Everything That Glitters Ain't Gold by Danielle Martin (sneezy the snowman read aloud .txt) 📖

Ava closed her eyes, meditating herself with those words. Relax...  Calm your nerves…. Stop holding on… Let it go…. Slowly, she nodded her head and opened her eyes, preparing to do what she had been running away from for years. Let go Ava….

“My mother was the other woman….” She spoke numbly while looking straight forward. Ava didn’t show any emotion as she began telling the story. “She didn’t know my father was married with 4 kids until after she got pregnant with me. But she was a fool. My mother was in love with a man that wanted nothing to do with her at all…” Ava sniffled. She could still see her mother’s beautiful angelic face staring at her from her death bed. Nova Monique Mullins was her name. That woman was so gorgeous with beautiful youthful brown skin and long curly natural hair. She was only 34 years old when she died from ovarian cancer. Ava could still hear Nova crying out for Ava’s father to visit before she succumbed to her disease. He never did.

Ava continued with the story, her tone growing more frustrated the more she remembered.  “My father told her to get an abortion…. Once my mother refused, he cut all ties with her completely. He never came to the hospital to see me when I was born... She mailed him my baby pictures… In return he sent them right back as returned mail. And after everything he had done to forget about her and forget about me… she still loved him… she named me after him….”

Ava watched Susan who was listening to her with all ears. She seemed extremely intrigued by what she had to say. Ava continued. “Avan Henry Sweeney… That’s my father’s name….My mother died when I was 11 years old, he didn’t come to the funeral…. I had so much anger towards my mom for making that man my dad and for being so gullible for his love… She gave me his last name. She never took him to court for child support. She never held him accountable for anything… and because of that I suffered… and she died… ”

Susan cleared her throat. “Wow….” She shook her head and turned towards her. “I’m so sorry to hear you had to grow up like that…. So is that why you use two names??? Because of your father???”

Ava toyed with her fingernails and nodded her head. She hated admitting it, but it was the truth. “I hated the name Ava for years. Hazel was my identity. That was the name I went by from childhood all the way until college... Until I met Desean…..” her heart fluttered as she finally mentioned his name. Other than Susan, Desean was the only person that heard this story before. The only person she had allowed inside her dark world. “He is the only one in this world who calls me, Ava. He was the only one who cared about my self-acceptance... I never felt love from a man until I met Desean…”

Nodding her head, Susan looked down and began writing on her clipboard. She hummed to herself as she wrote down an extremely long paragraph. Ava watched her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to finish.

“Alright…” Susan looked back up… “Now let’s talk about Desean… I remember reading the name in your email…”

Ava held her breath as Susan finally touched basis on the real reason behind why she was here. Ava was confused. More confused now than she had ever been.

“So, Ava…” Susan continued. “How did you two meet?”

Ava couldn’t help but smirk as she quickly began to reminisce when times were good. She smiled. “On the Ferris wheel at the county fair…” she chuckled as she remembered that night and the ridiculous bright yellow jumpsuit she wore. She had been warned not to wear it, but she did anyways because Ava thought she looked bomb in the outfit.  She would never forget standing in line for almost half an hour waiting to ride the newly constructed Ferris wheel everyone had been raving about. After finally reaching the front of the line and securing her spot. Ava rode the wheel approximately 2 minutes before suddenly feeling her safety belt snap, which ultimately sent her flailing over the edge with her feet dangling almost 20 feet in the air.  She could still recall screaming at the top of her lungs and being so shocked feeling herself being thrown over the edge

“Just hold on pretty lady…. I am coming up there to get you…” for the first time, she heard his voice as she hung midair hanging on for dear life. Her arms were beginning to cramp and her finger tips were turning sweaty. Ava’s eyes were clamped shut the entire time as she desperately waited to be rescued.  For heaven’s sake she didn’t have much strength to hold on and knew it was only a matter of seconds before she came tumbling down crashing to the ground. To her surprise within a matter of seconds, she could feel a pair of strong arms wrap her body up securely.

“Hold on to me, baby girl…. I won’t let you go…” The sudden voice took her by shock. Slowly, Ava opened her eyes and locked gazes with a beautiful pair of hazel brown eyes staring back at her. She gasped immediately. For a moment, she almost forgot she was dangling 20 feet in the air.  Ava couldn’t believe her eyes. Staring back at her was the most handsome, attractive face she had ever laid eyes on. Despite the situation, Desean smiled the most beautiful smile. “Don’t worry… I won’t let you get hurt… I promise you that….” He rescued her that night. His big strong arms carried her down to the ground giving her a sense of security Ava had never felt before. She had been a damsel in distress all her life… For the first time, someone actually saved her… Ava looked at Susan who was clearly indulged in the story. She shook her head. “I fell in love with him that night…. And now... I’m here....”

