Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Once Ava finished her breakfast, Frank started the car and drove smoothly towards the County Clerk's Offices to get their marriage certificates.

Ava, feeling content after the meal, suddenly felt her earlier worries were unnecessary. She realized she should welcthe arrival of their little one with joy, maintaining the best state of mind so that Frank could feel assured.

As the scenes outside the car window gradually receded, Ava found herself captivated by an inexplicable joy that welled up from within. It was as if she had unearthed a newfound reservoir of happiness and wisdom, revealing to her the blueprint for handling future challenges with grace and confidence.

Half an hour of anticipation and a journey filled with tender conversations and shared dreams brought them to the entrance of the marriage registration office. The bureaucratic rituals commenced as they dutifully followed the instructions of the amiable staff. Forms were meticulously filled, signatures were inscribed with hopeful intent, and official stamps imprinted their significance on the papers, which was an ensemble of bureaucratic rites for the validation of their love.

An hour later, they finally obtained their foreign marriage certificate. Both patiently waited as the registration agency rigorously verified the information, Frank, as a foreigner, provided.

Their marital status was now confirmed, no longer just boyfriend and girlfriend, no longer fiancé and fiancée, but husband and wife.

Stepping out of the solemn halls of the registration office, hand in hand, their hearts brimmed with an intoxicating mixture of excitement, anticipation, and a profound sense of togetherness. Frank's hand discreetly held onto something within his pocket, a token that symbolized the intertwining of their destinies. Meanwhile, Ava, filled with exuberance, hummed a melodious tune while clutching onto something that bound her to Frank for a lifetime.

Seated comfortably inside the car, Ava's enthusiasm overflowed. Eager to share their joyous moment, she swiftly snapped a picture and posted it in the Tuner family group, the Roberts family group, and the Women's Congregation. Grace had long added Ava to the Roberts family group.

After sending the messages, the flood of well-wishes began, making Ava feel happy. Her legs swung excitedly in the car, showing the great joy she was experiencing inside.

Frank, observing Ava's joyous interactions with their loved ones, was struck by a pang of regret. He pondered why he hadn't insisted on marriage earlier.

The Tuner family group was the first to explode with messages.

Starting with Daniel, the father who doted on his daughter. He sent a lot of stickers to express his good wishes to the new couple and stexts.

Daniel's text read, [Wishing Ava a lifetof happiness, my little princess.] Following suit, Emma, the hostess of the family, sent a message that read, [Mom wishes you and Frank a lifetof happiness, my darling.] Joseph joined in with a unified message. He sent to the group, [Congratulations to our little princess on finding her happiness, my little girl.] Sitting next to Joseph was Christina. After the meeting, she went over to report her work. After receiving the message, she paused and replied to the group. Her message read, [I wish you forever happiness, my dear sister- in-law.] Natalie followed the rhythm with a text that read, [Congratulations to our little princess on finding her happiness, my beloved sister.] Following Daniel's lead, everybody sent their best wishes to the couple.

Ava's eyes gleamed like a constellation of stars as she received the continuous stream of messages, each carrying a token of love and well-wishes. Her fingers danced in delight as she checked them, a wide grin adorning her face. Beside her, Frank, with an indulgent smile, interrupted her joyous revelry: "Ava, are we heading hnow?" "Yeah, let's go home. | can't wait to hug Mom and Dad," she replied.

Upon hearing that, Frank chuckled softly as he set the car in motion, while Ava remained absorbed in her phone, responding gleefully to the flood of affectionate messages.

She replied to the messages with a smile, [Thanks for loving me, Dad, Mom, brother, sister-in-law, sister. I'm so lucky to have you. | love you all.] Daniel's response followed. It read, [Thank you, my dear daughter, I'm so proud of you.] The stream of notifications continued, inundating Ava's phone with love and blessings from various groups.

Overwhelmed by the deluge of responses and feeling a tinge of regret for not replying to each group individually, Ava pondered her hasty action of sending messages in one fell swoop.

She thought that she made a mistake by doing so.

