Echoes in the Bayou (41 page)

"Just
wait until your first contraction," Sterling said. "You'll be singing
a different tune," he teased. Ava knew that he was right; she told Magnus
that she hoped that he wasn’t squeamish because she expected him to be right by
her side. When he told her that he wasn’t, Sterling made a face. 
"What was that for?" Magnus asked.

"Oh
nothing," Sterling replied. "It's just that you look li
ke one of those men who faints at the sight of blood
is all," he said holding back a laugh.

Ava
playfully slugged him in the arm. "Now you promised you'd be nice!"
She reminded him.

"I
said no such thing," he smiled and gave a wink
.

Sterling
had come to like Magnus and th
ought it wise that
he made the right choice and came after Ava. "And it only took eight
months," he said with sarcasm.

"Better
late than never that's what I say," Anthony chimed in. They were all
sitting at the dining room table; they had just finished eat
ing a delicious Cajun meal prepared by Magnus and
Kelly. Throughout the entire meal, Ava held a warm and smiling glow. She'd been
so happy being with Magnus these past few days and it warmed her heart to know
that her friends had taken a liking to him as well. Even Sterling, who'd been
his toughest critic had begun to warm up to him. Especially after Magnus took
him aside and assured him that he loved Ava like no other and planned to spend
the rest of his life with her.

"Well
when you're ready to get the ri
ng you make sure
to take me along because I know exactly what she wants," he said with
sureness.

 
And he was right, when asked he told Magnus that the
ring Ava had fallen in love with was one that was for sale at her own
shop.  It had been bought by the previous owners but no one ever inquired about
it. When Ava saw the ring, she immediately fell in love with it. The sweet
antique engagement ring contained a two carat marquis diamond. It was flanked
by two square cut diamonds and twenty five single cut diamonds. It was crafted
in the 1930's in a stunning platinum antique filigree and beaded design.

"And
I suppose you've devised a plan on how I can acquire said engagement ring and
surprise Ava with it?" Magnus questioned him.

"Of
co
urse I have," Sterling replied. "But
now is not the time, she's being nosy," he remarked as he noticed Ava
trying to innocently listen in on their conversation.

Steve had
become so strung out that he hadn’t noticed that Monday had come and gone and
that he had stayed an extra week. It wasn’t until the motel manager contacted
him and asked if he had thought about moving into an efficiency did he realize
just how long he'd been there. Steve told him that it would be just a few more
days and then he would be leaving. He had depleted most of his savings account
and until his percentage of the royalties that he was to receive from his
clients came in, he was forced to dip into a private account that no one but he
knew about.

It wasn’t
the motel stay that was wearing him out, it was his coke habit. He had found
that if he drove into Burlington, he could get hooked up with whatever he
wanted and what he wanted was cocaine and that's exactly what he got. Some days
were better than others and he was able to make it through but other days he
knew that if he didn’t take a hit, things could get very, very ugly and this
particular day was one of those days.

 
He'd just got off the phone with the young man who'd
met him at the airport weeks ago and when he told him that he needed to
replenish his supply, the young man responded by telling him that he'd have to
wait. That they were expecting a supply tonight and that once it was delivered,
he would give Steve a call and be able to fill his order. Steve didn’t like
being told that he'd have to wait. He was used to getting what he wanted when he
wanted it and now he had no choice but to wait. He needed something to pass the
time and decided to momentarily turn his fixation back onto Ava.

In his
current state of delusion, he blamed his not being able to get his supply on
Ava. It had been her fault that he had run out of the coke and her fault for
him being holed up in the motel. "It's time I taught that bitch a
lesson," he mumbled and prepared to go out for the night. He'd spend the
early evening watching and if and when the opportunity arrived, he'd jump on
it.  "Fuck trying to plan shit," he said. The addict in him had
begun to spew out and he was becoming more and more desperate.  "Some
of the best ideas come from those who make no plans," he rambled on while
he dressed in a black hoodie and denim jeans.

He took
one last look around the motel roo
m before
placing the Smith and Wesson in his front pocket.

It took
him thirty minutes to reach Ava's house, and as he pulled over on the side of
the road, he took notice that every light was on and it looked as if she was
home. He thought about breaking in and taking her by surprise but thought
better of it when he noticed a big black pickup truck and three other cars,
her's included in the driveway.  He had no doubt that Magnus had arrived
and that one of the cars must have belonged to him. "I bet you're having
the time of your life playing house with Magnus aren’t you?" He said
through gritted teeth.

"You
stole away my chance of making it big and now it's my turn to take away your
chance at living, bitch.
It's Just a matter of
time, and fortunately for you, I've got all night."

 "So
everybody, Adrian and I have an announcement to make," Kelly smiled as the
two joined hands. "Adrian has asked me to move in with him and I
accepted," she grinned and kissed him on the lips. 

"Ke
lly you don’t have to move out," Ava said.
"You know there's plenty of room."

"I
know there is Ava, but I want to start a life with Adrian and besides, we both
think it's time to move in together. This is a good thing," she smiled at
her friend
.

