Ava Land was a loner. Always had been, supposed always would be and she liked it that way. Even when it came to attending concerts. Unfortunately while collecting her mail in the lobby of her condo building Ava  made the mistake of mentioning to Kate Hagen that she was going to the Carole King concert that night. It wasn’t like Ava to be so ungaurded. Kate, a gallery owner and fellow condo owner exclaimed, “I’ve got tickets too!” Ava quickly turned away not wanting to look at the hopefulness in Kate’s eyes. After an uneasy pause Kate said, “Well…maybe I’ll see your down there.”

“Maybe,” said Ava glancing down to check the time on her wrist watch as she turned away to head back to the elevator.

~

The concert was  held at the amphitheater  situated right on the lakefront. Although Ava was tall she had to strain on tiptoes to catch a glimpse now and then of Carole King up on stage. It turned out that by time she’d arrived all that was left was standing room only. Ava overheard a couple women saying they’d been camped out since 10 o’clock that morning to make sure they got seats.

Ava stood straining her head first left than right trying to get a clear view of Carole when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Startled, Ava turned abruptly and saw an attractive man stepping down from the bleachers.

“Allow me,” he said. Then taking her hand in his own he expertly guided her up to the seat he’d just vacated. “Enjoy”, he said looking directly into her eyes. With that, he turned away and started politely weaving his way through the packed crowd.

It had happened so fast; so seamlessly. Ava was taken aback. She wasn’t accustomed to accepting generosity from anyone let alone from a complete starnger. Hardly settled into the seat more than a few seconds, Carole King started singing Ava’s favorite song, “All I want is a quiet place to live,” but Ava couldn’t concentrate. Her eyes were riveted on her benefactor who ‘d  just stopped at the bar of the wine tent.

Ava watched him lean his head in close to the bartender, an attractive young woman,  to place his order.  A wine cooler was set before him. Turning in Ava’s direction he picked up his glass and  looked straight at Ava as though he’d memorized her exact position. Raising his glass to her first he took a shallow sip. His bold gesture startled Ava. She’d learned early in life just how dangerous it was to make eye contact with people.

Her parents had ruthlessly used their eyes as weapons against her from the very beginning. Neither one of them had ever raised a hand to her. They didn’t have to. A sharp, angry or disapproving look was all it took to shame Ava. Complete obedience always followed in the wake of every shaming.

For this reason she’d developed the lifelong habit of always diverting her eyes from others (that is except when she was on the job). It was second nature to her. It helped  her in believing she was invisible. And believing in her own invisiblity was Ava’s well worn safety net in life.

Now here she sat, five feet off the ground, enveloped in the musical strains of her favorite song with a man piercing through her protective shell with his eyes. Ava snapped her own eyes back to the stage and willed them to stay fixed on Carole King for the duration of the concert.

~

There would be no more encores. The audience had coaxed two out of Carole King already. The stage lights dimmed. Taking the cue the crowd slowly started dispersing. It was then that Ava   chanced a quick look in the direction of the stranger. He was gone. She felt something. Her mind raced to identify it.  Missing, she thought and then shook her head from side to side as if to erase this absurd thought as quickly as she’d thought of it.

Ava decided to wait out the crowd before heading for home. She remained in her seat, dug in her bag for the novel she’d started the night before and switched on the miniature reading light that doubled as a bookmark. Instantly she became lost in the world of words. She’d read somewhere that reading was silent conversation. This felt true to Ava. Being such a loner she’d wondered from time to time if that was why she was such a voracious reader.

“Excuse me.”

Without looking up Ava shifted her knees to the side so the person could get past her.

“I must say I admire your preparedness.” Ava’s eyes sprinted up from the book page and missing flitted away like a bat in nocturnal flight.