Ava's Wishes by Karen Pokras Page B

to leave her apartment this morning for her Statistics final, a dozen red roses arrived. The card wished her good luck on her exam and was signed: “Love, Thomas.”
    “I know I didn’t,” Thomas replied, tracing her lips with his fingers. “I wanted to. How did your test go?”
    “Good!” Ava smiled. “I really think I passed. In fact, I’m sure of it!”
    Thomas kissed her again, holding her in his arms even tighter than he had before. “Then tonight we’ll have two things to celebrate!”
    “No,” Ava said. “Tonight is all about you. We can celebrate my exam when I find out my grade. I don’t want to jinx it.”
    “Sounds like a plan. We should go inside before Cynthia comes out looking for us.”
    They held hands as they crossed the parking lot and walked along the side of the gallery. The moment they were within range of being seen from the front windows by Cynthia, they separated—turning instantly into business acquaintances.
    “Look who I ran into in the parking lot,” Thomas stated enthusiastically, giving Cynthia a kiss on each cheek, before patting Ava’s shoulder as if he were presenting a prize.
    “Fabulous! Are you all done with schoolwork now, Ava, dear?” Cynthia asked.
    “Yes, I had my last final this morning.”
    “Perfect!” Cynthia replied, clapping her hands together. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Only a few hours until the opening, and I still feel like there’s so much to do. To be honest, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, and those other interns have been useless. They’ve all left to go home for winter break.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve missed having you here, Ava.”
    “The gallery looks great, Cynthia, it really does,” Ava offered.
    “Well that’s because Cynthia incorporated so many of your ideas,” Thomas stated, but quickly added, “Of course, you’re very fortunate to have such a great talent like Cynthia here to mentor you, Ava.” Putting an arm around Cynthia, he kissed her on the cheek.
    “Oh, now stop it, Thomas.” Cynthia swatted Thomas away, giggling. “What am I going to do when you leave me as well, Ava? Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay over the holidays?”
    “I’m sorry, Cynthia. I’m afraid if I don’t go home, my family—my sisters in particular—will come hunt me down and drag me home. We’re all very close,” she stated.
    “You’re lucky. I don’t have any siblings, and my family isn’t close at all. It’s going to be lonely here. You’ll be gone,” Cynthia said motioning to Ava, “and Thomas, you’ll be off to your next exhibit after the week is over. I really am thrilled that you chose my gallery to start off your tour. It’s a shame we only get to see each other once every ten years. Let’s try to do something about that, shall we?”
    Ava glanced over to Thomas, registering what Cynthia had just said. It never occurred to her that Thomas didn’t live locally. The way he’d always talked made it sound like this was his home. Even when he asked Ava where she was from, he never once mentioned that he himself was from somewhere else. “You’re leaving?” she asked.
    “Yes,” Thomas responded calmly, as if he were speaking to an acquaintance and not to someone he had been intimate with just moments ago. “I live in the Pacific Northwest, in British Columbia. It’s quite beautiful there … a photographer’s paradise. Maybe one day you can come out to visit with your family. Of course, I won’t be returning right away. After I leave here, I’ll be visiting the various other galleries who are kind enough to display my work. I’ll make my way across the country over the next six months, back toward my home.”
    “Oh,” Ava replied, trying not to sound disappointed or surprised. British Columbia? Not only did he not live in the same town, he didn’t even live in the same country! “That sounds lovely. I didn’t realize.” She then turned to Cynthia, suddenly feeling as if all the