Frank, noticing Ava's dilemma, furrowed his brow in concern. He was tempted to halt the car and assist her in replying to each message. However, he understood the significance of this moment for Ava and refrained from intervening, allowing her to share her elation and heartfelt emotions with their loved ones. He reassured her gently, "Take your time, no rush." He could only tell her, "No rush. Reply one by one. Take your time." Ava blew out a breath of air, her lips smacking against each other as she pondered. "But | don't want them to wait for too long. If only | had a computer, | could reply to all of them at once." Frank chuckled, amused by her earnestness. He marveled at her desire to manage the messages with code.

Meanwhile, in the Roberts family group, Grace was the first to respond: 'Welcome, my daughter Ava.’ As Ava continued her enthusiastic responses, an unexpected notification chimed in, alerting her to a substantial deposit in her bank account. She glanced at the digits, counting the zeros repeatedly in disbelief.

She looked astonished as she counted the number of zeros after the digits, her voice slightly trembling. "Grace, oh no, | mean, Mom sent16 million dollars..." She was greatly surprised at how generous her new mother-in- law was.

At her words, Frank wasn't surprised. Grace was known for such generosity. He replied to the girl, "Grace really likes you." Ava proudly raised her chin, saying, "Of course, Mom said I'm her daughter, not a daughter-in-law. Sorry for disturbing your driving; You focus. I'll continue replying." Just as Ava was about to respond to the incoming messages flooding her phone with gratitude and joy, a notification popped up, interrupting her intentions. This particular notification cfrom William. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't at Grace's office. It read, [Welcome, Ava. We are family from now on.] Then, another notification cin. Ava received another large sum of money, followed by a text that read, [I don't have much money. This is my private savings. Take it as a gift. Grace doesn't know it, so please do not tell her that | have a private account.] "Ha-ha-ha, your dad is adorable! But hey, | won't spill the beans; it's our little secret. Ha-ha!" Frank didn't pay much heed to whatever Ava caught sight of; her happiness was his priority. Steering his attention back to the road, he concentrated on driving until they finally pulled up at Turner Manor.

Ava sent a private message back to William, saying, [Thanks, Dad. Let's keep this between us. If you ever need money, just givea shout. I'm quite well-off these days.] William responded, saying, [No worries. | can get approvals from Grace. Let's cooperate pleasantly.] Ava replied, [Sure. Pleasant cooperation.] Rose stayed quiet on the other end. Ava understood that she was likely at work. While Rose was typically easygoing in casual settings, she took her job seriously. She refrained from using her phone or taking breaks during work hours.

In the group chat, Ava openly thanked William.

Later, when Ava left that conversation and entered another group, Sherri seemed particularly ecstatic. She expressed her joy with a message that conveyed, [Wow, you two are finally together now! You're husband and wife! You can rely on each other without needing anyone else's help.] Stella texted, [Congratulations to the lovebirds finally tying the knot.] Stella wanted to chat for an extra 5 minutes, but with Leia's eyes on her, she had no choice but to stash her phone away.

Natalie was genuinely happy her little sister found true love. After wishing Ava well in another group, she quickly jumped into this one and sent, [Congratulations, our little princess.] The cute Natalie also sent a burst of confetti sticker, wanting to ease any tension in the group for Ava, and privately sent her smoney as a gift.

After receiving the transfer, Ava privately replied, [Sis, you already sentso much money, why are you doing it again?] Natalie replied, [Our little princess got married. | am happy. Your brother-in-law givestoo much money, and | can't use it all. Helpout. This is just a lucky number. | am not a stingy sister, am 17] Ava knew her sister was trying to make her happy by accepting the blessing and replied in agreement, [Of course not. Thank you, sis. Love you.] It was a happy day, no need for pretense or awkwardness.

A few seconds later, Ava received 5 more transfers from Sherri, each with the lucky number.

Before Ava could respond, Sherri initiated another transaction, leaving Ava puzzled about the significance behind the numbers.

In the midst of Ava's confusion, Sherri explained. Her text read, [Don't overthink it. It's all because of the transfer limit. | have prepared way more gifts for your wedding.] Understanding dawned on Ava. It made sense now.

