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Chapter Text

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” the visitors yelled as soon as Ava opened the small, black, wrought iron gate that led to the front door of her home in Malibu, California. The actress placed an arm around the shoulder of each newcomer as they stepped into the manor. A waiter on stand by took the bouquet of flowers and the gift-wrapped box that was in Blaire Kinney’s hand while another took a bottle of wine from Chanel.

“I’m so happy you two could make it, I thought you were off to New York?” Ava asked Blaire as she regarded her oldest friend. She was wearing a floral printed white sundress that fell below her knees. Her sandy brown hair has grown longer and her skin has tanned a bit. Even now, after all these years, the actress still saw how they were a spitting image of each other. It was the main reason Ava was cast as Blaire’s youngest sister in their sitcom from the 2000s. the actress held her friend gently on her shoulders as she smiled. She was simply grateful that her elder sister was back in her life.

“No, no, put the flowers in a vase, not together with the other gifts!” Ava heard Camila instruct a waiter. “Hey, you, mimosas first! The red wine is for dinner, what were you thinking?”

“Camila, I told you, you’re not working today, you are a guest,” Ava scolded her friend as she took a step back to allow Camila to greet both Blaire and Chanel.

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” Camila replied. 

“It’s just a small party, it’s just us. It’s okay for things to go wrong,” Ava reminded her assistant. Ever since Beatrice disappeared eight months ago, Camila started working for Ava as her assistant. The actress told her that it was a stepping stone when she offered her the job, a way to build connections in the music industry. Ava remembered Camila telling her back at the camp in North Dakota that she would need the help of an assistant after her movie did so well in the box office. She was right. Not to mention that the actress was now also known as a women’s rights activist, a role she never expected to take. She was grateful for all the help she could get.

“Hey, a picture?” JC said from behind the girls, his professional camera in hand. 

“You are not working as well, mister,” Ava scolded her ex-boyfriend.

“It’s not work when you’re having fun,” JC replied with a smile. “Ready?”

The girls flanked Ava, smiling for the photo. JC took a couple of shots when they saw Shannon and Jillian running towards them from the living room.

“Hey, wait for us!” the coach said.

“Get in here,” Ava replied. Shannon stood beside Chanel, a hand circled around the crook of one of the taller woman’s elbows and Jillian stepped beside Camila as they posed for another shot.

“That’s great, you all look so beautiful,” JC said, taking a peek at the photos he just took on the LCD display of his camera. “I’ll take loads more later, let’s eat!”

Chanel took JC by the arm and led him to the buffet spread that was in the lanai in the backyard of Ava’s house. The glass wall panel that was shattered when the house was broken into almost a year ago has already been fixed.

“You’re here early,” Chanel teased JC.

“That’s because I promised to help Camila set up,” JC replied. “Not for anything else.”

“Come on. It’s been eight months. I know she’s in love with Beatrice, we all heard that in court,” Chanel said. “But she’s not around and nowhere to be found. Ava is still young and she deserves to be happy. I know how you used to make her happy. You could still do that.”

“Well, how do I even talk to her today? I bet she’d be surrounded by everyone else,” JC replied. He watched the guests who had settled around the living room, glasses of mimosas in their hands. It was a small party. Just the same people who gathered around Mary’s cramped dining area months ago, scheming together to save her ex-girlfriend from the clutches of a criminal organization and accidentally birthing one of the biggest global movements that year. Mary and Lilith are not yet around, but as far as JC was aware of, the people that have arrived were almost everyone that Ava invited, everyone that was important to the actress, save for one person. JC knew that the actress still felt like there was a gap in her life, a missing piece. He could see it in her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, he could still be the person to fill that up.

“Well, you might be lucky just this once,” Chanel said, gesturing towards the staircase that led to the second floor of the house. They both watched the birthday girl climb up the stairs, all alone, presumably to go to her room.

“Go get Rosaline, Romeo,” Chanel said as she took the plate of food that was in JC’s hand and the camera that was hanging around his neck. The woman gave her friend a nod and urged him to follow Ava upstairs. The photographer cleared his throat with intent and stepped back into the living room, past Blaire chatting with Shannon and Jillian, recounting a particularly funny story, past Camila scolding one of the waiters, and up the staircase.

xxx

Ava sat on her bed, needing to get away from the chaos downstairs and breathe. She was so used to the solitude of her home that seeing it with people, even the few that she had invited for her birthday, unnerved her. Not that she was not grateful. Ava was extremely happy, or at least she thought she should be. Ever since the death of her parents, she has never been in a house as lively as this. Yet the sight of all her friends together to celebrate another year in her life made the large Beatrice-sized hole in her heart all the more apparent. The actress did not notice that she’d been crying until she felt a few, hot tears drop on the palm of her hands that were resting on her lap.

Ava heard a knock on her door and quickly wiped her tears away.

“Come in,” she said. The actress saw the doorknob turn and her ex-boyfriend’s head pop in.

“Hey, they want you to blow the candles on the cake, one of the cakes,” JC said, stepping inside. He saw the redness in Ava’s eyes and worry immediately crept across his face. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I was just...I was just hoping to get a change of clothes. Chanel was wearing yellow as well and I kind of wanted to stand out, it’s my birthday and all,” Ava lied quickly.

“You might have convinced everyone else when you testified on the stand, but I always know when you’re not telling the truth,” JC said, approaching his ex to stand at the foot of the bed. He knelt in front of her. “Besides, you’ll stand out in anything, even a trash bag.”

“Stop it,” Ava chuckled. “I just feel so guilty and ungrateful. I’m supposed to be happy. Everyone who is important to me is here now, celebrating.”

“But not everyone,” JC understood. He moved to sit on the bed beside the actress, the bed they used to share back when they were together and he had time off from his busy schedule to stay in California for a few days. 

“Not everyone,” Ava admitted, meeting his eyes. JC sighed.

“I’m not going to lie. With Beatrice gone, I thought we had another chance. I never returned the ring, you know?” JC said.

“JC...” Ava started.

“No, let me speak. I’m sorry, Ava. I should not have thought about that at all. Not when you’re still healing,” JC said. “I told myself that I’ll wait, told myself that you’re still young and you can’t keep looking for Beatrice forever.”

“JC, the last thing you deserve is a person who would always be waiting for another,” Ava replied. She held her left hand up to his face and stroked his cheek. “I’m sorry. I wish I could be that person for you.”

“You used to wait for me before, when I traveled around the world, but then you stopped. What makes you think you won’t one day stop looking for Beatrice?” JC asked. He no longer tried to mask the hurt in his voice.

Ava brought her hand down to stare at her palm. She took one of JC’s hands, darker and large, and turned it over. The lines on their palms branched into different directions.

“Maybe I’ll stop one day,” Ava replied softly. “But that day has not come yet. She still calls out to me. I know she still wants to come back.”

“How do you know she has not let you go?” JC asked, just genuinely curious. The actress closed her fingers over her palm and placed her wrist near her heart. The beating was tranquil and steady.

“Because I’ll feel it,” Ava replied.

JC nodded. “I think I understand. There is so little magic in this world that we must not let go of it when we find it.”

Ava smiled and gave her ex-boyfriend a hug. They both jumped when they heard the sound of the doorbell ringing.

“That must be Mary and Lilith,” Ava said. “Mary texted me that they were very near before I came upstairs.”

“You better greet them then,” JC replied. And when the actress hesitated to leave him, “Go. You don’t mind if I hang around here for a while before I go back down?”

“Of course not. Be my guest,” Ava said. “Well, you are my guest,” the actress added with a wink before she left her own room to meet her new visitors.

xxx

“Happy birthday, Ava,” Lilith said, greeting her friend with a hug and a smile. The taller woman handed the actress a colorful paper bag, with pink, onion skin paper brimming at the top. A waiter took it from her hand before she could even take a peek. 

The actress regarded her friend as she let go of the embrace. Lilith was glowing. The woman was wearing an olive green sleeveless dress that accentuated the shape of her arms and she wore her hair in loose curls down her shoulders. The actress noted how she was holding hands with Mary when the pair came in and was glad that they were still a thing.

“Oh, Lilith, it’s great that you’re already here, I need to discuss something,” Blaire said, approaching the newcomers. Lilith’s day job was as a paralegal at the Between Us Foundation, the non-profit that was founded in the wake of the The Thread Between Us movement. She had earned her GEDs and in between fixing her identity documents and retaining a stable job, she was on the right track to gaining custody of Diego with Jillian’s help. Blaire finds modeling gigs for her on the side. Lilith had even already been cast in a small, speaking role in an indie movie that Blaire was going to produce. They shoot in the summer.

All the guests at the party are involved in the non-profit in one small way or the other. Jillian runs the legal assistance department, a growing army of ten lawyers making sure that justice for the survivors was not confined to a Twitter hashtag. Shannon founded #TakeUpSpace, a movement under the Between Us umbrella that seeks to reform the athletics programs for women in schools and introduces strength and contact sports as a legitimate option for girls even in the school age. Chanel and JC teamed up to strengthen the marketing and the awareness campaign of the organization, while Blaire and Camila organized and mobilized their contacts. Blaire was already thinking of seeking to make changes to Hollywood’s casting process. 

Meanwhile, Ava declined a leadership role within the organization. It has always been her position that she was just a witness in one Hollywood case, and that the stories of myriads of survivors were not hers to tell. Instead, with the help of Jillian and Mary, they managed to put together a Board that was composed of long time activists and community organizers, people from grassroots movements that could steer the organization in the right direction. Of course, Ava still appeared on promotional materials and benefit dinners where she delivered speeches to make sure that the biggest and most generous donors would be present and would be opening their purses.

Blaire took Lilith by the arm, who let go of Mary’s hand in return. Ava turned to the former agent. She was still working as a private detective for Jillian’s law firm and never returned to the force. On the strength of Jillian’s recommendation letter, she was hoping to enter law school that coming semester. Lilith insisted on helping her with the tuition using the reparations she received as the heir of a murder victim.

