Chapter 7
1622 Words
Monday mornings always felt like a fresh start.
No matter how chaotic the previous week had been, there was something comforting about a new Monday. Students hurried across campus carrying fresh planners, half-finished coffees, and the determination that this would be the week they finally got ahead.
Ava wasn’t convinced.
She parked her Honda in the same gravel lot she used every day, grabbed her backpack, and locked the door with the familiar click that always required two tries.
“Come on,” she muttered.
The lock finally caught.
“That’s better.”
As she started across campus, her phone buzzed.
Mom
A smile spread across her face as she answered.
“Good morning.”
“There’s my girl,” her mother said. “How was your weekend?”
“It was nice.”
“You sound happier.”
“I think I am.”
“Tell me everything.”
Ava laughed.
“There isn’t much to tell.”
“You volunteered yesterday?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“It was busy.”
“You love busy.”
“I do.”
Her mother hesitated.
“How’s Mason?”
“Good.”
“You two still celebrating his internship?”
“We’re trying.”
“I’m proud of him.”
“So am I.”
Her mother was quiet for a moment before asking the question Ava knew was coming.
“And how are you?”
Ava slowed her pace.
“I’m okay.”
“Just okay?”
“I’ve just been tired.”
“School?”
“And work.”
Her mother knew there was more to it.
She always did.
“You know,” she said softly, “your father used to get that same tired voice.”
Ava smiled.
“When?”
“When he was carrying too much by himself.”
The words settled somewhere deep inside her.
“I’ll be okay.”
“I know you will.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.”
After hanging up, Ava stood for a moment beneath one of the large maple trees lining the campus walkway.
The leaves had just started changing.
Bright green was slowly giving way to shades of gold and crimson.
Autumn had always been her favorite season.
Everything changed without apologizing for it.
She wished people could do the same.
“You’re staring at trees again.”
Ava turned.
Chloe was balancing two coffees and a paper bag.
“I was appreciating nature.”
“You were daydreaming.”
“Maybe.”
Chloe handed her a coffee.
“I brought breakfast.”
“You really don’t have to keep feeding me.”
“I know.”
“So why do you?”
“Because left to your own devices you’d survive on coffee and stubbornness.”
Ava accepted the bag.
Inside was a blueberry muffin.
“My favorite.”
“I know.”
They walked toward the nursing building together.
“So…” Chloe began.
“I know that tone.”
“What tone?”
“The one that means you’re about to ask a question.”
“I have several questions.”
“I figured.”
“The volunteer.”
Ava sighed.
“What about it?”
“You talked to Ethan.”
“A little.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
“You’ve run into him three times now.”
“Grocery store.”
“Park.”
“Community center.”
“I know where we’ve seen each other.”
“Coincidence?”
“I guess.”
Chloe wasn’t convinced.
“I’ve never seen him around.”
“You don’t volunteer.”
“Fair point.”
Ava laughed.
“He seems nice.”
“That’s all?”
“What else would there be?”
Chloe shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
The conversation ended as they entered the nursing building.
For the next three hours, Ava buried herself in lectures, lab work, and endless pages of notes.
She liked being busy.
Busy left less room for unnecessary thoughts.
When class finally ended, she checked her phone.
Nothing from Mason.
She frowned.
Normally he’d send at least one message before lunch.
Probably another meeting.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket and headed toward the student union.
The line for sandwiches stretched nearly out the door.
“Forget this,” she muttered.
Instead, she grabbed a yogurt and an apple from the convenience section before heading outside.
The weather was too nice to eat indoors anyway.
She found an empty bench overlooking the campus pond and settled down.
The ducks were unusually energetic today, chasing each other across the water.
Ava smiled as she peeled her apple.
“You’ll spoil them.”
She looked up.
An older groundskeeper stood nearby holding a bag of birdseed.
“What?”
“The ducks.”
He nodded toward the water.
“If you feed one, they’ll all expect it.”
Ava laughed.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
He scattered a handful of seed anyway.
“They already expect it from me.”
She watched the ducks rush toward him.
“They know you.”
“They know free food.”
He smiled.
“People aren’t much different.”
Ava laughed again.
The man tipped his cap before continuing down the path.
She returned to her lunch feeling oddly lighter.
Maybe it was the sunshine.
Maybe it was simply one of those days when life felt easier.
Across the pond, Ethan stepped out of the engineering building carrying a stack of rolled blueprints.
He spotted Ava immediately.
Not because he was looking for her.
Because she was laughing.
He hadn’t heard that laugh very often over the past few years.
It was warm.
Unfiltered.
The kind that made other people smile without realizing it.
Ben followed his gaze.
“There she is.”
Ethan nodded.
“Looks like she’s having a good day.”
“You gonna go say hi?”
Ethan looked toward the crowded sidewalk between them.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“She’s eating lunch.”
Ben blinked.
“So?”
“So I’d rather she enjoy her lunch.”
Ben laughed.
“You overthink everything.”
“I probably do.”
Ben shook his head.
“You know, someday another guy is going to introduce himself while you’re busy being respectful.”
Ethan smiled.
“If that makes her happy…”
“You’d be okay with it?”
He thought about the question.
Longer than Ben expected.
Finally he answered.
“I want her to be happy.”
Ben sighed dramatically.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
As they continued walking, Ethan glanced back once.
Ava had pulled her camera from her backpack.
She wasn’t taking pictures.
Just cleaning the lens with the corner of her shirt while she ate.
He smiled to himself.
She’d started carrying it again.
That felt like progress.
⸻
That evening, Ava arrived at the Willow Bean just before her shift started.
Denise looked up from counting the register.
“Perfect timing.”
“I was almost late.”
“But you weren’t.”
Denise smiled.
“I like people who arrive when they say they will.”
The afternoon passed quickly.
By six o’clock the café had settled into its usual rhythm.
Students studying.
Professors grading papers.
Quiet conversations filling the room.
Ava carried two lattes to a corner table.
As she turned back toward the counter, the bell above the door chimed.
She looked up automatically.
Her smile appeared before she even realized it.
“Mason.”
He walked over, looking exhausted.
“Tough day?”
“You have no idea.”
She glanced toward Denise.
“I’ve got five minutes.”
Denise waved her over without looking up.
“Take ten.”
Ava joined Mason at a small table by the window.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.
“I’m sorry I haven’t texted much today.”
“I figured you were busy.”
“I’ve been in meetings since seven this morning.”
She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
“I’m proud of you.”
He smiled.
“Thanks.”
For a few minutes they simply talked.
About work.
About classes.
About nothing important.
It reminded Ava of how things used to be.
Easy.
Comfortable.
Then Mason’s phone buzzed.
He checked it immediately.
His expression changed.
“I’ve got to go.”
She looked surprised.
“You just got here.”
“I know.”
“The internship team needs me.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
He stood and kissed the top of her head.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
He hurried out the door.
Ava watched him disappear into the evening crowd.
She couldn’t explain why, but disappointment settled over her.
Not because he’d left.
Because lately…
He always seemed to be leaving.
Denise walked over carrying a fresh pot of coffee.
“You alright?”
Ava forced a smile.
“I’m fine.”
Denise looked toward the door where Mason had disappeared.
“My grandmother used to tell me something.”
“What?”
“‘Never make someone beg for your time.’”
Ava frowned slightly.
“I don’t understand.”
Denise smiled gently.
“You don’t have to today.”
Then she returned behind the counter, leaving Ava standing alone with words she couldn’t quite stop thinking about.
Outside, rain clouds slowly gathered over Willow Creek.
Neither Ava nor Mason noticed.
But somewhere in the distance, the first hint of an approaching storm had already begun.
- Writer
