Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

The car had just cto a stop when Ava, impatiently, opened the passenger door and stepped out directly.

Frank noticed her urgency, slightly hastening his movements to reach her side, bypassing the car's tail and taking her hand, leading her inside.

Upon entering the living room, Ava immediately embraced Daniel and Emma tightly, saying, "Dad, Mom, | love you so much! Thank you for raising me. I'm married now." Sensing her happiness, the Turner couple simultaneously responded, "We already know it, my dear." Emma caressed her daughter's face, finally feeling reassured. She retrieved two red packets prepared in advance from the coffee table, handing one to each child, saying, "Take these. They are for both of you. | hope they will bring you guys good luck." Frank and Ava accepted the packets, expressing their gratitude. Frank tucked it into his pocket. This packet had a different significance; he had to take it by himself and later entrust it to the little girl when they went back to the bedroom.

Daniel held the marriage certificates his daughter handed over, his gaze fixed on the photo of the two of them.

They looked well-matched, and his daughter's joy-filled smile warmed his heart. He nodded in contentment.

Frank, observant by nature, noticed the reluctance in his father-in-law's eyes. He reassured, "Dad, | promise I'll take good care of Ava. Don't worry." Daniel lifted his head, smiling, "Okay. Frank, you are a reliable young man. | believe you will take good care of Ava." He had seen how Frank treated Ava and was very content with him.

After lunch, Frank accompanied Ava upstairs for a nap. They had a busy morning, leaving Ava a bit tired and drowsy. They didn't chat for long; soon, Ava's eyelids grew heavy, and in no time, she drifted off into dreamland.

Once she was asleep, Frank neatly arranged the blankets and headed downstairs. He felt Daniel and Emma probably had squestions for him and voluntarily went downstairs to address their inquiries.

As expected, the Turner couple was waiting in the living room. Frank sat opposite them, sitting upright with legs apart, hands resting on his lap, displaying a prepared stance for their conversation.

Daniel smiled faintly, "Relax, Frank. Don't be nervous. | am not here to interrogate you or ask for promises. Your mom and | just want to discuss a few things with you about your future plans with Ava." Frank understood that his in-laws were asking about the wedding. He relaxed his shoulders and earnestly replied, "Well, Ava said that she wants the wedding to be held in two months from now." Upon hearing this, the Turner couple understood. Eva still had concerns stemming from an accident three months ago. However, they agreed that Ava's worries were valid; a wedding day involved numerous exhausting processes.

Yet, Emma reminded her son-in-law, "Frank, | have to remind you. You should keep an eye on Ava. Don't let her spend too much tbrowsing online. Sinformation isn't accurate. Many of the things online are expatiating It might affect Ava's emotions." Someone once said, "When you're unwell, never search online. If you don't check, you will be fine. If you do, it's either a terminal illness or imminent death." The information online often discourages people, making the sick feel that they do not have much tleft in this world.

Hearing that, Daniel added, "Hmm, yeah. Ava loves surfing and browsing online. Undoubtedly, she's accumulated a lot of knowledge, but it also affects her, you know." "I've already blocked all those websites on Ava's computer. She won't see them anymore." Frank added, though even if she wanted, she wouldn't be able to.

The Turners exchanged satisfied nods upon hearing that. It was reassuring to have a son-in-law capable of handling technical matters.

Emma continued, "I think two months later works fine. It provides a bit more stability for the child. The wedding can be exhausting. Being cautious is good. Besides, preparing for the wedding also takes time. In two months, Ava will be three months pregnant." Daniel agreed with a nod, saying, "Your mom's right. As for when to return to Athana, you need to make your own plans." Frank simply replied, "Okay. | will. Don't worry about it." Following this, the Turner couple didn't say much more. They trusted their son-in-law's capability to handle things. And therefore, there was no need for them to interfere or worry about anything. They could leave all to Frank.

When Frank returned to the room, Ava was still fast asleep. He approached and gently tucked her bare legs back under the covers.