“Superion called me on our way here to tell me she’s going to be late,” Mary told Ava.

“Oh, tell her not to worry, we’d be here ‘til after dinner,” Ava replied. “Camila’s having a karaoke machine brought in. She has kinda gone overboard with this party.”

“By the way, you and Lilith shouldn’t have bothered with a present, really,” the actress added. She knew that the pair were in a better place financially than they were eight months ago, but with Mary’s plans of going back to school and Lilith trying to gain custody of her brother, Ava knew that money was still tight.

“Oh, that thing in the paper bag? That is Lilith’s gift,” Mary said. She then took a small, wrapped present from the pocket of her jeans and handed it to Ava. It was the size of a ring box. “This is mine.”

“Surely, you’re not proposing to me? Because I think Lilith might kill me this time,” Ava joked. “First Beatrice, then now, you?”

“Shut up,” Mary replied. “I wanted to save the best present for last.”

“You want me to open it now?” the actress asked, intrigued.

“Can you do it somewhere private?” the former agent replied. “How about we step into your office?”

“Sure,” Ava said, eyeing the small box in her hand suspiciously. “Come on.”

The actress led Mary to her tiny office that was behind the staircase. The space had also been broken into almost a year ago so Ava seldom spends time in it, preferring instead to read scripts on her breakfast island or in front of her fireplace. The actress saw Lilith eye them as they passed by, but Blaire and Camila were chatting with her so animatedly that she could not get away to follow them even if she wanted to. Ava saw Chanel thrust a glass of mimosa in Lilith’s hand.

The pair stepped inside the actress’ office. There was a tiny glass desk in front of a wide window that allowed sunlight from the backyard. Mary stepped on a soft, blue rug and stood in front of a bookcase that was pushed to one of the pink pastel walls. 

“Go on, open it,” Mary told the actress.

“You’re making me nervous,” Ava replied as she ripped the wrapper open.

“That’s right, just tear the whole thing apart, it’s not like I spent an hour just wrapping your present,” Mary said, half chuckling. 

When the paper wrapping was discarded on the floor, Ava was greeted by a simple, white, cardboard box.

“Well, go on,” Mary urged her. The actress removed the lid of the box. A piece of folded up paper was nestled inside. It looked like it had been torn from a yellow, ruled notepad. The box joined the wrapper on the floor as well as Ava unfolded the piece of paper. There were two lines on the note scribbled in messy black ink.

166325 SH2: Clayton, Oklahoma 74536

Pushmata County, Oklahoma

The actress looked at her friend with disbelief in her eyes.

“Happy birthday, Ava,” Mary said with a smile.

“You found her?” Ava asked, not wanting to believe the good news in that instant. She had been faced with many disappointments in her search for Beatrice and she did not want one now, especially not on her birthday.

Mary nodded. “Yes. That is the correct address as was confirmed by one of our FBI agents in Oklahoma, a friend I had from before. She was spotted and confirmed to be staying in that cattle ranch for eight months now. I told you, I wouldn’t stop looking for her.”

“But, how?” Ava asked. Her fingers that were on the piece of paper were trembling and she took a seat on one of the plastic chairs in front of her desk to steady herself. Mary sat on the chair in front of her.

“I’ve been going over the street cameras at the back of the courthouse for months. We all know that Beatrice was not alone when she took off. She had some help,” Mary said. “But we were never able to identify who this person was because the hood of their coat was drawn up and their back was always turned to the camera. All we know is that they got into an old, black Nissan Sentra with Beatrice and drove in the direction of the I-40. Then, they changed vehicles at some point because we found that Nissan abandoned in the woods.”

“I had always assumed that the person who helped Beatrice get away was a man because of the obvious height difference in the CCTV footages. The problem was, I did not know of any man whom Beatrice would turn to for help. The closest possibility was JC, but he was present at Jillian’s party. None of Padre Vicente’s men were still alive, except for Lorenzo and Quebral who were both in detention, and so I hit a dead end.”

“It turns out, I was looking at the wrong place all along. Do you know how Crimson has another fight in a month? She is being challenged for her title, the one she was able to wrestle away from Beatrice,” Mary asked.

“I’m not really familiar, but go on,” Ava replied.

“So as a promotion leading up to her next fight, there was a replay of the match between her and Beatrice on TV. I was watching it just last week because I never really got to watch it in its entirety, you know?” Mary continued. “When they faced off in front of the referee for the first time, that was when it hit me. Crimson was the exact same height as the person in the CCTV footage. She was, in fact, present in the courtroom during the preliminary hearing.”

“But why would she help Beatrice?” Ava asked.

“Ava, Beatrice saved her life. Crimson is a proud woman. She seems to be the kind of person who would think that she had a debt she had to pay. She would do anything for Beatrice,” Mary replied. “I was right.”

“You reached out to her? Didn’t she go back to Edinburgh after the hearing?” Ava asked.

“Yes, but she and her father came back just two weeks ago, in preparation for the fight. They are back here in California to train,” Mary said. “I sought her immediately. She denied it at first, as I thought she would. Beatrice would have asked her to vow not to tell anyone.”

“In the end, I told her this was the best way she could repay Beatrice, to let her return to her family, to let her return to you,” Mary added. “Crimson told me that when Beatrice sought her help, she said she only wanted a life of peace and quiet in case her charges get dropped. I told her that Beatrice was young, and instead of just peace and quiet, she deserved happiness as well. She then wrote down the address on the same piece of paper you are holding now and refused to speak to me ever again. I had my friend check it out and confirm. Crimson came through.”

“Oh, Mary!” Ava exclaimed, gripping the piece of yellow note tight and flinging her arms around the former agent. Mary gave her a rare hug in return. “Thank you! Thank you! This is truly the best birthday present ever!”

“You’re welcome,” Mary said. There were tears in her eyes. “We failed her before. We won’t fail her again. She deserves to be found.”

xxx

Ringing the front door of a two-story house in a cattle ranch in Clayton, Oklahoma at five in the afternoon on a Saturday was not what Ava expected to be doing the day after her twenty-second birthday. To be fair, being kidnapped and meeting the love of her life was not what she was expecting at twenty-one, but such was the year she had. So she stood in front of a small wooden front door of a white, cozy-looking home that rested on top of a hill. She had with her a black, leather backpack that contained only her pajamas and one change of clothes. She planned to stay the night, if Beatrice would have her.

Mary had offered to come with her, but Ava knew this was something she wanted to do alone. So the next day, she hopped on the earliest plane she could get on to Oklahoma, telling no one else, not even Camila, what she was up to. Mary’s friend, the FBI agent who confirmed where Beatrice was, picked her up from the airport and dropped her off at the ranch. They were let inside the wooden enclosure of the cattle farm by the young farmhand on the strength of his badge.

Ava’s heart hammered through her chest as she gripped the strap of her backpack that was around her shoulders. She heard the sound of chair legs scraping against wooden floor, and of footsteps approaching. The actress put on a stoic front, trying hard to conceal the excitement and fear she was feeling at the same time. She tried to rehearse on the plane the words she would say when she finally sees Beatrice again, but thought the better of it. She knew her heart would pour out sentences through her mouth and there’s nothing she would be able to do to dictate it. 

The door opened by a fraction of an inch. From Ava’s view, she saw an old woman who was shorter than she was. The woman eyed her at first with suspicion, but threw the door wide open as soon as she has formed some kind of recognition. 

Ava was greeted by a kind-looking face, the type she pictured her grandmother to have if only she had met her. The crow’s feet around her the old woman’s lids accentuated her warm brown eyes that were smiling at the actress. Her thin mouth and her round cheeks beamed with glee at the sight of her visitor.

“Oh, Charlotte, you’ve grown!” the woman exclaimed, taking Ava by the arm and ushering her into the house. The actress almost stumbled on the rough brown rug that was on the floor, her ankles getting caught in the hem of her white sundress.

“I’m sorry, who?” Ava asked, confused. They stopped at the tiny living room, cramped yet cozy. The old woman made her sit on a plump, red floral couch. It was in front of small, brown varnished coffee table, its surface dressed in a white, crocheted runner. On top of the table rested several Oprah magazines beside a blue, stout, cylindrical glazed vase that housed a fresh bouquet of daisies and baby’s breath. In front of the couch was a small flat-screen television mounted on a wall pasted with red, floral wallpaper on top of a wooden fireplace painted in white. Ava had no doubt that an old woman lived in the space.

“You came for Beatrice, I always told her you would,” the old woman came back from another room, thrusting a cup of tea in Ava’s bare hands.

“Beatrice, you know her?” Ava asked. She rested the teacup on top of the coffee table and removed the backpack from behind her to rest it on the floor.

“Yes, such a nice child, an angel,” the old woman said, placing a wooden coaster beneath the cup before sinking her body into one of the red wingback chairs adjacent to the couch. “She’s been a really great help to me. Made loads of difference in Teresa. She’s happier, more outspoken since Beatrice came into our lives.”

“Teresa?” Ava asked, confused.

“Yes, Teresa! Beatrice is not here, she accompanied Teresa to the city. They’ve been gone since yesterday and would return tomorrow morning,” the old woman said, like Ava should have known.

“So, Beatrice is not here?” Ava confirmed, disappointed. She was so close yet so far.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte, but I told you, they’re coming back tomorrow morning. She’d be thrilled to see you, you must stay the night,” the old woman said.

“You’re too kind but I wouldn’t want to burden you with that. We just met. I can just get a hotel room,” Ava replied, thinking of calling Mary’s friend to pick her up.

“Nonsense!” the old woman said, standing back up. Ava rushed to her side to help her when she saw her struggling to walk. “I’m making spaghetti for dinner, are you really going to leave an old woman alone to her own devices?”

