by Pilar Lepe
“Yes I promise, when I come back from my trip.”
“Thank you love. Here is Judith who has been making sings to hand the phone over to her...Before I forget, David will come next month, that will be a great time to be all together again.”
“Yes dad, I’ll be there.”
“Bye sweetie and don’t forget I love you.”
“Bye.”
After Evelyn talked to her father, she had to tell her mother again what happen with Judith’s phone call and when she said she thought it was a good idea that his grandson should visit his dad at New York, Evelyn had to close her mouth with her hand not to be rude.
After almost thirty minutes on the phone, she had to hang up but not before promising she would go visit them after her trip to Greece. She drank coffee right after but it was cold. She looked for her cellphone to call Mark.
Chapter 19
“Mark, Janet called, your grandma.”
“Mom, I’m really busy right now, I’ll call you in about an hour.”
“But it’s almost noon.”
“Is it important? Can it wait?”
“Yes son, it can wait, don’t worry about it.”
“Alright then, we’ll talk later.”
“Bye.”
Evelyn called the airline before going back to the shop to ask for an extension on her trip. The lady asked her when she wanted it for, and since she didn’t know how things were going to turn out, said two weeks.
When she went back to Sarah, there were no clients, Mondays were always slow.
“I talked to my parents and they made me promise I would visit them after my trip to Greece. I told them I was thinking on postponing it and they said I shouldn’t do it. They insisted I should take the opportunities because if I don’t I could end up like them: old and sick and not being able to travel because of health issues.” Evelyn laughed while she was telling her friend.
“Don’t laugh, they’re right. A person spends his entire life saving up for the future, and when you least expect it, your best years go by, the time where you can really enjoy things in life. After sure you’d be able to travel, but you’d have to check your blood pressure, take a whole bunch of pills, and a lot more other things.”
“You describe that stage in life as something not good.”
“Oh I think it’s good, when you’re healthy, but now when you’re stuck in bed rest dependable of medicines for everything. My grandma spent fifteen years like that, she only wanted to die. It was depressing.”
“Oh! I didn’t know.”
“I don’t really talk about it, I loved her and she was always kinds to me since I was little.” Sarah said sadly.
“I don’t like to see you sad. It’s decided then, I’ll go to that trip.” Evelyn said while hugging Sarah. “I think I’ll do more for other people than for myself.”
“You’ll find your soulmate in Greece, hear my words.”
“We’ll see, but I’m not really going in search for it. If it happens, then great.”
Evelyn looked at her watch worriedly.
“I’m going upstairs again Sarah, I haven’t talked to Mark yet.”
“Go ahead, take your time.”
She was just heading out the door when the phone rang in her pants. She closed the door quickly and ran to her bedroom to answer.
“Mark.”
“What’s wrong? I was a little concern about your call.”
“It’s best to tell you quick. Janet Taylor called because Josh is dying and he asked to see you.”
“Josh? You mean my father?”
“That’s the one. He wants to see you.”
From the other side of the line she could hear her son taking a deep breath.
“And what does she think I could do?”
“I’ll just repeat what she said: He’s dying and wants to see you. I think he wanted to ask for forgiveness.”
“I’m no one to forgive him, he has to forgive himself. Besides even if I do forgive him, that’s not going to erase everything that’s happened. He can’t pretend it’s been twenty years...”
“What will you do?” Evelyn interrupted.
“I don’t know, I don’t want to go. I don’t feel any connection with him.”
“But you advised me to forgive.”
“That’s different; you were upset even if you didn’t want to accept it, I in the other hand feel nothing, nor good nor bad.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes mom, you can relax, let everything run its course. Anyway, I’ll be home late, I’m going to Deb’s after work.”
Evelyn said goodbye ignoring the sudden change of subject, she was sure he was upset, but just like her he wouldn’t admit it.
It was almost lunch time, she went down so Sarah could go home, she wasn’t hungry but she was just going to make a sandwich for herself.
“It’s almost lunch time, go see your son. It’s slow today so I can manage on my own.”
“What did Mark say?”
“He doesn’t want to go, I can’t make him, don’t you think?”
“Maybe he’ll regret it later.”
“Maybe, but for now there’s nothing I can do.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later.”
“If you’re running late, don’t worry, no rush.”
When she was alone in the shop, she didn’t know what to do to distract herself, she didn’t want to bring back the memories she had with Josh. She had always managed to lock him somewhere in the back of her mind. Sometimes they would pop out, surely to remind her about his existence. She wished she could remember without hurting her, but it was impossible. Maybe she’ll never stop feeling sorry for the girl who thought she was in love with the guy.
One Friday night, Josh had come home drunk and with his friends as always. They were parasites who would spend the little money his husband had at the bars, since his friends from the band abandoned him, so tired of him being irresponsible. He didn’t care about it because he was sure he would be successful as a producer, which was what he wanted to do. But his addiction to alcohol made it impossible to follow a goal.