Sherri was being considerate.

She accepted all the transfers with gratitude and replied to Sherri by texting, [I love you, Sherri.] Sherri replied, [I love you too, my sweetheart. But don't lovetoo much, otherwise, Frank will get jealous of me.] Ava Turner sent a big laughing emoji.

Thinking it was over, Sherri unexpectedly sent a lot of messages main group again.

Her first message read, [So. When's the wedding? Have you set the date?] Then she sent another one saying, [Why did this happen so suddenly? None of us have had any clue before.] Her third message read, [Natalie, are we even friends? Why didn't you tellsuch good news?] Natalie replied, [Oh my dear. You know what? I've got the news no sooner than you. | am not a god, you know.] Sherri replied, [Alright, my bad. Forget about my last message.] Two-thirds of the messages were Sherri's contributions. The rest were mostly well wishes, with Stella inquiring about Ava's wedding.

Wedding? Originally, Ava planned to hold the wedding after the child was born. She replied in the group, [Thanks for all the good wishes. | need to discuss the wedding with my new husband and will inform you later on.] Sherri replied, [Okay. But don't announce it only the day before the wedding. | don't have wings on me.] Natalie replied, [I can install srocket on you if you need it.] Sherri replied to the group, [Goodbye. It was nice being friends with you.] Ava replied, [Okay. I'll inform you ahead of time.] Rose didn't participate in this group chat. She was extremely busy at the moment. It was the flu season. Many children got sick. Naturally, she was occupied.

Feeling the joy, Ava scrolled through the messages on her phone again, then glanced at the serious face of the man driving beside her. His distinct features were handsand well-defined. "Honey." Her voice was soft, like feathers caressing Frank's heart. He instinctively gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was the first tshe had called him that. "Hmm? What's wrong? Feeling uncomfortable?" Ava stared at Frank, her eyes unwavering. "Honey, what kind of wedding would you like? I'll arrange it for you." Frank hit the brakes, slowing down at a traffic light. He turned to the earnest young girl in the passenger seat, faintly smiling. "Am | supposed to join your family?" Did she want to take care of the wedding? "No, no. | mean I'll arrange it according to your preferences," Ava quickly clarified.

Frank thought, "Is she remindingto hold a wedding?" The traffic light turned green and the car started again. He looked ahead and said, "Baby Ava, the wedding is my responsibility. Just wait forto marry you." Frank pondered. If they were talking about the wedding, and Ava seemed fine, he followed up, "Ava, when do you want to hold the wedding?" Their eyes met for a second and then averted. Frank looked away first. He needed to drive. Just as he turned his head, he heard Ava's soft voice, "Originally, | planned to wait until after the baby was born. | was just worried, you know? What about when the baby's three months old?" Waiting three months would allow them to register the child's birth, making things more stable. It would reduce the chances of unexpected events.

From her words, Frank sensed Ava's fear of the uncertain. "Still worried?" Ava didn't hide her thoughts, "A bit, okay?" Frank replied upon hearing this, "Sure." Making a unique wedding dress wasn't difficult. Anything that money could solve was a small matter.

As they spoke, another text arrived on Ava's phone. It was another transaction notice, with too many zeros at the end. 16 million dollars again.

Ava thought, "I have just got married, And | am a billionaire now?" "I am rich now, damn. My brother-in-law transferred 16 million dollars to me." Frank touched his lips with his tongue, smiling. This was what Trevon would do. But the number is the sas Grace's. "Keep it. Your brother-in-law has too much money and can't sleep at night. Helping spend it might help his sleep quality." Ava repeated, "Helping spend it might help his sleep quality?" Frank replied, "Yes, in Trevon's case, that's true." He wished his wife would spend 2 million dollars a day. However, she was too thrifty. She never bought luxury items or spent recklessly. He had to worry that they had too much money.

"Alright." Ava replied to Trevon, [Thank you, Trevon.] Trevon replied. [I have a lot of money. Don't worry. Just take it.] Ava was speechless. She thought, "Frank knows Trevon so damn well."