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“Ham, please! I’m begging you to chill for five more seconds,” Ava chides the young ferret squirming in her arms. “It’s Friday and you want to go home, I want to go home, so let’s make things easier for ourselves, hm?” She pushes through the door to the backup space behind the chaos of the learning center of the museum.
Ava reaches his enclosure and plops him into the cuddle pile with Green and Eggs, his brothers. She chuckles recalling the Facebook poll that had been posted to their social media last year. Lilith was pissed when Dr. Suess won.
“What kind of a fucking theme even is that?”
“What would you name them, Lil?”
“Dumb, dumber and dumbest. Look at them.”
Ava scratches all of their little heads as Ham settles in and tells them goodnight. She glances up at the clock, and it was already half past 6. Friday was the best and the worst day of the week. Best because it was the end of the week and it always went so fast.
Worst because…well, “If I have to say gentle to one more kid I’m going to punt anyone under the age of six into the sun, I swear to God.” Lilith groans as she pushes her cart in. Larry, Ava’s favorite pigeon, (she tells all of them they’re her favorite) coos as they enter the backup space. “Why do they all do field trips on Friday? Why not space it out?”
“Speaking of space…” Ava leans on her toes swaying a little.
Lilith holds a single finger up, wagging it side to side,“Nope, if I have to hear you talk about the new curator again I will dive into the rattlesnake enclosure.”
“Dude, have you seen her?”
“I have eyes for my wife and my wife only.”
“Dude, Camila called her hot before I did!”
Lilith falters for a moment, “What Camila does is her business and hers alone.”
Ava busts out laughing, “Fine, fine, I’ll tell Larry.” Ava grabs the cart from Lilith, “Go home and tell Cam I said hello.”
“I can put away my own animals, Silva,” Lilith says, but her voice isn’t convincing. There’s a pause as Ava takes the cart. “Are you sure? I thought you had a date tonight?”
“Cancelled.”
“Again?”
Ava hums, “It’s alright.” She plasters on a grin, “go home dude! I’ll see you on Monday.”
Lilith crosses her arms over her chest, “You’re coming to game night tomorrow though, right? Camila was very insistent that I made sure you’d be there.”
Shit. Right. “Oh, about that. I said I’d work an event tomorrow…”
Lilith tilts her head to the side, “How many hours have you worked this week?”
“I’m salaried, dude, doesn’t matter. Besides, I’m getting on well with the education people. Superion said we had to mend our connection after the whole Adriel incident.” Ava shutters at the memory.
Lilith crosses her arms over her chest, “Don’t distract. You didn’t have to take that. Yasmine could have easily done it.”
“Relax dude, I love it here! Isn’t that right?” Ava leans in to look at Larry.
Lilith sighs, “Alright Silva, out with it.”
Ava throws a hand over her shoulder, “it’s nothing.”
“Don’t make me bring out the big guns.”
Ava stops, and turns slowly, “You wouldn’t.”
“I’ll tell Liam you didn’t want to come.”
Ava lunges for her, “Dude what? No! That’s a low fucking blow. You can’t use your fucking kid against me.” Then smacks her shoulder and sighs, “Cam will probably tell you anyway but the hearing is next week.”
Lilith gets quiet, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
Ava hates it, it’s fine. “No sweat dude, how could you have?”
Lilith hums, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yeah, go home to your wife and your kid!” Ava laughs.
Lilith doesn’t move though, just stands there in the doorway. “Is Diego testifying too?”
Ava chews on her lip, “I’m not sure, his foster family doesn’t have the best communication in the world. But either way, she’ll go away for what she did. Jillian said this was more of a formality than anything else anyways.”
“Well, I’m glad Jillian seems sure. Does that mean you have to see her?”
“Front and center,” Ava tries to joke but it falls flat and she knows it. “Yeah,” she nods.
“Consider coming to game night, yeah?”
