Meet Ava. She's sneaking up on 30 years old. Going through a divorce. Moderately overweight. Pretty face, though. And sharp as a tack. Great career. Many men are intimidated by her beauty, her brains, and her success.
Ava and her husband started dating when she was only 17 years old. They dated during college; then, got married the summer after they graduated. He was Ava's first and only. She'd never cheated on him, though she recently learned he had had numerous girlfriends over the last 5 years. She found out when his most recent fling showed up on her doorstep to announce she was pregnant.
Ava had done everything right. Got a college degree, started her career, got married, bought a house. And where did it get her? Divorced. Almost 30. No kids. Not even a dog. So much for the fairytale ending.
Not anymore. Ava decided she needed to get away, and she wanted to go alone. She booked a deal through Groupon for an all-inclusive beach front resort in the Gulf of Mexico. She found her passport, packed her bags, and took off for a 2 week mental health break.
The resort was gorgeous. The bottom floor was all open – no walls. The wind blew right through the lobby. There were giant fish tanks that acted as partitions for different areas of the first floor.
Her room was on the 7th floor and had a king size bed, a giant balcony, and an ocean view. Of course, she could see the pool, too. The pool was long and had various features to make it unique, including bridges, swim-up bars, and little nooks and crannies to create an interesting shape.
It was early evening when Ava checked in and got to her room. She decided to shower, change clothes, and go down to the restaurant to have dinner. After dinner, she took a seat at the bar on the first floor and ordered herself a drink or two. Ava looked around at all the people, taking it in, wondering to herself what their stories were.
"Hi. I'm Rob." A man sat down beside her at the bar, introduced himself, and ordered himself a beer.
"I'm Ava," she responded.
"Did you just get here?"
"Yeah, just a few hours ago, actually. You?"
"Nah, I got here several days ago. I actually leave on Sunday. So what are you here for? Business? Pleasure?"
"Pleasure? What's that?" Ava teased. "I came down here hoping to rediscover this thing you call pleh-zure." She moved her mouth around the word as if it was foreign to her. "Pleasure and I, we use to be close. But then, we just drifted apart. I heard a rumor that I might be able to find Pleasure down here, so here I am."
"Oh, well I can help you with that. Look! Pleasure is right over there." Rob pointed away from the bar. Ava smiled and turned to see what he was pointing at. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out to where some people were dancing to a live band playing local sounds.
Rob spun Ava around and made her feel like a dancing pro. Ava was smiling and laughing more than she had in months. No, years. Years? How sad. After dancing to a few songs, Ava dragged Rob back to the bar and threw herself onto the seat she'd previously occupied.
