Love Lost, Love Found

"What do you do there, Ava?"

Looking at Mac, "I'm a stupid biology teacher. I teach AP biology at the high school and a couple of bio courses at the college."

"Oh, Ava. I'm sorry, I didn't..."

Ava laughed and pulled her into a hug. "It's fine, Sweetie. Not a big deal."

"Hear that, Dad? She called me Sweetie. Sweetie instead of evil daughter, goblin, or plague on humanity."

Bart stopped dead, looked down and tears started to form, "I..."

Both girls grabbed him and hugged him. "Dad, it's alright. You're the best dad in the world. I was just spoofing. Sorry!" He hugged them back, looked up and met Ava's eyes.

"Been tough, has it?" He nodded. "I can't imagine how you did it. All by yourself?" He nodded again. "I have my mom, best friend and others and it's still been tough. How long?"

"Five years."

Her turn to shake her head, "You have done an incredible job, Bart, WITH THESE TWO HORRIBLE GIRLS!" They all laughed. "Now let's keep going, but I still need to go in the woods and check on some things as I go. I also run the Spring Wildflower club. Have to see what's in bloom. Maybe we can even learn a few things as we go. What say you, girls?" Turning to Bart and talking quietly, "And maybe I can help, I mean, if you want."

"I think I'd love that. No, actually I need that."

The three girls walked ahead, stopping from time to time to investigate something. Constant chatter and laughing. "Listen to them up there. Like someone swatted a hornets nest. They really seem to be hitting it off."

"Yeah, I'm so glad that Rose is fitting in. She always says how much she wanted another sister or brother." Ava paused, "We were planning on four, but..."

"So your divorce wasn't so bad? I'm assuming divorce; or did he...?"

"Divorce. Five years, like yours. And I'll bet you a dinner that mine was worse than yours."

"Sounds like we were both losers. In any event, and I'm not usually this forward, well, I mean, I'm never this forward...I need some female, you know, female help."

"Bart, we've just met, I'm not sure..."

"No. No! Not like that! See, that's why I'm never forward," and smiled. "I've pretty much forgotten about that kind of female help. I mean help with the girls. It's just me and you can see how they responded to you. And, well, they're already asking about stuff. One of the girls in Holly's class has started wearing some kind of bra or something and it won't be long until...well things start changing, uh, a lot...I mean if it were up to me I'd put them on some kind of hormone suppression thing until they were like thirty or something."

Ava laughed. "Thirty!"

"Well, maybe not thirty. Twenty-one."

She laughed again. "No, I get it. So you're saying that internet hasn't shown you how to pick out a dress, select a training bra, or heaven forbid, select the proper stuff for when the curse begins? Which is probably two or three years away, but actually could happen even as we speak?" She laughed again.

"Nope, and I've looked. But, Lord, no! I don't even want to think about periods and stuff." She laughed at the look on his face, "Glad you're finding so much joy in my discomfort. Heck, my face is red just talking about it. But yes, that's right. When I try doing girlie things with them, like dresses, they just look at me like I'm stupid and too dangerous to be allowed to walk around unsupervised. And they're right." They both chuckled at that.

"I would love to help and be around as, a female friend? You seem like a great guy, Bart, but I'm not sure I'm ready for..."

"No, no. Just friends. I...I'm not sure...hell, every time I even think about something else I get nervous. I need to focus on the girls. Maybe the five of us could have outings like this, or go to a game. Do things together and when the questions come up or things start happening, kinda be a female friend they can talk to? Am I making any sense at all?"

"Yup. I would love to do that. And I think Rose would benefit from having a male friend in her life who would rough house and do the other stuff that dads do. I try to, but it's not the same. We're an all girl household, so this'll help her as well."

"Great, so we have a deal?"

"Sure."

"One more thing..." She eyed him suspiciously, "Can you cook or like bake cookies or stuff? I mean, I can wreck a box of brownies. I usually turn on the oven and let the girls do the rest." Puffing up his chest, "I did cook a turkey breast for Thanksgiving this year without wrecking it too much and I had boxed stuffing and lumpy mashed potatoes. I bought a pecan pie."

She smiled and touched his arm reassuringly, it felt good. Comfortable. "Sounds like you did a great job. You should be proud and puff up that chest of yours."

"Sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. But yes, I do have some of those skills. Maybe we can do it all together. Why don't we round up the troops and head back? Maybe we could even whip something up this afternoon, I mean, I don't know what you're schedule's like..."

