Simple Kind of Life

The heat seemed to hang heavily in the air, casting waves of haze across the black asphalt of the parking lot. It was one of those days where the moisture became inescapable and clung to the skin in droplets. Admitting defeat against the inhumane weather, Avery tied her dark hair into a messy bun which sat happily at the curve of her skull. A vast array of vehicles were scattered across the grocery store parking lot, so Avery was stuck in left field. She smiled inwardly at the cars that circled slowly, waiting to pounce on the first available spot that involved very little travel time to the store itself.

As soon as the sliding doors opened, a gust of chilled air washed over the woman’s body, sending chills down her sweat soaked spine. It almost made the mind-numbingly tedious task of grocery shopping bearable. From the depths of her giant purse, Avery pulled out a crumpled, pathetic excuse for a shopping list.

Lunch meat
Loaf of bread
Fruit snacks
Chips
Fruit
Heroin
Water
Juice boxes
Soda
Sunscreen

Avery paused and frowned at the list. Wait a minute

She scanned the list again before spotting the problem. Heroin? I didn’t write that. And I certainly wouldn’t come here for my narcotics.

Of her two possible culprits, she could easily rule out Liliana. Unless Phineas and Ferb were slamming dope nowadays, she highly doubted Lili even knew what heroin was. Not to mention her motor skills were still in early development. That left Aaron, Avery’s resident trouble maker.

She shook her head and grabbed a red hand basket before tackling her list of necessities for the road trip to Sea Isle. Every summer after school was over, Avery would pack up her brood and head down to the shore for the season. As a teacher, she loved summer vacation just as much as the students did. But this summer was different. It would be her first trip to the shore without Jamie.

Once she hit the snack aisle, she went about her usual routine of deviating from her neatly and painstakingly constructed list to grab whatever delicious concoction caught her eye. After grocery shopping, procuring some art supplies, and buying new bathing suits, Avery picked up her kid from daycare before finally heading home.

She plopped down on the worn microfiber couch in her living room and sighed. “High five for me.” She mumbled to herself.

No sooner did she start to relax when the phone rang. She frowned at the cordless phone before answering.

“Hello?”

“Hey Av.” Her frown deepened at the sound of her best friend’s voice.

“Hey Ang.” Note to self: screen calls.

It wasn’t that Avery disliked Angie. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Ang was her best friend and she simply adored her. But lately, Angie had been insufferable with her constant nagging about "getting back out there." And by "out there" she meant dating. Ang had even gone so far as to create an account for Avery on some online dating site. Nothing screams creepy and desperate quite like looking for men on the internet.

“Look, I know you’re pissed about the whole Match.com thing, but I was just trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help,” She said as she looked over the nails on her free hand. “I’m not even divorced yet.”

“That’s just a technicality. You’re separated, which is pretty much the same thing. When’s the last time you even saw James?”

“It’s been a while.” She replied with feigned indifference.

It had been 11 months and 12 days since she last saw him. Three nights prior to their last encounter, she received a phone call at 3am from the Bucks County Correctional Facility; they had Jamie contained for possession of a controlled substance and he was requesting that his wife post bail for him.

Avery was livid. He had promised her it was over; the drugs, the lying, the stealing. Apparently not. She told whoever was on the other end of the phone to fuck off before abruptly hanging up. Over the course of three days, James must have figured out a way to post bail without her, because he showed up at their house in a rage. She could tell that he had been using; his pupils were constricted to tiny pinpoints, his words were slurred and bags hung under his dark eyes.


“How could you do that to me?” He asked, pushing his way into the house. “You fucking left me in that hell hole.” She followed him into the living room.

“You’re high.” She said simply, shaking her head. “I don’t want you around the kids when you’re like this.”

“This is my fucking house. I’m not leaving.”

Avery fought the urge to point out that it was actually her house. After Shuya and Reiko died, the house automatically went to their oldest child. But he was beyond angry and reasoning never seemed to work when he was in that frame of mind.

“You told me this was over. You promised your daughter that you wouldn’t do this anymore. Now look at you. You’re out on bail and you’re already fucked up.”

“If you had just came and gotten me, this wouldn’t of happened.”

The woman scoffed. “So this is my fault? You being a fucking idiot and doing drugs is my fault? That makes sense, Jamie. Really, it does.”

He took a menacing step forward, prompting her to raise her hands in defense.

“This is bullshit!” He screamed in her face as he grabbed her wrists. She struggled against his grasp, which tightened around her.

“Let. Go.” She said firmly, trying to stay calm. Jamie did let go, but she never saw the slap coming. His hand connected with her face with such force, it sent her to the ground. An intense sting radiated through her cheek, making her ears ring and eyes water.

She didn’t recognize the man she fell in love with as he stood over her. He reached down and grabbed her shirt, immobilizing her as his arm wound back to hit her again.

Avery squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the next blow. But it never came. She opened her eyes to see Jamie turning his head. She followed his gaze and gasped.

Liliana stood, wide-eyed and mouth opened.

