Key To My Heart (Love Conquers All) (10 page)

As Ava walked into the kitchen, the phone rang before she could fix her snack. “Who is this?” Ava asked herself while glancing at the time on the microwave. Picking up the cordless phone, she immediately recognized the number. “Oh, no,” she groaned.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Ava Peretti, where have you been?” the female voice demanded.

“Hi, Mommy,” Ava mumbled.

Oh, man, she was in trouble. Ava had a ton of messages on her cell and home phones from her parents, Starr, and Summer. Even her brother, Dominic Jr., had called. She was sure her mother had called him, frantic when she didn’t get a response from Ava.

It wasn’t like she was trying to avoid her family and friends. She just had to adjust a few things in her life. By the time she got home from work, she was exhausted. The upcoming weeks were going to be filled with doing vision screenings on a quarter of the school population. Yesterday and today she’d screened both kindergarten classes and two of the four first grade classes. When she got home she showered, fixed dinner, did chores, and called Zoe before going straight to bed.

Now that Zoe was a part of her world, she had to think about her first. She really hadn’t had time to return any of the calls. She hoped everyone understood her disappearing act once she disclosed that she’d found her daughter.

“I asked you a question, young lady,” Janet reminded her daughter. Ava let out a deep breath. Before she could say anything, her mother butted in. “Don’t make me come up to Manayunk.”

“Mommy, cut it out.” Ava snickered. “I was going to call you. I’ve been really busy lately.”

“Uh-huh, too busy to return your mother’s and father’s calls? You didn’t even call back your brother.”

Changing the subject, Ava queried, “Where’s Daddy?”

“Now you know as well as I do, he goes out every Tuesday evening to that billiards spot on Oregon Ave.” Janet knew that Ava was hiding something from her, but she wasn’t going to push it. Her child was almost thirty-years-old. When she was ready to tell her what was going on, she would come to her. She always did.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I forgot.”

Janet chuckled.
This child of mine is too much.
“Forgot my foot. He’s been going since you were a baby. Well, I’m going to let you go. Just wanted to make sure my only daughter was still kicking and breathing. Wanted to make sure the boogieman hadn’t gotten a hold of you.”

Bursting out laughing, Ava yelped, “Mommy, you’re so dramatic! I’ll talk to you later.”
Mmm-hmm, I bet this is where Ms. Zoe gets it from,
Ava thought.

As soon as the call was disconnected, the phone rang again. A smile tugged at her lips when she noticed the area code.

“How’s my baby?”

“I’m doing just fine. And how are you?” The deep baritone voice answered teasingly, throwing Ava off guard and sending an annoying shiver down her spine.

Ava rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. As much as she wanted to lash out at this man, she couldn’t. Langston had been nothing but kind to her since coming to Philly. And when she was at his home in Georgetown, he’d made himself scarce so that she and Zoe could bond. Whenever Zoe attempted to include him in whatever they were doing, he always declined, coming up with an excuse to do something else.

“Hey, Langston. I thought you were Zoe.”

At least she doesn’t have an attitude
, Langston mused. During their time together last week he’d thought for sure they’d get into an argument. But Ava’s complete focus had been on Zoe.

“I’ll get her in a sec. I wanted to know if you want her to spend the weekend in Philly with you.”

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t have heard him right.

Langston chuckled at catching Ava off guard. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”

Sucking her teeth, Ava tried not to laugh. She wanted to hate this man, but he was making it impossible to do so. “Man, shut up. I’m just surprised you’re willing to let her come stay with me,” Ava admitted as she leaned against the pale yellow kitchen wall.

Langston rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. Did she think he wouldn’t allow their daughter to be a part of her world? Spend time with her in her home? “Don’t be. I know Zoe would love to see where her mother lives. Besides, I think it would be good for her.”

“Thanks, Langston. I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. I was planning on getting a hotel room and staying for the weekend so I won’t have to drive back and forth. I was wondering if we could get together to talk at some point?”

Ava lifted a brow, readying herself to go on the defense. “About?”