“I guess not,” Ava mumbled to herself. She escorted the old woman into the kitchen. She saw that she had already been chopping onions and garlic on top of the white-tiled kitchen island before she arrived and only then noticed the green apron that she wore on top of her white, lacy dress. Brass pots and pans hung above them.

“Will you wash your hands and prepare the water for the pasta?” the old woman asked.

“Sure,” Ava replied, washing her hands in front of the sink and drying them with a brown paper towel.

“I’m Ava, by the way, Ava Silva. What is your name?” the actress asked as the older woman passed her a pot. Ava filled it with water, noting the absurdity that she was only then introducing herself.

“The pasta is in the cupboard above your head, Charlotte,” the older woman replied. 

“Why do you keep calling me Charlotte?” Ava asked, taking a box of Barilla spaghetti noodles out of the cupboard.

“Are you not Charlotte, Beatrice’ childhood friend from the TV? We would watch your show every morning during breakfast,” the old woman replied as she chopped bell peppers. 

"Yes, kind of, but -" Ava tried to correct the older woman but she would not let her speak.

“You were a child then but now you’ve grown. You still have the same eyes, though. I recognized you the moment I saw you. Beatrice would be happy to find out you’ve returned and that you’ve forgiven her,” the old woman replied.

“Forgiven? I, uh, what has she told you?” Ava asked.

“That you were a childhood friend! And that she did something really bad,” the old woman replied. “But I told her a true friend would come back, a true friend would forgive, and I was right! Here you are! Beatrice would finally be happy!” she said, grabbing Ava by the shoulders and jumping up and down as high as she could.

“She says she’s happy here, happy with Teresa. But I see it in her eyes that she’s not. She misses you, Charlotte. She misses her oldest friend,” the old woman replied before turning her back to Ava and walking away.

“Hey, where are you going?" Ava yelled after the old woman as she looked at the mess in the kitchen.

“Can you do dinner? My feet are really sore, I need to lie down,” the old woman replied as she walked over to the couch and plopped herself on top of it. She buried her face within the pages of an Oprah magazine before Ava could register a protest.

xxx

“Wow, you have your legs...” Ava heard a child’s dreamy voice whisper.

“Huh?” Ava replied, still half asleep. She felt a rush of wind as the blanket was lifted off her legs.

“I can’t believe you have your legs,” a child’s voice repeated.

“What?” Ava replied, sitting up once she was sure that she was no longer in a dream. A girl of about seven stepped back in surprise, her brown pigtails bouncing in the air. Her round face and kind eyes reminded her of the old woman, and Ava was relieved that the room she was sleeping in was not being broken into. Despite her protests, the old woman, who she discovered was named Melanie, would not let her travel late at night to sleep alone in a hotel room. She was afraid that the actress would miss Beatrice, who she expects to arrive early the next morning. Melanie kept referring to Ava as Charlotte. She tried correcting her thrice but was ignored every time, and so she let it be. After having an early dinner together, Melanie ushered Ava into one of the rooms upstairs, bidding her goodnight before the actress could change her mind. The room’s wallpaper was pink, with fairy lights on the headboard of a single mattress bed that looked like it belonged to a child. Ava was lucky that she was tiny. The actress could do nothing else but change into her pajamas, do some light reading, and pray that Beatrice would indeed come early the next morning.

“Sorry! I just wanted to see if you have your tail,” the girl replied. She inched closer to Ava, gauging if the actress was mad at having been woken up. When Ava tapped the space beside her, the girl sat down excitedly.

“Do you have your voice?” the child asked.

“Yes,” Ava replied, although her voice was still hoarse from the clutches of sleep.

“But you don’t have a tail...” the child said with suspicion.

“I defeated the witch, remember?” Ava replied. “I managed to get my voice back.”

“I wish you’d turn back into a mermaid, I want to see one,” the child said sadly.

“Well,” Ava said, looking outside the window for effect. The house was surrounded by acres and acres of grazing land.

“I could, but it would not be safe for me, right? You see, I need to be in the sea if I am to transform back into a mermaid,” Ava replied. She was already used to children mistaking her for a character she merely played in a movie, and she knew better than to break their hearts. The child stood up immediately upon mention of the sea.

“If I talk to Beatrice about going to the beach, will you change back into a mermaid? I just want a picture to show my friends!” the child said excitedly.

“Beatrice?” Ava’s eyes widened at the mention of the fighter’s name. “Beatrice is here?”

“Yes, we just came back from the big city an hour ago,” the child replied. “Grandma told me not to come upstairs. She said there is a visitor sleeping. I’m sorry I woke you up, Ariel.”

“It’s okay. Can you take me to her?” Ava asked. 

“Of course, come on! Come on!,” the child said, excitedly taking Ava’s hand. The actress picked her backpack up from the floor as the little girl led her out of the room.

“Wait up, wait up!” Ava said as they stopped in front of the floor’s shared bathroom. “Let me brush my teeth first.”

xxx

The woman replaced the pair of round-rimmed glasses that kept sliding off her nose bridge. She was thinking of getting it fixed in town, or getting a new pair altogether. She suspected that the headaches she’s been having these past few weeks were borne by an outdated prescription.

She rubbed her temples as she tried to do an inventory of the supplies they need for the ranch for the following week. She wished she could convince Grandma to get even a cheap computer to do spreadsheets on so that she will not have to do her calculations on pen and paper, like she was now. She was trying to erase a miscalculation when she heard the door to the barn house open and the sunlight enter from outside, illuminating her tiny space. There was a double-sized bed that had not been slept in the last two nights pushed to one corner of the studio space. The wooden floorboards had not been swept. The woman planned to deal with all the chores later once she was done with the inventory. The only other furniture she had was the square, white plastic table where she usually does her writing, the matching white plastic, monoblock chair where she was now sitting, and an old wooden cabinet that she had painted bright yellow to liven the space up somehow.

“Beatrice! Beatrice! There’s a mermaid up in the house! We have to go to the beach so she can grow back her tail!” the child went inside the barn house excitedly and jumped up and down in front of the fighter.

“What are you talking about, Terry? I told you to go help Grandma with lunch,” Beatrice replied, glancing only once at the child through the corner of her eyes and then going back to her calculations.

“But the beach! We have to go, please!” the child pleaded.

"We can’t go to the beach, Terry. I just drove back here for three hours, I am tired,” Beatrice sighed. She did not even know what the girl was talking about. Clearly, she just came from watching some fantasy movie. A child’s mind like hers simply wanders off to places unreachable to adults. The fighter wished she had that growing up.

“But I want to see her grow her tail,” the child insisted.

“Teresa...” Beatrice said with a tone that told her the conversation was over. The fighter did not even bother to look up from what she was doing the whole time.

“But it’s Ariel! She’s a special mermaid! She’s a princess! She’s really beautiful, Beatrice, you have to see her,” the child said, now taking one of the fighter’s hands.

“Ariel?” Beatrice asked, finally looking up. “Who are you talking about? You’ve seen someone who looks like Ariel?”

“I saw the real Ariel, she’s up at the house!” the child insisted. Beatrice heard footsteps coming in from beyond the door that the child left ajar and she lifted her gaze from the little girl’s innocent face. Beatrice’ soft, brown eyes were met by a silhouette she had memorized, the curve of the hip she has come to know, the texture of the hair blowing against the wind that she had committed to memory.

“Hey. You cut your hair,” the silhouette spoke and Beatrice dropped her pen on the dusty wooden floor.

“Terry, can you go back up at the house?” Beatrice said, turning once again to the child.

“But the beach,” the child insisted once more.

“I promise I’ll think about it. Now go,” Beatrice said as she gave the child a warm smile and patted her head. The girl turned around to run back to the house, but not without giving Ava, who now stood under the doorway, a big hug. Her little head reached up to the actress’ belly as her tiny arms encircled her waist.

“I love you, Ariel,” she said, looking up at the actress. “We’ll get you to the sea.”

The girl ran up back to the hill where the house was nestled, and Ava and Beatrice were left alone.

The actress took a step inside the barn house, taking in a better look at the fighter, making sure she was real. Her hair, which was the first thing she noticed, rested just a few inches below her ears, and was still damp from the shower she just took. She was wearing the same round-rimmed glasses that she had on their drive to North Dakota, and would wear after training once they’re alone in the room they shared back in the camp. A surge of memories overcame Ava, and all the strong words she had wanted to say to Beatrice, all the anger and hurt, flew out of the window at the sight of the fighter’s nimble frame. She had visibly lost some weight. The intent and fire that had always been in her eyes were gone. Yet, Ava knew it was still Beatrice, her Beatrice, the only one she wanted to belong to.

“How did you find me here?” the fighter stood up, her calculations and inventory were forgotten on the plastic table.

“I was looking for you. We all were looking for you. We never stopped,” Ava said, stepping closer but still keeping the distance between them. She noticed that Beatrice was wearing a green striped shirt under a brown, corduroy overalls that seemed to be twice her size. Ava could not explain the get-up, but somehow, Beatrice made it look hot, like only she could. The air was knocked out of the actress’ lungs at the sight. 

“You deserve to found,” she added.

The actress saw Beatrice take a few tentative steps to approach her by the door. The fighter walked slowly, then all at once, rushing towards Ava until she ended up on her knees before the actress. Ava felt her once strong arms encircle her waist to grip her tightly. She ran her hands through the fighter’s short locks as Beatrice' head rested on her torso, hot tears seeping through the fabric of her silk, button-down pajamas. The fighter’s entire body shook as she held Ava.

“I’m sorry, Ava, I’m so so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Beatrice repeated the words, whispering it to the skin on the actress’ belly that was exposed through a button that came undone.

Ava ran her fingers through the ends of Beatrice’ soft, raven, hair, soothing her in return.

“Why did you leave? After I lied for you on the stand, why did you run away with only a note as a goodbye?” Ava asked. She did not sound accusatory, just genuinely curious.

