A Love of Her Own (4 page)

The boy saw her approach
. He slowed down and looked dead at her.

“
Looking for more trouble?” she asked.

“
Hey, I didn’t do nothin’ to you. Why you givin’ me a hard way to go?”

In spite of his street manner he really was a cute kid, she thought, taking in his chocolate brown complexion and expressive eyes
. There was even something cute about the crooked incisors on the right side of his mouth. “Okay, let’s call a truce. Actually, I was going to get lunch. Want to come?”

His eyes brightened visibly at the prospect, so much that Ava wondered when he had his last meal
. He glanced up the street in the direction he had come from, as if checking something out. “You buyin’?” he finally asked.

“
Yes,” Ava said with a chuckle. She gestured with her head, and he fell into step beside her.

“
Where’re we going?” he asked.

“
I told you, to get something to eat. What’s your name, anyway?”

“
Marcus. What’s yours?”

“
Ava.”

“
That’s pretty.”

“
Thanks. So do you live in Palmdale, Marcus?”

He shrugged
. “Nearby.”

Ava decided not to press it
. “Do you like ribs?”

“
Oh, yeah! I looooove ribs. I can eat a lot of them, too,” he said.

“
Good, because that’s where we’re going.” Ava pointed toward Wilson’s Rib Shack, which had been in the same location as long as she could remember. Palmdale had as many fast food chains as any other small city, but it also had plenty of family-owned restaurants that had been around for years and remained popular.

“
All riiiight!”

But Marcus hedged when he saw the police car in the parking lot
. “Cops are in there!” he exclaimed, pulling back.

Ava looked at him sharply
. “Are they looking for you?”

“
Well…no, not really.” Marcus reached up and removed his hat, tucking it under his arm. His hair was neatly trimmed close to his head.

Ava was curious, but she let the matter drop
. They went in, took a table and looked at the laminated single-sheet menu. “Can I get the platter?” Marcus asked.

“
If you think you can finish it, sure.”

“
Are you kidding? I can eat
two.”

Her eyebrows arched.
“When was the last time you ate, Marcus?”

“
Grandma fixed breakfast for me this morning.”

“
You live with your grandmother?”

He scowled
. “Why you as’ so many questions?”

They talked about general topics as they ate
. True to his word, Marcus demonstrated a healthy appetite, cleaning the bones of the ribs until they gleamed, unlike most children his age who tended to trash bones that still contained plenty of meat. He ate all his onion rings and the small container of cole slaw, but when Ava offered to get him more ribs he grinned and said he’d rather have dessert.

Ava, full from her riblet sandwich and corn on the cob, merely watched
him eat his chocolate cake. “How old are you, Marcus?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t consider
that
too personal a query.

“
Nine. Well, almost.”

Ava frowned
. Judging from his love of food, here was a typical eight-year-old boy, but instead of indulging in things like skateboarding and bike riding, he was busy stealing women’s purses. Why, she wondered.

Her thoughts went to the bearded man who Marcus had spoken to on the street
. She remembered the glimpse of panic she had caught in Marcus’s eyes after their brief exchange; and somehow she knew this man had a lot to do with making Marcus into a prime candidate to be a future resident of the city jail.

She had never been much for community matters, but now she found herself pledging to do what she could to save this child
’s future.

*
****

“
So how old are
you?”
he asked as they walked back to the shop.

Ava hedged
. “Why do you want to know that?”

“
Hey, you asked me and I told you. It’s only fair you tell me how old
you
are.”

“
I’m thirty-five.”

Marcus scrutinized her for a few moments
. “You look pretty good. I wouldn’t have guessed you were that old.”

“
Thanks…I think,” Ava replied with a chuckle.

“
Do you dye your hair to cover up gray?”

“
What makes you think I dye my hair?”

“
It’s almost the same color as your skin. I never seen anybody like that, all reddish.”

“
My brother and sister both happen to have this same complexion. It’s a family trait from our father. She didn’t add that she was the only one who had also inherited their father’s cinnamon-like hair color, or that she had hated it when she was growing up because it made her different from everyone else whose hair was either black or sandy brown. Too bad she couldn’t have known that years later the color would be duplicated by colorists and become a popular choice for those who sought to change their look or soften it as they grew older. She chuckled every time she saw boxes of hair dye graced by models whose hair matched her natural shade. “I do
not
dye my hair, and I certainly don’t have any gray!”

“
Sorry,” he said with a shrug.

“
Don’t worry about it,” she replied, suddenly ashamed of having spoken so harshly. She supposed the issue of gray hair was a touchy one for all women.

Ava thought carefully before asking him another question; she didn
’t want to antagonize him by getting too personal. “So what are you doing the rest of the afternoon?”

“
Oh, I don’t know. Just hang out, I guess.”

“
There’s trouble on the streets, you know.”

He shrugged
. “Nothing I can’t handle. What about you?”

Ava hid her amusement
. She recognized the pattern and knew she could expect to be asked the same every time she had a question for him. “I’m going back to my shop.”

“
That wedding gown place. You own it?”