“Girl, stop being so suspicious. We haven’t discussed Zoe and how we’re going to handle parenting her.”

Stop being so suspicious. OK, dude must’ve had some ooh-wee. Is he forgetting everything he and his treacherous family did to me?
“Umm, forgive me if I’m a wee bit cautious, but wasn’t it you and your family who kept me from my daughter? However, since you want to discuss my daughter, I guess I’ll agree to sit down and have a few words with you.”

Langston by no means missed Ava’s chilly tone. He rolled his shoulders, letting the jab roll off. What else could he do? She spoke only the truth. “Cool. Let me go get Zoe.”

Without saying another word, Langston went to Zoe’s bedroom. Ava could hear him knocking on the door. “Love Bug, you dressed?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

The door creaked as he pushed it open. “Your mother is on the phone.”

“Yay! Give me the phone, give me the phone,” Zoe excitedly shouted, jumping up and down on the bed.

Ava shivered again when she heard Langston’s deep rumble of laughter as he playfully chided Zoe to sit her butt down before she fell off the bed.
Stop that!
she hissed, annoyed with herself. She was all too glad when Zoe got on the phone.

“Hi, Mommy!”

“Hello, my Zoe. What you been up to today?”

Leaving the kitchen, Ava went into the living room and curled up on the sofa. For the next thirty minutes she and her daughter giggled, talked, and made plans for the weekend.

Finally Friday arrived. After gently closing the door so as not to alert anyone of her presence, Ava stooped down so she was eye level with Zoe. In the tiny vestibule of her parents’ home, she whispered, “My Zoe, I need you to be really quiet and wait here for me for a second OK?”

Bopping her head up and down, the small child smiled at her mother. “Because this is a surprise, right, Mommy?”

“Yup. Your grandmom, grandpop, and uncle are going to be so happy to meet you.”

Zoe stared at Ava, a slight trace of fear shimmering in her eyes. What if her new grandmom and grandpop were like Grandmother? Zoe sure hoped not. She wanted nice grandparents like her other friends had.

Ava instantly tuned in to Zoe’s sudden change in demeanor. “What’s wrong, baby?” she asked.

“I’m scared they won’t like me.” Zoe’s little head dropped and her voice quivered when she expressed her fear. “Grandmother doesn’t like me. Daddy told her not to come to our house anymore.”

This revelation floored Ava. The hateful old goat must have done something really awful to her baby for Langston to have banned his mother from his home. Yeah, she couldn’t wait to talk to him. Pasting on a smile she didn’t quite feel, she told Zoe, “Your grandparents and uncle are going to love you as much as I do.” She sealed the promise with a tender kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

“Mom, Dad, Dom…come down here!” Ava yelled as she entered her parents’ home. “I have a surprise for you.”

Dominic, Janet, and Dom filed down the stairs one after the other. Each of them had received calls from Ava telling them she had a surprise for them.

“Hey, big head!” Dom shouted as he approached Ava, picking her up and swinging her around. “You better have a good reason for making me rush to Philly from the West Coast.”

Ava laughed as she relished in her older brother’s greeting. Kissing him on the cheek, she shot back, “It’s the best reason. Now let me down! Hey, Mom and Dad,” Ava said after kissing her parents. She was bubbling over with excitement. Her family was going to be stunned, yet happy. She could feel it.

“What’s this all about, sweetheart?” Dominic asked, leading his wife over to the sofa.

“Like I said, this better be good,” Dom said as he jumped out of the way to avoid his sister’s playful swat.

“Boy, sit your butt down and wait a minute,” Ava demanded, pushing him toward an arm chair.

“Ava, girl, tell us what’s going on,” Janet said. “I can’t take it anymore. You called here days ago talking about—”

Janet’s fussing was cut off by Zoe opening the vestibule door. All eyes shifted to the squeaking door. “Mommy, it’s dark out there. I’m scared,” Zoe whispered, going to stand by Ava and taking her hand.

“Oh, my Jesus,” Janet cried out, covering her mouth with a trembling hand. There was no mistaking this was her grandchild. She would have known this was her if she’d seen the beautiful child in a sea of people.