"That'd be terrific. HEY YOU CREEPS! GET BACK HERE! WE'RE GOING TO HEAD BACK!"

The girls groaned their displeasure, but headed back towards the parking lot. "Wait! stop!" Bart reached out and snatched a beetle off off Ava's shoulder. "Look what I found. A hitchhiker. So what is this thing?"

"A lady bug, Dad, duh..."

Ava spoke up, "You're right, girls. You know the saying, right? Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home? It's actually not such a nice one because it says, 'because your house is on fire and your children will roam.' But here, before she flies away, how many spots do you see on her back?"

They looked closely. "Five."

"Right. So it's a five spotted lady bug. Some have nine. Some have twelve. We have a number of different species here. And you know what? Despite the song, the lady bug is a sign of good luck and that things are about to change for the better. A renewal." She looked and linked eyes with Bart, "How about that? And...they mean that you're family may be about to grow bigger. So it could mean your dad's going to get chubby." The girls all laughed and Mac pinched his belly.

"He's already been there!" They both pinched his belly again.

BART looked uncomfortable, "Well he looks terrific now! I wish I were in that kind of shape. So...you're dad and I were wondering if the five of us could, maybe start doing some things together?"

All three squealed with delight. They seemed excited and started talking nonstop again. Ava left out the part about ladybugs also symbolizing love and the start of a new relationship...and fertility. Yipes! She stared at Bart and searched his face. Maybe?

"Great! Your dad and I are both excited about it too. Bart, do you have any oatmeal, flour, light brown sugar, chocolate chips at your house?"

He held up his fingers and lowered each on in turn, "Nope, nope, nope, nope, uh, and nope.

Laughing, "No, of course you don't. I assume you just have the tubes you slice?"

"And Pops burned them last time! We had to go to the store to get some."

"Really. You know oatmeal is heart healthy." She poked him in the chest and turning to the girls, "And we need to keep this guy around for a while don't we, even if he acts up all the time, right?"

"Dad! You need to get some oatmeal."

"Uh, sure."

Then laughing and winking at him, "And it keeps you regular, if you know what I mean."

They just stared. They didn't get it. He did. "No problems there, Ava. I assure you. Gonna poke that too?"

"Maybe with a stick!"

His phone went off. "Crap!" He pulled it out of his pocket and answered. "Yea, yea, WHAT? No way! Okay, I'll be right there." Turning to his girls, "Sorry you two. They delivered all these things today instead of tomorrow and looks like they messed up the order. I have to head back to work. So no baking today."

"Ah, Dad!" He shrugged.

"Tell you what, Bart. Let me take these two home with me and we can make some cookies and have a girls' day until you're done. If, it's alright with you, of course."

"Please, Dad! Please?"

"Sure, if you don't mind. That'd be great. Let's swap info. I'll probably be a couple of hours anyway, sure it's okay? If they act up, just lock 'em in a closet or something. Do you have a damp, dark basement or something?"

The girls rolled their eyes. "Ava, he's just impossible. Please do something to straighten him out." Bart and Ava looked at each other and laughed.

"Alright, you three, jump in my clunky old van and buckle up."

"Goodbyeeee, Baaart!" All three girls said it together and laughed.

"Don't call me Bart, you naughty girls. Only Rose gets to call me that. See you later. Love you."

"Whoa! You have a lot of plants, Ava."

"You're right, Mackenzie, and most of the perennials are just starting to poke their way out. The crocuses and most of the daffodils are done; the peonies are just about to start; and the roses have buds. The goal is to have something blooming all the time."

"So 'the flower sniffer' always has something to sniff."

"You girls got quite a kick out of that, didn't you? So you're going to start calling me TFS now?" That sent them over the edge.

"The first thing we need to do is get all of our materials out and start the oven. Mackenzie, yank the top of the oatmeal container off and read what it says." She read each part of the instructions off. "Great, so step one is turn the oven to 350. We'll use the lower one so you all can see better. Here, Holly, climb on this stool. Hit bake and in this one it automatically starts at 350 and then hit start. Great. That's usually your dad's job right?" They nodded.

"So, Rose. Two cups of oats, Holly, one cup flower, Mac, one cup brown sugar. Now just so you know, there is light brown sugar and dark brown sugar. They taste different. If it doesn't say which, like the recipe on the lid, it means light brown sugar. And it also means you have to pack it in the cup. You don't do that with anything else. And is it okay if we use chocolate chips instead of raisins? Great."