Susan ran a finger across her chin as if she were quickly mustering up a solution. She looked down at her paper, jotted down more notes than looked back up at her. “We are still missing a few pieces of the puzzle Ava…  You speak so highly of Desean, but I’m sure that is not the reason you are here… What is it that’s making you unhappy?”

Ava fidgeted in her seat. The question was a tricky one. Apart of her didn’t know the real reason. Apart of her didn’t know how someone that she loved so much could make her so unhappy. Her shoulders slumped. She parted her lips. Ava had wanted to tell this secret for so long, but she had no one to tell. No one to talk to. But now she did. “When I met Desean, I thought he was perfect… He was handsome. Funny. Intelligent. Desean works as an application development manager so he has a great salary and a consistent career…. I fell in love with him… I never had a man love me the way he did… Everything he gave me made up for everything my father didn’t….”

“Hmmm….” Susan nodded. “I see…. You yearned for a protective male figure to fill the emotional void left by your father. Is that right?”

Ava nodded her head as Susan hit the nail right on the head. This woman was absolutely correct as if she were reading her mind. She continued. “So I am going to ask again… What is making you unhappy Ava?” she asked the question again, this time more firmly. Susan needed an answer and Ava knew beating around the bush was only going to drag this conversation out even longer. She finally decided to let it go and speak her truths.

“When I first met Desean, we made a promise that we would be honest with each other by all mean necessary. He promised to always tell me the truth no matter how ugly that truth may be…  But he wasn’t 100% honest about who he was…” Her head dropped as she spoke, her heart sinking even deeper into her stomach. Ava hated thinking about it. Hated talking about it because it made the situation even more real. She sighed then continued with the story. “Desean loves me. He’s never cheated on me. He’s never stole from me. He’s never laid a hand on me….. But he drinks…. He drinks a lot… To the point it scares me to death… I’m afraid the love of my life is going to die.....”

Susan immediately began to write down what Ava was saying word for word. Finally, they were getting to the juicy part. Ava finished. “I found out about his drinking only 2 weeks into our relationship. He was sloppy drunk one night and got arrested outside a bar for chasing down the owner with a knife. Guess who bailed him out??? Me…..” she shook her head as she remembered driving to that jail station to pick him up. At that time, she barely even knew him. They were in the beginning stages of their relationship But she was already addicted. Having never fallen in love before, Desean had her under his spell and Ava willingly paid his bond without asking him to pay her back. “Back then, Desean made it seem as if he had everything under control… But after a few months went by, his drinking got worse…. He’s been arrested for public intoxication. He’s been hospitalized for alcohol poisoning... He’s paid his way out of 3 DUI’s…’ Ava shook her head as she ran down the list. So much had happened within 4 years. Through it all, she stuck by his side… She refused to leave…

Susan looked up at her in-between writing. “Have you given Desean any ultimatums? What have you done to assist in breaking this horrid habit?”

Ava heart stopped as she immediately began to muster up an answer. Instead, she came up blank. She grew silent as the guilt took over her body. Truth be told, she couldn’t think of anything she had done other than threaten to leave. But she never did. Maybe I am the fuel behind his fire… Maybe I am partially to blame…

“Don’t blame yourself…” Susan spoke reading her mind once again. “When you plant lettuce and if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer. More WATER…”

Ava looked at her with a confused look wandering what the hell plants and lettuce had anything to do with their current conversation. She took a few seconds to let Susan’s words marinate and after a few moments, everything began to make sense…

“This may seem hard to believe, Ava… But I see something special in you… You may not see it today or tomorrow, but you will look back in a few years and be absolutely awed by how every little thing brought you somewhere wonderful.” Ava listened to her with open hears soaking up every word. Deep down inside, she hoped everything she was saying was true. “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward. God is directing you to a much greater happiness.”

Ava stated at her with wide eyes. This woman’s words were so powerful and surprisingly, she was now more confused than she initially was before she walked through that door. “So what does that mean Susan???” she asked, feeling herself becoming anxious. “Do I stay with him??? Do I leave him??? What do I do?????”

In response, Susan smiled a mischievous smile. She looked at Ava as if she were looking into her future. As if she could see everything that was going to happen.  The room was silent. Both women stared at each other quietly. Ava waited patiently, waiting