“Will do, oh! Wait!” Ava turns and runs for her office. Digging through her backpack and running back. “Liam was asking for more, so here.” She shoves the comic books into her hands.
“Thank you, Ava.” Lilith delicately slides them into her bag, and then she nods and is gone.
Ava jumps up and down in a place for a second, looking at Larry, “Just gotta shake it off sometimes, you know?” She pushes him into the back room where the rest of the pigeons reside and she reaches in for him to step up into her hand. “Also, can you keep a secret?”
Larry stares at her, making small noises as he rests on her hand.
“I knew I could count on you,” She swivels around and sets him in his permanent cage, “I may have also agreed to work tomorrow because the new curator put in a request for program animals for her presentation tomorrow, and…” Larry stares at her. “Don’t give me that look, alright? I’m not desperate, I just— every time I’ve tried to talk to her she seems so busy! And in this instance I think I could actually get some time to talk to her! She seems so cool and she must know a lot because that position was open for months! Supes was picky, dude.” Ava locks his cage and blows them all a kiss, “Alright, I’m trusting you with that! Don’t let me down! Anyways, goodnight, see you guys tomorrow!”
She walks to her desk, plopping down and sees a sticky note on her keyboard.
‘Change of plans for Planetarium program animals tomorrow, requests MHC instead. Call to make sure. -S’
She lets her hands fall on the keyboard, lighting up the screen to reveal it’s already seven. She grabs her office phone, worth a shot to see if she’s still here. She glides her finger across the directory pinned to her wall landing on the planetarium. She dials and she waits.
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Ring*
“Why the fuck are you still here?” A voice comes from behind her.
Ava yells, throws the phone and swivels around in her chair in a span of a second to Mary grinning ear to ear, seemingly satisfied with scaring the shit out of her.
“Isn’t your whole job fucking safety? I’m going to have a heart attack because of you and die early and then I’m going to haunt this museum—”
“Dramatic. Lil left like half an hour ago. Why are you still here?” She has an eyebrow cocked and her arms crossed against her chest.
Ava gestures to her desk (see: Messy), “I’m working.”
“You and the new Doc man, I swear, y’all would go well together considering she’s still here on a Friday night too.” Mary shrugs, and starts walking away.
“Wait she is? I need to ask her a question that’s perfect! Thanks Mary!” Ava gets up and starts heading towards the other building.
Mary grabs her arm, “Kid wait, it can wait until Monday, no?”
Ava tries, and fails to hide the guilt on her face, “So, I may be working Astronomy day tomorrow.”
Mary groans, “You’re right you are going to die here but it won’t be from me, the animals will end up feasting on you when you pass from fatigue. Go home, Ava. I mean it.” But she releases Ava’s arm.
“Yep! So soon Mary, I’ll be gone so soon.” And Ava all but runs from the office space back into the halls of the empty museum.
The lights are off except for the needed ones for security and there’s a blanket of silence where there’s usually so much noise, it’s peaceful. She runs her fingers over the textured information boards, casts of bones and fossils to engage the kids, walls of text on every wall for the older kids and the adults, there’s so much evidence of life. She passes by the snakes and waves at them as she goes, following the snake print out etched into the carpet, “and did you know that this was the actual size of the snake that the story I just told you is about?” She says it in a funny voice, mocking herself as she gives tours during the day. She motions to her imaginary group, “and most people find snakes scary but in reality they’re such a huge and important part of our local ecosystems! They eat mice, rats and other small critters and keep everything in perfect balance.”
She continues her path, passing into the next hall and continuing her tour for no audience, the tour her and her mom would go on once a week before everything happened. She shakes her head again, focus, “and here everyone is one of my personal favorites in the whole museum! Our blue whale skeleton, stretching to an impressive 80 ft. In length! Oooooo, ahhhhhh.” She cups her hands around her mouth and throws a few more ooo’s and ahhhhh’s out into the empty space.