An short time later, "The timer just went off and they look done to me. These only take twelve minutes or so to bake. Let's get them out, but we have to wait a bit before we can eat them. They'll be all mushy at first." She sniffed the cookies, the three were looking at her and started to laugh.

"Your mom's the cookie sniffer, too. TCS." More giggles.

"Oh, look who's here!"

"And who might these two lovely strangers be?"

"Mom, this is Holly and Mackenzie. We met them today at the nursery. Girls, this is my mom, Mrs. Williams."

"Oh, that's too formal. Call me Gram or Grammy like everyone else does."

"Nice to meet you, Grammy."

"My pleasure." There was a knock on the door. Emily and Robb walked in.

"Oh, it smells good in here." Looking at Rose, "You really shouldn't have gone to all the trouble of making cookies for me. Let me just...Crap! They're hot. I think I just burned my little fingers. Kiss it, Hon." Robb kissed it and she kissed him. "Thanks, Robb, all better."

"So, girls, this is my friend Emily and her friend Robb. This is Holly and that's Mackenzie."

"Very pleased to meet you Ma'am, Sir." The girls took turns shaking hands.

"My, how polite. Rose, are these friends from school or did you find them somewhere?"

"I found them at the garden center while Mom was busy sniffing. They called her the flower sniffer, TFS." The three lost it. Emily, Robb and Gram all smiled and laughed.

"Well, I'd say they pretty well nailed it."

"And she's the cookie sniffer, TCS." Emily shook her head and grinned.

"Well, I'd say you've really got her figured out." Another knock on the door. "I'll get it." Emily opened it, "Oh! And who might you be?"

"Bart."

"Yeah, that's what your shirt says, but..."

"Maybe I have the wrong house. Does Ava live here?"

"Yup, she's in the kitchen. Right in there. I'm Emily. And those two little darlings must be yours?"

"Yeah." Emily walked behind him and looked Ava in the eye and started fanning herself and mouthed "Oh, my God!" And pulled her arms apart to show how wide his shoulders were then pointed at her ring finger to indicate he didn't have a ring.

Ava smiled and rolled her eyes. "Bart, this is my mom, Lauren, and Emily's friend Robb."

"Looks like I got here just in time.

"Why yes you did. Just in time to help clean up, right girls?" They laughed, "But first, let's try some of these cookies you made. Let me get you some milk. They go great with that. And we made a double batch so everyone, even Emily, can take some home."

"Well, I have to take the beastie girls home. They still have to cut the grass, change the oil in the truck and fix the back steps."

"Daaad! He thinks he's Mr. Funny or something. We're sorry, we've tried to fix him, but we can't. We're about to get professional help." Ava covered her laugh with her hand, Emily just burst out laughing.

"Well good luck with that endeavor, girls and don't give up quite yet. You might still be able to make something of him."

"We'll try. Thank you, Ava. This was so much fun! Nice meeting all of you."

"Me too. And," Holly looked seriously at Ava, "I hope we can do it again, soon. We need a break from..." She waved her thumb towards her dad, "and Rose, you need to come over to our place. My dad's the garbage sniffer, TGS."

"Tough crowd. Really, Ava, thank you. This has been terrific. Maybe we can plan something for next weekend, if your schedule permits...and we'll have some new plants in by then! Nice meeting you Lauren, Emily, Robb. Who won the golf match by the way?" Robb pointed at Emily.

"She always wins, cheats, I'm pretty sure."

"And it was an exceptional pleasure to meet you Rose. You are just as lovely as your name. Let's move out, girls. Don't forget your cookies."

"And Ava told us how to hide them so you wouldn't eat them all." He laughed looked at Ava as if memorizing her face and mouthed, "Thanks."

"Out with it, Ava. Who the hell is that guy? He's gorgeous! So are you, Robb. I love every bit of you, but, Ava, that guy is like huge!"

"He owns the nursery, the garden center. Rose ran into his daughters..."

"While your mom was inspecting flowers?" She nodded.

"And then I met them all and they invited Rose and I to join them on a hike. I had to get some specimens for tomorrow so I said yes."

"Oh, so it was just because you were going hiking anyway?"

"Yes, of course. Rose, why don't you take shower, check for those creepy crawlies we don't want on us and get your jammies on."

"OK, Mom, if you don't me to hear anything, I'll go." She turned and started to leave then swung back around with a big smile on her face, "Mommy, he called me a little monster!"

