Episode 820: Up And Up

“Yeah?” Ava asked, clutching her phone tighter, if that was even possible given the white-knuckled grip she’d already had on it. “What were you calling for?”

Avalon cuddled her cat, Shelby, closer, while Lila and Mateo took that as their cue to momentarily take leave of Ava’s bedroom to give her some privacy for the conversation. She really really hoped it wasn’t a conversation that required privacy.

“Well,” the hesitancy was painfully obvious in Sebastian’s voice and it was not the reassurance Mateo had promised would happen with a phone call.

“First,” Sebastian said, “um, Justine and Addie are here, they said you found a dress you liked. Not that I don’t trust them, but I just wanted to hear from you that you really do love it, because I know the dress is a big deal and if you feel like you’re settling or something, I, well, obviously I didn’t really think through all the stuff necessary to make this happen, we could postpone until you find the right dress.”

“My dress is perfect,” she said though her thoughts and her heart was hung up on how willing Sebastian was to postpone. “How are things there?”

“Good, good, we’ve scrounged up food and decorations, it’s coming together.”

“Great.” Only it didn’t feel great. It felt like there was was something he wasn’t telling her. It wouldn’t be the first time. She just let it sit there though and stir up her nerves as she waited for him to break the silence, and possibly break her heart.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said.

“Uh-huh.”

“I just, I want to be on the up and up with you about this, so you don’t feel blindsided.”

“O-okay.” That so didn’t sound okay. What would he be blindsiding her with?

“It’s about my parents. Would it be cool with you if I invite my mom and dad? I mean, it’s so last minute, they might not be able to get here on time or well, it’s them, so they might think it’s not up to their standard or you know find some reason to decide to punish me and not come, but um, if I call and they say yes, I want to know that’s okay with you. If you don’t want them here, I understand.”

“Yeah, yes, please, invite them,” Ava said, equal parts relieved and overjoyed. “My dad said he’s coming, your parents should be there for you, too.” Weirdly enough, despite their past machinations, Sebastian inviting his parents to the wedding actually helped put her in a more positive head-space. As much as Sebastian didn’t always get along with his parents, Ava knew their opinion mattered to him and they weren’t particularly tolerant of failure or public spectacles - a runaway groom would be both of those things. So if Sebastian had any doubts about going through with the wedding ceremony, he wouldn’t invite them to witness that, would he?

Episode 821: Brothers and Sisters