A bevy of sobs racked through Beatrice’ throat as she struggled to speak, and Ava reached down to course a palm down the length of the fighter’s back.

“I was ashamed of myself. Ashamed of who I’ve become. Ashamed that you had to lie for me in order to save me. Ashamed that you love someone like me,” Beatrice finally said as soon as she was able to clear her throat. She looked up at Ava, holding the actress’ gaze through tear-stained eyes. “You do...love me?”

The actress knelt in front of the fighter to meet her eyes. She took her face in her palms, cupping it and brushing Beatrice’ tears away with both thumbs.

“My mouth might have told many lies on the stand, but my heart never could,” Ava replied. “I loved you then, Beatrice. I still love you now. That is simply the truth. I wish I was as eloquent as you are, I wish I had your vocabulary, your words, so that you might believe me. But I wouldn’t be kneeling here with you in this barn house floor if I did not long for you. I wouldn’t have felt empty these past eight months, wouldn’t have ached from the gaping gash that I sustained in my soul the moment I knew that you left, if I did not truly think you belonged with me.”

The sobs that racked Beatrice’ nimble body stopped. In its place, Ava could not believe that she was hearing a soft chuckle. Like a child’s.

“And you say that you’re not eloquent...” Beatrice teased. The actress tapped her lightly on the arm.

“Shut up. I’m baring my soul out in front of you, Beatrice,” Ava said. Hearing her own name roll out of the actress’ tongue was music to the fighter’s ears. “And I might have watched a sappy love story in the plane on my way here.”

The look in Beatrice’ eyes turned serious once more at the implications of what Ava had to go through to get to her. The fighter should have been happy at the actress’ confession, if only she allowed herself to be. Yet, love does not come easy, not for her. Love would not wait on her for months on end, would not turn around every piece of stone just to look for her, would not travel for fifteen hundred miles just to find her. Not for Beatrice. Not for the Beast.

Yet the sight of Ava before her, confessing her love in as many words as she could even when she did not need to proved that once again, Beatrice had been wrong. Like what Camila had told her, like what Lilith had always been saying, Beatrice did not have the answer to everything. And what she did not know, surprised her. Ava, like always, was a surprise, a breath of fresh air, something that fell out of her routine. Beatrice felt lucky that somehow, despite what the actress knew about her, despite every lie, scheme, and conspiracy, and even despite the distance she has placed between them, this woman, who was beautiful and brave and kind and was the best of them, this woman, somehow, still wanted her.

“I think I finally understand,” Ava spoke once again. “I could never imagine what you went through, I wish I had been there for you ever since.”

“But you were,” Beatrice replied. She recalled the show from her childhood, how the actress’ character gave the fighter her first family, her first glimpse at how life could be good. Ava, without knowing it, had been with her all along, the light at the end of the tunnel guiding her out of the darkness that was her childhood. Such was Ava’s magic. Even unwittingly, she sheds light upon everything that she touches.

“I have forgiven you for what you did. When I saw you lying unconscious back in the hospital, I realized that life was too short to resent the one that I loved the most,” Ava continued, stroking Beatrice’ cheek with a finger. “That does not mean that I have healed completely. But I would prefer to do my healing beside you, next to you, belonging to you.”

“If...you would have me,” the actress added, casting her face down. She took her left hand from Beatrice’ face to take one of the fighter’s own and placed their palms side by side, inspecting the marks that mirrored her own, a line that ran from the base of their middle fingers, almost touching the wrists before branching off to another stroke at a 60-degree angle. Ava’s hand buzzed with warmth upon meeting its long lost half. She brought the fighter’s palm to her lips and kissed it.

She heard Beatrice sigh and deflate, like a centuries-old iceberg meeting the rays of the sun for the first time. It was like the skin of her hand was feverish and parched, and it finally tasted a drop of cool honey that was Ava’s lips. The fighter took the actress’ hand that was still on her face and kissed her palm as well. It was Ava’s turn to shudder.

Finally, their lips met at hypervelocity, clinging on to the other in their desperate attempt to stay afloat in the ocean that was their longing. Ava’s fingers dug into Beatrice’ scalp, noting the soft ends of the locks that were in her hands and the fighter moaned into her mouth. The taller woman tried to close her eyes, but the sunlight coming into the barn from outside reminded her that the door was still ajar. The fighter broke the kiss and made a mad rush for the door, pushing it in order to shut it. The large iron barrel bolt squeaked as she swung it in place in order to lock the door, the skin of her thumb clumsily getting caught in between metal in her haste to isolate them from the outside world.

“Damnit!” she hissed as she sucked her now bleeding thumb, but Ava’s mouth was immediately on her nape, lathering the shell of her ear with kisses. Beatrice thought she had left her on the barn house floor, but here the fighter was with her front pinned against the door and the full weight of Ava’s body on her back. She reached behind to grab a fistful of the actress’ hair as Ava’s tongue and teeth grazed through the sensitive spot on the left of her neck, a place that only she knew.

Ava flipped Beatrice over with a force the fighter didn’t know the actress had so that they were now face to face. There was a fire in her eyes, and her desire was an entire forest that was burning. The actress started taking off Beatrice’ overalls, her fingers struggling with the buttons so the fighter met her hands with the same haste to help her. Soon, the piece of clothing was on the floor, its corduroy fabric pooling around the fighter’s bare ankles. The next garment to join it was the green striped shirt.

The actress paused to take the sight of the fighter in. The fact that she was not wearing a bra came as a surprise that her breath got stuck in her throat. Her brown nipples stood taught against the cool morning air from a window that was left open and it took everything for Ava not to devour her right there and then.

When she kissed Beatrice again, it was the actress who was feverish. Her mouth was hot and dry as she nipped and nibbled on the fighter’s wet lips, biting and pulling on the lower twin before meeting Beatrice’ tongue. Ava’s hands were all over the fighter’s naked body, all at once, present in every corner she could reach. She moved as if she’d run out of skin, as if she was making up for the lost time, making her way down Beatrice’ body in a path of kisses, licks, and teeth marks. 

Beatrice hissed when Ava ran a hot tongue down her neck and along her collarbones, digging her calloused hands into the scalp of the actress’ brown hair to guide her to her little spots of paradise. Ava pinned the fighter against the wall desperately, thankful that she just found her, afraid that she would lose her, fearful for this moment to end. She took each nipple in her mouth, sucking the brown pebbles in a helpless attempt to absorb all of Beatrice and the fighter bucked her hips in response.

She only slowed down when her lips reached the fighter’s belly. The ripples of muscle that used to be in place were gone, instead replaced by a prominent and shiny scar about six inches long. The marks from the stitches that used to hold together the skin in the area were still visible. Just a few inches above it was the fish and an eye tattoo located beneath a tiny pink birthmark that was the only clue to Beatrice before the Beast. All three marks were found on the left side of the fighter’s body, all telling a piece of her history. Ava was almost kneeling before the fighter, and her eyes trembled as she looked up to meet her gaze. Beatrice nodded.

The actress gave the scar a kiss so soft that Beatrice almost missed it. She started from its tip, making her way up, carefully making sure that no spot was left unloved. 

When that was done, she turned her lips to the tattoo, telling Beatrice that she has accepted who she was. She then kissed and blew on her birthmark, to say she loved her no matter where she came from. The fighter shivered at the contact.

She gazed up once again.

“I love you, all of you,” Ava whispered, almost mouthing the words, but Beatrice understood.

“I love you, too,” she replied.

Ava’s kisses found their way south, once again, stopping only when she saw that the fighter was still wearing a pair of grey women’s briefs. Beatrice stuck two thumbs beneath the garment’s waistband and it soon joined its cousins on the floor.

The actress wasted no moment, nudging the fighter’s legs with her hands to part them and using her fingers to spread her folds. Beatrice hissed once again when Ava dove in, taking a whiff of the intoxicating scent that she missed dearly, before plunging in tongue first.

She ran a tongue along the entire length of Beatrice’ wet slit before settling for the nub on top, loving the tiny, pink, pebble with the flattened tip of her tongue. She ventured gently at first, and then with more force once the fighter started bucking against her mouth. Beatrice opened her legs wider, and Ava took a hand beneath her left thigh to help her lift it on top of her shoulder, giving the actress more access to her slit. She placed two fingers knuckle deep inside Beatrice when the fighter was wet enough and ready, while her mouth never left her nub, alternating her ministrations between licking, sucking, and lightly biting.

Ava’s rhythm never faltered for minutes, and neither did the fighter’s moans. She began calling out the actress’ name in wild abandon, making known that she belonged to her as her hips bucked to meet the fingers thrusting deep within her. The actress knew the fighter was close, so close, and the knowledge only fueled Ava to plunge her fingers in and out of her faster. A few seconds later, Beatrice came undone, her wetness dribbling down the actress's mouth and chin as she supported the legs that buckled beneath the fighter’s weight with her strong arms.

“You’re still dressed,” Beatrice said the moment she was able to compose herself. The fighter’s fingers flew to the buttons of Ava’s pajamas to undo them, while the actress’ fingers went to the garter around her waist to let the pajama bottoms fall on the floor. Beatrice was pleased to find out that Ava was not wearing any underwear, and it was her turn to push her into the lone bed. The actress’ bare back met the bedsheets with a dark look in her eyes, but she did not have time to take in Beatrice, who was naked and already on top of her, because the fighter turned her over so that she was now lying on her front. The fighter traced Ava’s spine with a finger, scratching her nails down the actress’ back before trailing the red marks with light kisses. Ava shuddered upon each contact.

She was going to take Ava the way the actress wanted to be taken, from behind and with a fistful of her hair in the fighter’s hand. Ava positioned herself, placing the palms of her hands on the wall adjacent to the bed to steady her nude body. From behind the actress, Beatrice let go of her brown tresses, and ran her palms all over the actress’ front, before stopping to take a breast in each hand. She toyed with both nipples at the same time, pinching and pulling the little brown nubs until Ava was whimpering for release beneath her.

