Induction

Chapter 25: The Ride

Note:  These are the few hours counting down to the big date. However, nothing ever goes to plan.

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Ava awoke feeling more refreshed than she had been the past few weeks or so. Truthfully, she should have been a nervous, sweaty mess, but her dreams about Jared Hartley were sweet and reassuring. After brushing her teeth, she rushed downstairs to let her mom and dad know that she had plans tonight to meet Jared (and Justine) for a movie and pizza.

Her mom was whipping up a pancake, bacon, and eggs breakfast. Simple but satisfying. Her dad was reviewing the restaurant’s financial books, so he was too preoccupied to notice a certain pep in Ava’s usually dragging steps. Her mom, however, noticed the excitement right away. “Hi sweetie! Sit down for some breakfast.”  Without missing a beat, her mom cut to the chase, “So? Are you going on that date tonight?” Her dad immediately stopped what he was doing and also looked up to stare. Both parents. Staring.

Gah. I’ll bury my head in the sand now before it turns cherry red. “Ugh…Mom, really? First thing in the morning? I’m not even fully awake yet.”

Her mom put a hand on her hip and smirked. “Well you looked wide awake to me. You look excited, actually--like a kid on Christmas. So, I’m assuming…”

“Yes, mom, I’m going. I already confirmed it last night with him. Movies at 6:15, then pizza.” Ava actually found herself smiling when she thought about the date again. Her dad just grunted then put his head back down to immerse himself in the books versus thinking about his daughter dating.

“That’s fantastic, sweetheart! Do you need me to drive? I can leave the restaurant early since we close at 8 tonight anyways.” Vy was just as elated as her daughter looked. She looked adoringly at her beautiful little girl, growing up before her eyes. She always felt that Ava was missing out on basic social interaction with the other high school kids, but had let Ava arrive there at her own pace.  Ava wasn’t always an introverted child, but when her daughter decided that she preferred books over friends, Vy was supportive of whatever her child was happier with. But now, Ava seemed to slowly break out of that restricting shell. Hanging out with Justine seemed to have helped crack that hard, dull exterior, and the real fun-loving, carefree Ava of early days was now able to shine again.

“Oh yeah! Before I forget, I also invited Justine to tag along. Do you mind if she comes over to help me get ready, and then you drive the both of us there?” Just the thought of having her new best friend there was making this date seem a lot more manageable.

“Of course! I don’t mind at all. I think for a first date, it’ll be a lot easier having a friend there.” Vy was sure that her husband was internally jumping up for joy right now, knowing that the date would have somewhat of a chaperone.

“Thanks mom!” She finished her breakfast and was just about to run back upstairs when her dad decided to add in his two cents.

“Ava, you know the rules. Same as I’ve told your sister on her dates. Act like a lady, and you will be treated like a lady. If he treats you any differently, I have no doubt in my mind that you could easily take care of the situation effectively on your own. I would not be in the least disappointed if you decided you had to defend yourself, so be safe. Got that, sweetheart?” Grant knew Ava was naive, but the girl was bright and fairly headstrong, and could toss a good-sized boy to the ground if she really wanted to. He wished that her date was picking her up at the door so he could give that Hartley boy ‘the talk,’ but apparently, they had already decided to just meet there. All of Evie’s dates in the past have respected Mr. Smith after ‘the talk,’ and his fighting reputation prevented any boys from making sleazy advances at his daughter.  Thank God for that. He really didn’t have much to worry about in this town, since no one dared to wrong Grant’s girl. Unfortunately, he was still clueless to the bullying issues that Ava had dealt with at school.