She stands there, staring out where it’s suspended in the air. She takes a big deep breath in, and lets her shoulders drop for a moment. “Alright folks, I know I know I could stare at it forever too but this is a timed tour and we have places to be! Now if you follow me right down this hall—”
A loud blaring sound rings out throughout the hall and she throws her hands to her ears just as quickly as she can. She lowers them and can hear cursing as she passes the many signs leading to the globe. The fake stars on the ceiling leading to the planetarium glow faintly as she walks toward the noise.
She pushes into the booth behind the theater and sees exactly who she’s looking for, Dr. Beatrice Young. She’s staring down at the microphone in her hands, mumbling into it. “Please don’t be loud again, check, check.” Ava stands there, frozen in place as Dr. Young clicks a button on the remote in her hand. “Okay, one more time.” The planetarium goes dark, before lighting up with the night sky over Dr. Young’s head. Ava knows that she can’t see in the booth and doesn’t want to disturb her practicing (or she wants to just look at her for a moment uninterrupted but whatever) so she takes a seat behind the control panel. Light boards, sounds, and a laptop sits open.
Dr. Young is one of the most beautifulest, handsomest people in the world, and that was evident as soon as she started here a few weeks ago. Ava had been out of work the day of her interview spending the day with Diego when she had received several texts going on and on from Camila about how she was ‘Just Ava’s type,’ whatever that meant, but then when Supes had brought her around to introduce her Ava stumbled all over every single word she’d ever learned. And every time she’s had the chance to talk to her Ava has fumbled on her words, or an animal has made a bit of a fool of her, but Dr. Young has always expressed interest in talking but the nature of science communication was that it was ever-moving, but today would be different.
“Hello everyone! Welcome to Astronomy day! My name is Beatrice and I want to start the day right by telling you a little about the stars,” Dr. Young smiles brightly to an audience that isn’t there.
The remote clicks and the slide on the computer next to Ava changes the scene slightly. “How many of you are interested in learning about space? Okay and then I’m going to pause because people will clap, hopefully,” she takes a breath and straightens her spine again, “Well you’ve come to the right place! I am the curator here at the museum for this beautiful planetarium we have! And I also hold a degree in astronomy so I like to think I’m the perfect person to introduce you to the day.” Beatrice sighs, “Okay and then Ava will have—”
Ava doesn’t hear the rest of that sentence. She knows her name. Holy shit she knows her name! Ava leans onto the board in front of her and much to her horror turns on the spotlight pointed directly at where Beatrice is standing. “Shit! Shit shit shit shit.” Ava runs her hands back over the place she just laid them, looking up to Beatrice covering her eyes with her hands.
She pulls the microphone back to her mouth, “Mary, is that you? I said I’d leave in a little while! I need to practice!” Then much to Ava’s horror she starts on storming towards the booth.
Ava goes to get up out of the chair and everything in her life right now seems to be aligning such that she looks like a fool because as the wheel rolls back it takes her shoelace with it and she ends up flat on her face as the door opens.
“I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for the circumstances we find ourselves in.” Ava says, muffled by the floor.
Beatrice laughs, and it's bright and loud and then stifled, “Ava? To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Dr. Youn—”
“Beatrice is fine.”
Ava looks up from her position on the floor. “I’ll be honest Beatrice, I’m stuck and I fear that if I attempt to free myself I’ll only make more of a fool out of myself than I have already managed to. So, could you maybe?” She gestures down to her shoe.
Beatrice laughs again, “I think I can manage that.” And she goes behind Ava to the chair. “There ya go,” and her foot is free.
Beatrice offers her a hand and Ava takes it, being effortlessly pulled to her feet. “So, how can I help you this evening, Ava? Or did you just come by to shine the light in my eyes?” Beatrice narrows her eyes. “Did Mary put you up to this?”
Ava zones out for a moment, focusing on the way Beatrice had said her name. Soft, and cute. “No no, of course not! That was an accident. I'm really sorry actually. Are your eyes okay?”