Beatrice reached down with her right hand, past the actress’ curls, and spread her wetness with her fingers, teasing the little bundle of nerves that was there, before plunging in one finger, and then another, and then another, and curling her digits to the direction of Ava’s navel. She hit a spongy film inside that almost made the actress howl. After all these months, Beatrice still knew her spot.

She kept at the spot, thrusting in and out of Ava with a rhythm that made the actress thrash, while she caressed a breast with another hand. The actress snaked an arm around Beatrice’ nape as she bucked her hips into pleasure. The hand that was on her breast went down to her clit. It took only three flicks from the fighter’s fingers and Ava came against Beatrice’ hand, her wetness blanketing the fighter's palm.

Their naked bodies fell in a heap on top of the fighter’s bed, sweat lining both of their sternums. Beatrice held Ava as she shuddered, waiting for the actress to come down from her high before she crawled down from on top of Ava, spreading her legs with her hands to take a whiff of her scent.

There was a dark look in the fighter’s eyes as she held the actress’ gaze.

“Take me, Beatrice,” Ava said. “Please.”

Beatrice did as she was told, and more.

xxx

“I need a cigarette,” Beatrice said as she lifted herself from on top of Ava for the third time and sank her body next to her.

“You smoke now?” Ava asked, worry etched across her face. She turned to face her lover, running her fingers down the ribs that were now visible and her thinned arms. The bones of her pelvis stuck out into the air and the actress drew the covers up to their chests.

“I’m trying to pick a habit,” Beatrice replied with all seriousness in her voice. 

“I don’t want to have to tell you what to do, you’re older than I am. Besides, you’re an athlete!” Ava scolded her and the fighter chuckled.

“Not anymore, I don’t think so,” Beatrice replied, tracing lazy circles down Ava’s back from underneath the sheets. “No, I don’t smoke. I just feel like it now. I feel like I am on a high. You intoxicate me. I feel like trying every vice available to man, all at once, now.”

“Oooh, what a badass,” Ava replied into the fighter’s neck. Her hands crept up to Beatrice’ shoulder blades that now protruded, tracing the sharp bones with the pads of her fingers.

“You can ask, you know,” Beatrice said, searching the actress’ eyes for questions.

“You’ve gotten thinner...” Ava started, her voice laced with worry.

“I don’t train anymore, so I no longer feel as hungry,” Beatrice replied. “And my work around the farm is not manual, mostly bookkeeping and inventory. After my surgeries, I simply lost appetite for about three months. That was when most of my weight came off. I’m trying to build my weight back up. I just installed a kitchen in the back so I could do my own cooking. Grandma, sadly, is not the best cook out there.”

“But your physical therapy, you still continue it?” Ava asked.

“Not since I came here, no,” the fighter replied. “I couldn’t afford it. I don’t have insurance, you see. I just continued to do what I was doing back in L.A. and tried to supplement it with what I learned from the internet. I guess I’m not doing so bad? I can now run around the perimeter of the ranch every morning. When I first came here, I could not even go up and down from the house on top of the hill without having to catch my breath.”

“So, you don’t get to have your liver and your rib checked ever so often, either?” Ava asked. Her hand went down to the bullet scar unwittingly.

“No,” Beatrice shook her head. “Don’t worry about me, Ava, I’ve been feeling fine.” The fighter shifted to lay on her back, avoiding the actress’ gaze. Ava knew that as a signal that the topic was over. No matter, she would press on at another time.

“Beatrice, why did you really leave?” Ava asked, finally addressing the elephant in the room. 

The fighter moved to lay her head on the actress’ chest. She took one of Ava’s hands and kissed it.

“I was full of dread. In the days leading up to the preliminary trial, my heart was just full of fear,” Beatrice started.

“That you’d end up behind bars?” Ava asked, kissing the top of the fighter’s head.

“No,” Beatrice replied. “That I’d end up free. You see, I was so used to belonging to someone, like chattel. I had lived the entire life that I’ve known within Padre Vicente’s shadow. But being free, being on my own? I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“I wouldn’t know what options to take, which path to choose,” the fighter continued. “Most of all, I was afraid that you’ll find out that the Beatrice that was on her own, the Beatrice that was free? Maybe she had nothing to offer. I did not know how to not be needed.”

“Beatrice, I know it might be hard for you now,” Ava said, cradling the fighter’s head in her hands. “But you must begin to believe that you do not need to be needed in order to be loved. Certainly, not by me.”

“I will try, I promise,” Beatrice replied. “And so I thought to get away, to go to a place where no one knew me, where no one would think what to expect. I spoke to Crimson and asked for her help when she visited me at the hospital. Grandma and Terry, they’re distant relatives of hers who came from a branch of her family that immigrated to the states in the twenties.”

“Terry’s parents, they separated when she was five. I drove Terry to visit her father in the city, that’s why we were away. He has visitation rights but couldn’t come down to the ranch this weekend because of work. Terry’s mom is abroad but would be returning this week. Grandma told me that after her parents separated, Terry refused to speak altogether, until I arrived at the ranch. I guess she found a friend,” Beatrice continued.

“She’s important to you?” Ava asked.

“Yes. She’s just a child and I want to protect her,” Beatrice replied. “Most of all, I strive to become the adult friend who would guide her and watch her blossom. What I never had growing up.”

“How is everyone?” Beatrice asked after a few moments of silence. She laced her fingers with Ava’s, watching their hands dance into a lock against the barn house ceiling.

“The prosecutors are finally ready to file the cases against Adriel by next month. I am preparing myself to testify,” Ava recounted.

“I’m so proud of you,” Beatrice replied.

“Mary and Lilith are kind of together,” Ava blurted out.

“What do you mean kind of?” Beatrice asked.

“Lilith has not moved out of Mary’s house ever since, and they hold hands whenever they are with each other, so I guess, they are together?” Ava replied. “What, you don’t approve?”

“Of course, I approve, not that my permission is required. I think they’re good for each other. Lilith would sometimes act like the spoiled daughter of the head of a criminal organization that she was, and I know Mary wouldn’t allow herself to be anyone's doormat. Lilith can learn a thing or two,” Beatrice replied. “I’m happy for them.”

“Lilith is working for the non-profit organization we set up in the wake of us exposing Adriel after your fight. She’s now a paralegal and is also doing modeling for Blaire on the side. She’s also been cast in a small role in an indie film that Blaire is producing. She’s really excited,” Ava narrated. “Jillian’s helping her gain custody of Diego. She has a real fighting chance.”

Beatrice sighed at the mention of the boy.

“She doesn’t resent you for leaving,” Ava said, feeling the guilt that the fighter was sure to be struggling with all these months. “But she misses you. We all do.”

“Anyway, Camila now works as my assistant while I introduce her to recording artists and producers. Shannon runs the sports reform arm of the non-profit. She also coaches an all women kickboxing team in L.A.,” the actress continued. “I work with her to help her promote the team. She has also become my personal trainer.”

“Yeah, I know,” Beatrice said. There was pride in her voice. Everyone’s lives seem to have changed for the better once they became entangled with the same person she’s entangled with underneath the covers. There was no denying that that was Ava’s effect. “I follow you on Instagram.”

“You finally run your own Instagram account?” Ava asked, not believing her ears. If only she knew Beatrice was just a dm away.

“No, I never knew the passwords to those accounts. Only Camila had access to them,” the fighter replied. “I created an anonymous account. Which brings me...”

Beatrice sat up from the bed and stood up, and the actress immediately missed her warmth. She walked naked to her cabinet and took a gift-wrapped box from within.

“Here,” she said, holding the box up to Ava. The actress took it from her hands.

“I was planning to send this anonymously for your birthday when I go to town tomorrow morning, but I guess, since you’re now here,” Beatrice replied, sitting down next to the actress on the bed. “Here you go.”

“You know my birthday?” Ava asked as she ripped apart the wrapper. A plain white box the size of a shoebox was revealed to her.

“Of course, I know your birthday,” Beatrice replied, kissing her temple. “Belated happy birthday, Ava.”

The actress lifted the lid of the box and saw a pair of yellow kickboxing gloves and a pair of elastic wraps nestled inside.

“I knew you were training with Shannon from your Instagram stories, and I saw the gloves and the wraps she’s making you use. We always had arguments about that brand. She’s partial to it but I find them really stiff and hard to break in. Those gloves would injure your hands,” Beatrice explained. “This is that brand that I use...er...used...before.”

“Anyway, I don’t want you to injure your hands, I love your hands,” she added with finality, blinking and looking away. Ava placed a hand on her cheek and made the fighter face her.

“Thank you, Beatrice. This is really thoughtful of you. Thank you for still taking care of me,” Ava said. When the fighter did not reply, she added, “you miss it? Fighting?”

“Yes, of course. Not as much as I miss you, though,” the fighter replied.

“You could still have it all back,” Ava said. “You could still have me.”

Beatrice struggled to speak. She swallowed the lump in her throat, shaking her head and blinking rapidly. When she faced the actress once more, there was courage in her eyes.

“I know that now,” she replied finally and kissed Ava once again, savoring her taste that was her salvation. The actress deepened the kiss, but it was Beatrice who broke it first, needing air. The actress noted how the fighter’s lungs were not as strong as they used to be and filed it in her mind in the list of things that the fighter needed to heal from.

She pushed Beatrice away from her gently with a hand on her chest and stood up from the bed, walking towards the middle of the barn house to retrieve the backpack that lay discarded and forgotten on the floor when she ran to the fighter to pin her against the door. She took an illustrated book from inside the bag and approached Beatrice on the bed with it.

