The Voicemail (Me and Mrs. Jones Sequel)

12. Man To Man

Seven...eight...nine...ten!

 Danny quickly counted off the oatmeal raisin cookies he ordered just a few minutes ago along with the two glasses of ice cold milk, checking them off of his mental checklist. He scrambled around the room, picking up the clothes he threw all over the room and shoved them into his suitcase. He looked up to see that his sheets were a mess as well and groaned.

 Crap.

 Danny’s swift hands moved across his bed, tucking in the duvet and re-arranging the pillows, making sure nothing was out of place. He needed to make sure everything was perfect because Ava was coming soon and anything less than flawless was just...inappropriate. He had planned to hang out with Ava today and listen to her play the violin for him. He was then going to take her to their rehearsals for their show in two weeks.

She didn’t know it, but Danny had started to write a song for Ava and he was going to surprise her when Ev dropped her off.

 Danny had refused to speak to Ev for the past two weeks straight, only willing to communicate with her if it ever had anything to do with Ava. It was like they were a divorced couple sharing joint custody over their daughter. Honestly, he just wanted to be there for Ava and Ava only. He didn’t want to deal with the issue with Ev at all, completely okay with avoiding the elephant in the room for the rest of his life. Danny knew it was wrong but he just...he couldn’t stand to be in the mere presence of Ev. Not when…

Danny’s neck snapped to the right when he heard five solid knocks followed by three more quiet ones. He shook his head to clear his head and forced a smile on his lips as he moved to the door. However, as soon as he did open the door, his smile turned genuine and his eyes lit up as he knelt down to pull tiny, little Ava into his arms. He squeezed the oxygen out of her lungs and lifted her up until he was standing completely straight and her legs were dangling awkwardly in the air.

“Daddy!” she laughed, “what are you doin’?”

Danny finally pulled back until they were only a small distance apart. He was now supporting her whole weight with his right arm. “I just missed you, angel!”

He wasn’t lying, either.

There was this agreement between Ev and him; he had Ava throughout the day while Ev got the evenings. Even though Danny had taken to the dad role quite well, he still wasn’t ready to take care of her for the night. It had only been fourteen days compared to the last 2,557 days he had missed. Aidan and Ava just slept with Ev in her room, sharing her queen-sized bed.

Apparently, the reason why they weren’t present during the beginning of the radio tour was because they had both decided to go to a camp for the past two months over in the States. Aidan was a footballer-- a damn good one at that already-- and he had been scouted to join this team over in California to train. He of course accepted, already having this love for football instilled deep inside his young heart.

“You’re silly, daddy. I’m right here,” she chastised him in her angelic voice.

“You didn’t miss me?” Danny gasped, faking hurt.

“Yeah,” she grinned at him.

Ava had-- much to his joy-- somehow gotten Danny’s musical genes because already at a young age she was singing, and playing the piano and violin. There was a musical program that Ava wanted to go to over in California, recommended from her music teacher of three years. The girl was barely seven and she already had a sense of independence around her. Granted, her music program was under the same association of Aidan’s soccer program so he was always there with her, but still…