THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. NAMES, CHARACTERS, BUSINESSES, PLACES, EVENTS, LOCALES AND INCIDENTS ARE THE PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, OR ACTUAL EVENTS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.
chapter 2 : extant
Evelyn walks into the house to the smell of salmon wafting through the kitchen door; Carter must be cooking dinner. She proceeds directly to the staircase to walk up to her bedroom, interrupted by Carter calling out her name.
She is taken by surprise with the decor in the kitchen. Carter has laid down cutlery which they use only on special occasions; wine glasses, lighted candles, two vases with red roses at each side of the table, and topping all that were some floating red heart shaped balloons hovering in the ceiling. The scene looked surreal, she wasn’t sure if this was a dream or reality.
Even though she feels momentary happiness, the very next moment anger engulfs her. She wants to scream at Carter, give him a thorough dressing down. Just when she is about to utter a word, Carter turns towards her and gives her a huge hug.
She is startled by the sudden display of affection. It has been a while since he hugged her or they had any physical contact. She tries to hug him back, extends her hands but drops them midway.
“Ev, after dropping you at the clinic I checked the date on my phone and remembered with a start that today is our 10th anniversary. Today was the fateful day you came into my life a decade ago. Feels like yesterday. I wanted to celebrate this day. I know you are in no mood for fun or merrymaking but I didn’t want this day to go in vain. I am so grateful to God for sending you in my life, I cannot be thankful enough. Had I not met you, I would have been devoid of love and companionship because honestly, I didn’t stand a chance to bag a girl like you or even close. I hope it’s okay I decorated the kitchen and cooked some dinner. I also baked a cake!” saying so he got a three-layered buttercream cake out of the oven.
Evelyn was genuinely touched with the gesture. She smiled gulping down her displeasure and resentment. She had to try to be happy for his sake. She could tell he was putting in a lot of effort into their relationship and life, she had to do her share. She had to fake happiness despite of all that she was going through.
While having dinner she was transported back to the memory of their first meeting. He had been her roommate’s one-night stand. While trying to sneak out of her dorm room at night, they had bumped into each other in the hallway and just like that he had asked her for some late night coffee and inspite of herself she had agreed. They had ended up spending the entire night strolling through the campus. At daybreak he had asked her out for a proper date. She had agreed and wondered how her roommate would react when she knew of this little mix up situation. Thankfully her roommate had moved on to another guy, even faster than them. One date led to many. Soon, Carter and Evelyn were inseparables. They met each other’s families and in a year they had been engaged. It was as if they were meant to be. Evelyn didn’t have many friends in her life. After Carter, she didn’t seem to need anybody. He was enough for her. Even though Carter was outgoing, friendly and an extrovert, Evelyn was the epicenter of his universe. They were the most perfect couple you would meet. They were the object of envy in their friend circle. They had a picture-perfect life. Carter loved that Evelyn wasn’t a nag. She was a patient, wise, decisive, independent, gift-hater kind of person who didn’t demand for attention. She was a world apart from what normal girls were. On the other hand, Evelyn loved that Carter gave her space, was decent, sober, impassive, incredibly ambitious, polite and wasn’t demanding or possessive, just the perfect gentleman. They never got tired of conveying their affection for each other. They expressed their love in every possible way. They took care of each other unlike any other couple could. They were a dream couple and too good to be true. They were happier than they ever could be. They got married after living together for 2 years and exactly a year later Ethan was born. Their son. Their lifeline. They had gotten Cleo, a Beagle, 6 months prior to Ethan was born. Cleo and Ethan bonded like siblings. They were like conjoined twins, attached to their hips. Cleo was the reason Evelyn became a casual parent. She knew Cleo was watching over Ethan all the time like a hawk. Probably that was the reason…………..
“Hey Evelyn, are you listening? Am asking something? Are you okay?”
Evelyn’s chain of thoughts is broken by Carter’s summons.
“Yeah Yeah. I’m right here. I was just thinking about our first meet and all that has happened hence.”
“It has been one hell of a journey, isn’t it?” Carter smiles.
“Yeah most certainly.” Evelyn beams.
“Okay then let’s raise a toast to us, our love, togetherness and everything in between.”
Carter suggests.
Evelyn follows. She mutters under her breath “To a life that could have been otherwise.”
Thankfully Carter doesn’t hear her and continues with the dinner in a cheerful manner.
The rest of the dinner passes uneventfully. Carter offers to do the dishes and suggests Evelyn lie down as it must have been an exhausting day due to the therapy session. Evelyn is a little surprised that Carter doesn’t inquire anything about the session. Later she realizes that he must be getting info directly from the clinic or Dr. Avery.
As she walks into her bedroom, she decides to take a shower before hitting the bed. Once the shower starts running, that’s when the stream of tears starts to flow. She thinks of Ethan, she thinks of Mia. She wonders why she doesn’t have them with her anymore. What kind of mother loses not one but two children? She wonders how Carter has moved on so easily. Has he really moved on or is this all a farce just to help her be strong? She too wishes to get over the pain but it’s the intuition about Mia that doesn’t let her do so. She had expected Carter to be the weaker parent as it was him who had bonded with Ethan and Mia more than her. He was the more caring, affectionate parent. He was there for them all through the nights of sickness and discomfort. His patience was far more than Evelyn’s. Evelyn was a better parent to Cleo than she was to her kids. However, one couldn’t forget Carter’s unshakable religious beliefs. According to him everything was God’s wish or part of a bigger plan. To mourn the souls who had departed was in vain, he said. He had been crestfallen when he had held little Ethan’s lifeless body in his arms. He had been somber and forlorn at his funeral. He had been gloomy for a long time. He had found solace under the guidance of the pastor at their Church – Mr. Davis Peterson.
