Bang. Bang.
The
sound of the nail gun ringing in her ears was almost enough to drown out the
low, husky growl of Richie’s voice as that song continued to play in her head
nearly two weeks after he sang it to her.
He’d sent it to her and she had played it nearly every day since. She had never been an inspiration for a song
before. It was kind of cool.
Setting
the gun down, she wiped her forearm across her sweaty brow and sat on the peak
of the roof to take a much needed break.
Roof work was a bear on any given day, but add in an unusual heat wave
in April in Southern California and, well, working in hell might be
cooler. She grabbed the now tepid bottle
of water and drank down the remains. It
was wet was the best she could do. She
could feel the short tendrils of hair that had escaped her braid sticking to
the back of her neck. Pulling the
bandana off her, head she mopped her face and neck. A shower would be bliss right about now. She was going to stand in hers for an hour at
least when she got home.
Adjusting
the bandana back on her head she was fantasizing about a gallon of ice water
when her phone vibrated in her pocket.
Pulling it out she wasn’t surprised to see she had missed several
calls. She shrugged. With all the construction noise and her using
the nail gun, it was no wonder she hadn’t heard or felt the phone go off in her
pocket. Pulling up the call log she was
surprised that all the calls had come from the same number. A number she didn’t recognize except for the
area code. It was a Los Angeles number.
Pressing
the call button on the phone log she waited, wondering just who it was she was
calling. She didn’t have to wait
long. The call was answered before the
first ring was done.
“It’s
about time you answered your phone. I’ve
been trying to get a hold of you all morning. Where have you been? I need help with Ava and Richie gave me your
number and you never answer your phone.
I’m stuck at an appointment and Ava needs to be picked up and you’re my
last resort. I don’t know what I’m going
to do if you can’t help me out. I can’t
leave here until I talk to the director and he’s tied up and I have no idea how
long this is going to take and Ava needs a ride home. Can you help me out?”
Stephanie
pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at the device. Who the hell was this? When the rant finally stopped she managed to voice
her question. “Who is this?” She reflected on the spiel the woman had spewed
through the phone and, focusing on the name Ava, she had a sinking feeling she
knew who it was that was going off on her.
“It’s
Heather. Can you help me out?”
Stephanie
flipped her braid off her shoulder. “Did
Richie really give you my number or did you get it from Ava?” She had told Richie to go ahead and give it
to Ava so she could call her if she needed anything. Heather’s name hadn’t come up in that
conversation and she knew Richie wouldn’t have given her the number without
telling Stephanie first.
Heather
huffed out an impatient breath on the other end of the phone. She didn’t have time for this. “I got it from Ava. What difference does it make? I’m in a bind and need your help. Can you pick Ava up?”
Stephanie
looked at the expanse of roof that still needed shingles and sighed in
resignation. Of course she’d help. How
could she say no? “What time does she
need to be picked up and where am I going?”
Stuffing
the phone back in her pocket, Stephanie picked up the nail gun again. She had to pick Ava up at five at the
Calabasas Library. She could work for
another half hour and then she’d have to pack it in for the day if she wanted
to beat the traffic and pick Ava up on time.
Getting to Calabasas from West Hollywood would be no picnic once people
started leaving work for the day.
~
Tossing
her toolbox into the bed of the truck she stowed her hard hat behind the seat
and climbed into the cab. She was glad
she had bought the pretty little red pick-up.
It was worth it not to have to worry about her camaro every day.
Pulling
into traffic, Stephanie caught her reflection in the rearview mirror and
cringed. She was a hot mess, literally,
after working in the heat all day.
Stopping for a red light she pulled the bandana off her head and unwound
her braid. Finger-combing her hair as
best she could, she used the hair tie and bound her hair up in a messy knot at
the back of her head. It was only a
slight improvement, but it was the best she could do.
At
the next red light she pulled the pack of baby wipes from the glove box and
wiped some of the day from her arms, upper chest, neck and face. She looked in the mirror again. It wasn’t pretty, but it would have to
do. She wouldn’t win any beauty
contests, but at least one layer of grime was gone. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to get out of
the truck for any reason.
Pulling
up in front of the library, Ava was nowhere to be seen. Stephanie checked her watch. It was a couple minutes before five. Quickly, she shoved the baby wipes back into
the glove box and unlocked the passenger door.
When she looked up to the door again, a blonde head appeared with a confused
look on her face. Clearly she was
expecting her mother to be waiting for her in her pretty little Mercedes, not
her father’s girlfriend in a pick-up truck.
Stephanie
opened her door and stepped out on the running board so she could see over the
top of the truck and called out to the girl.
“Ava!”
Ava
looked again and, recognizing Stephanie, slipped out the door and down the
steps. “Hi Steph. Where’s my mom?”
Stephanie
slid back into her seat and buckled her seatbelt. “She called me a little while ago and asked
me to pick you up. She’s stuck at some
appointment or audition or something.”
Ava
nodded, not surprised in the least that her mother sent someone else to pick
her up.
They
drove on in an uncomfortable silence for a while before Ava spoke up
again. “You’re kind of a mess today,
Steph. What were you doing before you
came to get me?”
Stephanie
slowed for another red light. “I was
shingling a roof when your mother called me.”
“Oh
yeah” Ava said. “Dad told me you were
volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.”
She looked Stephanie up and down.
“Do you like getting all dirty every day?”
Stephanie
laughed as she proceeded through the now green light. “I don’t mind it so much. I wash easy enough and I’m helping to put a
roof over someone’s head.” Literally today. She glanced down at her hands on the steering
wheel. “It’s hell on my manicure though.”
Ava
giggled and held out her own chipped finger tips. “School really does a number on mine.”
Stephanie
spotted a Starbucks at the next intersection.
“You thirsty? I could use an iced
coffee or something.”
Ava
nodded her head, “sure.”
They
snaked their way through the drive thru and back into traffic, Stephanie with
her skinny iced mocha latte and Ava with her iced chai latte. It seemed only minutes later that Ava was
directing her to “turn here” and “pull in here” and she was at Heather’s
house. She put the truck in park and
turned to Ava. “Here you are.”
Ava
nodded, but made no move to get out of the truck. “Thanks for picking me up and” she shook her
plastic cup, “for the drink.”
Stephanie
smiled gently at the pretty girl. “Any
time, sweetie.”
Ava
gathered her things and was reaching for the door handle when Stephanie spoke
again.
“I
know this is probably short notice and if you’re already busy, I’ll
understand. But, are you busy on
Saturday? I could really use a manicure,
quite possibly a pedicure and some retail therapy. If you’re interested, we could have lunch
too.” She was trying. She really wanted to forge some type of
relationship with Richie’s daughter.
Ava
considered the offer and smiled broadly.
Her mother was busy Saturday and that would leave Ava alone for the bulk
of the day. “Actually, I don’t have any
plans for a change. Mom’s busy too, so
I’m free.”
“Okay”
Stephanie said. How about if I pick you
up at 11 and we can have a “queen for a day” kind of day?”
“I
like the sound of that.” Ava opened the
door and hopped out, turning back before slamming the door shut. “Thanks again, Stephanie. See you Saturday!”
Stephanie
smiled and watched her dig for her key as she walked to the door. “See you Saturday” she murmured as she headed
for home.
I need a spa day too....
ReplyDeleteWonderful
ReplyDeletePoor Ava, she seems resigned to being second fiddle to her Mom's career. I am glad Steph is making an effort to bond with her though. Ava needs a good female role model and I think Steph will be a good one. Great chapter, can't wait for more.
ReplyDelete