Topic: Home

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 21:16 EST
The sign on Eva's apartment door read:

CLOSED

No longer serving the city of RhyDin. Please seek medical care elsewhere or stop getting injured so often. Do not knock or otherwise wait for service here. Do not inquire at the bookstore. Do not bleed or leave other bodily fluids on the doorstep.

DO NOT REMOVE THIS NOTICE

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 22:26 EST
Green spring grasses swayed in the evening breeze around the McCall family farm. Eva squinted against the low slanting sun as she followed the path from the road to the house, shifting her duffel bag on her shoulder.

A loud metallic sound announced the closing of the barn for the day, and Eva paused in her walking, raising a hand to block out the sun so she could see in that direction. Gus stood in the fading sunlight, wiping dust from his hands.

The slamming of the front door of the house caught both of their attention.

"Aunt Elinor! Mommy, aunt Elinor's home!"

James Jr., Eva's four year old nephew came flying off the porch in her direction, and she had just enough time to drop her bag and open her arms to catch him.

"Hey kidlet. What's going on?" Eva got her arms under him and picked him up, balancing his too-big-to-be-carried body on her hip, and shouldered her duffel bag again.

"You're not supposed to be here." Jamie swung his legs, his bare feet kicking her in the midsection.

"No, I'm not supposed to be here." Eva smiled and pressed a kiss to his light red hair and then bent to set him down on the front porch.

Gus climbed the steps to meet them, his warm smile crinkling his face around his eyes. In the harsh light of the sunset, it occurred to Eva for the first time that he was starting to get old.

"Not that we mind an unexpected visit." Gus relieved her of her duffel bag and smiled. "Welcome home."

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 22:35 EST
Eva held Mary, her brother John and his wife Katie's newborn daughter in her arms. Mary was their first child and they both looked on as if they expected Eva to drop her any second, their eyes brimming with anxiety. Baby Mary, oblivious, was looking up at Eva with her tiny mouth open, and her hands waving.

Eva looked up at John and Katie, and then laughed at the terrified expressions on their faces. "You know I was a doctor right? I know how to hold a baby."

John released a nervous laugh. "Yeah... it's just... she's so perfect, isn't she?"

Katie blushed. "John!"

"Well she is! Isn't she, Eli? Isn't she perfect?"

Eva smiled and looked down at baby Mary, bouncing her gently. "Yeah, she's perfect."

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 22:49 EST
Her father and mother were buried side by side on the top of a small rise beneath a large oak tree. The spring grass had overtaken her father's grave where there had been fresh dirt last summer.

Eva sat on the grass, her back leaning against the base of the oak tree, her legs stretched out in front of her. She plucked a piece of grass, twirled it between her fingers, and then dissected the shoot, peeling back layer after layer until nothing was left.

She knew that Gus still talked to their father. That he'd just talk aloud at times when he needed him. For months now, Eva had been wishing her father was around to talk with. Now that she was finally there, beside his resting place, she had nothing to say.

So she sat in silence, listening to the wind pass through the grass, feeling the morning sunshine on her face, surrounded by the scent of spring.

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 23:08 EST
Soft, tiny footsteps sounded on the stairs leading to Eva's attic bedroom. She sat in bed, a book open on her lap, the small bedside lamp just enough illumination for her to read. Eva could just see the top of Jamie's red haired head in the doorway. He paused there, then hopped up onto the end of her bed, dragging a book.

"You should be asleep, kidlet."

"I won't tell Mommy if you don't."

Eva couldn't help but laugh as he settled in beside her and then put his book on top of the one she'd been reading.

"Alright, alright. What have we got here?" Eva looked down at the book, smiled and then began to read. "In the great green room, there was a telephone..."

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 23:20 EST
Eva stood at the edge of the shaded pond, sunshine glimmering across its surface as it rippled beneath the breeze. The pond was half surrounded by trees, in a shallow valley amidst the stretches of fields. Eva looked out past the unsheltered side. There was no one in view.

She knew the water would be cold this early in the spring, but the temptation was too great. She kicked off her shoes and peeled out of her clothes. For a moment she enjoyed the freshness of the day against her bare skin. Then she stepped close to the edge of the water, her feet sinking into the mud, and then executed a shallow dive towards the center of the pond.

The water was icy as expected, stinging her entire body in its sudden shock. But beneath the surface of the water all was silent. Eva held her breath, cocooned in the cold. Then she tilted her body back and let her body rise until she broke the surface. With her eyes on the blue sky overhead, Eva floated.

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-24 23:33 EST
Well after dark, Eva sat on the porch swing, a glass of bourbon turning in her hands. Gus sat across from her on the love-seat and refilled his own glass.

"You wouldn't have to stay here, Eli. I mean in the house. We could build you your own place, like over on the East side of the property, you know where there's that small stand of oak trees on the little rise. You could come and go as you please." Gus looked at her hopefully.

Eva shook her head. "Gus, you know that's not the problem."

He sighed. "I don't get it. You keep going out there and getting your heart broken to bits and then coming back here to heal. Why don't you just stay here? Nothing bad is going to happen to you here."

"Gus, it's lonely for me here. I'd rather... I'd rather get hurt everyday for the rest of my life, then live alone in comfort."

"You wouldn't be alone here."

