidewalk, and I took the next customer's order, ignoring my coworkers' snickering. Maxwell Donovan was way out of my league and I knew it. He threw money at problems and worked fifteen-hour days to make sure he could keep his wallet full. Not that I minded a wealthy man; I just liked my life as it was, the struggles and all.

"You know, dear, that man seems to really have taken a liking to you." The woman in front of me stood with a few crisp bills in her hand which rested on the counter Max had just leaned on.

"Yes, I know," I said politely, but I would rather have just gone about my day. This happened about once a week, when Max would visit and other people would hear how he asked me to lunch or dinner. He did it every time he was here. If he didn't do it, I'd think something was wrong.

I turned and grabbed a paper cup and walked to the espresso machine to make the woman's drink while lost in thought. I didn't know what he even saw in me. He was a successful architect who came from old money, and I was a poor college dropout who played assistant manager at a coffee shop. My paychecks paid the bills--barely--but I had nothing to offer him,except a cup of coffee to keep him awake.

"Oh, put some extra vanilla in that, honey!" The woman's shout made me tense but it was part of the job. I finished filling her cup and put an extra pump of vanilla in it before accepting her payment and delivering her drink.

The rest of the line of morning caffeinaters was a blur, lasting another full hour before letting up at all. My chest felt tight and I heard myself wheezing a bit, fighting back the slight cough I'd had for a few weeks. I never developed a fever and it never got worse, so I figured it was allergies or a lingering cold. But I was glad for the lull in traffic at the counter and turned to Kelsey.

"I'm gonna sit in the office for a bit. I have some paperwork to finish up on last week's order anyway." I tugged off the rubber gloves and tossed them in the trash bin,and Kelsey nodded at me.

"Gonna go look up more facts on Loverboy?" she snickered and I rolled my eyes. Kelsey wasn't just a coworker; she was a good friend, who liked to badger me about the "Jillionaire who had the hots for me."

"No," I groaned. "Maxwell Donovan is not on my radar, Kelse." I untied the apron I wore and slipped it over my head, and she came back with more jibes.

"Oh come on, Ava. You have to at least let the man buy you dinner. You could be eating buttered lobster and sipping chardonnay." She tossed her tight black curls and fanned her face, feigning snootiness and I chuckled at her.

"I don't have to do anything." My chuckling brought on a coughing fit, and this one was pretty bad. I had to walk away from the line and toward the office down the narrow hall where boxes from yesterday's shipment had been stacked. I still had to unpack them and put things away, but the store had been so busy I hadn't had time yet.

My chest ached and burned as I felt like I was hacking up a lung. I was unsteady on my feet, leaning on the boxes for support as I coughed harder and harder, and I realized something was very wrong. I felt dizzy and like I couldn't suck in a deep breath. My knees felt weak and my head began to spin. Then next thing I knew I was whimpering: "Help," and suddenly everything was dark.

When my eyes fluttered open, I didn't recognize the face in front of me. A woman probably in her mid-thirties with dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail and severe eyes stared down at me. A mask covered her mouth, and her hands were gloved with blue latex. She wore a jacket with the Phoenix Fire and Rescue insignia on it.

"Ms. Brooks, how are you feeling?" she asked, her words muffled behind the mask. I looked around and recognized the walls of the hallway at work, but the boxes were gone. Two other people wearing Phoenix Fire uniforms hovered over me and Kelsey stood a few yards away chewing a fingernail.

"What happened?" I asked, and I tried to lick my lips, but they had an oxygen mask on my face. I suddenly felt very claustrophobic.

"You passed out, Ava," Kelsey chimed in, and I blinked slowly trying to remember what had happened. I was coughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Ms. Brooks, your O2 stats are pretty low. We're giving you some oxygen now but I think we should transport you to the hospital and find out what's going on." The EMT raised her arm and looked at her watch then up at one of the other EMTs. "Get the cot." The man turned and walked away, and I started to freak out.

"What? No. I don't need a hospital." I pushed the mask away from my face and sat up and instantly felt lightheaded again. The cough was gone but I still felt the tickle in my chest.