Then he turned around and headed to the balcony, preparing for his tasks. Three months had passed; now, one month had gone by, leaving two more months. Time, neither too long nor too short, always had its way of passing.

Seated on the diamond-shaped swing, Frank considered smoking but reconsidered, opting to touch the diamond on the chair instead of his trouser pocket. Glancing at his watch. It was 12:40. So he dialed Rose's number.

The phone rang several times but Rose didn't pick it up. Frank frowned, looking at the note on the screen.

Just as he was about to hang up, Rose's cheerful laughter burst through, mixed with palpable excitement. "Bro, I'm so happy! | wanted to call and congratulate you. But | was so busy this morning. Now the season has just changed, and lots of kids are having stomach problems. It's either the flu or diarrhea. | even held off going to the bathroom. | didn't ignore your messages on purpose; I'm genuinely thrilled that you are married! "Bro, | am so happy for you. Congratulations on successfully getting out of the bachelor's club and becoming a married man." From the moment Rose picked up the phone, Frank hadn't had a chance to talk! Hearing Rose's teasing words, Frank rubbed his temples. "Thank you," Frank said, wondering if she truly meant it.

Rose asked, "Hey, Frank. Wait. Are you mockingor what? It doesn't sound like you want to thank me." "What do you think, huh?" Frank asked. If his sister was in front of him, he could roll his eyes at her so she would know if he wanted to thank her.

Rose's mind raced through these thoughts, deeming them trivial compared to the monumental fact that her brother and sister-in-law had finally solidified their relationship. "Hey, I just finished lunch, got ston my hands. Need any advice or wisdom from your little sister? | promise to spill all the beans, no secrets withheld." In the circle, only Natalie was aware of Ava's pregnancy; the rest remained oblivious to this significant news.

At this moment, Frank didn't plan to inform Rose to avoid her causing a commotion and bombarding Ava with messages, which could trigger unnecessary thoughts. He advised, "If you can, try not to suggest all sorts of chaotic shows to your sister-in-law in the future. Just keep those for yourself." "Huh..." Rose was speechless.

She didn't quite understand her brother's words. She thought, "What he means? What's wrong with suggesting good shows? | did so out of good intentions. And Ava likes it.

"My brother is being kind of too nosy. Now that he's married, he thinks he's the boss, controlling even what shows her wife watches." "Bro, you've changed a lot it seems! Just because you got married to Ava, you think you're in charge and free to do anything. I'm telling you, that's not how it works! No girl doesn't binge-watch shows!" Rose felt she needed to pull her brother back; his patriarchal attitude was kind of too strong. He was too controlling, too dominant. Such tendencies could lead to serious problems. She was ready to step in and caution him.

When the other end of the call fell silent, Rose lowered her phone, thinking the connection might have dropped.

Seeing it was still active, she placed it back against her ear and continued, "Frank, listen carefully. Everything I'm saying is true. Ava's still young, enjoying shows is normal. You can't deprive a young girl of her hobbies. It's okay for a middle-aged man like you not to like idol s, but for us young, pretty girls, they're our thing, you know? Are you listening to me?" As Frank listened to the chaotic rambling on the phone, he instantly felt the call was rushed. It seemed he and his sister were on completely different wavelengths, speaking different languages altogether, as if they were sliding along parallel lines, never converging.

"Alright, | see your point. Let's end this, I've got things to do. Bye." Frank decided, unwilling to further engage with Rose, fearing she might bring up sancient code of conduct for him to memorize.

Before Rose could react, Frank disconnected the call, pinching the bridge of his nose, truly feeling a headache coming on.

Frank chose to tackle things directly with Athana and Rose at a later time. He knew that resolving their issues over the phone wouldn't be productive, especially considering Rose's tendency to fixate on peculiar details.

Meanwhile, Rose stared at her disconnected phone, utterly perplexed. What was the conversation about? Why would he call her when there was something more serious to do? Even though it was daytime, to make it a night, they just needed to pull the curtains.

Everything felt jumbled, and Rose shook her head in frustration at the disconnected call. Her brother seemed completely clueless about what truly mattered.

