FREE FLYING HEARTS -- A collection of short stories from Tonig73

### 10 ###

Avery sat in the pool on an unusually hot and sunny day.  He had finished the work he needed to do, had gone for a run, had played with Oscar and Cesar, and had talked around in circles with Beth until they were both dizzy.  When his mother had told him it was impossible to cry underwater, he determined to prove her wrong.  He let his body weight pull him under the sparkling blue, salt water already leaving his eyes.  He blinked heavily, but everything should be lighter under water, surely.  Even his heart.  But as he was only about to prove his mother right, he surfaced again, sucking in large lungfuls of air, his heart heavier than ever.  As the dogs jumped into the pool, now a regular occurrence since the Twins had encouraged it, they came over to Avery to offer their comfort, licking his face, trying to cheer him up by getting him to play with them.  It was obvious that they missed them too. 

# # # # # # # #

Beth was in the kitchen when her phone rang.  Business was done for the day, and she wasn't expecting anyone to call.  She looked at the caller's name on the screen, and inhaled sharply, glaring at it, wanting, but at the same time, not wanting it to disappear.  She waited, trying to decide what to do.  She couldn't keep putting it off, she would have to talk to him eventually.  They were friends, weren't they ?  And friends, at the very least, talked to one another, even if it hurt.  Especially if it hurt. 

"Hey ..... "

"Hello Laurent."  She sounded more formal than she intended, cold even.  

"I wasn't sure that you'd answer, Beth.  Are you OK, I've been worried about you."

"I'm .... "  What was she, she wondered ?  "OK ..... " she stuttered out.  God, this was going to be harder than she thought it would be.  Laurent knew what was going on, in her head, and her heart.  He knew, because the same thing had been going on in his too.  But he had come to terms with all that now.  He had come to realize, and had decided in the light of Larry's and Avery's broken hearts, that he didn't want what his life was anymore.  He was done.  And there was only one thing, one person that he wanted now, one person that could make his life complete.  Ever. 

"I haven't apologized to you and Larry, Laurent, and I'm sorry, I really am.  That was so stupid .... "

"I don't care, Beth.  Things happen for a reason."  She was slightly shocked at his reaction.  He sounded .... amused.

"What's so funny, Lau ?"  There it was, her usual defensiveness, when she didn't even really know what she was being defensive about.

"You gotta stop doing that Beth."

"Doing what ?"

"Jumping to conclusions.  Assuming you know stuff.  You don't know shit !"  He was chuckling at her not-so-righteous indignation at the other end of the line, which only made her more angry.  But Laurent was right, she knew nothing about how he and Larry were surviving now, how they were moving on with their lives, how they were both dealing with the pile of shit she had so unceremoniously dumped on them.   She took a deep breath, and calmed a little. 

"It's nice to hear your voice, Lau.  I've missed you."  And it was, and she had.  See, a good start.  The truth, at last. 

"Oh, you don't know the half, my love."  My love.  His love ?  Her heart did somersaults in her chest.  "Anyway, as lovely as it is to talk to you, I need to talk to Avery, please."  Avery ?  Why did he call her phone, then .... and why not Larry .....

"He's um .... "  Beth gestured to the pool, not realizing Laurent couldn't see what she was doing.  "I'll get him, hold on .... "  She walked over to the sun lounger Avery was now lounging on, and handed him her phone.