"Ava, you're insane. You coughed so hard you passed out. Go to the hospital." Kelsey was there, nudging between the EMT and me so she could tell me off. The man gently repositioned her out of the way as the third medic returned with the gurney.

"I'm not insane. It's just allergies." I tried to stand but felt woozy and sucked in a deep breath only to feel a searing pain in my left side. "I'm okay," I choked out and then started coughing again.

The female EMT caught me under the armpits and helped me steady myself as I stood, but I was too dizzy. I had to shut my eyes and press my hand to my forehead. I had never felt so rotten in my life. It clearly wasn't allergies, and I still didn't have a fever, so I had no clue what it could actually be. This place didn't provide health insurance though, so I couldn't afford any of this. Plus, I was manager on shift and who would take my spot?

"Ava, just listen to them. I called Dale. He's coming in. Jess is taking my spot. I'm coming with you. It's worked out already." Kelsey's hand grabbed mine, and she laced her dark fingers between my pale ones and squeezed.

I looked up at her with sadness and fear. "I don't have insurance." My lip quivered, and I felt my resolve waning.

"Perk Up will cover this--workman's comp. Okay? So you have to go." She grimaced, and I noticed she already had her apron off and her keys in hand. "Go with them."

I sighed and allowed myself to be strapped onto the gurney and wheeled out the door to the ambulance. At least there wasn't a crowd of people in the store to gawk at me, and people on the sidewalk murmured about me, but I was too worried about how I was going to afford rent if I was sick and out of work even for a few days. It made me feel even more sick.

An hour later I was settled into a bed in the emergency department at Hope Hospital with an IV and an oxygen mask, and Kelsey was seated next to me with her phone in hand, scrolling. They did a chest x-ray, and I was bored as hell waiting on the results.

"I really wish you'd have brought my phone."

She probably hated my grumbling, but she had to put up with it. Mom lived in Reno, hours away from here, and who even knew where my dad was. A long-haul trucker, he probably found some lot lizard to shack up with and had zero interest in hearing his daughter was in the hospital. I couldn't even call them if I tried.

"You can scroll mine, but you can't log out of my socials. I don't know the passwords." Kelsey winced as she offered her phone to me, but I passed. No point in having a phone when I couldn't do anything with it. It was nothing more than a brick.

The rhythmic ticking of someone's breathing machine drove me crazy. There were no walls here, only curtains separating one exam station from the next. It was easy to listen in on any conversation in a close vicinity, which made me feel like my privacy was going to be violated if they came back and told me what was wrong with me. It was a horrible set up.

"No thanks," I grumbled and stared up at the ceiling. The light nested into the drop ceiling had the scene of a cloudy sky with hot air balloons painted on it, as if it were a sunroof and I could see the heavens. It was bad art too, like they went cheap on the artist. "I just want to go home."

I hadn't coughed once since I got here. I felt better too, like they were making a huge deal out of this. But part of me was scared too. The EMTs talked quietly while we drove, and I swore I heard one of them say I'd be in the hospital a while. They obviously had their suspicions, but they didn't tell me what they thought.

"Hopefully they'll bring the results back soon." Kelsey retracted her arm and folded her hands around the phone in her lap.

I hated hospitals, and I hated the idea that I was sick. But mostly I hated being told what to do. I was very independent. I needed to make my own choices and my own way. I'd seen how my mom was manipulated into being my dad's toy for so long, until she finally broke away and got her freedom. I almost had to go live with him too, but she fought for me. And now I was fighting for me. Even men like Maxwell Donovan couldn't be trusted. Too much power. I had to be in charge, and I refused to be with a man like my father.

The curtain drew back and three doctors walked in, one of them carrying a black film. He had it tucked under his arm, and he had a stern look on his face. I felt my stomach churn at the sight of them and knew in my gut something was wrong.

"Ms. Brooks, we have some news for you. We'd like to discuss that with you," one of the doctors, a man in his forties, said, and he glanced at Kelsey.