“Lilith and I took this from the mansion before we left for your fight. I want you to have it back. This book gave you hope. This book led you to me,” Ava said. “Look, I don’t believe in actual magic. This children’s story, the markings on our palms? I think everything was just a coincidence. But even coincidences could be magical. Someone once told me that there is so little magic in this world that we must not let go of it when we find it.”

Beatrice took the book from the actress’ hands and flipped through its familiar pages. She stopped at an illustration of Cupid that would have been unrecognizable if the fighter had not memorized each watercolor illustration.

“What happened here?” Beatrice wondered. She took care of the book as if it was her greatest treasure.

“My tears fell on that page when I was crying while reading it back in Lilith’s room. Padre Vicente had just threatened to have you killed after the fight and that was when I realized that even though I should be angry at you, I could not actually bear not having you in my life,” Ava replied. “I’m sorry.”

Beatrice smiled. The picture book was no longer her own. A part of Ava was already lodged in it. The part that was understanding and forgiving, and most of all, loving. She closed the book and handed it back to the actress.

“You should have it. I know that story by heart,” Beatrice said. Ava understood and nodded, returning the object back to her bag.

“Thank you, Ava,” Beatrice said.

“What for now?” the actress chuckled.

“For taking care of Lilith, Diego, and Camila while I was gone, for taking care of everyone, really,” Beatrice replied.

“Beatrice, I told you, they don’t resent you for not being there for them. You don’t have to bear that burden all the time,” Ava said, taking the fighter’s face in her hands. “And besides, they want to take care of you, too. We all do.”

“I certainly do,” Ava added, punctuating the sentence with a kiss. Beatrice caressed the hand that was on her cheek and nodded.

“I know that now,” she replied.

“I think you need to go to therapy, not just physical therapy,” Ava suggested. “I know I am overdue for it, myself.”

The fighter did not speak, although she knew the actress was right.

“We can do it together, if you’re feeling afraid,” Ava said. “Or separately, if that’s what the therapist says we need, but still together. Do you get what I mean? You don’t need to worry about the money, for now. I know how you feel about asking me for help, but Jillian said that you’re bound to get money as reparation after almost getting murdered by Adriel. Lilith’s already got hers as Vincent’s heir.”

“Okay, I’ll go to therapy,” Beatrice finally acceded.

“And your physical therapy, as well?” Ava knew she was pushing it, but she did not want to waste this moment when the fighter was agreeable.

“Yes, I’ll continue with my physical therapy, as well,” Beatrice replied. “I might need some assistance with paying for it -"

The actress was about to reassure the fighter, but the other woman shook her head and smiled, telling her there was no need.

“But I know how to ask for help now,” Beatrice continued.

xxx

The lovers spent the rest of the day with limbs intertwined in bed, sharing stories of the past eight months. Ava was laughing particularly about Beatrice’ story of her first time milking a cow when they heard the low rumble of the actress’ stomach. Beatrice glanced at the time on her phone. It was thirty minutes past six in the evening. They had not had any food all day.

“Want to go up to the house to have dinner? I know I said that Grandma’s cooking is not the best, but I haven’t done my shopping and there’s nothing in my fridge that I could make into something remotely decent. Unless you’d rather order something in?” Beatrice asked.

“No, it’s fine. I think I’d like to get to know her and Terry more. They took care of my baby for the past eight months,” Ava replied, smoothing Beatrice’ short locks once again. The fighter let out a sigh. It was the first time that the actress gave her a pet name. She could get used to this.

Beatrice got up and walked to her closet, taking a yellow, long-sleeved flannel shirt and a pair of jogger pants for Ava to wear. She, herself, got dressed in the green striped shirt and the overalls that were discarded on the floor in her haste to get naked for the actress. 

They have an early dinner back up at the house, with Ava racing Beatrice to the top of the hill and winning for the first time. Terry greeted them excitedly, throwing her arms around the mermaid as soon as she saw her. Grandma made some fried chicken steaks, and Beatrice snuck inside the kitchen and tried to repair her gravy as Ava distracted the two with stories. The older woman referred to the actress as Charlotte while the little girl kept calling her Ariel. Ava no longer bothered to correct the two. 

The entire house had to retire early because tomorrow was a school day for Terry. The little girl had wanted Ariel to read her a story for bedtime. Ava obliged and allowed Terry to lead her upstairs and back into the room where she slept just the night before. After brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas, Terry lied down on her bed with the covers up to her chin as she listened to the actress tell her a bedtime story. Ava read from The Little Mermaid Read-Along Storybook that was in Terry’s tiny bookcase by the bed, narrating with the actual voice she used for the movie. The little girl was so engaged in the act that three chapters in and she hasn’t yawned, not even once. From where she was standing by the door frame and through the glow of the fairy lights in the dark room, Beatrice saw fatigue beginning to settle on her lover’s face. She stepped in and told Terry that mermaids have to go to sleep before nine in the evening, or else she would never get to grow her tail back.

“You can sleep beside me, then,” Terry said, pouting. Ordinarily, that would have worked on Beatrice, but the fighter yearned to be alone with Ava once again so there was no way she was going to allow that to happen.

“I can’t sleep in your bed, Terry,” Ava started, quickly thinking of another fantastical excuse. “Mermaids just...wet the bed when they go to sleep.”

“Wet the bed?” Terry and Beatrice said at the same time, the fighter with a more incredulous tone than the little one.

“Um, uh,” Ava rubbed her temples. That sounded more magical in her head.

“I always wet the bed,” Terry replied with a cheerful voice. “My classmates tease me for it. I’m glad that you’re like me, Ariel.”

“Well, we can’t have both of you wetting this one bed, could we?” Beatrice said. “Come on, Terry, say goodnight.”

The child was disappointed, but said her goodnight nonetheless, giving a kiss on each of Beatrice’ and Ava’s right cheek, planting a particularly fat and noisy one on the actress. The pair closed the door of the little girl’s room, made their way downstairs to say goodnight to Grandma who was preparing to sleep on the couch with the television on, and made their way back downhill to retire in the barn house for the day.

The pair took their shower together in the lone bathroom of the barn house, soaping away the sweat that was layered on their skin due to an entire day of lovemaking. Ava insisted on taking care of Beatrice, lathering shampoo into her scalp, forming fragrant bubbles on her short locks that she realized she was crazy about. The actress kneaded the fighter’s flesh, paying gentle attention to her marks and scars. Ava then held Beatrice against her own body as she scrubbed her back, feeling the bones that were sticking out with her nimble fingers. The actress worried about the fighter’s apparent loss of weight. She understood Beatrice’ explanation that the decrease in physical activity caused her to have less appetite than before, but Ava wondered whether the quality of Grandma’s cooking was the real culprit. The actress was determined to take up cooking once she’s back in California, intending to beef up Beatrice in no time. The water from the showerhead tried to make its way to the floor through the diminishing crevices in between their bodies as the pair kissed, rinsing the soap suds away.

“My flight back to L.A. is at four in the afternoon,” Ava said, absently fiddling with Beatrice’ fingers as they lied together in bed once more, staring at the bare ceiling. “I’ve arranged transportation with Mary’s friend to take me back to the airport.”

“There is no need for that, I’ll drive you,” Beatrice replied. There were undertones of sadness in her voice at the prospect of being separated from the actress too soon. “We can leave at around one, it’s an hour and forty-minute drive to the airport.”

“I’m sorry, I would love to stay, but I have several late-night cocktails scheduled,” Ava said.

“I understand,” Beatrice replied, forcing a smile. She shifted in bed to lay her head on the actress’ chest.

“Beatrice?” Ava said tentatively. The fighter heard a hum near the actress’ heart as she spoke her name.

“Mhmm,” the fighter replied, quite sleepily.

“I’m one of the hosts of the upcoming MET Gala,” Ava started. “This year’s theme focuses on women and they brought me in for my work in Between Us.”

Beatrice was silent, letting the actress speak.

“That’s happening on the third of May, around two weeks from now,” Ava continued. “I was planning on going stag...but I guess, now that you’re back in my life...” the actress said, treading carefully, and Beatrice chuckled.

“Yes, I’ll be your date, if that’s what you’re asking me,” the fighter said and propped her upper body on her elbows to give the actress a kiss.

“Great! That’s super,” Ava replied with a big grin on her face. “The theme this year is Fashion and Fantasy.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know what to wear...” the fighter said, insecurity slowly creeping in.

“Don’t worry about that. Camila would take care of that,” the actress replied. “I’m thinking you’d be blazing hot in...leather and...chainmail.”

“Alright, I trust you,” Beatrice replied. The lovers spent a few more minutes in companionable silence before the actress spoke once more.

“Beatrice,” she started. “What do you plan to do after this? I mean, I don’t mind a long-distance relationship, I think. As long as it’s with you.”

“Relationship?” Beatrice asked. There was a hurt look in the actress’ eyes until she realized that the fighter’s tone was teasing.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” the fighter chuckled into Ava’s neck. She intertwined her fingers with that of the actress’.

“I guessed it was safe to claim the girlfriend title since I’ve been pretty much your soulmate since we were kids,” Ava said.

“You really think that?” Beatrice asked, taking a peek at the actress from the crook of her neck.

“I do,” Ava replied.

“I am your girlfriend, then,” Beatrice said with a smile.

“But seriously, what’s going to happen now?” the actress asked.

“I would prefer to live near where you live,” Beatrice replied. “But I could not uproot my life here in an instant. Even though Terry’s mom is going to return this week, I have to make sure that the matters I attend to in this ranch are settled, and that Grandma would be okay. I also have to ease Terry into my goodbye. And there’s also the all-important question of having a job and an actual place to stay in back in L.A. now that I can no longer be your Malibu neighbor.”

“I understand,” Ava said. “Well, I’ll see you in two weeks for the MET Gala? Two weeks is no time at all.”

