A Rescued Heart(17)
Author: Natalie Replogle

Ava still had her times when panic tried to push its way back in, but she could control the dampening thoughts and rise above them with more ease now. Before, she had held back, afraid to give anything for fear of not getting it back or being rejected in the end. Finally she realized that loving someone was worth the chance of failure. Failure in its essence is not pleasant, but the anticipation of success made life worth living.

Ava had decided her turn had come to do something special for Matt. He always put so much thought into everything he did for her. Her excitement bubbled as she put her plan into action. Whether it would turn out to be a blessing or a curse remained unclear, but she decided to make his favorite foods for dinner. It would either go well or they would have to order takeout at the last minute.

She prepared herself for option number two.

Ava was borrowing her neighbor’s grill for the occasion. Mr. Smith was a nice older man who lived two doors down. He kept his grill outside on the back patio and often loaned it out to anyone who asked. Ava, of course, had never asked. He seemed a bit surprised by her request, but covered well as he chuckled while mentioning something about leaving the fire extinguisher by the grill. Just because she had brought the fire department out once when her smoke alarm went off from a tiny fire on the stove, nobody on her floor let her forget about it.

Ava planned on making steak with grilled potatoes and vegetables. She asked Mr. Smith if he could come out and start the grill for her when she was ready to begin. She wasn’t stupid. Maybe naive about what she was getting herself into, but not stupid. She told Matt to come to her apartment at five thirty. Checking her watch, she noted that she still had an hour to get physically and mentally prepared.

The steaks had marinated all day in one of Lucy’s original recipes and she had just finished chopping the vegetables and potatoes. Earlier in the day she had been trying to think of something creative to do for Matt. A way show him how much she cared and showcase the improvements she’d made over the last couple weeks. Ava came up with a “Top Ten List” of reasons why she loved him. The reasons fairly flew out of her heart and onto the paper.

~ The Top Ten Reasons Why I Love You ~

The sweet ways you show your love for me.

Your connection with my family and how you take the time to develop a relationship with each of them.

Your humor … I will never tire of laughing with you.

Your passion for your job and how you continually put yourself in danger to keep others safe. I may not like it at times, but it makes you who you are, who you were created to be. For that I’m thankful.

Your smile … it makes me melt every time.

The way you make me feel safe and how I fit perfectly into your arms.

Your friendship … I’m blessed to be in love with my best friend … well, you’re tied for first with Jules, but she’s tough competition. Hang in there.

No matter where we go, you always make me feel like I’m the most important person in the room.

Your character … you are honest, trustworthy, kind, respectful, thoughtful and desire to live a righteous life dedicated to the Lord.

Your persistence … thank you for not giving up on me.

I love you~

Ava

She folded up the paper and put it in an envelope, placing it next to the movie she had rented for the evening. It was a suspense thriller—a “guy” movie. Matt had mentioned last week that he wanted to see it. She stopped by the video store on her way home from the grocery store this morning to pick it up. What she had planned for the night—dinner and a movie—wasn’t exciting, but it fit them. They enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. Last night they just sat on his front stoop and talked while they watched the neighbor kids pedal their bikes back and forth.

The oven timer started to beep at her and for a quick second she sat confused as to why she had set it. She leapt off the couch remembering it was her warning to start getting dinner around. Putting everything on a big tray, she walked down to Mr. Smith’s door and knocked.

He opened the door, reading glasses perched on his nose and a book in his hand. “Good afternoon, Ava. Are you ready for me to start the grill?”

“I am. Thank you for letting me use it.” She stepped aside for him to exit through the doorway. They walked together down the back steps to the patio, chatting about the nice weather.

The patio was a small slab of cement, but a nice asset for the apartment building. The tenants didn’t use it very often, but everyone tried to be respectful when it was in use. An adequately sized yard sat in the back with a couple trees lining the property. A wooden picnic table sat to the side of the patio. Nothing flashy, but at least she had a place to take her shoes off and run her toes through the grass.