"Oh, she's okay," I told them. "She can stay."

I glanced at her, and she looked as nervous and scared as I was. Besides, if I passed out from shock someone would have to be aware of what was going on to call my mom.

"Ms. Brooks, we need to do some more testing, so you'll be admitted to the hospital for at least the next day or so while we do those tests, but based on what we can see on the x-ray, we're concerned." The older doctor started his speech but a younger, pretty female who stood to his right continued it.

"We believe you have pulmonary fibrosis. It's a condition where your lungs develop scar tissue, making them stiff and less able to function properly. Normally, your lungs are soft and stretchy, allowing oxygen to easily move into your blood. But with fibrosis, the scarring makes this harder, so your body doesn't get enough oxygen, leaving you short of breath and tired. It tends to get worse over time as more scar tissue forms."

The woman's words were confusing. I looked at Kelsey and reached for her hand. She held my hand and patted it,but I saw the tears in her eyes. She was premed before she decided that wasn't what she wanted and switched gears. She knew some of these things even though her focus was now on psychology and counseling.

"What are they saying? What's the treatment?" I asked Kelsey and anyone else for that matter. I understood what scarring was, but how would my lungs get scarred? "How did this happen?" I felt frantic, like a caged animal that wanted to run and be free from a predator, but the predator was my own body.

"Well, that's what we want to test to find out. Sometimes it's your environment, sometimes an infection." The older male doctor spoke again, softly with compassion. "Sometimes we never know what causes it. What we do know is based on this x-ray--" he held it up in the air and I thought it looked normal "--we see that it is quite progressed. We need to do testing quickly."

"What does that mean?" Kelsey asked, and I heard the fear in her tone.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I thought I might vomit. I had been coughing for weeks, months maybe even, and the wheezing had been happening for days. I never knew it could be something this serious.

"It means," said the final doctor who hadn't spoken yet. He was a good-looking man in his late twenties, who had I not been strapped to a gurney with tubes coming out of me I'd have probably been flirting with. "That she's probably had this for a long time and didn't know it. This acute exacerbation could have been triggered by stress or an infection or even an environmental cause. We need tests to know more."

I thought of Max, and how for the longest time he teased me about seeing a doctor for my cough, how I always rolled my eyes at him and thought he was just flirting. He was, but I wished I'd have taken that flirting more seriously. Still, I had no insurance, which was the reason I had put it off to begin with, and instantly this became my primary concern.

"What's the treatment? How expensive?" I squeezed Kelsey's hand harder and chewed the inside of my cheek. I couldn't afford this. I'd end up back in Reno living with my mom and barely scraping by again.

"Well, that's tough to say. There are some medications that could help slow the progression or even stop the progression. We can put you on oxygen to--"

"How do you cure it?" I blurted out, cutting off the older doctor.

The younger man stepped forward and grimaced. "There is no cure. And for as far as this has progressed we're only being optimistic by saying medications may help. At this point, we will recommend you to the transplant board for addition to the list."

My head spun. Transplant? That was like a million dollars or something. I couldn't afford this visit today let alone a surgery. I had no way to pay for any of this. I tore the blanket back and turned to try to slide out of bed but the doctors were quickly there, pushing me back in.

"I can't afford this. I'm so broke. Please," I whimpered but they kept me there.

"We can explore options to help you with obtaining insurance, but we really need to do more tests. You could die from this, Ms. Brooks." The woman stood in front of me,and I collapsed onto her chest, clinging to her lab coat as sobs wracked my body. This couldn't be happening.

Why was my life so horrible? After everything I'd already fought through to get to where I was today, and the amount of therapy I'd been through to move past my trauma... I deserved better than a death sentence, because that's what this was.

Chapter 3

Max

When Ava wasn't manning the coffee counter at Perk Up yesterday morning for her normal shift I figured the cough had gotten the better of her. I still ordered a coffee, though I got it black, the way I liked it--not those crazy sugary drinks I forced myself to knock back just to watch her for a few minutes longer as she made them. And while I missed our normal morning encounter, I knew everyone got sick now and then.