Eva sighed. "You know what I mean."

Gus looked down at his bourbon glass, his brow furrowed as if searching for another retort.

Eva leaned forward and touched his arm gently. "I'm going to leave at the end of the week."

Gus simply nodded, and took a drink from his glass. The uneasy silence was broken by the screen door opening. Meredith, Gus's wife, came out and moved to join him on the bench.

"Kids are down?" Gus leaned forward and filled the empty third glass for his wife.

"Sound asleep for now, anyhow." Meredith smiled as she picked up the glass, then looked over at Eva. "Say, Eli, whatever happened with that guy you were seeing? The carpenter? Perceval, right?"

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-25 02:43 EST
Katie's horse was called Raisin because of the mare's dark color and sweet nature. With Katie being pregnant and then having the newborn, Raisin was starting to become neglected. She needed riding, to stretch her legs, and Eva was glad to assist.

She rode Raisin out along the Northern ridge, and then opened her up on the trail towards the Twisted Iron Ranch. With her hands in gentle control of the reins, Eva brought Raisin to a powerful gallop, the horse's legs almost flying over the ground. Eva's dark hair tangled in the wind, her body leaning into the gallop.

For a moment the whole world seemed to disappear, to be just a blur of colors. The vibrant green of the grass, the warm brown of the horse, the calm blue of the sky. Then she sensed that Raisin was tiring, and allowed her to slow down.

As the world came into focus again, so did Eva's troubles.

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-25 02:51 EST
"Wow. That's beautiful. It looks like an antique." Katie leaned over, baby Mary in her arms, and looked at the white gold locket on its black velvet ribbon that Tucker had given Eva for Christmas.

Meredith paused in her dough rolling. "Let me see it again."

Eva extended her hand out for Meredith to look at it as well. The three women plus baby were arranged around the kitchen table while Meredith worked on her baking.

"I don't know what to do with it." Eva looked down at the locket in her hand and sighed.

"What did he say again?" Katie shifted Mary in her arms and then looked over at Eva.

"Something like 'I guess I'm not very good at taking care of anyone else.'"

Meredith winced and shook her head, rolling the dough intently. "What a jerk."

"So your ex who didn't believe in marriage actually got married like three years ago and never told you, and then the guy you're seeing turns out to be living a double life." Katie shook her head. "Elinor, your life is more complicated than my soap operas."

"Thanks." Eva rolled her eyes.

"You could sell it." Katie reached over and stole a pecan from Meredith's collection of ingredients.

"Sell it?" Eva looked down at the locket and frowned. "I want to keep it. I want to wear it. Because he gave it to me. Because it still means something to me. I still want to wear it. God help me." She dropped her head in her hands, covering her face with her fingers, feeling the soft velvet ribbon against her cheek. "I'm sick." Eva closed her eyes and tried to quell the rise of emotions with a heavy sigh.

When she finally looked up, Eva was just in time to catch the end of an exchanged look between Meredith and Katie. Katie reached out and gently patted Eva's shoulder. "You're not sick. You're just not over him."

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-25 21:20 EST
"Hey Eli, you've gotta come see this."

Eva looked up from the book she was reading as John waved her through the screen door. She set her book aside and followed him outside, down the porch steps and across in the direction of the barn. Gus was already there, standing a good ways back from the corral. He had his hands on his hips, his brow furrowed in worry.

"What?" Eva followed Gus's eyeline. Then she sucked in a breath. "Wow." Thousands of bees were swarming one of the fence posts. She fell silent and suddenly she could hear their buzzing as if in giant chorus. They crawled all over each other, covering the fence post to the point it looked like it was almost dripping with bees. Occasionally one or two would break off and go flying in some direction or other.

The three of them watched in silence for a few minutes. Then finally Eva looked over at Gus. "You going to try to get rid of them?"

He leaned over and spit into the grass, then shook his head. "Nah. It's natural. Just gotta keep the kids and animals inside till they find a new place to hive."

Eva nodded, and crossed her arms as she continued to watch the swarm.

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-25 21:54 EST
With Gus and John busy with spring planting, and Katie intent on watching the baby, it was Meredith who drove Eva to the train station on Saturday morning. Eva had said her goodbyes, which were never too painful since she never felt very far from her family. But poor little Jamie had started to cry and made her promise she would be back soon.

At the train station, Eva insisted that Meredith just drop her off instead of waiting with her on the platform. In the cab of the pick-up truck, Meredith leaned across the seat to give Eva a hug. Her voice was quiet in Eva's ear. "Don't sell the locket, Eli. Things will turn out right with Perceval. I just know it."

Eva smiled wryly and nodded as she let her go. "Thanks." Then slipped out of the truck and headed down towards the platform. She wished she shared Meredith's certainty. But she didn't.

Luna Eva

Date: 2008-05-25 22:04 EST
At the front door of her apartment, Eva contemplated the sign that she had posted there a couple weeks before. Closed. No longer serving the city of RhyDin. The sign was only minimally abused with crude comments, but otherwise it was intact.

Eva thought about removing it. Theoretically she could get back to work now... if any customers would still come to her... but she didn't want to start that kind of work again. Not anytime soon.

So she unlocked the door and let herself inside, shutting the door behind her, sign remaining posted.