Key To My Heart (Love Conquers All) (9 page)

Langston’s heart crumbled into a thousand pieces at her question. He did try to contact her, he explained. Every number he had for her had been discounted. And when he’d gone to her parents’ home in South Philly, Dominic refused to tell him where Ava was. Langston couldn’t fully make out what Dominic was saying, because the man was cussing him out in English and Italian. He did, however, make out the blowing-your-brains-out-if-you-come-near-my-daughter-again
part. Langston wasn’t even going to front. The man who bore a strong resemblance to Armand Assante had scared the hell out of him. He believed Dominic wasn’t just blowing off steam when he made his threat.

Ava leaned her head back against the sofa to keep more tears from falling. It was no use. They fell anyway. Staring at the ceiling, she said, “I want to see her.”

“She wants to see you too.”

Sitting upright again, Ava gazed directly into Langston’s eyes. “What?”

Standing, he began to pace, rubbing his hands over his closely cropped hair. “Lately Zoe’s been asking for a mommy. At times she becomes withdrawn and sad, which isn’t like her at all.” Letting out a deep breath, he stopped pacing as he looked at Ava. “I couldn’t take seeing my Love Bug like that. So last night I told her that I knew where her mommy was.”

Nervous energy and excitement coiled through Ava. She stood and went to Langston. Looking up at him through moist lashes, her lips trembled when she spoke. “What did she say?”

Gently he ran a finger down her satiny cheek. “She cried and said she wanted her mommy.”

“I want her too, Langston. I’ve always wanted her.”

Pulling Ava into his arms, he held her tight. “I know, baby. How soon can you be ready?”

“Good night, Charles. Thanks for watching Zoe,” Langston said quietly as he walked the older man to the door.

“You know I don’t mind.” Peeping around Langston, Charles wished Ava a good night. He smiled when she returned the sentiment. Leaning in, Charles whispered for fear he might be overheard since Ava wasn’t too far off. “Son, you’ve made the right decision. That precious little angel upstairs deserves both her parents.” He wanted to add, “and not that evil mother of his.” But that would have been completely out of line. As close as he and Langston were, the younger man was still his employer.

Langston patted his friend on the back. “Thanks.”

“What was that all about?” Ava asked, lifting a perfectly arched brow.

Shrugging broad shoulders, Langston said, “Nothing, really.”

“Whatever,” she mumbled as she took in the surroundings of Langston’s beautiful home.

Langston chuckled. “Come on and let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

She followed him to the second floor of the massive three-story townhouse. Her heart did a pitter-patter as she approached a room with the door slightly ajar and soft light streaming through the opening. Touching the door with the palm of her hand, she glanced over her shoulder at Langston.

His full lips curled into a smile as he nodded, giving her the OK to enter.

Gingerly taking soft steps, Ava gently sat on the edge of the bed next to Zoe’s tiny, slumbering body. Bending down, she placed soft butterfly kisses all over her face. Her touch was like feathers as she smoothed her soft palm across her baby’s face and then her thick, dark hair.

The doorjamb supported Langston’s weight as he watched Ava. He swallowed the large lump in his throat. Things would have been so different if he had been a stronger man and stood up to his parents. If only he had taken Ava, ran away with her, and married her, then they’d be a family now.

“Langston?” Ava called softly, pulling him out of his reverie. “You gave her my name?”

He smiled. “I did.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

After making love in his off-campus apartment, Langston would hold Ava in his arms in the dark. They’d talk for hours about their future. They discussed everything from what kind of wedding they wanted, where they would buy their first home, and how many children they would have. “If we have a little girl, I want to name her Zoe,” Ava once told him. And Langston had remembered.

eee

“How’d you sleep?” Langston asked as he sat a cup of mint tea in front of Ava.

“Not too good,” she answered truthfully.

“Nervous?”

Picking up the honey that was already on the table, she began pouring it into her steaming mug. “Yeah, a little bit.”

Grabbing his cup of coffee, Langston pulled out a chair and sat across from Ava. “Don’t be nervous. Zoe’s going to love you.”

