After a draini
Before going to sleep Monday night, Johnny and Ava had hoped to sleep in. That was short-lived when a knock on the door, at eight in the morning, sounded. The cable and telephone guys were there, bright and early. They both got up, while the men hooked up all of the necessary connections. By ten Tuesday morning, they had a dial tone and MTV. Life was grand for a moment. Then it was time for them to go clean out their old childhood bedrooms.
Saying goodbye is never easy. But if you're brave enough to say goodbye, then there's bound to be a bunch of new hello's. For Johnny, it was easy to clean out his old boyhood room. He doesn't have as much stuff as Ava does. And the things he didn't want were bagged up, to give to a homeless shelter. His mother pretty much stayed out of the way, the whole time.
It was too sad for her to know her baby boy, for he is still her baby boy no matter how old he gets, won't be living under her roof anymore. She had cried and cried Monday night over the thought of it. Luckily Sid was comforting. She thought she had more time with her son before he graduated. Now she's an empty nester before the nest should be empty. One of the hardest things to do in life is to grieve the loss of someone who's still alive. That's how Laura feels in her spirit, grief and loss.
The irony is she has always known that Ava was the one for Johnny. That's partly why she could never truly warm up to Ali. The girl is fine in her own way, she just wasn't fine for her son. But Ava is and always has been. She's constantly felt that in her soul, even when the pair were broken up. She just didn't think they'd be married right now.
In her mind, she pictured it a year or two down the road. But here they are, married and owning a house. Even though letting go is hard, she loves her daughter-in-law. She's always wanted a little girl. Although Ava isn't her own little girl, she's excited to have someone to do dote on and buy girly things for. Ava is a godsend for her son and family. So she kept busy while they worked on his room upstairs.
Once they finished cleaning out Johnny's room and loading things onto a moving truck, it was time to say goodbye to his mother. Ava lingered in the background, while Johnny took his mom and sat on the sofa with her. He had told Ava earlier that morning "Just know I'll probably cry. But just don't make a big deal of it. I probably won't be in the mood to talk after we leave her either. I love you, and that's why I'm letting you know this now." She totally understands as she'll most likely feel the same with her own mom.
Holding his mom's hands in both of his own, he began talking. "Mom I love you. For eighteen years you've been my go-to person, my guider and provider. You've given me love and encouragement when I was mistreated and misunderstood. You were the person I cried to when I was a friendless loser in middle school. You were the person I cried to when I thought I'd never meet a girl. And you were the first person I told when I met Ava." His mom started crying at hearing his words and thinking of the memories.
The lump in Johnny's throat threatened to break out and his voice started wavering. "Mom I know you're disappointed because we eloped. But I love you and we didn't do it on purpose. One day you need to come over to our house and we'll tell you the full story. You'll probably laugh your butt off like our friends did. But Mom I want you to know, I'm SO happy to have had a mother like you growing up. A mom who loves me and tries to do what's best for me, even marrying Sid (even though he hates me)." He squeezed his mom's hands.
Then he turned his face to look at Ava and smiled. He looked back at his mom and told her "It's because of your strength and teaching and influence that I want to be the best man and husband I can to be to her. So, thank you." He pulled his mom into his embrace. They both cried, as did Ava.
When the tears had dried, and Johnny wiped his eyes, Laura spoke. "I know last night was rough on all of us. But I want you both to know I love you and I'm happy for you, despite not even being graduated yet. I do want to hear the full story and you're both welcome here any time." She held out her hand to Ava, who walked over and took it. Then she told Johnny, "Sid does love you in his own hard way. Please come back and visit. Once you have everything sorted out and put together let me know what you need and we'll work on that." They told her they would and invited her (and Sid) to have dinner with them next week.
Standing, Laura hugged both her children, because that's what Ava is now. And they left feeling encouraged and supported. Then the pair went to Ava's, to clean out her old room. Where Johnny's mom had been home, her mom wasn't. They were surprised by that fact. Linda had left a note on the kitchen table. It plainly said "I'm too upset to see you right now. Clean out your room and anything you don't want just leave. We'll take it to Goodwill."