When Evelyn had given him the news of her second pregnancy, he had danced with joy. He was sure that God had been kind to them and was returning their Ethan in the form of a second child. To say that Mia was Ethan’s second reincarnation would be completely untrue. Ethan and Mia had outright opposite personalities. Evelyn often wondered if Ethan were alive, how would he be with his younger sister. Would he have been a loving caring elder brother or would he have been mean and a bully to her. She sobbed whenever the realization hit her that she would never find out the answer. Carter’s life had totally changed with Mia’s arrival. He was an extra caring, extra possessive, extra protective, hands-on dad. He didn’t let her go whenever he was home. Mia too reciprocated all the love and attention. Even though she was a baby, she was a daddy’s daughter. Only Carter could calm her and quieten her down, understand the meaning of her cries, pacify her. So, when they lost her to the accident, Evelyn was taken aback by Carter moving on quicker than she’d imagined he would.
After the bath, Evelyn took the medicines Avery had prescribed her. Avery had promised she would be able to sleep better, dream lesser. She counted on her words. She pinned all her hopes on the pills. She needed to sleep for the sake of her sanity. She needed to gather all her strength to carry out her mission. She had to do it alone because no one else believed her. She knew she was right even though no one supported her conviction. It was futile trying to change Carter’s mind as he had lost his temper the last time they had discussed this. She hated whenever Carter lost his cool. He transformed into a totally different person who she didn’t knew. All she had to hold on to now was hope. A hope and a prayer that Mia was alive and she would surely find Mia someday
She woke up realizing she had slept into daybreak. She had had a dreamless peaceful sleep. She was instantly thankful to Avery. She looked forward to meeting her in the next session.
She walked into the kitchen to black coffee brewed in the pot, toast and eggs in the microwave.
“Breakfast should never be skipped! – Love, C”
read the sticky note attached on the microwave’s door.
Evelyn has a weak yet grateful smile on her face. It was Carter’s love and undying affection which was holding their world together else her heart had been shattered to pieces after that unfaithful car accident. She knew she would never be whole again, there would always be this emptiness inside her, the emptiness left behind by Ethan and Mia could never be filled up. It was like a gaping hole which gnawed at her at intermittent times reminding her of what she had lost.
While she was having her breakfast, there was a knock on the door. Carter had the key to the door, he never knocked the door, so it wasn’t him, surely, Evelyn deduced. Cleo started barking furiously. She noticed that whoever was on the doorway was trying to peek into the house through the glass panes beside the door.
How impolite and overstepping! She wondered.
She opened the door after she recognized the stranger was none other than their next-door nosy neighbor, Deborah. She was holding a pie and entered into the house as soon as the door was opened. Some people clearly overstepped their limits, Evelyn sighed.
“Hello Debby. May I help you?”
“Ah Evelyn. I hadn’t seen you in a while so I thought I should come over. I saw your car parked in the sideway thus I knew you had to be home. Besides I baked your favorite Blueberry pie! Thus, I had to come over and give you this. Also make sure you ate it and it didn’t land in the trash like the previous one.” There was a fake frown on her face, Evelyn could tell.
So besides being rude, nosy, impolite, she surely had no respect for people’s privacy! Who goes through someone else’s trash! Evelyn thought.
“Oh, that pie was ruined by Cleo. He had …err… did something that shouldn’t have been done, on the pie, so I had to stash it away. Besides I didn’t know you went through our trash.” Evelyn smirked.
Deborah’s cheeks turned red. Her ears were steaming hot and her face was strewn with guilt.
She clicked her tongue reprimanding herself to be careful with words and in a desperate bid to change the topic she said , “I didn’t want you to be alone today. I knew you could count on some company. I know Carter has a busy job, still I expected him to be home with you today.”
((To be continued………))
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I’m invested in this story already. This is really good writing. It pulls the reader in and reels images before their eyes. Excellent work.
Am so glad to hear that. Thanks a ton!
I’m really enjoying the story. I like how you sprinkle the reasons for Evelyn’s reactions as the story unfolds. Well done!
Roger
Mind and Love
Thanks a lot for your comment. Thanks for reading. I hope I keep you and other readers hooked till the end of this story.
What a brilliant piece of writing !! Feels so real while reading and getting into the characters and their tragedies !! Eagerly waiting for the next one …
Thanks a lot Aaron. Please do keep reading and providing feedback. A writer is always motivated with positive feedbacks like these.
Love this story, even though it made me tear up. You did a great job of pulling in the reader and having us feel what the main character is feeling. Great writing. Great story. Can’t wait to read the next part!
You have no idea how happy I am to see your comment posted on my blog!! Thanks a lot for reading and the precious comment. you do know how much these feedbacks mean to a writer, I will try my best to keep the story interesting in the upcoming parts too, Keep reading!
Awesome story telling… Touchy and emotionally .
Reading these is lije what happens in next episode type curiosity…
And hope that peace do comes to evelyn.
Chapter 3 plzz😊
Thanks a lot Subbu for the lovely comment. Yes the next chapter is a work in progress 🙂
I can’t even imagine losing two children! It is true that finding peace with God brings many comforts. I hope that Evelyn finds some peace in her life at the end. Looking forward to the next chapter!
The whole purpose of writing this story was to take the central character from a chaos to peace. Am trying my best to write in a positive manner and feedbacks like yours give me the much needed boost for working harder. Thanks a lot 🙂