 
"Alright, but if you don’t like it, you know that
there is always a place for you here."

"I
know, and I appreciate that. But it's not like I'm going that far. He lives
just two streets over," she joked
.

"I
know, but I'm still going to miss you," Ava be
gan
to cry. Kelly had been there for her through the good times and bad and she was
going to miss not having her in the house.

"You've
got Magnus and soon you'll have your baby. Something tells me that you won't
miss me that much," she teased and hugged he
r
tight.

"I'll
always be here for you," she whispered in her ear
.

An hour
later as he watched her guests begin to leave, Steve had to slump down in the
front seat of his car, he didn’t want to be seen by anyone. When he was sure
that all the vehicles had left he crept along the large shrubs that lined the
long driveway and made his way quietly towards the house. He panicked when he
was near the front porch and heard the familiar "chirp" of the car
alarm being disarmed.

"Where
are you going?
" he heard Magnus ask. The
front door was open and he could hear their entire conversation.

"I
just need to run out for some chocolate chip cookies, I have been dying for
some chocolate chip cookies she laughed.

"Okay
well hold on and I'll go
with you."

"Magnus,
I'm just going up the road, I'll be alright really. You stay here and call your
parents. You promised that you were going to call them and you haven’t yet so
take your time and call, I'll be right back.
"

It's now
or neve
r,
he said to himself as he carefully opened up the door and crawled into the back
seat.

"Only
if you're sure. Bu
t I can go with you Ava,"
Magnus had begun to get persistent.

"Magnus,
I love you but I don’t need you to go to the store with me," she grinned.
"I'm not helpless you know. I'll be back, love you," she said before
making her way down the stairs and getting into the car.

"
Love you too," he shouted.

She let
out a sigh
of relief as she started the car and
made her way down the driveway. She took no notice of the strange car that was parked
on the side of the road.

Steve
hoped and prayed that she wouldn’t hear him breathing and run off the road in
fright. He wanted to make her squirm and he wanted her to see the man who was
about to take her life. When she pulled up into the parking lot of the
convenience store she cursed when she saw that it was closed. "Shit!"
she said as she sat trying to think of another place to go. It felt good to be
on her own and out of the house. When she decided to take a road that was
unfamiliar, she smiled. It felt good to be independent; it had been a while
since she'd been allowed to do anything on her own what with Sterling and Kelly
always looking out for her. And now with Magnus being there, one would have
thought she loved being waited on and doted over but she did not, not all the
time anyway and tonight was one of those nights. She felt like a teenager out
on the prowl.

When she
saw a sign that read, "Gas and Go convenience store" she smiled
again. "Sometimes it pays to take the road less traveled," she said
as she pulled into the empty parking lot. "Might as well get some gas
while I'm at it," she said and fished in her purse in search of her
wallet. A young man appeared and knocked on her window causing her to jump.

"Sorry
about that ma'am what can I
get for you?"

"That's
okay," she said. "Wow I didn’t think there were any full service gas
stations left in this country," she grinned.

"We
are a dying bree
d," the young man joked.
Want me to fill it up?"

"Yes
please
." She grabbed her purse and climbed out
of the car. "You guy's carry chocolate chip cookies? I'm having an awful
craving," she told him and patted her belly.

The young
man
hesitated before placing the nozzle inside
the gas tank. "Yes ma'am all the way in the back, right across from the
bread."

"Great,
I'll be insid
e," she said and made her way
towards the store.

 
When she walked in, she noticed that the appearance of
the store reminded her of an old station from the fifties. She smiled at the
vintage signs and the remnants of what looked to be an out of date soda
fountain. There was a sense of nostalgia about the place that she found very
soothing. "I have got to tell Magnus about this place," she said and
took out her cell phone.

"Ava,
where are you? I was getting worried," he said.

"I'm
fine, the convenience mart was closed so I went in another direction and found
the cooles
t gas station," she said. She
hadn’t noticed the attendant rapidly making his way up behind her.

"Magnus,
I swear this place is …Oh my god you scared me, again!" She cried out
.

 
"Ava, who scared you? What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing,
I'm a
lright Just hang on a minute."

"Sorry
to scare you again ma'am but there's something you need to know.
"

Magnus
could hear the attendant talking to her.

"What
is it?" Ava asked. "Is there something wrong with the car? There
better not be, I've only had it
for about seven
months," she began to complain.

 
"No ma'am, there isn’t anything wrong with the
car. Ma'am I've placed a call to the police and they're on the way."

"Ava,
where are you?" Magnus was shouting now but she couldn’t hear him as she
held the phone away from her ear.

"Why
would you do that?" She asked and slowly began backing away from him.

"Because
the poor guy is trying to tell you that there
was someone hiding in the back seat of your car you stupid bitch!" Steve
said as he burst into the small store.

 
Ava startled, jumped back and screamed as Steve had
made his way into the store making sure to lock the door behind him. She
couldn’t help but notice the nine millimeter in his hand. Magnus could hear
every word. "Ava if you can hear me, please do what he says. Ava? Can you
hear me?"