Beatrice smiles, “I’m quite fine, no need to be sorry.”
Ava stands there, dumb and staring and nodding her head. Beatrice looks—wow. Her collared shirt sleeves rolled up past her elbows, her slacks creased from wearing them all day, her hair in a low bun at the back of her head and her eyes are just—wow. Beatrice slowly tilts her head to the side, an amused grin spreading slowly across her face.
Ava straightens up, “Bugs?” And she can feel the blush spread across her cheeks, “You changed from Eggs to hissing roaches? I was just coming to confirm because Supes told me and I was still here and then Mary mentioned that you were still here too so then I came to find you and then I heard the mic fuck up—I mean mess up and then I didn’t want to interrupt you. And great job by the way. I liked the pause for applause. And then I just leaned onto the controls and blinded you and I’m sorry.” Ava tucks her hands behind her back and gives a sheepish grin.
Beatrice has her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, and she’s just grinning at Ava. She releases her lip and chuckles, “I have several questions, but first of all, Eggs?”
“Eggs! Hold,” Ava whips her phone out of her pocket and navigating to her photo app she flips the screen around to Beatrice showing the cuddle puddle she had just left. She peeks over and points out the boys, “This is Green, then Eggs, and Ham is sitting in the middle! Eggs is best for the loud days because he was born deaf! And the planetarium gets particularly loud on event days so him and I were signed up to help you tomorrow!”
Beatrice is still staring at the screen, “I always wanted a ferret when I was young but my parents only ever permitted a dog once that was trained to be a guard dog,” she glances up at Ava and steals her face, “Sorry, anyways.”
Ava nods, “Yeah I wasn’t allowed any pets when I was young but my—” Friend? Brother? Fellow Abusee? Nope not that one. Friend. “My friend when I was younger would always bring stuffed animals around and we watched a lot of animal planet so I got my fill and my love for animals and now I work here!”
Beatrice nods a few times, “You always seem to really love teaching about it when I pass you doing cart programs or in the classrooms.”
Beatrice notices her around? Ava racks her memory for a time that she saw Beatrice pass by and can’t come up with anything. “I do, I do. Anyways, so why Madagascar’s hissers?”
Beatrice lights up, before stealing her expression, “I wouldn’t want to ruin the presentation for tomorrow.” She flicks her eyes from Ava to the stage. “Unless…You’d like to maybe watch my presentation? I’m a little nervous. I’ve been told it’s mostly children and I’m worried my uh,” she gestures up and down her body, “Uptight appearance, as Mary so lovingly put it, may be boring.”
“Boring? What I saw so far was great!” Ava bounces up and down in place a little, “I can play the part of an adoring audience member no problem!”
Beatrice pulls her wrist up, glancing at the watch on her perfectly tanned and muscled forearms, damn. “I don’t want to keep you, surely you have better things to do on a Friday night.” She looks up at Ava’s face, and she looks almost disappointed.
“Well, I had a date…but she cancelled on me.”
“Oh?” Beatrice looks up. “Her loss then, my gain—” Beatrice’s face sours, “Wait not like—I didn’t mean—because you’ve offered to help me of course—” Beatrice’s face once again morphs looking up at Ava’s face and panic taking over, “But I mean who wouldn’t love to take you on a date—you’re—I mean—” She buries her face in her hands, “I’m begging you to put me out of my misery, please, Ava.”
Ava can’t help the laugh that she’s kept under wraps the whole time Beatrice was fumbling. Beatrice looks up, a smile gracing her perfect, kissable lips and the tinge of pink lingering to the tips of her ears.
Ava’s stomach flips, “Yeah, her loss. And besides, how can I be a helpful educator with you if I don’t know the material surrounding the animals I’m presenting…”
Beatrice smiles, “We’ll go fast, I’m just a little nervous about presenting to children, my work before was with older children usually and besides, I worry Mary may come back for me if I’m not out of here soon anyways,” she opens the door and gestures into the auditorium, “Shall we?”