Evelyn would hide in her son’s bedroom when Josh came home drunk because she was afraid he would hit them. In various occasions he had tried but she always managed to escape, however that night, she couldn’t.
“Eve!! Eve!! Don’t hide!!”
“I’m in bed already” She said from the bedroom. “Don’t yell, Mark is sleeping.”
“Mark?” Who the hell cares about Mark?! Come here you damn slut if you don’t want me to get you!!”
Evelyn went out to the living room feeling helpless; she had found it was worse by confronting him. So she had pretended she didn’t care about the insults, especially when there were spectators.
“What’s wrong?”
“My friends and I want something to eat. Go make us something.”
“Spaghetti, that’s all there is.”
“Whatever, now bring us beer.”
“There is nothing left. You drank all of them.”
“Go buy some then.”
“I have no money.”
“What did you do with it? I gave you money last week!” He asked harshly shaking her by the shoulders.
“You gave me twenty dollars Josh!” Evelyn raised her voice. “I needed to buy milk and other things for Mark.”
“Mark! Mark! Mark! It’s always about Mark!”
“He is your son!” She screamed furiously.
“I wish he never existed, that way I wouldn’t have to deal with you, you useless bitch.”
Evelyn couldn’t stand it anymore and she slapped across the face not caring about being smaller than him. She left marks on his face. He reacted instantly and punched her so hard she fell on the ground. Then he kicked her. Realizing this, his friends intervened and took him outside. Evelyn could hardly get up, but after she cleaned herself, she went to get her stuff and her son’s and left. When Josh went back the next day, she had already left and they neve
r saw him again because Josh never looked for them.
Chapter 20
Around three in the afternoon, Mark came to the shop along with Deb, Evelyn looked at him worriedly, the guy looked upset and he seemed nervous.
“Mark, what’s wrong?”
“We have to go mom. Janet called me, he doesn’t want to be sedated until he sees me, he doesn’t want to take morphine and they pain is horrible.”
“And why don’t they give it to him without him realizing it?”
“They can’t unless he wants to; it’s a rule at the hospital.”
“You realize it’s blackmail, right?”
“I know, but I’m going anyway.”
“Are you going with Deb?”
“He insists, besides I don’t want to leave him on his own like this. He’s lucky he has the two of us.” The girl said smiling at Mark.
“You’re right Deb, and I thank you because I don’t have the intention to go to New York. I’m sorry.”
“The three of us are going mom. I bought the plane tickets already. The flight leaves at seven. We should hurry.”
“You didn’t ask if I wanted to go, besides Deb is going, you won’t need me.”
“Deb is coming because she is my girlfriend, but you’re my mother, you’re not going to let me face this on my own are you? I need your support, I don’t even know him.”
“Fine, I’ll go get ready and to call Sarah. We’ll be at night, would we be able to see him so late?”
“He’s authorized to get visits any time.”
Evelyn knowing there was no point talking back went to call Sarah to ask her to be there before they leave. She briefly explained the situation and hung up, getting ready to take a quick shower so they could leave as soon as possible.
In front of the closet she looked at her clothes thinking about what she should wear, all her dresses were “happy”, though winter was around the corner, it was still warm in California. She thought of wearing something black, but it was as if she was going to his funeral so maybe it wasn’t a good idea, she thought. Finally, considering that it was colder in New York, she chose beige pants she almost never wore because the fabric was too thick.
She was finishing brushing her hair when a light knock on the door caught her attention.
“Come in!”
“Mark wants to know if you’re ready. He is very nervous and anxious.”
“Yes. Let’s go.” She replied while putting the last piece of clothing in her hand bag.
Evelyn went down quickly to go by the shop for a moment. After giving all the information to Sarah, she told her that she’d be back the next day; she rushed into the cab that was waiting for her.
They arrived at the airport ready to board the plane. Since they didn’t have any luggage it was all so fast. Evelyn’s seat was a row away from Mark and Deb, which had her a little nervous because she didn’t like flying much. She looked at her ticket to check twice about her seat, she had the hall seat, but the window seat was also available so she decided to seat there instead. They announced to buckle their seat belts and as she was nervously buckling it a voice asked her if he could sit beside her.
“Of course.” She answered without looking.
“Could I help you with that?”
“No, I did it at last.” She said smiling while raising her head to see the man who was talking. “Nick?”
“Well, well. The adorable aunt Eve. I didn’t recognize you with that hair-do and...dressed.”
She blushed feeling embarrassed, apparently that man was never going to forget about that moment.
“You have businesses in New York too?” She said changing the subject.
He looked at her thinking on what to say, but he just nodded.
“I have an early meeting tomorrow. Clients that cannot travel to California.”
“I understand.” She said with a tone of voice not really believing what he was saying.
“So you don’t believe me.” Nick smiled and sat down. “Truth is, I’m following you.”
“Is it true?” Evelyn opened her eyes wide and he laughed so hard the other passengers turned to look at him.
