Love From the Past

The afternoon was sunny. It was a perfect day for Ava as she walked down the street, unable to contain her smile “Thank you,” she said, pushing past the entrance.

The man in the lobby gave her a tiny wave. He had always been kind enough to let her into the building whenever she forgot her keys.

And today of all days she didn't want to tell Noah she was coming. It was their three-year anniversary today and she was going to surprise him.

He had been busy since the week started and it was already Friday.

She planned to sneak into his apartment and make a nice dinner for the both of them.

To her surprise, the door was open when she got there.

“That's weird,” Ava said. He told her he was at work.

She walked into the already open apartment. There was no one in the living room but the half glass of juice on the table showed someone was indeed there. She spotted the other glass on the other end of the table and beside it was a bra.

She didn't even bother picking it up to check cause she knew that wasn't a size 36b.

Her heart began to race at this point. She didn't know what to expect.

She walked over to the bedroom.

Noah clearly had a visitor. She pushed open the door like a firefighter. The sight of a petite brunette on top of her boyfriend was devastating.

Even after her grand entrance, both of them hadn't noticed her presence. Noah was moaning as loud as ever. He never did that with her…

That was the least of her worries right now. Hot tears rolled down her high cheekbones.

“NOAH!” Ava screamed.

Only then did he realize that a third person was in the room, other than he and his co-worker Emma.

At the sound of his name, he stumbled across the bed to the other end, struggling to drape the sheets over his manhood like it was a secret to any of the ladies in the room.

“How could you?” Ava asked. And with that she spun around, heading for the door.

“Ava, wait. I can explain,” Noah said, following her closely.

“Go fuck yourself, you prick.” Ava shot at him.

Noah succeeded in stopping her before she could leave. Now in front of the exit.

“Ava…Ava, wait. Can you let me explain?”

“You don't need to. I saw you having sex with a random woman on our third anniversary. That's enough explaining for me.”

“And who are you calling random?”

The unrecognizable voice came from behind her.

“Noah, who is this woman and why the hell are you trying to explain to her.”

At the sound of that, Ava's eyes welled up. She couldn't hold back the tears.

“She's not a random person, she's my girlfriend.”

“You had a girlfriend all this time yet you've been fucking me for two months?” The other girl said as surprised as Ava. Emma spun around and went back into the room.

“Two freaking months Noah…for two months you've been cheating on me?”

“She's just a colleague, nothing else. And she was the one that came on to me.”

“You're a piece of shit. You know that, right? I regret the day I met you.”

“Don't say that baby. Today is our anniversary.”

“Exactly my point. Today marks three years of me wasting my life for an idiot like you.”

All the sacrifices Ava ever made for Noah kept ringing in her head.

They had started dating the last year of college and this was a whole year after college. After majoring in psychology, she decided to remain in Massachusetts because of him.

Just because he got a job in a law firm and couldn't do long distance. While she was stuck working as a high school counselor.

She lifted both hands, hitting his chest hard with her little fists.

“Get out of my face Noah. You don't deserve me.”

Noah stepped aside. She reached for the door and in a minute she was outside the apartment building.

All the glances she received as she was leaving were no surprise. She could barely see with her swollen eyes.

“Pull yourself together,” she said out loud.

And with that, she took in a deep breath and headed back to her apartment.

***

Ava's sheets had been soaked in tears since she got back. It was 11 pm already and her heartbroken self had nothing to eat all day.

She got up from bed as she spotted a bag of chips on her dresser. She walked to the table with nothing but her work blouse from earlier.

One taste of the chips and she regretted her action. What else would she eat?

She laughed at herself for wanting to make a whole feast for that cheater of a man earlier and now she was here unable to make something for herself.

Tears filled her eyes again. She was so much more than just his girlfriend. The years of sacrificing for him were over.

Ava picked up her phone and dialed the only comforting number she knew.

It rang for a few seconds but there was no answer. She knew what she had to do next. Pulling her laptop from the table she sat on the bed.

Without thinking twice she searched for flights from Massachusetts to Ohio. Using up most of her savings, she booked the first available flight.

Her job as a high school guidance and counseling teacher paid reasonably but not so great.

She had only accepted the job because Noah asked her to. Like the millions of other things he controlled in her life.

It's too bad she wasn't able to see right through him. Love is blind they say.

Her next instinct was to resign via email. So unprofessional of her but she knew she wasn't going back there. Considering her next drastic decision.

She sighed loudly after the click of the key. One email sent. One ticket booked. The sound of her phone ringing caught her attention. Who could it be at this hour?

She didn't know why a part of her thought it was Noah. Did she want him to call?

Hell no! She deserved better than that selfish cheater.

She picked up her phone after reading the contract info. Just the person she wanted to talk to.

"Hello, Ava."

"Hi, mum."

The flight from Massachusetts to Ohio was short. She felt the foreign yet familiar breeze on her face.

The last 24 hours had been hectic for her. All she needed right now was to be surrounded by family.

She was waiting at the end for her suitcase when she saw a little girl. The girl was staring at her weirdly and that caught her attention.

Where was her guardian anyway?

“Hey little girl,” Ava said as she took a few steps toward her.

The girl was scared at first as she took two little steps back.

“Don't be scared sweetie. Where is your Mommy?”

