by M. Ullrich
“The phone was for you,” Max said. Eva’s eyes remained closed. “Hey, sleepyhead.” He nudged the bottom of her bare foot. Eva peeked through one open slit. “The phone was for you.”
“Me?” The cogs in her mind started to work, and each turn was painful. The only people who had her cell phone number were Max and a few other models. She didn’t get phone calls otherwise because no one knew where she was. They only knew her as the runaway from Jersey. Unless… She swallowed back nausea at the thought. “Who was it?” Eva had kept her past private up until this point, and she didn’t want to compromise that. She even went as far as using a different name.
“The Marlboro Township Police Department. Here’s the number.” Max handed Eva a small slip of paper before sitting on the edge of the bed beside Sara. He kissed her shoulder blade.
Eva stared at the digits that used to be a top contact in her phone back home, and she remembered all the times her thumb hovered over them. So many times she almost called. Eva jumped when Sara touched her side.
“Sorry, I have to call them back.” Eva grabbed her phone and her robe and left the room.
New York was losing itself to an Indian summer. The days were unbearably hot for the end of September, and the evenings were heavy with humidity. Eva’s home for the past five years had a tall set of iron stairs leading up to its second-floor entrance. She’d often sit on them and escape, get lost in the sounds of the city that crackled not too far away.
Eva entered the number and counted to ten before hitting the green button. The phone barely rang before a loud male voice answered.
“Marlboro Police Department. Officer Olivares speaking.”
“Hi, I just received a phone call from the department. My name is Eva Caldwell,” she said in a near whisper for fear of being overheard.
“Hold on.” The officer put the call on a deafeningly silent hold.
Eva bounced her knee nervously and rubbed at her sore temples. Every possibility shuffled through her head. She’d been gone for six years. Maybe a missing persons report had been filed, and the police had just now caught up to her.
“Eva Caldwell?” The line came back to life abruptly.
“Yes?”
“You’re Luke Caldwell’s niece, correct?”
Eva’s stomach twisted. She considered lying, telling the officer they had the wrong Eva Caldwell and that it was her married name. But she could only lie for so long and run so far.
“Luke and I are estranged, but yes, I am his niece.”
“That also makes you his next of kin.”
The last time Eva heard that term was when she was introduced to Luke by Child Protective Services following her parent’s death. “I suppose so.”
“I’m sorry to tell you this over the phone, but Luke Caldwell’s body was found late last night.”
She let the words sink in. “He’s dead?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.”
Eva looked up and realized for the first time how clear the skies were. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“We’ll need you to come to the station to identify and claim the body before you set up the burial.”
“The burial?”
“Yes. His funeral?”
Eva laughed and covered her mouth in embarrassment. “Sorry, of course.” She checked the time on her phone screen quickly. “I can be there later this afternoon.”
After ending the phone call and walking back inside, Eva hadn’t a clue what to do next. Of all her plans, heading back to Marlboro, New Jersey, wasn’t part of them.
Eva started packing and avoided every question Max and Sara threw at her. She felt guilty for brushing Max off. She owed him so much for taking her in just five years ago after a rough first year in the city. He made sure she got a driver’s license and her GED because she’d need them if she decided to move on from modeling one day. But when he asked her when she’d be back, she didn’t know what to tell him. She was boarding a train soon, and Eva had a habit of leaving and never returning.
Eva sped through procedure once she arrived at the police department. She barely listened to the officers as they detailed the incident to her with such softness and care in their voices. She felt better playing numb than trying to fake remorse. Eva didn’t care that Luke was dead, but you can’t say things like that to cops.
The police were matter-of-fact and quick in their routine of discovered dead bodies. Turned out Luke was found on the side of the road near a local liquor store. Much to Eva’s surprise, his cause of death was natural causes. The medical examiner stated Luke’s vital organs looked like those of a ninety-year-old, not a man just entering his fifties. Alcoholism did its damage, something she reminded herself of during her nightly indulgences.
“I just need your signature on a few more forms, and then you’ll be good to go.” The older woman who worked at the local funeral parlor seemed nice enough, but her manners were keeping Eva from finishing her day as early as she wanted. “Are you sure you don’t want something a little nicer for your uncle? This is his final resting bed, after all.”
Eva smiled politely. “Luke always told me to not make a big deal about things when he was gone.” A plain pine box was nicer than the black plastic bag he truly deserved.
Luke Caldwell was to be buried the next day at noon at an unpopular cemetery on the outskirts of town. And Eva wouldn’t attend. She signed the last of the papers and headed out to the packed-up car she had rented after her train arrived. She never once used the driver’s license Max insisted she get, but now she was glad she had it.
The drive back proved to be the most stressful part of her first day back in Marlboro. Even staring at the cold, lifeless body of her uncle had little effect. She wanted to touch and poke at Luke’s flesh to make sure he was really gone, but she knew the people around her would frown upon such behavior. Going back to the house, though, back to the home where so many of her worst nightmares were born, got beneath her skin.