“She’s telling me a joke.” He said looking at the curious passengers. “Why are you going to New York?” he asked looking back at her.
“We’re going to Sinani, we’re going to see Mark’s dad.”
“Your ex-husband?”
“That’s the one. He’s dying and he wants to see his son...”
“But?”
“After twenty years.”
“I understand, no, I don’t understand, how could a father do that? Abandon his kid...”
“He didn’t abandon him, we left him...”
Evelyn didn’t know why, but she felt comfortable with Nick to tell him her life story, he was practically a stranger, but there was something about him that made her want to talk to him. After a while, she regretted talking too much and she looked at him feeling embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, I don’t usually talk about my life like this, maybe I’m just nervous.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He said seriously. “You’re a brave woman and I admire you for that. But tell me more about yourself.”
“I told you practically everything there is, now let’s talk about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Whatever you want to tell me, I’m not picky.”
“You know I’m Greek. My older brother came here after a North American tourist forty years ago. It was like they say: love at first sight. It was hard at the beginning until he managed to open a restaurant, it was a happy marriage for nearly thirty-five years but Sally got cancer and she was fighting it for years, she died two years ago and my brother being all depressed, didn’t last long and died from a heart attack last year.”
“Aside from being sad, it’s a romantic story. But that was your brother’s life what you told me about, not yours.”
“Mine is not so romantic. I came here when I was seventeen, my brother paid for my education. I think I became a good lawyer, I got married but we could only stand to be with each other for ten years. We were very different. I wanted kids, a big family and she wanted to be a big actress.”
“Actress?”
“That’s how I met Ralph Harrison.”
“And you didn’t get married after that?”
“No, I haven’t met the right woman yet. The one that could drive me crazy, in a good way”
“I understand...” She whispered.
Nick looked at her to see why she stopped talking and looked tenderly when he saw she had fallen asleep. He gently put her head on his shoulder so she could rest better. He immediately smelled her fruity hair conditioner. It was exhilarating. He thought it was crazy to get like that with the simple smell of hair conditioner. It had never happened before but the truth is since he saw her bare back at the Harrison’s house, the image had been on his head all the time, especially at night, and now he had her there leaning onto him. He fell asleep, there were still four hours left before they arrive at New York.
Chapter 21
Evelyn woke up feeling disoriented; she hadn’t remembered boarding a plane and even less falling asleep on Nick Andereatos’ shoulder, but she had to admit it was a very sexy pillow although not so comfortable. She stayed a couple of minutes enjoying his cologne to keep the memory of being close to a Greek god.
She looked at her watch, they’ll be in New York in half an hour, she thought of waking Nick up, but she was so comfortable she hesitated, however he spoke suddenly.
“Hello.” He stretched his legs and arms like a cat.
Evelyn started at him, she wanted to run her fingers thought his cheek so badly, he looked like a little boy, without that seductive pose he had always shown.
“Sorry, I didn’t even realize when I fell asleep.”
“You forced me to fall asleep too, I couldn’t keep talking by myself. I was thinking we could see each other some other time,
maybe get a drink.”
“I don’t think so, I don’t know when I’ll be free.”
“Think about it” He said reaching for his card. “Where will you stay?”
“I don’t know, I think at a three star hotel.” She replied laughing.
At that time, the flight attendant announced to put their seat belts on because they were about to land and they stopped talking. As soon as they landed, Mark greeted Nick with a tight handshake and told Evelyn they should hurry, she shrugged and followed them. It was past ten.
When they wanted to get a cab outside, Mark remembered he didn’t know which hospital Josh was at. When they got into the cab Evelyn talked to the driver.
“To Sinani please, and take us straight away, we don’t want a tour.”
“Mom!”
“I know how this is.”
“Did you say Sinani? Isn’t that where...?”
“Yes, the same one, maybe we’ll find Sam there.”
They were silent during the whole trip, Evelyn was nervous and Mark and Deb were hugging, but they were quiet as well, each one of them submerged into their own thoughts.
When they arrived at the hospital, Evelyn insisted on paying for the cab and apologized to the driver about her behavior earlier. He didn’t answer, just received the bills and left quickly.
“It’s almost eleven Mark, don’t you think it’s a little late?”
“I don’t know, we’ll ask anyway.”
They headed towards the reception and asked for Josh. The nurse told them he was delicate, but they could go upstairs in a moment because he still had family with him. Evelyn had knots in her stomach. How many people did she have to face?
Josh was in the fifth floor but not at the intensive unit, which Evelyn thought it was weird due to his condition. They were heading towards room five-hundred and thirty, she was getting more tensed and Mark noticed, he squeezed her arm tightly and comfort her. She felt embarrassed because it was her who had to comfort him, not the other way around.
The door was open, an older couple was there with a young woman just a little younger than Evelyn; they were by the bed. They were so concentrated on the person lying on the bed, that they didn’t even they had arrived.