“Yes, no time at all,” Beatrice replied with a smile.

xxx

Beatrice woke Ava up at around ten the next morning. The fighter was already freshly showered and dressed. She lent the actress a pair of jeans and a thin, white, cotton shirt to wear. When Ava was done getting ready, the lovers headed back to the house on top of the hill once again. Grandma had invited them for brunch. The old woman was alone in her house when they arrived, Terry having been picked up by the school bus hours ago.

The three were having a lively conversation over leftover fried chicken steaks and corn when the landline phone on top of the breakfast island rang. It was Beatrice who got up to get it.

“Yes, this is she,” Ava heard the fighter say over the receiver. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, yes of course, yes, of course, we’ll pick her up,” Beatrice continued. “Great, thanks for letting me know. Bye.”

“Is everything alright?” Ava asked as soon as the fighter sat back down at the dining table.

“It’s Terry, she got into a fight with a classmate and it would have turned physical had her teacher not come in time,” Beatrice replied.

“A fight? That’s not like my Teresa,” grandma remarked.

“I know, well, she went to school telling everyone that a mermaid slept in her room and her classmates would not believe her so she got into a fight,” Beatrice said.

“Oh no,” Ava replied. She thought that maybe she should not have encouraged the little girl’s fantasies.

“It’s not your fault, Ava. How could you have known?” Beatrice said. “Maybe we can pick her up. Her school is on the way to the airport.”

“Sure, of course,” Ava replied, and then her face lit up. “I have an idea.”

xxx

Ava sat beside Beatrice as the fighter drove the ranch’s Ford F250 that seemed like it was from a time when Grandma was still dating around. The ride was bumpy, the upholstery inside the truck was falling apart, but Beatrice held her hand along the way and so everything was perfect for Ava.

“You don’t have to do this,” Beatrice said, as she steered the wheel with one hand. The pair cruised through the road that would lead to Terry’s school. “Your presence could cause a ruckus.”

“These are first graders, what could go wrong?” Ava replied. She moved closer to the fighter, tucking a short lock of raven hair behind her ear.

“Well, then, last chance to back out,” the fighter said as she pulled into the half-empty parking lot of the school. 

“I’m here for Terry, Beatrice,” Ava replied with a smile as she stepped out of the truck. Her backpack, the only thing she brought to Oklahoma, was strapped around her shoulders. “Once her classmates see me, they’ll know that Terry is telling the truth and they’ll leave her alone."

“You can leave your bag in the car,” Beatrice said, following the actress to the entrance of the building.

“Nah, there’s nothing in here, and you locked the car anyway,” Ava replied.

“Would you like me to carry it for you?” the fighter asked.

“I’m fine, Beatrice,” the actress replied. “Just go speak with the security.”

Ava stopped at the bottom of the steps that led to the blue double door entrance of the one-story building, one of which was left open. It was a small school. The actress tried to recall the last time she was inside the halls of the public school system as a student. She’d been homeschooled ever since she became a child actor. 

It was dismissal time for some of the younger students and the kids filed out and waited for their turn to board a yellow school bus that was parked nearby. A handful of students stared and waved at the actress and Ava smiled back. Those who were already inside the bus pressed their faces against the glass windows to get a closer look. 

“Ms. Finch expects me,” Beatrice started speaking to the security, a woman about half her height, when she heard her name from the open door.

“Beatrice!” Ms. Finch got the fighter’s attention. She was a woman about two years older than her, in a grey pencil skirt and a pink cardigan on top of a white button-down blouse. Ms. Finch wore her long, blonde hair down her shoulders and in a tidy headband. There was a dark look on her face as she approached Beatrice, one that Ava recognized all too well because it was the same look she reserves for the fighter whenever she sees her naked. As far as the actress was concerned, Beatrice was dressed. 

Ms. Finch wrapped her fingers around the crook of Beatrice’ elbow and the actress was incensed.

“I’m so glad you are available to pick Terry up. I know how imaginative she could be, but it’s really not like her to make up stories and tall tales,” Ms. Finch said as she led the fighter into the building.

“Terry’s not lying,” Ava said, joining the pair at the top of the stairs.

“Ava Silva!” Ms. Finch exclaimed, removing her hand from the crook of Beatrice’ elbow. “I’m sorry, I did not see you there.”

“Margo Finch,” she said, straightening her blouse and offering a hand to the actress. Ava gave her a firm shake.

“My friend, Ms. Silva, is visiting and she was staying at the ranch. Terry met her and mistook her for a character she played in a movie. You know how children could not really tell the difference,” Beatrice explained. “You know who Ms. Silva is, don’t you?”

“Of course, I know your friend,” Ms. Finch let the last two words roll out of her tongue with intent. Living outside the city and almost isolated in a ranch for eight months made Beatrice forget her own celebrity. She certainly failed to remember that Ms. Finch would have known who Ava was, not just for her blockbuster movie, but for her much-publicized profession of her undying love for the person who was suspected of kidnapping her, on the witness stand, nonetheless.

“Well, to Terry, shall we?” Beatrice said, clearing her throat and motioning for Ms. Finch to lead them to where her student is.

“Of course, this way,” Ms. Finch replied, leading the two into a brightly lit corridor. Some of the older students and teachers stared at Ava as the trio passed by the classrooms.

“She’s in the library. We just started this new program wherein the last period for first graders is storytime. The librarian reads the kids stories from picture books. Our aim is to introduce to the little ones the love for reading, and to showcase how the library could be a friendly place,” Ms. Finch explained as they walked to the end of the corridor. She stopped in front of a pink door and turned the knob.

“And the classmate she fought with?” Beatrice asked before the door could open.

“She’s also inside, but we asked them to sit apart for now. They’re best friends you see,” Ms. Finch replied and opened the door to the library.

“Mr. Kim?” the teacher called the attention of the librarian. The tables and chairs of the tiny library were pushed against the walls to make a space in the middle where Mr. Kim sat, picture book in hand, around fifteen children seated on the floor.

“We just finished with the story, Ms. Finch,” Mr. Kim said.

“We have visitors for Terry,” Ms. Finch replied. She stepped aside to reveal Ava and Beatrice behind her.

At the sight of the actress, one little girl sitting in the back row jump from her spot on the floor. Her face lit up. “Ariel!”

Her classmates all turned their heads to face Ava who stood underneath the doorway. Terry ran up to her to give her a hug which the actress returned. The girl’s classmates, at least those who have seen her movie, stood up to approach and inspect her.

“Hey, it really is the Little Mermaid! Terry was right!” one kid said.

“Why is your hair not red?”

“What happened to your tail?”

A chorus of curiosity encircled Ava and Terry. The child, at that point, was beaming widely.

“Is Terry your friend?” a little red-headed girl approached Ava and tugged at her shirt.

“Yes, Terry and I are very good friends,” Ava replied.

“Can I be your friend, too?”

“Yes, can I be your friend?”

“How about me?”

“And me! And me!”

“Of course. Mermaids love to be friends with children if they are good,” Ava said. The actress now crouched on her knees to meet Terry’s classmates eye to eye. 

“That means you must be nice to your classmates, you don’t fight, you don’t tease,” the actress said, addressing a different kid each time. “You do your homework and you read lots of books!”

“I’m a good kid!”

“Yeah, I’m nice!”

“We’re all friends here!" the redhead said, putting her arm around Terry’s shoulders and that of another classmate’s. “And Terry is my best friend!”

“Can I have a photo with you, Ariel?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“I want a photo, too!”

“How about the entire class take a photo with me? How about that? So no one gets left behind,” Ava suggested.

“That’s a great idea, can we join as well?” Mr. Kim said excitedly.

“Of course, come on, gather around me,” Ava replied. “You, too, Ms. Finch.”

That was an offer of reconciliation from the actress which the teacher accepted with a smile. After all, Ava could not blame the woman if she was attracted to Beatrice. 

“Beatrice, can you please take the photo,” Ava said as she placed her arms around the shoulders of the kids nearest her.

“Yes, of course, whose phone should I use?” Beatrice replied. She was observing the adorable scene unfold before her, glad to be on the sidelines to watch Ava do her magic with the children.

“Use mine,” Mr. Kim said, handing his iPhone 7 to the fighter who took it with both hands.

“Alright, one, two, three! Say cheese!” Beatrice said, herself also smiling.

“Cheese!” the children replied in varying tones and volumes. Beatrice took three shots and handed over the phone to its owner. The children, including Terry, now converged around Mr. Kim to inspect the photos. A little boy approached Ava and tugged at her shirt to get her attention.

“You said we can be friends if I read lots of books? I find it difficult to read sometimes because I mix up letters. Sometimes, words appear backward,” the child said. “But I love stories! I love listening to Mr. Kim read them. Will you read us a story?”

The other kids who overheard the exchange shouted a chorus of “Yes please! Read us a story, Ariel!”

“Listen,” Beatrice said, addressing Mr. Kim and Ms. Finch. “We’re actually running to the airport. There’s a high chance that Ava will already miss her flight because we stopped by here...”

“It’s okay, Beatrice,” Ava said. “There’s no way I’m still making that flight anyway, might as well read for the kids.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to do this, Ava,” Beatrice said uneasily. 

“Of course, it’s not every day I get to meet this lovely class,” Ava replied. “Can you do me a favor, though? Can you call Camila and tell her to rebook my flight to the next earliest schedule possible? Here, use my phone,” Ava said, taking her phone out of her pocket and offering it to the fighter. Beatrice took it tentatively.

“I don’t know...I haven’t spoken to her in months, or to anyone else, really,” Beatrice said, more like a whisper.

“Hey,” Ava said soothingly. “It’s Camila, your friend who flew to California from North Dakota in a heartbeat to help you and support you. She misses you, too. She’d be glad to hear your voice. You can do this.”

“Alright,” Beatrice said. “Thank you for doing this for Terry. I know this means so much to her.”

“If you love her, then I love her, too, Beatrice. Besides, she’s a great kid,” Ava replied.

“Now, where do I sit?” the actress said, addressing Mr. Kim.