She parked the car along the curb and took a moment to stare at the place, like sizing up competition before heading into a fight. The lawn was growing wild, and Luke’s car sat in the driveway. The fence was rusted, and the screen window of her teenage bedroom had been shredded.
The walk up the path to the front door winded Eva more than any run she had taken in her life. She hid her face and was careful with her steps. Eva felt she needed to keep her reappearance hush-hush. If anyone were to ask her about her plans and life, Eva wouldn’t have an answer.
The front door creaked the same way it had six years ago, quietly at first and increasing to an ear-rattling grind. The dust that had settled over the living space seemed to cling to the air, swirling about in the thin streams of sunlight through the windows. Eva hesitated to breathe in, convinced the room would smell as bad as it looked. Or worse, her lungs would grow a fuzzy layer within. She pulled the thin curtains aside and opened the windows to let fresh air in.
Eva spent hours stripping the windows and washing the curtains. She bagged up every throw pillow in the living room and brought couch cushions outside to beat the dust from them. Anything in the living room that could hold the smell of Luke, dust, or must was either thrown away or washed. Eva was finally satisfied well after the sun had set. Since Luke was absent for most of the time she had lived there, destroying physical traces of him proved to be surprisingly easy. She fell asleep fully clothed on the couch that night, thanks to whatever cheap brand of whiskey he had left behind.
* * *
Casey’s favorite day was Friday. She had managed her schedule so all of her classes took place Monday through Thursday, giving her a three-day weekend to unwind and relax. Sometimes she’d work on a project that was due the following week or pick up a few extra hours working at the local café. Being a junior in college wasn’t exactly where Casey had expected to be at twenty-four, but she was living in an off-campus apartment with her roommate Lizzy, and life was as close to normal as Casey could hope for.
Six missed calls from her mother. The first one came after midnight, and the rest started at six. Casey blinked a few times. That meant bad news. She abandoned her morning coffee and sat down before calling her mother back.
“Casey! I’ve been calling,” Patricia said loudly after answering on the first ring.
“What happened? What’s wrong? Is it Dad?”
“No, sweetheart, Dad’s fine.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said, hesitating long enough to give Casey a clue to the severity of her phone call.
Casey’s stomach sank before numbness took over. She had been preparing for this moment since that summer. “It’s Eva, isn’t?”
“Casey—”
“Where was she found?” she asked so evenly, so coolly, it caused Patricia to stutter.
“Sh-she wasn’t found.”
“Then how do they know it’s her?”
“Casey, Eva’s back.”
Casey dropped her phone in her lap and stared at it. How can it be? Out of every possibility, this wasn’t one she was prepared for. “When?” she whispered. She picked up the phone and repeated the question to her mother.
“Yesterday. Your father and I noticed a strange car parked across the street, so we watched it for a while to see who it belonged to.” Casey wanted to laugh at her parents’ typical neighborhood watch behavior, but she was in shock. “We didn’t know it was her until late last night.”
“What about Luke?” Casey was already on the move, gathering clothes for the day and the weekend. A million questions floated through her head, without one answer in sight. Answers only Eva knew.
“He’s dead.”
“Dead?” Casey stopped what she was doing. “That would explain why Eva came back.”
“I don’t know much else.”
“I’ll find out everything soon enough,” Casey said mindlessly as she packed. Her mother sighed loudly into the phone. “What?”
“I don’t want this distracting you. You’ve been doing so well in school.”
“My best friend disappeared six years ago only to reappear exactly where she left off, and you think I won’t be distracted? Come on, Mom.”
“I know, I know. I just want to make sure you think about yourself this time.”
Casey knew her mother was right, and she also knew this was just her way of showing support and concern. “I’m coming home for the weekend, and I’ll be back in class Monday. I promise.” She checked her overstuffed duffel bag. “I’ll see you soon.” After she hung up, Casey considered the promise she’d made to her mother. “Easier said than done,” she mumbled to herself as she rifled through her closet for a shoebox of mementos. She found what she was looking for immediately. Casey shoved the slip of paper into her pocket and brought her large bag out into the living room.
“What’s all the ruckus?” Lizzy said, stepping out of her room and stretching.
“Nothing. I’m heading home for the weekend.”
“Are you leaving anything behind? Oh, coffee!” Lizzy poured herself a cup of coffee and added an obscene amount of sugar but no milk, something Casey always commented on, but not that morning. “You look pale.”
Casey chewed her lower lip as she considered sharing this latest news with her roommate, the only person who’d come close to being a real friend since Eva. “Remember my best friend, the one I told you about?”
“The missing one?” Lizzy said while rubbing her eyes, smearing her dark eyeliner around her face. Casey nodded. “What about her?”
“She not missing anymore.” She couldn’t believe what she was saying, and for the first time Casey really let the words sink in as she repeated them. “Eva’s back.”
* * *
With morning came sunshine and a new headspace for Eva. She had to figure out if Luke had a will, and to figure that out, she needed to know if he had a lawyer.
