Casual Layovers

Chapter Nineteen

Avery's only response is to laugh again, mostly at her own foolishness, as tears begin to form in her eyes. "Oh yes, believe me, I know. It isn't like you haven't told me already, multiple times. " She's nodding as she swallows the lump in her throat and tilts her head back hoping to will the unshed tears back into her eyes. When she looks at Ryan again, she sees a sad, disheartened look upon her face. "I should go." Avery finally says and does not wait for an answer before she turns again to walk towards the front door. She opens it without once looking back and it is not until she is in the elevator again, that she lets tears blur her vision of the city on the other side of the glass.

Inside the apartment, Ryan is sitting on her sofa trying to process everything that Avery has just told her. Avery is in love with me. How could I have been so stupid to believe that this thing we were doing could stay casual? Avery is the last person in the world that she wants to hurt and yet, that is exactly what just happened.

Tears begin to pool in her eyes and she blinks them away. She turns towards the end table again where Avery's gift is still sitting and she walks over to it, picking it up. She takes it back to the sofa and starts to unwrap it. She sees right away that it is a large picture frame with a birthday card taped to the front of it hiding the face of whomever is in the photograph. She pulls the card off slowly hoping not to leave any of the sticky residue from the tape on the glass and she gasps at the photograph when she sees it. It is a black and white photo, taken by Avery herself, of Tatum with Reese in her arms. Her sister is looking down at her baby boy with the most beautiful expression of love on her face. In the background are the blurred bodies of what she can make out to be herself and the rest of the family standing around the two.

Ryan blinks again as more tears are building and she moves to put the large frame down onto the ground so that she can open Avery's card. The card itself is very plain with a quick pen sketch of a birthday cake with candles on the front. Another Avery Jennings original, Ryan thinks. She opens the card to see that it is it has a very beautifully handwritten message.

Ryan--My first choice of a gift for you was a music box. But, I haven't really had enough time to sneak into your study to check out all of the ones you already have in your collection, and I didn't want to risk getting you a duplicate, so I went with what I'm good at. I took this picture the second night Reese was home and I remember thinking how happy Tatum looked in it. I also remember how happy you were to be able to be there with her. I thought that you could put it up somewhere to make your place more "you".

I don't think that I ever really thanked you for allowing me to be a part of something so important to you.

It really meant so much to me.

Happy birthday, Ryan. I wish you so much love and all the happiness, not just this coming year, but always. Love, Avery.

Love, Avery. Ryan reads again. Her heart suddenly clenching, she tosses the card aside and quickly makes her way into her office where she has her phone sitting on the desk. She scrolls and finds Avery's name right away. It rings with no answer until Avery's voice comes on the other end asking her to leave a message, so she hangs up and tries again. The same thing happens again, and she tries a third time. She tells herself that she will just leave a voice message if Avery does not pick up. It does not ring at all this time and the call goes directly to Avery's message. Ryan sighs knowing this means that Avery has turned off her phone. She waits for the beep. "Avery, I opened my birthday gift and I love it. It's one of the most thoughtful things that anyone has ever given to me, and I..." She stutters a bit swallowing the lump she has in her throat. "I really want to talk to you. Will you please just call me back? I don't care how late, I'll wait up. Just, please call me, okay?"