Mr. Smith had the grill fired up in no time. He showed her how to use each knob and how to shut it off when she was finished. “Good luck,” he called over his shoulder, “and come get me if you have any problems.”

“Thank you. Matt should be here soon for backup.” No pun intended. Ava looked down at her watch. She had about fifteen minutes to get the food started before he would be here. She had texted him earlier about meeting her out back, but hadn’t gotten a response yet. That wasn’t like him.

The food was close to being done when she heard the beep on her phone, announcing a new text from Matt.“Sorry. Running late. I’ll be there soon. Love you.” Those last two words still gave her butterflies. She glanced at the time. It was past six.

She looked once more at the food, almost praying over it. She thought she had picked a simple menu, but then she hadn’t taken into account if the meat would be dry or tough. If the vegetables and potatoes would get cooked enough so they wouldn’t crunch. She tried to do a little taste test but burned her tongue.

Cooking was overrated.

She considered eating dinner outside but the mosquitoes were bad tonight and she had already spent her inadequate cooking experience swatting at one every few seconds. Shutting off the grill, she pondered whether to take the food upstairs or wait here for Matt. Just then he appeared around the corner of the building, still wearing his uniform. She didn’t see him in it very often and each time the sight was striking.

He looked upset. “Hi, honey. Sorry I’m so late.”

“It’s fine. Are you okay?” She shortened the distance between them and he wrapped her up in his usual bear hug.

“Yeah, right before I left work this afternoon we got a call about another bank robbery. We didn’t get there in time and the thieves got away. I’m just frustrated, that’s the second one in less than a month. We are beginning to suspect it’s the same guys each robbery.”

“I’m sorry. I know you take these situations personally and take pride in low crime rate. I’m sure you did the best you could.” She took his hands in hers to comfort him while kissing him on the cheek. “Do you want to talk about it some more?” The food could wait, he was more important. It wasn’t often when Matt got upset about something. His even temperament didn’t challenge him to get riled up over petty issues.

“Maybe later, I’m hungry. I worked up a good appetite being angry.”

“Well, you’re in luck. We will either have a mediocre dinner here or a fantastic dinner downtown. Either way, you’ll be fed.” She turned toward the grill and opened the lid to place the food on the plate.

“What! Ava, you made dinner?” She had been looking forward to his reaction all day.

“Yes. Now wipe off that surprised look and get the door for me,” she said, laughing.

He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, kissing her neck, which was readily available because she had pulled her hair back in a ponytail within moments of cooking over the hot grill.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, you haven’t tasted it, and you won’t unless you open the door,” she teased.

“Geez, get the woman to cook and she’s got a spicy attitude to go with it.” He dropped his arms and opened the door, bowing.

“You think this is feisty, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Feisty. I can do feisty.”

Dinner went better than Ava predicted. The steak was a little tough, but Lucy’s sauce made up for it. The vegetables and potatoes were satisfactory and she was quite pleased. Maybe this cooking thing wasn’t so hard after all. However, she wasn’t ready to admit that fact out loud yet.

Ava washed the dishes while Matt went to change his clothes and clean off the grill. When he returned she had just finished up. She snatched the movie, note, and a blanket for them to share on her way to meet him on the couch.

She sat beside him, a little anxious to give him the note. Her voice quivered when she began to talk. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you today, so I put some of those thoughts down on paper.” She handed him the paper.

He took the note without saying anything, but a smile spread across his face. He began reading. Ava sat watching him read, disregarding the awkwardness of her staring, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. By his facial reactions she could guess what number he was reading on the countdown.

He laid the note down and left his mark on her lips. “Thank you. I’m enjoying getting to know the side of you that isn’t afraid to tell me how you feel. I’m so proud of you for the steps you’ve been taking lately.” He leaned over and kissed her again. “You’re the most remarkable woman I’ve ever met. I love you.”