This hurt Ava's heart. Her own mother couldn't even be there to say goodbye. Determined not to cry, she stomped upstairs and began taking her clothes out of her closet. Johnny wanted to say something, but he stopped short. His own words played over in his mind, so he let her be for now.
As she kept taking out piles of clothes and dumping them on the bed, Johnny breathed a silent thank you. He's incredibly thankful they rented a moving truck. There's NO way all of her clothes would have fit in their vehicles. It would have called for multiple trips to and from their house. Once Ava sorted through them all, and put them into Keep and Toss piles, Johnny began carrying out the keep ones.
While he carried out clothes, she took out more and more from her closet and dresser drawers. Every time he came back into the room, more clothes were waiting for him. He swears they've multiplied like some insane magic trick. After an hour of carrying out clothes, he straight up asked "Ava, how many more do you have left?" She carried him to her closet and showed him. There's still a whole section untouched.
He groaned out his displeasure. "Babe I think you should leave all of that behind. You have a ton of clothes in the truck already. You could look at as becoming badass. Learning to do without." He saw her vexed and disgusted expressions. Quickly he took the words back and stated, "I was just kidding." Loading his arms with more clothes, he made a swift exit.
Once all of the clothes were loaded, they turned their attention to her shoes and purses. Johnny realized he is in Hell. This is his own personal hell, shoes, bags, and never-ending clothes. It was then he may, or may not, have said a prayer to never have a daughter. And he also may, or may not, have said "Babe you don't need all of this. You look hot without all of these shoes and purses." He may, or may not, have hoped that his words would encourage his wife to toss them into the Toss pile. And she may, or may not, have responded with "If I get rid of these then you have to get rid of your karate magazine collection. Which need I remind you, fills up three whole boxes." He may have been silent the rest of the afternoon.
When at last of everything was packed on the truck, Ava left her parents a note. It read "A thousand thank you's would never be enough to say how lucky I am for parents like you. You gave your lives to raise me to be the best person I could be. Because of you, I am not afraid to be a wife and leave the comfort of my childhood home. This is a completely new experience for both of us. It's one of the many stepping stones that come after childhood. I realize I'm on my own now and I have my big girl pants on, ready to take responsibility. As I embark and embrace being a wife, and a homeowner, I realize I took a lot of things for granted. And I'm sorry for that. But I'm grateful to you both for the lessons you taught me, the home you provided for me, and the love you gave me. I hope I can still turn to you when I have questions, cause I do have so many questions. And Johnny and I want to share our home with you. I hope you will come to visit us soon. I love you â Your Daughter, Ava"
She left them her new address and phone number. Then she picked up Bobo and gave him a huge hug. He gave her doggie kisses, which grossed Johnny out. Once she put him down, she knew this is it. Walking out to the grand foyer, she took in the staircase and ran her hand along the banister. It feels right, saying goodbye. But it's emotional.
Turning she headed for the door, with Johnny behind her. Once she locked and closed the door, he embraced her. Her tears fell and he rubbed her back while whispering soothing words of comfort. He rested his forehead on hers and kissed it. She went to kiss him, but he stuck his hand up in front of his mouth. Her expression was confused, and she felt it.
But he told her "No. You kissed the dog, so no real kisses until you do something about that." He spun on his heels but stopped short of moving. Looking back at her, he thought aloud "It makes me wonder how many times you've kissed me after kissing him. Oh, gag!"
However, she reminded him, "Yeah well... Let me refresh your memory about that one-time last year when you drunkenly kissed Dutch's pet goat. Who knows where the goat's mouth has been?!" She saw his eyes go wide as a full moon in surprise. "Oh yes. It may have been a stupid drunken dare (like really drunk), but you were the talk of the school. Everyone knows you did that." She patted him on the shoulder and went to the moving truck.
The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking everything. By six they had all of their things in their place. The only things they truly lack are dishes, silverware, and various kitchen items. For now, it's takeout, until they can swing by Macy's home store in Malibu (which luckily the Malibu Mall is close to them). They were both so worn out that they were in bed by eight.
Wednesday morning proved a fascinating study in getting ready. They honestly have not gotten ready for school together that often before being married. Only a handful of times but never as they currently are. Ava woke up when the alarm went off, as per her usual routine. Also per her usual routine, she got ready in the bathroom. The alarm went off three other separate times, alerting her that Johnny should be up. He should be up but he wasn't.
