Don't Let Go: Deleted scenes & Extra's

Living in the memory

July 2031

It had been yet another long and tiresome day for Joel. With the summer's scorching heat lingering for the longest hours and there not being a wisp of a cloud that extended any further than the mountain top in over a week, it only meant for one thing. It was the season of patching up leaky roofs and fuck, was it ever a slog.

Last years winter had been rough. He'd go as far as to say that it was, in his own opinion, the worst winter he'd seen during the seven years he'd lived in Jackson. It felt like the cold and wet had some kind of personal vendetta against the towns structures. The list of jobs felt never ending and he dreamt of the day that he could cut and hand a door again instead.

His shoulders were stiff, his knees burned, the muscles in his arms ached and his back, well, that was in half. Each nine hour shift would leave him almost on the verge of collapsing by the time he'd get through the front door but with each day, he'd know that the weariness of his worn body would ease a fraction just at the sight of Ava making his house a home.

He also knew that if he could butter her up nicely, then she'd be all the more willing to rub his torso down before settling into bed. Joel wasn't ever completely sure what it was that she did differently but it was as if her fingers were magic. As soon as she'd knead them into his taut flesh, his entire body would soften and melt beneath her touch. And that, was exactly why he pulled his dusty boots off with care and left them neatly on the porch when he arrived home. It was why he shut the front door gently and wandered straight into the kitchen where he knew she'd be at this time of day.

She was there, as she always was in the early evenings with the room marinating in the aroma of fresh produce. He hadn't ever realised that for two decades he'd actually missed the waft of freshly sliced veg, not until he moved Ava in... That day almost felt like a lifetime ago in itself but arriving home from a days work to the smell of dinner being prepared never once got old.

Joel dragged one of the chairs out from the kitchen table, it's legs grumbling against the floorboards as he faced it so that he could watch her before he slumped down into it. He groaned at the weight being finally taken from his feet, his forearm resting on the tables surface as he watched her for a moment.

His brows drew ever so slightly. It was unlike her not to approach instantly to press a kiss to his cheek and ask about his day. The way the chair dragged across the floor was certainly loud enough for her to be aware of his presence.

He watched her a moment longer before calling out, "Hey, darlin'."

Ava didn't turn, the movement of her hand not skipping a beat as she continued to dice the carrot beneath her knife, "Hey."

She didn't sound pissed at him at least but he could still sense that something wasn't quite right. His eyes narrowed as if to try and seek out what it was, "How's your day been?"

"Uh-huh..." She said softly, it not really answering his question, "yours?"

Joel frowned, the airiness of her words putting him on edge, "It was fine..."

He glanced around the kitchen upon noticing the absence of both his small daughter and the dog. Both of which would usually be lingering down by Ava's legs as she navigated the creation of their dinner, "Where's Lil, baby? and the dog for that matter?"

"Oh, um," She loosely gestured towards the upstairs but still didn't turn to face him, "I asked her to go upstairs and play for a bit...Rufus is out in the yard."