Hold Me Now

Chapter 50: Ironic

Over the course of two weeks, Johnny got better. His concussion all but disappeared with his constant commitment to daily exercise, rest, and no hard thinking. To which end Ava teases, "The no hard thinking part should not be a problem." He told her she was naughty and she agreed. Then she showed him naughty she was. Which he says "Quality time is back Baby!" And the lack of it was thoroughly made up for.

During those two weeks, an envelope arrived addressed to Mr. John Lawrence. Ava handed it to her husband and encouraged him to "Open it now. I'm dying to know what this is." He decided to torture her by leaving it unopened, on the kitchen island. He did his thirty-minute workout followed by some cognitive activity. Then he had a snack, a nap, another snack, and finally, Ava pointed out to him "If you don't open it now, then I'm going to."

He looked at her and stated, with a straight face, "Opening another person's mail is against the law. You could have jail time."

With narrowed eyes, she scoffed. "Fine, then you will have no quality time." With speed as quick as The Flash, he picked the letter up and opened it. Then he proceeded to read. As he read, his eyes bugged out of his head. Seeing this she asked "What? What is it?" He handed her the paper and sat down on the sofa. With skepticism she eyed him. Holding it up to her eyes, she began to read. By the second paragraph, she could not believe what she was reading. "Johnny! Do you know what this means?" He just looked at her. She kept reading until the whole letter had been read from top to bottom. 

"So, what do you think?" he asked. He wants her opinion on the matter.

Giving him a look that said are you for real, she sat in his lap and threw her arms around his neck. "Johnny! This is so amazing. No! This is more than amazing. It's incredible!"

Smiling his bright Johnny smile, he spoke with a catch in his voice. "I guess one of the scouts did see something they liked." The letter, which was a full soccer offer from Pepperdine, fluttered to the floor from Ava's hands. Her hands were busy holding on to her husband while placing kisses all over his face. 

"Of course they did. You're the best. I'm so proud of you," she asserted. He soaked in her words. They celebrated, that night, by ordering pizza and having quality time (after her favorite TV show Dallas).

With it now mid-April, Prom is a week away. Then there's Ava's final golf match, Senior exams, and graduation. It seems like a mad dash to the finish. But today is Thursday in the valley, and the girls are going prom dress shopping. Ava hates that she's had to put this off to the last minute, but her husband was more of a concern than a dress. She has never been a last-minute person a day in her life. She's always prompt, punctual, and organized. 

While she and the girls are dress shopping, Johnny and the guys are hanging out. It's funny because all of this was supposed to have happened three weeks ago. But then life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. How ironic.

After school, Johnny hugged his woman and said "Buy something hot and pretty." Ava gave him a look. He just raised an eyebrow in response. They kissed and said goodbye. Since the doctor gave him the all-clear to drive again, he's been riding on his bike. He just can't get enough of it. It's funny how you take things like driving for granted, especially when you have to rely on others. 

As for Ava, she rode in Rachel's car with Dawn, and Jennifer (who already purchased her dress but wanted to come with them for the fun of it). Together they rode to the boutique stores around the valley first, before they browsed racks of picked-over dresses at the malls. Their first stop is in Encino with Shawna's Fashionable Frills. Dawn found her perfect prom dress right off the bat. Hot pink with a satin sweetheart neckline at the top, and a black polka dot, tulle, chiffon skirt. She tried it on and loved it. Done.