She sure hoped so. What if the child actually didn’t want her for a mommy? What if she became angry, demanding to know why she’d left her? And what if she plain ole just didn’t like her?

“Oh, Langston, what if she’s mad at me? What if she thinks I abandoned her? That I didn’t love her?”

Reaching across the table, he held Ava’s trembling hands. “Ava, don’t do this. Zoe is going to accept you. She’s a sweet child just like you.”

Ava let out an unlady-like snort as she pulled her hands free of Langston’s warm touch. “Ain’t nothing sweet about me.”

Langston was about to tell her that at one time she was sweet. At least to him she was sweet. He wanted to tell her she had been the only girl that ever really liked him for who he was. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for causing her so much pain. But before he could make his confession, Zoe came skipping into the kitchen in her pajamas.

“Daddy, I need to get ready for—” Her words trailed off as she stared wide eyed at Ava. Zoe pointed her finger. “Daddy, who’s that? Is that my mommy?”

Ava didn’t give Langston a chance to answer. Her hand trembled when she held it out to the small child. “Hi, Zoe, please come to me.”

Although the pretty lady was smiling at her, Zoe nervously looked to her father. She remained planted in place until her daddy said it was OK to go to the lady. She wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers. She only moved when Langston smiled at her and said, “It’s OK, Love Bug.”

When Zoe was within arms’ lengths, Ava pulled her up onto her lap. The familiar strangers gazed at each other for what seemed like a lifetime. Ava couldn’t believe it. This child, her daughter looked exactly like her with the exception of her coloring. Zoe was a beautiful shade of cinnamon, thanks to her daddy.

Ava’s voice shook when she asked the child, “Can I give you a kiss and a hug?”

Zoe answered by bobbing her head up and down. She liked this lady. She was nice and her lips were soft against her cheek like the ones kissing her last night in her dream. When Ava hugged her, she nestled against Ava’s bosom as if it were the most natural thing to do. Zoe sure hoped this lady was her mommy.

As Ava drew her baby further into her embrace, Zoe wiggled closer to her. Ava’s hand stroked a soft, thick, long braid. For years she’d rubbed the small lock of hair in the plastic bag between her fingers. And for years she’d dreamed about holding her daughter in her arms, lovingly stroking her hair like she was doing now.

Holding the braid under her nose, Ava inhaled to capture its scent, which smelled of lavender. There was a smile in her voice when she told Zoe, “Your hair smells pretty, like flowers.”

Zoe giggled. “Thank you. That’s because Daddy takes me to the hair salon every week to get my hair washed.”

Ava glanced over at Langston. For the first time since seeing him, she smiled at him like old times. He smiled back.

Yeah, she was still struggling with accepting his reasoning for not telling her about Zoe until now. Sure, she was ticked off with him because of it. She’d missed out on being in Zoe’s life for so many years. But that was not where she needed to focus her energy right now. The fact that she could see that Langston loved Zoe and had taken excellent care of her made her years of absence a little easier to handle.

Zoe wiggled free from the embrace. Easing back, she took a curious look at Ava as if she’d seen her somewhere before. “Daddy, she looks like that lady in the picture with you. The one you keep in your dresser drawer in your bedroom.”

Ava gave Langston a puzzled look. “What picture?”

Zoe put her arms out with her palms facing the ceiling. “The one in Daddy’s dresser drawer,” she said, letting out an exasperated sigh. “You want me to get it?”

“Sure, why not.” Ava chuckled as Zoe jumped off her lap and ran upstairs. “I see she’s a dramatic little something,” Ava said to Langston.

Langston chortled to break the tension he was feeling building in his shoulders. “Most definitely.” He should have put that picture somewhere else. Zoe had found him in his room one afternoon looking at the photo. When she’d asked who the lady in the photo was, he’d just told her she was a friend.

“Here it is!” Zoe beamed, handing Ava the silver framed picture.

Gazing at the photo, bittersweet memories warred within her. The picture had been taken her sophomore year, and his first year of law school. The event they were attending was a benefit dinner to raise money for the United Negro College Fund. The faces smiling back at her showed a couple deeply in love.