“Mommy?” The girl yelped, eyes glistening.

“Go upstairs, Squeaker.” Avery spoke gently and used her nickname, hoping to not alarm the child further.

The girl stood frozen, refusing to leave.

“Liliana,” Avery was firm, but her voice shook. “Go to your room.”

“Fuck it.” James released his grasp on Avery’s shirt, letting her go. He brushed past the child and left, slamming the front door behind him.


That was the last time she saw him. She packed his shit and left it out on the curb. Shortly after clearing out all of his things, she left him a voicemail telling him to pick them up before Wednesday or the trash men would take care of it for him. Surely enough, by Tuesday it was all gone. He had spent some time in prison, calling sporadically to talk to Lili, but they never visited him. Last she heard, after serving his sentence, he moved into an apartment in the city.

“Av?” Angie’s voice sliced through Avery’s thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

“Sorry. Kinda zoned out there.”

She could hear her friend’s airy laugh through the speaker of the phone.

“Did you get the papers drawn up?”

A nauseating feeling settled into her stomach when Angie mentioned the divorce papers. Though she just wanted the marriage to be over, she couldn’t face James. So she took the coward’s way out. “Yeah. I mailed them to him a few days ago.”

Angie hummed into the phone. “I’m proud of you, girl. I know this hasn’t been easy.”

Avery sighed. That was an understatement. Not to mention Angie had been cramming the dating scene down her throat since Jamie went to jail.

“Thanks, babe.”

“But you need to get out there. Start getting some.”

“Ang.” Avery practically whined into the phone, feeling a headache coming on.

“Look, Av, I’m married, so you know I’m not getting any. Let me live vicariously through you. Go out and bang some random dudes. You deserve it. We deserve it.”

Avery blushed furiously, closing her eyes and letting out a laugh. My best friend is a pervert.

“You’re disgusting.”

“You’re young, you’re gorgeous, you’re going to Sea Isle for the summer. Let’s live it up.”

The woman laughed at her friend. “Oh yeah? And what’s Lili gonna do while we’re living it up?”

“Hank can watch her. He loves Lil.” Angie was referring to her husband turned platonic life mate. While the couple loved each other, Hank recently discovered a new love: other men. Angie had been devastated, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. He provided a comfortable life for her and in return, she played the good wife for his friends and family. It was their twisted arrangement, but it seemed to work for them and Avery was in no position to judge.

“I’ll think about it,” Avery twirled a dark lock of hair around one of her fingers. “Are you guys packed yet?”

Angie scoffed. “Shit no. Did you pick up road trip snacks?”

“Of course I did. Unlike you, I’m well prepared.” The deafening sound of Liliana bounding down the stairs filled the room seconds before she appeared in front of her mother. She held up a colorful drawing of whales in the ocean. Avery smiled widely before caressing the child’s round face with her hand. “I gotta go, Ang. I need to start dinner.”

“Bye Ang!” Lili chirped.

“Bye Lil!” Angie said with a giggle. “See you tomorrow, babe. Nine o’clock sharp, right?”

“I’ll pick ya up in the morning.” The two women said goodbye and Avery was off to the kitchen with Lili in hot pursuit.

“Did you like my drawling, mommy?”

“Drawing.” Avery corrected gently as she pulled a large pot from one of the cabinets. She placed it in the sink and began to fill it with water.

“Draw-ing,” The girl repeated carefully before climbing onto a chair at the kitchen table. “Did you like it?”

Avery ruffled the child’s curls before placing a big kiss on her head. “It’s beautiful, Squeaker.”

Liliana beamed at her mother, watching intently as she boiled water for their spaghetti dinner. The front door closing caught both their attention.

“Airhead’s home.” Avery grinned at the nickname. She tried to discourage it initially, but it amused her greatly.

“Is dinner ready?” Avery’s little brother, Aaron, appeared in the kitchen in his soccer garb and his duffle bag still slung over his shoulder.

“I just started,” She sprinkled salt into the water. “And thanks for adding heroin to my shopping list. Hilarious.”

Aaron smirked at his sister before sitting down next to Liliana at the kitchen table. “I thought you’d like that.”

“I didn’t.” Though things were over with Jamie, drugs were still a sore subject for Avery. “Are you packed?”

“Nope.” What is with these people? They have absolutely no sense of urgency.

“Go pack. Dinner won’t be ready for a little bit.” The teen sighed.

“I’ll do it later.” Avery frowned, but decided not to pick a fight. She learned a long time ago to choose her battles wisely, especially with her little brother.

“My bags are already packed, Airhead.” Liliana teased her uncle, pinching at his face with her chubby fingers. In one swift motion, the teenager smacked her hand away, reached over, and messed up her hair.

“AARON!” She screeched, trying to fix her headband. Avery cringed at the piercing scream.

“Why must you antagonize her?” The woman narrowed her eyes at the grinning teen.

“Because it kills two birds with one stone. She’s annoyed, you’re annoyed. My job is done.” Avery rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to dumping pasta into the boiling water.

This is going to be a long summer.