Eva searched every cabinet and desk drawer. She searched the sparse bookshelves in the living room, which appeared to be used for awkward displays of pottery more than books, but she didn’t find one piece of meaningful paperwork, not one clue into what Luke had done with his life. Eva knew he had a job of some sort. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to afford a house and a car. He was gone often, which pointed her to the obvious conclusion of a traveling occupation, but that was it. Eva hadn’t yet cleaned the kitchen, her old bedroom, or his. She walked unsteadily toward his bedroom door and counted to five before turning the doorknob.
Luke’s bedroom was even more impersonal than the rest of the home. A mattress lay on the floor, a sheet served as a curtain over the one window in the room, and only a few pieces of clothing hung in the small open closet. The dresser standing against the wall had nothing more than underwear essentials and expired toiletries. Frustrated, Eva realized Luke spent all of his time the basement. That had to be where he kept any and all personal effects. She raced out of the bedroom and stood before the basement door.
She had never been down there, nor did she ever want to see what Luke kept behind that door. What if all the outlandish theories she imagined as a teenager were true? She swallowed harshly enough that the gulp sounded loud in her ears. Eva closed her eyes and clenched her fist before reaching out for the doorknob. A knock at the front door startled Eva and she jumped back, gripping her chest.
“Son of a bitch,” she muttered to herself, catching her breath. Who would be stopping by? When she swung the front door open, the first thing she saw was Casey’s green eyes. Even after six years, they still affected Eva. “Casey?”
Casey wore a long-sleeved pink shirt and dark jeans that looked plain but exquisite on her. Her lighter, shorter blond hair fell against her shoulders instead of her mid-back like it used to. The second thing she noticed was the tears welling immediately in her eyes. The third? Casey said nothing. She simply stared at Eva with a gentle tilt of her head. Eva didn’t move, but she tightened her grip on the doorknob.
“Casey,” Eva said, trying once more to get her to speak. She couldn’t read this mute version of Casey, and that made her nervous. “Please say something.”
Casey stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Eva. She still smelled of fruity shampoo and springtime. The scent comforted Eva, but even more comforting was the way she still fit perfectly in her arms. She wanted to hold on to Casey forever, but Casey pulled back abruptly and looked up into Eva’s eyes.
Eva felt the impact of Casey’s small fist against her chest before she registered that Casey was pushing her away while pushing something into her. Eva took what was in Casey’s hand and looked down.
The note she had left on the morning she decided to run was crumpled and worn but still legible. Eva read the words and hated herself even more than she did when she climbed on the bus so early that morning.
Casey,
Please understand that I’m doing this because I have to. I’m sorry.
Eva
“I guess I owe you an explanation,” Eva said timidly. Casey remained silent, but her gaze was so full of fury, it nearly steamed. “Come in.” Eva stepped aside to let Casey inside the home she’d never welcomed her into before.
Chapter Nine
Casey stood on a worn patch of carpet just inside the front door. She had never seen the inside of Eva’s house, not in high school and never once when they were kids. And she knew why. The house was lower-class and appeared neglected to a stranger, but Casey saw something completely different. She saw a once-beautiful home that had been ignored and abused, much like Eva.
“I’m still working on it,” Eva said, breaking the tense silence. “I don’t know what I’m doing with the house yet. Right
now I’m tossing what can go and trying to find out if Luke had a will or anything.” Casey wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the dull wood flooring. Looking at Eva was harder than she imagined, harder even after six years of hoping for this exact moment. “Do you want to sit?”
“What?” Casey spoke for the first time, her head snapping up to find Eva looking at her. Eva’s dark eyes were deeper than Casey remembered, framed with new creases. Casey itched to trace those lines and soothe the worries that must’ve caused them.
“Sit,” Eva said again. She moved stacks of newspaper, magazines, and half-filled garbage bags from the one sofa in the living room. “I vacuumed it three times last night and twice today. It’s clean.” Casey sat and waited for Eva to join her, but she stood in front of her instead. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”
“Eva…”
“I picked up a few things after the burial yesterday. I have cereal, water, some chips, and lunch meats. I can make you a sandwich.” Eva cracked two knuckles on her left hand, and Casey watched as she paced, her eyes going everywhere but on her. “I’m sorry I don’t have much to offer.”
Casey reached out and grabbed Eva’s hand to keep her still. “Eva, sit down.” Eva did as told but kept her distance. “I didn’t come here for lunch or a drink, but if I need anything I’ll tell you, okay?” Eva nodded. “You know why I’m here.”
Eva took a deep breath. “You heard I was back and had to see it for yourself. Did your mom tell you?”
“Yeah. You made the mistake of parking an unknown car out front. You know how nosy my parents are.” Casey felt a flash of relief when Eva smiled.
“I should’ve known better,” Eva said with a roll of her eyes. “I didn’t want to cause any problems by coming back.”
“And you weren’t planning on telling me, were you?” Eva’s silence answered Casey’s question. Casey fell back into the stiff cushions of the couch. “Are you staying?”
