7. Ava

It was weird to sleep in a place so quiet. I'm used to honking horns, sirens blaring, people talking in the street, cars, trucks…noise. I'm used to sleeping with a lot of noise. It. Is. Quiet. Here. Now I get why people travel with sound machines.I'm going to have to download a white noise app to my phone to use while I'm here!

Despite the lack of noise, I had a great night's sleep. I went to bed earlier than I had in a long time and woke up with the sun. I made myself a cup of coffee from the coffee bar and sat on the porch to watch the sunrise. I can't remember the last time I was up in time for sunrise.

My mind wanders…I'm interested in seeing what things will be like when this group of ladies arrives. I'm excited to see this place in action. I finish my coffee and head back inside to get ready for the day.

I turn the shower on, and water starts spraying out everywhere. It's coming out so fast and pelting me so hard I can't even tell where it's coming from. It's hitting me right in the face. I hear a high-pitched, ear-piercing noise. The water is very disorienting. I realize after a minute that the noise is me–I'm the one screaming. I've got to get out of here!

Wrapping myself in a towel, I quickly leave the bathroom and slam the door behind me as if that will keep the water in. I'm dripping wet from head to toe, yet not clean. The water hit me hard right in the face. My eyes hurt! I'm trying to dry myself off when the front door to the cottage flies open. Travis barrels in.

"Ava! Are you ok? What's going on?"

"Hey!" I turn around quickly and wrap myself in the towel, but I'm sure he got an eyeful. "What happened to knocking?"

"I heard you screaming. It sounded like an emergency. There's no time for knocking in emergencies. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to barge in like that—I didn't see any–"

"Yes, you did! Don't lie!"

"OK, but are you ok? Why were you screaming like that?"

"The water! It's spraying out everywhere. I couldn't stop it." I point to the bathroom. Travis goes over and cracks open the door. Water is still spraying everywhere.

"Holy cow! What happened!?"

"I just turned the water on to take a shower, and it started spraying everywhere. It got me right in the face. I couldn't see. I didn't know what was happening."

"I'm going to have to cut the water to the house." He runs outside. A moment later, the water finally stops.

I sit on the bed, still wrapped in a towel, looking around. Water seeps from under the bathroom door into the cottage's main room. I feel bad, but I don't think it was my fault. All I did was turn the faucet on.

"Well, holy cow. I'm sorry about that." Travis comes back in and looks around, surveying the damage. There's water everywhere.

"No, I'm sorry. I just–"

"You didn't do anything. I should have checked the shower. I checked everything else, but not the shower."

"It's ok. I can just–"

"No, it's not. It's a big problem. A big problem that I don't have time to fix. You can't stay here without water." He looks up at me, exasperated. "Oh–sorry, I forgot—I'll step out so you can get dressed."

"Thanks. I'll just be a minute."

After wringing out my hair, I threw on my jeans from yesterday and a fresh T-shirt. I open the front door so Travis can come back in.

"Ok. Well. Let's get your stuff out of here. I don't know where I'm going to put you. But we'll bring your stuff over to the main house. Here, let me get your suitcase–"

"Wait! It's not zipped!" At that exact moment, all of my clothes fell out onto the wet floor, including my new lacy panties and bra. Is it just me, or is it super embarrassing when someone else sees your underwear?

"Oh no–oh, wow. Could this get any worse? I'm so sorry. I'll have this all laundered." He starts scooping stuff up, and before I know it, Travis is standing there holding my bra. I am completely humiliated.

"It's ok. Just give it all to me, and–I got it." I took my bra back and tried to scoop everything back into the suitcase. Everything is soaked. Thank goodness I didn"t have my laptop in there.

"Wow. What a day! And I haven't even had breakfast yet," Travis says. I can tell he's extremely embarrassed and really overwhelmed. "I'm so sorry about all of this. I'm going to make it up to you."

"No. It's ok."

"Here, let me get that. Is it zipped up now?"

"Yes, it is." I roll my suitcase toward Travis. He lifts it to take it out to the four-wheeler. I'll grab the rest of my stuff and be right out."

"OK, let me know if you need me to throw your computer on the ground or something."

I stare at him and force a laugh. He's joking, I realize.

I threw my computer, makeup, and other miscellaneous things into my second bag and joined Travis at the four-wheeler. We head off to the main house.

"Listen, I'm really sorry. I'll figure out where to put you. In the meantime, I'll have housekeeping launder your clothes."

"Thanks, that'd be great. But there's no rush. And really, it's not a big deal. I don't mind. I can sleep anywhere. Please don't stress over me. Actually, I'm happy to help get things ready today."

"Thanks. I can't ask you to–"

"You're not asking; I'm offering." I grab his arm and look into his eyes, hoping to calm him down a bit. His eyes are the prettiest shade of hazel. Light brown and light green mixed together, with little orange flecks throughout.

"Thanks. You can see if Roberta needs help. I'll take your stuff to the laundry room. Then I've got to get down to Kenny and the fence."

"Sure thing. I'll see you later." I let myself into the kitchen, hoping to find Roberta. She's standing over the stove cooking. "Good morning!"

"Oh, it's you! Good morning, dear. I wasn't expecting you so early."

"Well, it's been a wild morning." I filled her in on Pony Cottage"s water struggles.

"Ava! You're here!"

"Good morning, Mia! How did you sleep?"

"Great! How did you sleep?"

"Good. It's so quiet out here. It was a little jarring."

"Really?! Too quiet for sleep?" Mia laughs. "I've never heard of that!"

Roberta hands Mia a breakfast sandwich wrapped in foil, an apple, and a brown sack lunch. "I'm so happy to see you, doll, but you've got to get out of here. You're going to miss the bus, and I do not have time to drive you to school today!"

"Don't you think you could use my help here instead?"

"Of course, we could, hun, but as your dad says, school is your priority right now."

"Ugh. Fine. Bye, Ava. See you later. Thanks for all this stuff, Roberta." She stomps off to the bus stop.

"I hated school, too. My brother always made me go. Even when I was sick. I hated him for that. But now, I'm glad. I wouldn't be where I am now without him."

"You should tell that to Mia. I can tell she looks up to you already. She hasn't had many good female influences."

"What about you? You two seem to get along great."

"Yeah, but I'm old, and we want more for Mia than this ranch."

"But Mia seems to love it here."

"She does, but she doesn't know there's a whole world out there. If she experiences some of the world and still wants to make her life here on the ranch, that's fine. I just don't ever want her to feel stuck."

"She's fortunate to have you."

"Thanks. Here's a sandwich for you. Then we've got to get to work!"

"Thanks, I'm here to help! I can't wait to see what this place is like, full of guests." I unwrap the sandwich and take a bite. Delicious, of course.

"You have no idea what you're wishing for."