Page 70 of Good Dirt

Ebby

E bby feels like a bit of a criminal, standing in the house with the lights out, eavesdropping on Henry and Avery. Not that she intended to do so. The door to the guest cottage is wide open and she can’t help but hear them raise their voices. She feels embarrassed, thinking that Avery, too, might have been able to hear Henry and Ebby. Things grow very quiet for a while. Then she hears a stomping of shoes. A wheelie bag on the gravel. Avery, out in the yard, and Henry following her through the door. The Rover, pulling away. It is well past midnight. She looks out the window and sees Avery at the steering wheel, lit up in the glow of the vehicle’s interior light, and Henry, standing in the yard, watching.

Henry looks toward the main house and Ebby ducks away from the window. Ebby feels bad for Avery. But Ebby and Henry came before Avery, and Ebby and Henry had unfinished business. Still, Avery has left in the middle of the night. What will she do? Beyond every expectation, Ebby finds herself smiling.

Of course, Ebby thinks.

Everything that Ebby has observed about Avery, up to this point, tells her that Avery would not drive off in the middle of the night, just like that, without a plan. Knowing Avery, she will have booked a place to stay already. While Ebby and Henry were arguing, while Ebby and Henry were making love for the last time, Avery will have been swiping at her tablet, booking something, somewhere. Avery might be upset, but she will not be out of control. Avery does not come across as the kind of person who does out of control . Avery will be all right.

Henry is still standing at the door of the guesthouse, looking in the direction of the main building. Ebby dreads the thought that he might come back across the yard, but within minutes, he has closed the door and switched off the lights. Ebby puts on her headphones, finds some music, and pulls the bedcovers over her head. Tonight, she does not dream of the jar falling. She does not dream of Henry. She dreams of love stories that stand the test of time.