Seeking permission

The rest of the afternoon went well enough, except for the fact that Derek and Ava didn't speak much throughout that afternoon, despite the fact that he had spent all afternoon at her place.

He was beginning to think that she was avoiding him. Her father, however, was pleased with the pack of wine that Derek brought for him.

"This is my favorite wine. How did you know that? Who's been spilling my secrets?" Ava's father asked as they had dinner.

Derek couldn’t believe that so much time had passed since he first arrived at the house that afternoon, yet he didn't even notice because he enjoyed being there.

"Oh, Ava mentioned it sometime in the past and I remembered," He replied to Ava’s Dad’s question.

That was when he and Ava newly got married and were having dinner together one night. He poured them each a glass of the wine, which was a gift from a friend and Ava mentioned that it was her favorite wine.

Her tone and face were nostalgic as she said it, and since then, he made sure that