“
No. I pay rent each month.”

He turned to her impishly
. “You make lots of money?”

“
I do all right. You certainly seem preoccupied with money to be so young.”

“
I’m not so young. I told you, I’m almost nine.”

“
That old,” Ava replied solemnly.

They stopped in front of
Beginnings. “Are you going to stay out of trouble?” she asked.

“
Yep. Thanks for lunch, Ava. It was fun.” Marcus broke off into a run. “‘Bye!” he called over his shoulder.

An amused Ava went inside.

She found herself thinking about Marcus as the afternoon progressed. He was such a charming little boy in spite of his obviously being a street kid. From the little he told her it sounded like he lived with his grandmother. Maybe he was too much for the woman to handle, especially if she was elderly. But then again, it seemed like grandmothers were getting younger and younger these days. Just two consecutive generations of teenage pregnancy would make for grandmothers under forty. Still, any child was the main responsibility of his parents. Where were they, she wondered. Did they know what their son was doing? Marcus didn’t look like the rebellious type, and even she had been able to control him last night.

“
Ava.”

She looked up
. Woody was waving her hands frantically in an exaggerated effort to get her attention, although she stood only about three feet away.

“
I’ve been talking to you for five minutes,” Woody said. “Are you all right?”

“
Yes, of course. I was just…” Her voice trailed off as she was unable to come up with an explanation for being distracted. “What is it?”

“
I was asking you about Catherine’s party.”

“
Oh. It was nice. You wouldn’t believe her house.” Ava launched into a description of it, glad to have something else to think about than the troubling situation with Marcus and her own unexplained concern about his welfare.

*****

Woody left promptly at three, and Ava spent the rest of the day confirming arrangements she had made for her friend Vicky Sanders’ wedding, to be held the following weekend. Vicky was marrying Danny Graves, who had been her first love back in high school. College had taken them down separate paths, and eventually they’d each married other people; but Fate brought them back together when Danny’s grandfather died shortly after Vicky and her daughter had returned to live with her parents in Nile Beach. They rekindled their romance, and Vicky relocated to North Carolina to be with him. The wedding was going to be held the following Friday at a private club owned by Kendall’s husband. Ava and Kendall were both attendants, as they had been on Vicky’s first trip down the aisle, and Ava had coordinated the entire affair as a gift to her lifelong friend.

Ava looked up expectantly when the bell jingled at ten minutes to six, indicating someone had entered the salon
. She’d gladly close up a few minutes early if Kendall was ready to go; she’d only had a few browsers all afternoon.

But it was not Kendall who stood looking at the shop
’s decor; it was Hilton White. Surely he’d come to see her, why else would he come to a bridal shop? The thought made her feel all warm and tingly inside.

After her surprise subsided she decided to have a little fun with him
. “Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?” she asked, as if she’d never seen him before in her life. But she was unable to keep the broad smile off her face, though, and when she finished speaking she burst out laughing.

He joined in, the sound rich and deep
. “I thought you might need a ride home, since your car’s not working.”

“
Oh…that was thoughtful. I really could use a ride, too.”

“
What did you find out about your car?”

“
I won’t have any news ‘til Monday. They picked it up for me as a courtesy, but they won’t be working Saturdays until after New Year’s. Everybody’s slow right now, except the retailers. Well,
most
retailers.”

“
How’s the bridal business?”

She shrugged
. “Slow, but my time is coming. It always does. Just give me a minute to close up.”

“
Sure, take your time.”

It only took a moment to empty out the cash register; she
’d bring the money back with her Tuesday morning. As she closed the drawer, the bell jingled again and Kendall walked in. Of course, Ava remembered; she’d asked Kendall to give her a ride home. Good heavens, she’d forgotten all about her friend the moment Hilton walked in.

“
Hi, Kendall,” Ava said quickly. “I have it for you back here.” She gestured for an obviously puzzled Kendall to follow her to one the private showrooms, which she did after first giving a polite nod to Hilton.

“
What’s going on?” Kendall hissed when they were alone. “There’s a
ma-an
in your shop. And a doggone good-looking one at that.”

“
I didn’t know he was coming. Oh, Ken; I’m sorry.”

“
Hmph. You
should
be sorry, turning me out so you can run off with somebody full of testosterone.”

“
I’m sure if it had been you, you would have stuck by me and flatly refused his invitation.”

“
Absolutely, my fair-weather friend,” Kendall replied with a straight face. Then she giggled. “Y’all have fun.”

“
Good night,” Kendall called to Hilton as she breezed past him on her way out.

“
Good night,” he answered, his head turning to avoid talking to air as she rushed by. Then he turned to face Ava. “Friend of yours?”

She nodded
. “I would’ve introduced you, but she seemed to be in a hurry.”

“
Didn’t she, though.”

They both looked up when the
entry bell jingled a second time. Kendall reappeared, and flashing a sly smile she said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Ava. Spencer and I will save two seats at our usual table tonight in case you two don’t have any other plans. Hope to see you at the Sundowner. ‘Bye.” Then she was gone, this time for good.