“My Daddy,” the girl replied.

“Oh… your daddy. Tell me, where did he go? Are you lost?” Ava asked as she scanned the area as there was no sign of her dad.

She became concerned about the little girl.

“I don't know where he is,” her tiny voice, shaky now.

Oh no. This child was clearly lost.

Ava bent down to her level.

“What's your name and how old are you? She asked the little girl.

“Elsa…4”

That was the reply Ava got from the tiny angel.

“Okay Elsa. Can I pick you up?”

She got a nod as an answer to her question.

Ava walked back and pulled out her suitcase. She then lifted Elsa.

“Let me show you a trick I see airport mummies do.”

She placed Elsa carefully on the suitcase. Elsa smiled, enjoying the ride.

Ava went to the airport security in hopes of leaving her in good hands and maybe scolding her Dad for losing her. She wondered how worried he would be.

The security at the station closer to them was so helpful. He had announced that a child was missing and they reported right away that the guardian was on his way to them.

In the meantime, Ava was playing with Elsa and taking cute selfies of both of them as they waited patiently for her dad.

Her buzzing phone interrupted their photo session.

“Hey Daniel.”

“Hey sis, I'm here to pick you up. I'm at the second entrance.”

“Thanks Daniel, I'll be there in a minute,” Ava added before hanging up.

“I'm sorry officers, I'll have to leave now. I hope she's in custody with you guys?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Ava looked down at sad-looking Elsa. She was obviously listening to them and was sad Ava had to leave.

Ava carried her down from her box.

“Aww, don't be sad sweetie. Your dad will soon be here. I'm sorry I have to leave.”

Elsa smiled and opened her arms. Ava hugged her warmly.

Elsa was a blondie like Ava.

She removed her cute flowery scrunchie and used it to tie Elsa's hair up in a bun.

“Bye!”

Elsa said, smiling as Ava walked away.

And the next minute she was suspended in the air.

In the tight grip of her father.

“Oh my sweet baby. I'm so sorry I lost you.”

Maxwell hugged his daughter so tight.

“Daddy, you're squishing me,” Elsa said giggling.

“I know my love. Daddy is sorry. I will buy you whatever you want okay.”

His gaze shifted from his daughter to the security.

“How can I ever thank you?”

“Don't thank us sir. It was a nice lady that brought her here.”

“A stranger? Where is she?”

Maxwell asked.

“She left already.” Elsa said.

His eyes shifted back to her.

“Was she the one that tied your hair up?” He asked.

“Yes Daddy, I love it.”

***

“Spaghetti and chicken sauce… mmm my favorite.”

Ava said as she walked in on the sight of her mum making what looked like a welcome meal for her.

“You do realize that you're not a baby anymore right?” Daniel asked mockingly.

“Leave your sister alone Daniel. She's my perfect 27-year-old baby.”

“Hear that Daniel?”

Ava asked in a hushed tone as she walked past her brother.

“Mum said I'm her favorite.”

The sparkle in her eyes made Daniel remember when they were kids and their mum treated Ava like her favorite.

“Keep dreaming,” he chuckled.

“Mum, I forgot to tell you. Max is coming over for dinner. He just got in from New York and we have a lot to catch up on so I invited him home for dinner.”

“It's okay honey, you know Max is always welcome. Besides, there's plenty of food to go around. And I sure hope he is bringing my little munchkin?”

“Little munchkin?” Ava asked, surprised.

“What little munchkin does Max have?”

The sound of the doorbell interrupted her question.

“Speak of the devil,” Daniel said as he rushed towards the front door.

Ava didn't move an inch from the kitchen. The not-so-distant voice of the old friends drew closer.

“I could swear I've been dreaming about this day forever. The delicious aroma is killing me. And the chef is looking gorgeous as always.” Maxwell walked straight to Mrs Brown and planted a kiss on her cheek. In turn, she gave him a warm smile and a light pat on the back.

Ava just stood there like an invisible plant. She wasn't a fan of most of her brother's friends while they were growing up because of the age difference and of course their obnoxious attitude.

Even though it was a different case with Max…

He turned to face Ava now as she relaxed on the counter. His lips curled up in a friendly manner.

“How long has it been? 3…4?”

“8 years,” Ava cut in.

All this time and the tension between them still didn't fade. She could feel it swarming the small kitchen. They both stood there, eyeballing each other.

“You're done with college now.” Max said, hoping to start a decent conversation.

“And you're happily married.” Ava struck back, like one of their teenage arguments.

From the look in her eye, Max was sure she didn't know as much as she thought.

He bent his head for a split second with a grin on his face.

Why was he smiling? Ava thought to herself.

“Well that's not entirely true…”

“Daddy”.

The sound of his little angel's voice got his attention as she entered the kitchen, holding hands with Uncle Daniel.

Before Max could rush over and pick his daughter up, Mrs Brown took the lead.

“Now there's my beautiful Elsa.” With that, she was floating mid-air.

“Hey my love. Daddy is here. Say hello to your favorite aunt.”

“And uncle,” Daniel quickly added.

“You wish,” Max replied. And they all started laughing.

While all this was going on, Ava couldn't believe her ears, especially her eyes.

“Wait a minute Max, you're the careless airport father?"