It was obvious he was still asleep when she went to shake him awake. "Dang Mom, go away. I'll be up soon," he announced. Ava started laughing and laughing. It's moments like this she wishes she had a camcorder. Hearing laughter, Johnny opened his eyes one eye at a time. He moaned and threw his arm over his eyes. "It's too early to be up. Can't we just take another day off?"
Shaking her head no, Ava leaned down to kiss his forehead. With her hair in curlers, she was careful to not drop any out. "Wake up sleepyhead. Besides we can't miss any more days especially if we want to take some time off at spring break." She went to open the curtains, while he turned to watch her.
He loves watching his wife. He's been doing it for years. She's hot and curvy in all the right places. And her heart is so big and full of love it makes her face even more beautiful. Plus he's glad she wears short pajama shorts, it shows off her legs (which he also loves). Gingerly, he drug himself from bed.
In the bathroom, they got ready. She finished and he started. As Ava took out the rollers, she complained about the steam from the shower. "It's going to flatten my hair." In truth, Johnny could care less but he didn't dare say that out loud. Hair is hair and she'll look fine no matter what. To his credit, he didn't say that either.
But he did call out from the shower, "You should just wear your hair natural. And maybe wear those black dotted leggings today too. Those are hot."
Ava scrunched her face up. Natural hair? And... "My tights are not leggings," she told him. Men! She wandered into the bedroom and began changing into her outfit. A layered purple and blue dress, with black polka dots and a black, pointed-shoulder, blazer over it. Despite her husband's urging, she did not wear the polka dot tights. It would have been a bit ditzy with dots. She did, however, wear plain black tights with hot pink heels.
At that moment Johnny entered the room wearing nothing but a towel, tied around his hips. She shook her head but smiled a secret smile. Her husband is a work of art crafted to chiseled perfection. She freely admits she enjoys looking at him. He saw her head shake. "You know you love it." Then he took the towel off and threw it at her, while he walked off in the buff to change. Completely confident and unashamed of his body.
Blushing red from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, she wishes she had that amount of body confidence. She still feels weird in front of him, in just her underwear. He assures her "That will change in time." Hopefully, he's right, but for now, he encourages her when she starts feeling shy around him. They're still learning each other.
Once they were dressed, they put their wedding rings on. Never to be taken off ever again. They stood admiring their hands and beamed from ear to ear. "I get to claim you publicly. That's huge," he pointed out. He heard her whisper "Yeah". Pulling her into him, he exclaimed "No seriously. Now those silly freshmen and sophomore girls will leave me alone. I'm a married man. Off the market for good."
With a gaping mouth and raised eyebrows, she could not believe her ears. "Only you would say something like that." She patted his back. "I hate to break it to you, but the fact you're married only makes your status go up. You might be off the market but now you're just infinitely hotter to them."
Now he's the one with a gaping mouth of disbelief. "That's bullshit. What do I have to do to get them to leave me alone?" Then he had an idea. "You just need to follow me around and beat them off with dirty looks." She laughed at his silliness, then kissed him before leaving for a healthy breakfast of cereal in plastic bowls. Which reminded her, she should throw a Tupperware party. She could host and earn Tupperware gifts. She began to break the kiss to voice this to him, but he wasn't letting her lips go. They were locked together.
The kiss was steamy which set her heart on fire and made her feel incredibly desired. His kisses always make her feel like that, and the more his soul is put into it the more she feels inhibited. She gives in to all her feelings and even those that make her blush. So when she twined her fingers in his hair and fitted a little more snugly in his arms, he became overwhelmed with the feel of her. Before he lost all control he reluctantly loosened his hold.
Resting their foreheads together, and getting their breathing under control, they smiled. Her fingers still played with his hair at the nape. He grabbed up her purse and walked with her to the kitchen, where they ate cereal. They made plans to grocery shop later, after going to Macy's that afternoon. Together they locked up their house and drove out of the garage, husband and wife. Wearing their wedding rings in public for the first time, the excitement grew and gnawed away at them. They couldn't help but wonder how they'll be received at school.