"Oh, Honey, he..."

She giggled, "It was so cool! I can't wait to tell the girls at school tomorrow!"

Ava watched her leave. Who would have thought..."Anyway, he's a single dad for five years and the girls are getting older and asking a lot of questions that he doesn't know how to answer. Holly is starting to get little buds and he's freaking out because he doesn't now what to do, when to do it, or how to do it. So we've made a deal. I will help as a kind of a female confidante for his girls and he will call Rose a monster." She laughed the looked thoughtful for a moment, "I guess it's already having an effect on Rose."

"And does this 'agreement' include dinner and any touchy feely stuff?"

"No. Absolutely not. I don't know the details, but it must have been an ugly separation so he's not ready and I, well, I just don't know. There's just something about him though."

"Oooh, Ava's crushing on plant man! Plant sniffer meets plant man. The Perfect Match! Ava, it's about time! You need to get out there." Looking down and shame faced, sighing, "And fix some of the damage I caused." Robb looked at her quizzically. He obviously didn't know their past. "Please! You need it. Rose needs it. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least give it a try." Turning, "Just like Robb is on a trial basis. If he's not extra good to me tonight, well, we'll just see."

She kissed Robb again. "We're going. Can I snitch some cookies? Gram, great seeing you as always." Pointing her thumb towards Ava, "Work on this one, will you?" They left.

"So, Ava, what do you think?"

"I don't know, Mom. He seems like a great guy. He's smart, funny, makes me laugh, seems successful. It's...comfortable, easy. His girls are terrific. He has an incredible relationship with them and he's done it entirely on his own for five years. Doesn't sound like his ex is involved at all. For me, maybe? Maybe I'm ready? But I don't know where he's at at all."

"Sounds like you two need to sit down and have some adult discussion time and get to know each other a little better. Feel each other out and see how it goes. No need to rush. Start as friends. That's always best. You have to have a 'planning meeting' about the girls anyway, right? That could be a good starting point. If he needs a babysitter, I'm always here after work. You know, it's so nice that they are willing to treat Rose as one of the gang. So many ten year olds would be pretty brutal to a five year old."

"I know, right? Surprised the heck out of me! The three of them yapped like you and your buddies do when you're getting your hair done. I don't know...we'll just have to see how it goes. I'm going to hop in the shower too, do my tick check, and throw our clothes in the dryer for a bit." She hugged her mom. "And thanks for always being there and for all you do for us. I love you."

She got out of the shower still wondering about Bart. There was just something about him. There was a stirring she hadn't felt for quite a while. She just hoped he wasn't too broken. Not at all sure she was ready for a fixer upper. Time for a text, she thought.

>Bart: Rose and I had a terrific day with you and the girls. She's thrilled that you called her a monster. Thank you for letting us join in and thank Holly and Mac for being so nice to Rose. Most girls their age wouldn't have been.

You should be very proud of them. And very proud of yourself. You have done a terrific job with them. Puff that chest up. Let me know when you want to meet to hash out our strategy going forward. Have a great week. Ava.

Moments later:

>The girls still haven't stopped talking about it. They had a terrific time with you. Between the snakes and making cookies it was quite a day. They were great by the way although I was given two and then they all seem to have disappeared somewhere.

Rose is terrific and you should be proud as well.

It's a little screwy during the week. We close at six, but I have to get the girls home, dinner, homework...you know the drill. I don't want to make this difficult. I just have not really figured out how to make it work yet. I'm open to ideas.

We didn't discuss what your schedule was like. We could meet for coffee? Lunch?

>I understand your problem. I have my mom most of the time and Emily in a pinch. What about lunch tomorrow? Noon? I'll come to the nursery?

>Great! See you then.

Getting out of her car and walking into the building, she stopped at the checkout counter. "Hi, is Bart Wagner around? I'm supposed to meet with him."

"You're Ava?" She nodded. "I'm Heather, pleased to meet you. He's back in the office. Over there."

"Thanks, Heather." She walked to the back of the building and spotted Bart seated behind a desk staring at a stack of papers. She knocked on the door jam. "Hey, Bart. Is now a good time or do you want me to wait?"

Jumping to his feet, "No. Now is a great time. Give me a break from the paperwork."

"I didn't know how much time you might have so I stopped at the sandwich shop. I hope that's okay. I got ham and turkey. I like them both so take whichever you want." She reached in her bag and held them both out.