Ava curtsies, it's clumsy and a little goofy, “Why, thank you.”
Ava hurries to one of the seats in the middle of the room, watching Beatrice as she walks to the front. God she really needed to get laid because watching someone walk somewhere was surely not something to get worked up over and yet, here Ava was.
Beatrice smooths her shirt front down, grabbing the microphone again, “So where was I,” she speaks softly. “Ah, so,” She puffs her chest out a little, “I’d like to introduce Ava Silva who has brought some very interesting friends for everyone to see right after I talk about them! And this is where I’d gesture to you standing wherever you’d like to be. Everyone say hello Ava!” Beatrice waves to an empty spot of the room.
Ava sits up, “Hiiiiiiii Ava!”
Beatrice grins, silly and her shoulders relax a little. “Ava has brought with her today some Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches! And before you say ‘ew gross’ let me explain how cool these guys are and why I’m bringing them up in relation to Astronomy day.” Beatrice clicks the small remote in her hand and it’s a poorly photoshopped image of a roach in a tiny space suit.
Ava giggles, “ooooooo.”
Beatrice beams, “Made it myself,” throwing a thumb over her shoulder. “So, lots of people know about all of the different people we’ve sent to space but not nearly as many know how many animals have been to space as well. Most of you probably have heard of Laika the space dog, a brave girl, and then lots of primates as well, but did you know there are many invertebrates that have made journeys to space and back?” The screen changes again.
“Notable are fruit flies, which are a fantastic model organism for genetics in humans. But another very interesting species of invertebrates are Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. They are among the first species to ever reproduce in space. Imagine some of the first things you ever saw were the stars.” Beatrice gazes into the dome where a map of the galaxy is projected on every surface.
Ava wiggles in her spot and shoots her hand in the air, waving it back and forth. Beatrice tilts her head, “Oh was there a question? Hm…” Beatrice surveys the non-existent audience back and forth a few times as Ava flails in place. “Ah yes, you there.”
Ava gestures to herself, and Beatrice nods. Ava grins as sweetly as she can, “What does reproduce mean Dr. Young?” Then Ava lets her head loll to the side in innocence.
“Oh god I did not even think about that, the audience will be all ages” Beatrice mutters into the microphone.
“Beatrice this is science communication 101! Know your audience! Kids are nosey and have zero filters, trust me. One time one of our pigeons started to try and court me during a program for kindergarteners, Bea! Kindergarten! And I thought it would be cool to explain what they were doing but I got in trouble in several ways for trying to explain copulation and mating behaviors because apparently the kids went home asking their parents how they came to be and well… They teach abstinence here.”
Beatrice stares in horror at Ava, “Oh god I have to rewrite this again.”
Ava laughs, “No! Just pivot. Listen, what do you know about them?” Ava gets up and starts making her way to the stage.
Beatrice blankly stares into space (ha, get it?) “They’re from Madagascar? They hiss?”
Ava points at her as she walks up the steps. “They hiss! Do you know how?”
Beatrice shrugs, “I don’t.”
Ava makes it up the stage, grabbing the microphone, “Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are known for what! Hissing! Right! And it’s really neat how they’re able to do this. They take in their air through sphericals which are special holes on their bodies, kind of like how we breathe through our nostrils!” Ava twirls around and points at Beatrice’s nose. “Push air out for the crowd.” And Ava holds the microphone up to her nose as she blows, silently. “Now, if we take one of these guys,” Ava holds an imaginary roach up to the microphone. “These guys hiss. And it’s cool, they’re forcing air through these specialized holes that cause that sharp hissing sound.”
Beatrice squeezes her eyebrows together, “So I can compare that to how stars make noise all the time! It’s not super detectable but stars at all times are bouncing noise around inside of them and we’ve been able to map that noise and make symphonies from it! It’s all this energy.” Beatrice begins pacing as Ava watches.