Dominic stood, tears in his eyes as he approached the small child. When he kneeled down in front of Zoe, she wrapped her arms around Ava’s waist, hiding her face. “Sweetheart, I’m your grandpop. Come here. I’m not going to hurt you.” He coaxed the child in a gentle and loving voice.

Zoe gazed up at Ava with wide, frightened eyes. “It’s OK, Zoe,” Ava said. “He’s my daddy, and he won’t hurt.” Ava gently nudged Zoe toward her grandfather.

Gathering the small child in his arms, Dominic held her close as tears streamed down his handsome face. Immediately Janet went to them, kneeling on her knees. Without hesitation, Dominic drew his wife into the embrace. So many years they had prayed for a miracle, prayed to know that their grandchild was safe, healthy, and happy, and now that miracle had finally happened.

Ava leaned into her brother’s strong arms as he held her and she cried. Finally her baby was
really
home. Years of guilt and shame slowly released their hold on her as she witnessed her parents seeing their only grandchild for the first time. Although her parents never reminded her of her grave mistake, she knew she had hurt them beyond repair for having played a role in denying them the chance to be grandparents.

Rubbing her back, Dom soothed, “It’s going to be all right, Av.” Kissing her forehead, he gave her a gentle squeeze. Maybe now his sister could tear down that brick wall she had erected to protect her heart. True, she was a loving and caring person, and would do anything for those she loved. But that wall had snuffed out a bit of her light years ago, giving her a sharp tongue and a sharp edge, making her appear at times to be brash and uncaring.

Filled with emotion, all Ava could do was nod.

Wiggling, Zoe struggled to free herself from her grandparents’ embrace. Everybody was crying except for the man holding her mommy. When it looked like her new grandmom and grandpop weren’t going to let her go, Zoe complained and tried to wave her hands. “Hey, I can’t breathe,” she said. “You’re killing me.”

Everyone in the room erupted in laughter. The child sounded like an old Sicilian woman. “Well, I’ll be! She’s got some of her grandpop’s Italian blood!” Dominic boasted with pride.

Janet playfully rolled her eyes. Gently rubbing her hand across Zoe’s cheek, she smiled. “Sweetie, my name is Janet, and I’m your grandmother.” Touching Dominic’s shoulder, she said, “And this is Dominic, your grandfather.” Then pointing to Dom, she said, “And that over there with your mother is your uncle. His name is Dominic Jr.”

Dom left Ava’s side and kneeled next to his parents. Zoe giggled when his lips placed a quick peck on her nose. “But you can call me Uncle Dom.”

“Hi Grandmom, Grandpop, and Uncle Dom. My name is Zoe.”

eee

“Mommy, I really like my new grandmom, grandpop, and Uncle Dom,” Zoe told Ava as they sat on the center of Ava’s bed playing with Bratz dolls. The child’s fears had been alleviated when her new family accepted her with loving, open arms. They were so much nicer to her than Grandmother.

Grandmom was pretty just like her mommy. And she smiled and laughed a lot too! She didn’t even get mad at her for making a mistake by knocking over her glass of milk. Grandmother would have harshly chided her and probably hit her too. But not Grandmom. She just said, “It’s all right, sweetie. Don’t cry.” Winking at the frightened child, she whispered, “We can clean it up together and get another glass.”

Grandpop and Uncle Dom were cool too! Zoe couldn’t believe her eyes when they took her to the basement and showed her the elaborate train set on a gigantic table that Dominic had been working on for years as a hobby. Zoe’s little mouth formed a perfect O when she saw the tiny town with a general store, school house, and post office on one side of the large table, and farmland and farm animals on the other side of the table. Her little hands clapped excitedly when Dominic turned on the switch and the train began to make its way through the town, and then into the farmland.

Ava smiled at Zoe’s comment. Reaching out, she softly traced her daughter’s cheek. “They like you too, baby. See, you were afraid for nothing.”

“I thought they were going to be mean to me like Grandmother,” Zoe innocently admitted as she combed the doll’s hair, not aware of the smile slipping from her mother’s face.