“You kept this picture? After all this time?” Ava asked.

“I was saving it to maybe one day give to Zoe when she got older.” He wondered if she would believe him if he told her for the last several weeks he’d looked at the photo every day, wondering where she was and what she was doing.

Zoe climbed back up on Ava’s lap. “Daddy said the lady in the picture is his friend. Are you my mommy or Daddy’s friend?”

Smiling down at the child, Ava kissed her forehead and hugged her again. “Baby, I’m both. I’m your mommy and your daddy’s friend.”

Sunday rolled around too quickly for Ava’s liking. She was getting to know her little girl and enjoying every minute of it. She so wanted to call out from work on Monday to prolong her visit with Zoe. However, she had a job she had to get back to.

Calling out last Thursday and Friday hadn’t fazed her at all. Knowing her daughter wanted her and needed her had taken supreme precedence over everything. It had taken Ava less than ten minutes to stuff a large overnight bag with clothing and essential toiletries before jumping into Langston’s vintage Jaguar. All she could think about was getting to where Zoe was.

Now sitting cross-legged on her bed while folding laundry, Ava counted down the days until she would see Zoe again. Dear God in heaven, help her. It was only Tuesday. Melancholy cast its grim aura. Friday might as well have been next year.

She could still feel the ache in her heart when she had to say good-bye. Zoe was having a difficult time letting go.

Holding Ava tightly around the neck, Zoe whimpered, “I don’t want you to leave. Please stay. Don’t go.”

“My Zoe, I don’t want to go, but I have to get back to work. I promise I’ll come see you again. On Friday, OK,” Ava soothingly assured the distraught child as she held her in her lap.

Ava’s heart shattered into a million pieces when Zoe nodded, her lips trembling as she tried to be a big girl. “OK, Mommy.”

Getting to know the child she’d given up was beyond a blessing. Ava’s lips curled into a warm smile. Langston hadn’t embellished. Zoe was indeed a sweet child. After their initial meeting she had literally become Ava’s shadow. Ava couldn’t make a move without the child being at her side.

Utter fascination warmed Ava insides. She and Zoe easily engaged in the roles of mother and daughter. Ava lovingly indulged Zoe every time she climbed into her lap as if she were a toddler. On Saturday afternoon when they went out for a walk, Zoe held onto Ava’s hand as she led her around the neighborhood. Ava had to control the waterworks when Zoe tugged on her hand, pointed to a lovely colonial style home, and excitedly stated, “Mommy, that’s where my friend Allison lives.”

Zoe naturally accepted her mother’s need to constantly shower her with affection. Her round cheeks and forehead were the recipients of thousands of tender, warm kisses. And Zoe enjoyed Ava helping to bathe her. She bubbled over with laughter when Ava teased her as she cleaned in and around her ears, “Critters, critters, if you’re in there come on out!” Ava shouted.

“Mommy! I don’t have critters!”

“Yoooou…nevvvver…knoooow.” Ava continued to tease, wiggling her eyebrows and sending Zoe into a fit of giggles.

“Mommy, you’re silly just like Daddy.”

Ava didn’t even get annoyed then or now as she remembered the exuberant child comparing her to Langston.

Finishing folding the laundry, Ava glanced at her watch.
Almost seven thirty.
To make the time go by more quickly, she decided to put everything away and get a snack before calling Zoe. When she had asked Langston what time would be convenient to call, he told her seven thirty because he didn’t want to upset Zoe’s schedule. Ava had agreed. The last thing she wanted to do was interfere with a schedule that had been set by her father. However, she did want Zoe to know that she wouldn’t forget her.

Because she worked with children, she’d witnessed firsthand the devastation of a parent being in and out of the picture. That was why she made it her business to communicate with Zoe every day. Ava was determined to show through her actions that she was dedicated to being a mommy to Zoe, even though they lived in different states. Ava wanted to prove to Zoe that Zoe could depend on her. If Ava said she would call, she would. If she said she would come to visit, she would.