The next morning, Ava woke me up by jumping on me.
"Good morning sunshine," I said, wrapping her up in my arms.
"Mama, it's time for petit-déjeuner(breakfast)," she said.
"Breakfast? What are we having?" I asked.
"Crepes," she said.
"Are we going out?" I asked.
"Can Daddy come?" She asked.
"Ava, baby, Daddy left," I said. "He isn't coming back."
"Why?" She asked.
"I don't know baby," I said. "But, we have each other. And, baby, you know all the stories Momma tells you about Charming and her friends and family?"
"Yeah Mama," she said.
"Well, do you want to go back to California and meet them all?"
"Like live there?"
"Yeah baby," I said. "We can live in California with Mommy's friends and family."
She got off the bed and ran the short distance to my dresser grabbing the picture of Tig and I. She had to stand on her toes to get it, but she grabbed it tightly and brought it to me.
"Like him?"
"Mamour(my love)," I said. "Tig was my first love. He is back in California."
"Meet him," she said.
"I'll get to work. First some little munchkin needs breakfast," I said.
"Crepes," she said.
"I'll make some," I said, grabbing my laptop and taking Ava to the kitchen. I started to work on breakfast while simultaneously searching for apartments in Charming. I made a list of phone numbers to call this afternoon as I worked on breakfast.
Ava was sitting in the living room watching television. I smiled softly at the American cartoons she'd convinced me to put on when I sat her down in the living room.
My phone started ringing. It wasn't the landline. I glanced around. The prepaid. I went to my room and grabbed it.
"Hello?" I said as I ran to the kitchen so I didn't burn breakfast.
"Sammy," My moms voice came through.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said.
"It's after midnight there," I said.
"Oh well, I just I was worried," she said.
"We're okay Mama," I said as I plated the dishes and sat them on the table.
"Ava baby," I said. She turned the TV off and ran out to the kitchen to wash her hands.
"Mom were sitting down to breakfast. I'll call if I have any updates later today," I said.
"Love you baby," she said.
"I love you too," I said. She hung up and I sat the prepaid on the counter.
"Good job baby," I said as Ava dried her hands off.
We sat down to eat. Ava was singing happily in between bites. I smiled at her as she kept pushing her hair out of her face with her dirty hands.
"You're gonna need a bath there girl," I said.
"No bath," she said.
"Yes baby," I said. "You're a mess."
She pouted but continued to eat. She's definitely a Teller. I smiled at her and she smiled in return.
I spent the next several weeks working on finding an apartment and getting everything ready for the move. I spent a lot of time on the phone after Ava was in bed. It was draining raising her all day alone and then having to manage a move around the world alone at night. Some days took their toll on me. Others were better.
Before too long, the last of our stuff was being shipped to Charming and I was packing our bags for our flights to California.
Ava was a great traveler. I was worried she'd struggle. She was very soft spoken around new people so I could tell she was struggling with being away from everything she's known. She slept a lot, and so did I.
When we landed at the airport closest to Charming, I immediately grabbed the prepaid and called the taxi company out of Charming. They said they could have someone here in twenty minutes to pick us up and get us back to Charming.
I relaxed for the first time in literal months as I stepped outside with my daughter and breathed in the hot, dry air of Northern Cali.