“On this chair, Ms. Silva,” Mr. Kim said, patting the white plastic chair in the middle of the open space inside the library. The kids gathered around and sat on the floor in a semi-circle without having to be told.

“Now, what story do you want me to read?” Ava asked the children.

“How about Charlie Changes into a Chicken? You all loved that one,” Mr. Kim suggested to the class.

“You already read that one last week Mr. Kim,” a child replied.

“The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance?”

“Also done!”

“First Prize for the Worst Witch?”

“All done, Mr. Kim!” the children chanted in chorus.

“I’m afraid I’ve read the last of our picture books a while ago, Ms. Finch,” Mr. Kim said. “I just placed an order for new titles last Friday.”

“Well, have Ms. Silva read a really old story, the kids might not even remember,” Ms. Finch whispered in reply.

“No, no, not to worry,” Ava said. She sat down on the plastic chair and removed her backpack from behind her to unzip it. “I have the perfect book right here.”

She took out a thin picture book, its pages wide and glossy. There was a watercolor illustration of a cherubim on its cover, his hands on a bow and an arrow shaped like a shiny needle.

“You happen to have a children’s picture book in your bag?” Ms. Finch asked, amused.

“It’s just a coincidence, Ms. Finch,” Ava replied. “But coincidences, too, can be magical.”

The actress held Beatrice’ gaze as she spoke those words, and then gave her a nod to encourage her to finally talk to Camila. Beatrice smiled and stepped out of the library, closing the door as she exited. 

“This story is called Cupid and the Myth of the Thread,” were the last words the fighter heard before she shut the door behind her.

Beatrice leaned back against the library door and unlocked Ava’s phone. Her passcode was the fighter’s birth date, an information they just discovered less than a year ago. Beatrice saw that the actress had already changed her lock screen to a selfie they took last night before they went to bed. The fighter was looking directly at the phone’s camera with a smile while Ava looked at her adoringly. Her heart melted. She thought of getting a phone with a better LCD display so she could use that picture as a wallpaper as well.

She scrolled through Ava’s contacts but Camila’s name was nowhere to be found. In fact, instead of names, the actress used adjectives to save phone numbers. Beatrice’ finger stopped scrolling when she saw a contact named ‘hot girl’ before another one saved as ‘hot girl girlfriend.’ The fighter chuckled to herself. She recognized hot girl’s number as Lilith’s, the only one of two phone numbers she has memorized. She could only assume that hot girl girlfriend was Mary.

She scrolled up and down once again, until she found a description that suited Camila. She clicked on 'is a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you' and called the number, hoping against hope that it was the number of her friend. The person on the other end picked up after two rings.

“Hey, Ava, I hope you’re already at the airport,” it was Camila’s voice, no doubt.

“Hey, Camila, this is Beatrice,” the fighter began. She noticed that her voice was shaking. She was met with silence from the other end. It took a while before her former assistant replied.

“Hey, Beatrice, it’s really good to hear from you again,” Camila said. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, Camila,” Beatrice replied. “I am so so sorry for leaving you.”

“I understand that you did what you think you needed to do,” Camila said. “I hope you know that I will support you no matter what.”

“I know that, Camila, I’ve always known,” Beatrice replied. She heard sniffles from the other side. “Are you crying, Camila?”

“I’m just really happy, Bea,” Camila said. “You’re speaking to me using Ava’s phone. I’m just really happy that you’re together again. She has not been herself ever since you left.”

“I know,” Beatrice replied. There was a smile on her face upon hearing the nickname that only her former assistant had for her. “Me, neither. I have a lot of making up to do.”

“So, why did you call again? I assume that it’s not just to finally talk to me after months of silence,” Camila asked.

“Ava can’t make her flight, she wants you to rebook it to the next earliest possible schedule,” Beatrice replied.

“Alright,” Camila said. “Ordinarily I would have told Ava off, but I’ll let this pass. Just this once. Just for today. Today is a special day.”

“Thank you, Camila. I’ll be heading to L.A. in two weeks,” Beatrice replied. “See you, then?”

“Damn right, you’ll see me,” Camila said. “Bye, Bea.”

“Bye, Camila, take care,” Beatrice replied and ended the call. She let out the heavy sigh she did not know she was holding. The fighter smiled at yet another thing to look forward to in two week’s time.

Beatrice spent five more minutes by herself, just savoring the short phone call with Camila. 

“You could still have it back. You could still have me.”

She was not the type of person to really think about her future. The life that she has previously known did not allow for such luxury. There was only the present: surviving until the end of the day and trying hard not to get beaten while protecting her family. Beatrice had not yet learned how to see further in time. After all, she could not undo in eight months what was ingrained in her for fifteen years. The difference now was that in what she could not yet see, she could still believe. And she believed. She believed in Ava’s words yesterday. She believed she could have it all back, just like how she had the actress back. 

With a smile, she turned to open the library door once again to step inside. She was met with the last words of the story that Ava was reading, words she knew by heart, in the voice of the one who owns it.

A bounce of the bow, a backstitch on what’s broken;

A knot here and a loop there, to close what was open;

With a needle as an arrow, Cupid replaced what was stolen,

Friends finally hand in hand, together and woven.

xxx

“I really can’t thank you enough for what you did earlier,” Beatrice said as she turned into the road leading to the departure gates. The pair finally arrived at the airport after taking Terry back to Grandma’s house. The little girl spoke of nothing else but Ariel and Cupid on the ride home. She cried when Ava said her goodbyes, but lit up once the actress promised to call her on the phone every now and then.

“You have phones under the sea?” Terry asked.

“Of course, not like yours, though,” Ava replied with a knowing look. “We use conch shells.”

It was a no-parking zone and only drop-offs were allowed so the fighter did not have much time to say goodbye. “Terry was so proud and happy, I know she’ll remember this for the rest of her life.”

“It’s not a big deal, really,” Ava replied. “I told you, I love who you love.” She unbuckled her seat belt and reached over to give Beatrice a goodbye kiss. The fighter’s lips buzzed with positive vibrations upon the contact. 

“I’m gonna miss you so much,” the actress said as she gave the fighter a hug. “You’re all I’m gonna be thinking about in the next two weeks. Promise, you’ll come?”

“I promise,” Beatrice replied.

“I’ll have Camila call you for arrangements, then,” Ava said. “I can wait for two weeks. I’ve waited for you for eight months.”

“And I waited for you my entire life,” Beatrice replied.

xxx

She was reading a script so close to lunchtime on the breakfast island when her doorbell rang. She looked at the CCTV footage of the front gate camera on the app on her phone that Mary urged her to get and saw an old, beat-up truck parked on the street in front of her house. Ava took a gulp of wine, little red drops spilling into the white sheets of bond paper beneath.

“Oh shit, oh shit!” the actress tried to wipe away the stain with her shirt but she only made it worse. The doorbell rang once again and Ava made a mad dash for the door. 

It was almost two days since she last saw Beatrice, but here, the fighter stood behind her wrought iron front gate, in a plain white shirt and her ever-present jogger pants.

“Hi,” she greeted the actress.

“Hey,” Ava flung herself into the fighter’s arms as soon as she unlocked the gate. “What are you doing here? I thought you needed time to let things settle back at the ranch? Did something go wrong?”

The actress observed Beatrice’ beautiful face. She looked pale and tired. There were dark circles underneath her eyes.

“No, everything’s fine,” Beatrice replied, but that did not erase the look of worry on Ava’s face.

“Listen, the moment I saw you disappear behind the doors of the departure area, I knew I could not spend another two weeks not being with you. I rushed home, told Terry and Grandma goodbye, and apologized for having to leave on such short notice,” Beatrice explained. 

“But what about Terry?” Ava asked.

“I told her I needed to go after the love of my life,” the fighter replied. “She adores love stories, too, you know.”

“I did not have enough time to pack all my things, I only managed to take a change of clothes with me. I also did not have enough money for a plane ticket, but I just had this truck’s tank filled before we left to fetch Terry from school. I would have taken the bus but Grandma insisted I take the truck to run after my childhood friend,” Beatrice continued. “I promised to bring it back to the ranch but she said this truck’s old and as shriveled as her...you know...anyway. Her words, not mine.”

Ava let out a loud guffaw as she listened to the story.

“I’m no longer worried about them as Terry’s mom is scheduled to return tomorrow. So I drove for nineteen hours, stopping only thrice: twice to refill the tank and to grab a bite, and then once to catch a few hours of sleep in a motel, take a shower and change my clothes so that I will look presentable enough for you,” Beatrice said.

Amusement was spelled all over Ava’s face when the fighter finished her story.

“What’s so funny?” the fighter asked.

“Nothing. It’s just that you are too adorable. You did not even have to explain,” the actress replied. And then she kissed her visitor, the one who so desperately drove fifteen hundred miles just to end up at her front door. Beatrice tasted like warmth, like the early rays of the sun, a comforting hug, and the end of longing, with the same hints of cloves and cardamom she first took a whiff of on their long drive to North Dakota all those months ago, a journey that began right at this very spot.

She knows that a photo of that kiss would probably end up all over Instagram within the next hour. The actress no longer cared.

“You must be really tired and hungry, then,” Ava said as soon as their lips parted.

“Yes, I am,” Beatrice replied. In one swift motion, the actress placed one arm against the fighter’s back and one under the crook of her knees to sweep her off her feet. Suddenly, Beatrice was being lifted into the air, bride-style. The scene was the subject of another photo that would end up all over the internet hours later. There was a look of surprise on the fighter’s face. 

“I told you, I’ve been training with Shannon,” Ava said with a wink. “Now, let’s get you home.”

Ava heals slowly, with Beatrice healing much slower, but they do it side by side. Inch by inch, they mend what was broken. A mistake here and an attempt there, they close the gap on what was open. A new memory after another, they recover the time stolen.

Hand in hand, together and woven.

Wakas.