She considered Frank to be rather dense.

Frank stayed silent for a beat after ending the call before reaching out to Grace. "Hey there." Clearly, Grace didn't take her nap that day. She seemed to be waiting for her son's call. "What's the plan?" "We're planning to hold the wedding in two months. We have got the marriage certificate today," Frank replied truthfully, not intending to hide anything from Grace.

Grace took a moment, then chimed in, "Since this is what Ava wants, let's go with her plan. The wedding's happening in two months, around the tthe little one turns three months old." "Okay, Grace, please keep an eye on things for me, and select swedding-planning companies," Frank requested.

"I've prepared three different wedding plans. I'll send them to your email later. You and Ava can choose which thto go with," Grace said.

Frank hesitated, not expecting Grace to have all the wedding plans ready. "Thanks, Mom." The call went silent for a few seconds before Grace spoke again, "Take good care of Ava. I'll oversee the initial wedding plans. If there's anything else needed later, you can cback to add it; there's still time." "Okay, | get it, thank you," Frank replied.

After hanging up the phone, Frank fell silent, staring absentmindedly at a certain spot in the courtyard. The vibration of his phone interrupted his reverie; the phone spun in his hand, and with his thumb, he slid to unlock the screen.

Hackett sent a text that read, [Man, at least letknow about the marriage, are we still buddies or what?] Trevon sent a message at this time, which read, [But we've informed your wife. She already knew. Why don't you?] Hackett replied, [Con. That's different! My wife is my wife. My buddy is my buddy. More importantly, | am still in the hospital, you know?] Frank texted, [The news is too big. | am afraid you will get too excited upon hearing it and therefore won't be able to leave the hospital on time.] Hackett was speechless. Even if he had a concussion, it wouldn't worsen due to shock or surprise.

Eventually, Hackett conveyed his best wishes to Frank, almost reciting the online wedding greetings. Trevon couldn't help but express his disbelief, sending a few words in capital letters, calling Hackett a genius.

Hours passed, and Ava woke up. She didn't call for Frank nor look for his presence, knowing he wouldn't have left and was probably still in the estate. Lying on her side in the sheets, she contemplated a question.

During the certificate ceremony this morning, in her excitement, she forgot to assign a specific term for Frank.

What should she call him? Always calling him "hubby"? But would it be embarrassing when her parents were around? Calling him "baby" felt too affectionate.

Maybe she should stick to "Frank" in public and use "husband" privately, like "darling husband" or "dear husband"? When Frank entered the room, he noticed Ava lost in thought, unmoving, staring into space.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back, he placed a hand on her head, "What's on your mind?" As Ava sat up, leaning into his embrace and playing with his slender fingers, she remembered how she once admired his hands. Even now, she still felt the sway. The only regret was he couldn't play the piano. "I'm thinking about what to call you in the future." Frank remained relaxed and undisturbed, letting her fiddle with his hand. "Whatever suits you," he said. "Both ‘baby’ and 'hubby' work, but ‘hubby’ is better if you can." "I was thinking just now. When Mom and Dad are around, I'll call you 'Frank.' William calls your mom Grace too. | suppose he would call her 'wifey' in private," Ava guessed.

"Then I'll call you Frank in front of people and call you baby in private. How do you think?" This was exactly what he wanted in his heart, but outwardly, he remained calm and collected. "Okay, sure, you can callwhatever you want. It's all up to you," he said.

Ava unilaterally made a decision, raising Frank's hand and giving it a high-five. "Alright, then it's settled! Dear husband," she said.

Frank thought that the young lady wanted a kiss. He lowered his head in satisfaction and kissed her on the lips.

But the next moment, Ava clarified, "When | said 'dear husband,’ | meant 'dear' as in 'beloved.' But I still prefer it when you kiss me." Frank was lost for words.

Seeing Frank remain silent, Ava chuckled mischievously, teasingly saying, "Shall we have another kiss?" "Sure." Their lips met once more. The kiss was gentle and lingering.