“Good. Are you ready to love me some more?” She pulled out the movie and flashed it at him. “And that’s not all.”

She got up off the couch and dashed to the freezer and pulled out two pints of ice cream. One was Cookies ‘n Cream, Matt’s favorite, and Mint Chip, her favorite. She grabbed two spoons and handed him his pint. “What’s a shoot ’em up movie without ice cream?”

She put the movie in and turned down the lights. As she passed by Matt he took her hand and guided her to sit on his lap. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve you,” he whispered lovingly.

Ava rubbed the scruff that started to grow on his face. “I’m exceedingly confidant that I win on the ‘not deserving’ end of this relationship,” she whispered back.

She placed her fingers against his mouth when he tried to protest and then laid her head on his shoulder, snuggling into his warm chest. She could’ve stayed in his arms all night. She kissed his neck, slowly working her way up to his mouth.

They kissed for a short stretch of time. Disappointment escaped in a sigh when Matt pushed her back with, “Maybe we should start the movie.”

“What movie?” she asked, kissing him again.

“Ava,” he chuckled while he gently pushed her back again. “Seriously, we better stop. I’m not sure I can resist the temptation of not crossing our boundaries right now. I’m feeling a little weak in that area.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that physical things are different for guys than girls. I guess I always just look at you as indestructible.” She moved off his lap to sit next to him.

“That couldn’t be further from the truth at this moment. I feel very human right now.”

“Okay, let’s start the movie. We don’t want our ice cream to melt anyway.”

Ava didn’t realize how tired she was until halfway through the movie when she stretched out on the couch and couldn’t keep her eyes open. Despite all the action in the movie her eyelids lost the battle. She awakened to Matt gently rubbing her legs that rested on his lap. Through blurred vision the credits rolled.

“Ava baby, I’m going to head home so you can go to bed,” Matt said softly.

She rubbed her eyes, willing herself to wake up. “Sorry I missed the movie. I guess all that cooking wore me out.” She sat up and stretched. “Did you like it?”

“Yeah, there was a huge twist at the end that surprised me. I was a little distracted at times, so if you want to watch it again sometime, I’ll watch it with you.”

“Why were you distracted?” His crooked smile showed his slight embarrassment telling her everything she needed to know. She was the distraction. “Me? I’m sorry, how did I distract you while sleeping?” She pulled her hair tie out and let her hair fall. As she rubbed her temples to ease the headache that had started, her eyes widened suddenly. “Oh no, did I snore? I’m sorry. I usually don’t unless I’m really tired.”

He pulled her close to him, running his fingers through her hair. That confirmed it for her that he liked it the best when she had it down. “I was in a trance watching you sleep. No worries, no snoring, you actually looked peaceful and I couldn’t take my eyes off you.” He placed his fingers on her chin and held her face, not allowing her to look away. “You are so beautiful.”

Heat flushed her cheeks. “And you are too kind.” She continued to work on accepting his compliments without rebuttal. She nestled herself into his chest. “I wish you didn’t have to leave. Can’t you just stay and hold me like this all night?”

He pulled her tighter into his strong embrace. “Oh Ava, you have no idea how much I wish I could do that. Someday I hope that you’ll be mine so I don’t ever have to leave again,” he murmured while kissing the top of her head.

“I look forward to that future, too,” she agreed softly. As her head rested on his chest, his heartbeat quicken. He gently positioned her so they faced each other.

“Really?”

Ava grinned and couldn’t hide the beaming that shined through her smile. She also couldn’t believe she’d said those words, but she meant them. A future with Matt was what she wanted. “Really.”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her with such intensity that Ava could sense that his walls were down. He never allowed himself to kiss her with such passion. The atmosphere changed and the restraint they typically controlled had vanished. Ava’s head recognized the danger that drew them in, but her senses screamed in delight louder. Without consideration she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down onto the couch with her and he didn’t resist.