to?”
He let out a long, slow breath. “She’s in college.”
Ava’s heart slammed in her chest. “How much in college?”
“Uh…ah…second year. “
Ava swallowed hard. “What? Say that again!” she demanded as the doors opened.
“She’s nineteen, Aunt Avie,” he whispered.
“Nineteen!” A few heads turned in her direction. She moved away from the elevator, allowing the first car to go on without her. “ Nineteen? ” Ava ambled to a corner with a sliver of glass giving a tiny view of New York City. She pictured Eric at six months, all gums and slick hair stuck to his scalp, bright smile and full of energy. Then she pictured him at a rambunctious five, then seven, then at ten—all wisps of curly hair, glasses, with his nose pressed into a book.
“She’s only two years older than me,” Eric added. “I mean, I’ll be in college in the fall, remember?”
“Your mother’s going to cream you. Hell, she might have to stand in line!”
“She’s a friend, Aunt Avie,” he replied confidently. “She listens and she doesn’t care about my money or anything. She loves…I mean—likes me for me.”
Ava pictured him at twelve during his first book signing; at fifteen, sixteen—receiving his high school diploma in the principal’s office. She had deliberately skipped over the image of him lying in a hospital bed waiting for his next round of tests, but the image pushed its way back, and her eyes welled up. Why was God so unkind to put so much into such a beautiful soul and let all these murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and drug dealers live for what seemed like an eternity?
She quickly cleared her thoughts of Eric in the hospital to hone in on the latest pictures taken of him for his new novel. The young man looked more like twenty-one than almost eighteen. And now some gold digger had sunk her claws into him!
“Eric, this is too much. We’re already in enough hot water.” She had made it back to the waiting area. The moment she saw a shadow come toward the door, she whipped around in the opposite direction, scampering for cover. “Oh Lord!”
“What’s happening?” Eric asked.
Ava lowered her voice to a mere whisper as she peered around the corner to the conference room. “Pierce cleared the room. He wanted to talk with your mother alone.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
Her heels clicked along the marbled tile. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“So why did you leave? You were supposed to stick around and get some details!”
Ava didn’t tell him she’d made the fastest U-turn in history, especially when she saw the look on Raven’s face. “He didn’t have any unfinished business with me.”
“Mom won’t see it that way.”
“She’ll get over it,” Ava replied with slightly more bravado than she felt.
“Won’t save your tail, though,” he said with a light snicker.
“You’re right, my star client.” She dropped her attaché into the nearest chair. “But if I get burned on this one, your little twenty-two million-dollar behind is going to have a seat by the fire right next to me.”
Eric gasped. “You’d serve me up like that?”
“ ‘Trust me, Aunt Avie,’ “ she replied, using the same tone and words from a few months earlier. “ ‘She’ll neeeeever know we had anything to do with it.”
“Awwwww, see! Why you gotta bring up old stuff?”
Ava laughed at his whiny tone. “Hopefully, she’ll be too preoccupied with…other things to remember that I left her hanging.”
“So where are you?”
Ava scanned the area again. “Right outside the conference room. I can’t see through the frosted glass, but they were both still standing when I left. No one’s moving in there now.”
“Stay right there. I’ll come get you and bring you down here. Maybe Marie won’t be afraid to meet you. We’ll go somewhere to eat, then you can let Mom know that Marie’s cool.”
“Now that’s why you need to stay out of grown-folks’ business.” Ava inched
He let out a long, slow breath. “She’s in college.”
Ava’s heart slammed in her chest. “How much in college?”
“Uh…ah…second year. “
Ava swallowed hard. “What? Say that again!” she demanded as the doors opened.
“She’s nineteen, Aunt Avie,” he whispered.
“Nineteen!” A few heads turned in her direction. She moved away from the elevator, allowing the first car to go on without her. “ Nineteen? ” Ava ambled to a corner with a sliver of glass giving a tiny view of New York City. She pictured Eric at six months, all gums and slick hair stuck to his scalp, bright smile and full of energy. Then she pictured him at a rambunctious five, then seven, then at ten—all wisps of curly hair, glasses, with his nose pressed into a book.
“She’s only two years older than me,” Eric added. “I mean, I’ll be in college in the fall, remember?”
“Your mother’s going to cream you. Hell, she might have to stand in line!”
“She’s a friend, Aunt Avie,” he replied confidently. “She listens and she doesn’t care about my money or anything. She loves…I mean—likes me for me.”
Ava pictured him at twelve during his first book signing; at fifteen, sixteen—receiving his high school diploma in the principal’s office. She had deliberately skipped over the image of him lying in a hospital bed waiting for his next round of tests, but the image pushed its way back, and her eyes welled up. Why was God so unkind to put so much into such a beautiful soul and let all these murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and drug dealers live for what seemed like an eternity?
She quickly cleared her thoughts of Eric in the hospital to hone in on the latest pictures taken of him for his new novel. The young man looked more like twenty-one than almost eighteen. And now some gold digger had sunk her claws into him!
“Eric, this is too much. We’re already in enough hot water.” She had made it back to the waiting area. The moment she saw a shadow come toward the door, she whipped around in the opposite direction, scampering for cover. “Oh Lord!”
“What’s happening?” Eric asked.
Ava lowered her voice to a mere whisper as she peered around the corner to the conference room. “Pierce cleared the room. He wanted to talk with your mother alone.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
Her heels clicked along the marbled tile. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“So why did you leave? You were supposed to stick around and get some details!”
Ava didn’t tell him she’d made the fastest U-turn in history, especially when she saw the look on Raven’s face. “He didn’t have any unfinished business with me.”
“Mom won’t see it that way.”
“She’ll get over it,” Ava replied with slightly more bravado than she felt.
“Won’t save your tail, though,” he said with a light snicker.
“You’re right, my star client.” She dropped her attaché into the nearest chair. “But if I get burned on this one, your little twenty-two million-dollar behind is going to have a seat by the fire right next to me.”
Eric gasped. “You’d serve me up like that?”
“ ‘Trust me, Aunt Avie,’ “ she replied, using the same tone and words from a few months earlier. “ ‘She’ll neeeeever know we had anything to do with it.”
“Awwwww, see! Why you gotta bring up old stuff?”
Ava laughed at his whiny tone. “Hopefully, she’ll be too preoccupied with…other things to remember that I left her hanging.”
“So where are you?”
Ava scanned the area again. “Right outside the conference room. I can’t see through the frosted glass, but they were both still standing when I left. No one’s moving in there now.”
“Stay right there. I’ll come get you and bring you down here. Maybe Marie won’t be afraid to meet you. We’ll go somewhere to eat, then you can let Mom know that Marie’s cool.”
“Now that’s why you need to stay out of grown-folks’ business.” Ava inched
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