“And it’s fascinating because big groups of these hissers will come together and hiss to ward off predators, attract mates, and sometimes just for fun will make this sound.” Ava lets the mic fall from her lips into a looser grip. She didn’t realize how tightly she’d been holding it.
Beatrice has somehow materialized a notebook and is scribbling all of this down. Ava puts the mic back on its stand, “Get anything good?” She asks as she leans over Bea’s shoulder.
Beatrice looks at her, honey brown eyes staring so perfectly into her soul that she melts for a second. “I’ve realized something very important actually.”
“Really? What is it?”
Beatrice dramatically slams her notebook closed, and points a finger at Ava, “You’re a nerd.”
Ava gasps, putting a hand over her heart, “A nerd?! Beatrice, how could you! You have a doctorate in stars! And I’m a nerd?”
“I fear that the stars give me more credit than bugs do in your favor,” she says shrugging.
Ava gasps again, even more dramatic, “Take that back, I have an arsenal of cool animals! You chose the roaches!”
“Sorry I don’t make the rules,” Beatrice begins to exit the stage, and just as she goes for the first step Ava grabs her wrist and pulls her back on stage.
“Admit it.” Ava pushes the microphone into her hands.
Beatrice looks at her a little wide-eyed, “Admit what, Ava?”
Ava crosses her arms over her chest, “Admit you’re more of a nerd than me.”
Beatrice smiles, taking the microphone, and gesturing to the empty auditorium, “I think Ava’s date cancelling on her was because of how big of a nerd she is, and lucky me, the superior nerd for having the blessing of her company instead.” A beautiful blush spreads across her cheeks. “Better?”
Ava wiggles in place, “Better.”
They stare at each other for a moment, just inches away from one another.
“So,” Beatrice says.
“So.”
Ava feels like she can watch Beatrice get her legs underneath her for the next thing she’s about to say, “I’m going to have to re-do this whole presentation and Mary’s kicking us out any moment now, and you’ve so well educated on all things roaches. So, would you be interested in going back to my place with me? No pressure obviously, I’ll see you shortly anyways and—”
“Yes.”
Beatrice’s eyes lift from the floor, and she whispers, “yeah?”
“Yes of course! I actually know this really great Indian place right down the street if you’d prefer to not cook.”
The intercom crackles to life, “I’d like the record to show that Camila owes me one hundred dollars. And Beatrice you’re getting a high-five when I see you because everyone doubted you but I didn’t for a second.”
“Mary?” Ava yells.
“There are cameras literally everywhere, Silva. Proud of you, Young. Now get the hell out of the museum before I drag you both out.”
Beatrice looks equal parts horrified and amused at the events unfolding before them.
Ava looks at the camera in the corner, “I’m telling Shannon you were meddling, again! And before you ask ‘again?’ you know I’m talking about the JC situation!”
Long seconds of silence sit between them.
“Touché, get home safe and see you tomorrow.” And the intercom stops crackling.
Ava rubs a hand over her face and laughs, “Sorry about that.”
“I’m getting a high-five so I’m good. Don't worry, It’s actually kind of nice to see.”
“Thank god, cause it happens. A lot.”
Beatrice offers her a hand down the stairs, “Shall we?”
“We shall.” Ava says, taking her hand and feeling warmth run up her arm into the rest of her body.
They go their separate ways to gather their things from their desks before meeting back at the front desk, Mary does indeed high-five Beatrice on the way out. The food is so, so good but the company is even better. They finish the night gazing up at the sky before Ava goes home. (Okay and maybe a kiss, or two, maybe three.)
—
The presentation they whip up?
Phenomenal.
Astronomy day goes great and as she makes her way to game night Ava thinks she may be spending a lot more time studying the stars in Beatrice’s eyes from here on out and that’s yet another thing she cannot wait to explore. Francis may have made a lot of her childhood a living hell but she could never kill the spirit that lived inside Ava. Never.