Discovering Me *Discontinued*

Chapter 3

Kissing her adorable puppy goodbye, Ava stood up, giving one of the kennel guys a nod to let him know that she was done messing with Truffle for the day. He returned her nod and picked up Truffle, who wiggled in his arms before licking his chin, causing the man to smile.

    "You're one lucky lady to have been able to snag a puppy like this before anyone else got to him," the man said, smiling, which caused Ava to smile back at him.

    "Indeed I am," Ava replied, giving the man a wave before leaving the room and heading down the hallway that led to the lobby. As she walked, Ava took her time in admiring the pictures that were hung on the wall, each of them containing memories. There were some pictures of random families with their new furry friends, while others were group photos of Meredith, Carrie, and Ava with a variety of animals, from snakes to large dogs. Of the few places that Ava would miss that also didn't bring back painful memories, the shelter was one of them.

    Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Ava opened to the door that led to the lobby, glad to see both Meredith and Carrie sitting behind the front desk, helping a young man who had an older kitten in his arms.

    "I'm glad he's finally finding a home," Ava said as she approached the desk, giving the man a smile, "He's a sweetheart, but since he's so shy, not many people want him," Ava explained, gesturing to the orange tabby.

    "I think he's sweet, just a little misunderstood is all," the man said in reply, looking down fondly at the kitten. Ava smiled, giving the man a nod of understanding since she usually went for the outcast of the group as well.

    "You ready to go Ava? You spent quite some time with Truffle, so it's almost time to go to that dinner party that we have planned tonight," Meredith said, handing the man some adoption papers before walking out from behind the desk. Shocked that so much time had passed, Ava gave her mother a smile and headed out the door, Meredith following closely behind her.

"So, why are we going to this dinner party anyways, like, I know it's for work, but," Ava asked, trailing off as she hopped into the passenger seat.

"Your father is having a dinner in celebration of his newest store reaching its sale requirements to stay open. All of the employees of that store have been invited as well as the owners of the other stores from across the state. If this store continues being as successful as it is, then your father is considering taking his store across the nation," Meredith explained, her brown eyes shining with pride as she started the car and backed out of the parking lot.

"Oh wow, I didn't know that. I'm glad his stores are doing so well, especially after how hard he's had to work to get here," Ava said, her eyes shining with the same pride her mother's were.

They had taken a massive risk, starting this chain of toy stores. Previously, her Dad was just a simple salesman, and after saving up money for years, Johnathan opened his first toy store. There were a lot of bumps in the road, and there were multiple times where he thought he would have to shut his store down, but Ava knew that she and her mother's support helped him keep his store up and running. Ava knew her father deserved the success he was receiving, and she was glad he was finally getting it.

"I'm glad too," Meredith smiled, pausing for a moment before she turned up the radio. The next song that came on had both women smiling as they looked at each other, and it was a song they knew well. Within seconds, both women were singing at the top of their lungs, occasionally glancing at each other as they sang.

Once the song was over, they erupted into a fit of giggles, "I've missed you like this Ava, I really have," Meredith laughed, giving her daughter a loving look.

"Me to Mom, me too," Ava replied, a content smile on her face. It felt nice to genuinely laugh again, and not try to force it to make it seem like she was doing okay. In general, Ava knew she was doing better, but there were still moments where if she let her guard down, the same dark thoughts would swim around in her head.