'Crack'
Evelyn jumped at the usual sound of the whip and snap of the old screen door as it sounded behind her. Her heart thundering, she glared back at the door as if to complain that it didn't shut quietly behind her. It was her own fault, though, she was running late again and she was sure that her Nana refused to get rid of it just so she could know the moment she came in. That, or to get a good laugh out of every guest who came jumping in to get one more step away from a simple door. Shaking her head, she started to walk through the maze that was her grandparents' Antique shop. Making her way past tables filled with knickknacks and the walls covered with old vintage signs, she finally caught sight of her Papa.
"Morning Papa!"
"Good morning, Eve," her grandpa called from behind the vintage brass cash register, keeping his head tucked into his Sunday newspaper. He was probably reading the comic section as he had a habit of reading them first. 'A day started with a laugh, will keep the troubles away,' as her grandpa would say.
Swinging her backpack underneath the counter, she leaned over to kiss her Papa's cheek. "So what's old Garfield up to this week?" she asked as she leaned her head on his shoulder, expecting to see the different strips of comics but instead saw what looked like the news article.
"What's this Papa? Not reading the comics today?"
"No, my dear. There was another mail bombing yesterday and it seems this time it went off at a school counselor's home by the name of a Mrs. Franklin."
"Oh? Did it actually go off? I remember there was another attempt at a high school before, but a faculty member found it in time in order to evacuate the school and notify the police." Evelyn asked curiously, wrapping her arms around her grandfather for a hug.
Patting her hand, he said, "No such luck this time I'm sad to say. During the interview with a sheriff at the scene, he mentioned.... what was it again? .... hmmm... Oh! Here it is! 'We believe the culprit has changed his way of making the bomb from his last attempt due to failure after the first one. We have discussed with the bomb squad and they believe from the remains of the bomb they found, that the bomb was triggered to go off once the package was cut open instead of a timed bomb such as last time.'" Flipping back to the front page, he showed her the pictures that they had plastered on the first page. One picture immediately caught her attention, it was a scene right out of one of those detective shows that are so popular on t.v nowadays. It depicted the house, but a good portion of it was gone. It looked like the roof and walls were busted open from the inside with the charred remains scattering on the ground and stuck in trees and bushes. Not only peices of walls, but Eve could make out burnt photo frames, pillows, end tables, and a t.v. hanging by it's wires from a tree. As if that wasn't bad enough, it felt like there was a never ending sense of death with the smoke still trailing to the sky and the ashes making a thick blanket over the lawn. "She couldn't have survived..."
Eve couldn't help but feel a deadly chill creep up her spine and goosebumps trailing her arms. This didn't just happen on t.v. or a book or in another city for that matter, but right in her hometown. What if it had been sent to them or one of her relatives? Or one of her friends' houses? Her best friend, Libby? How would she be able to live through another loss? How could anyone cause such pain? "How cruel." Eve could only mutter as she continued to look at the pictures, as if her eyes could not break away from the deadly scene.
Then, she saw it, amidst the many pictures; there was a picture of an ambulance with some paramedics pushing a stretcher into it. The photo was taken from a good distance away but one could still see the furry teddy bear sticking out from the blanket. it could only mean one thing. Trembling, she tucked her head into her grandpa's neck, as memories of her past pressed down on her that she so badly wanted to forget, didn't want to believe that it happened as each year passed- the car crash that stole her mom, cause her mom had protected her during the collision.
Noticing her reaction, her grandpa looked down and saw the picture that had brought back painful memories and immediately folded the page into a neat square so no one could see the contents. Then, he reached up and rubbed her head. Eve could feel his love and comfort, for even with this awkward position, he didn't ask any questions or try to get more comfortable. He just let her be and let her know he cared.
"Well, as I live and breathe, child! I swear you arrive late almost every day without fail!" Eve's Nanna danced into the room, swaying from side to side to avoid the cluttered aisles. "You should thank your lucky star that we're your grandparents or we would turn you away in a jiffy!"
Having the moment shattered, Eve rolled her eyes at her Nanna's claim. She might have believed her if it were just her Nanna in charge of the store, but with her papa here, she knew that if she wasn't their granddaughter, he would never send her away with nothing to their name. Eve can recall many a time that they took a loss in sale because her Papa would look at the state of the person rather than the value of the item. Of course, her grandmother was never one to cheat herself out of making a profit; so together they balanced each other out to make a successful business.
That doesn't mean, though, that one shouldn't butter up the one that's in charge of the paychecks. "And what did you do to your hair!? Did you dye your beautiful hair?" Too late! Out of the frying pan- into the fire! Her Nanna was one of the most fashionable people she new, but she had a quirk that one should be natural and use natural products. That she had broken two of her most important rules, she was down for the count. Actually, make that three, which just makes it worst! Her older brother and her have an agreement- don't make Nanna riled up more than once a day. They found out a while back that if it's just once, usually she won't remember by the end of the day and call dad. Which for her, is important- it won't start the domino effect where her dad will get a lecture, ergo her brother gets a longer lecture over the phone, ergo she gets a lecture twice as long plus getting fined with extra chores or if her offense was big enough- grounded! Which she can deal with, but not Libby's giggling and rubbing it in that she got grounded from a phone call. Which has happened.... Libby makes sure to keep count for her. Why did she make friends with her when she was five? Sometimes, she wants to go back in time and ask her younger self why she had to be so indulgent to her chocolate tooth, a.k.a known as the sweet tooth to others.
Thankfully she hadn't totally lost her marbles when she chose to get her hair done. "Extensions! They're hair extensions, Nanna!" In response, she cocked her hips, put her hands on her waist and gave her a pointed stare. Evelyn knew that stance well- it was the either prove it or wait for her personal punishment and not just a phone call. "Honest Nanna! I'll pull them out if you absolutely want me to but please no! It'll mess up my hair style for the rest of the day! Besides, do you really believe I would be so brave to dye my hair so close to my ballet recital? Ms. Renauldi would never let me hear the end of it!" At the mention of her ballet performance, her eyes and stance finally softened. She knew how important it was to her and how strict her teacher was with their performance for each play.
"That's right, sweet pea, has she told you which play you will be performing this time?" Hearing her pet name, Evelyn knew she had convinced her and got another win for successfully changing the subject.
"Not yet, it seems she's really undecided about which one she wants to perform this year. it's a little strange though, I had heard she had decided it would be "The Nutcracker" for this season, but she had a change of thought that she's wondering if she should do something different. Either way, she said she would make a decision by the end of the week at the latest. I just hope I get a lead role this time! Rumor on the gossip chain is that Ms. Renauldi has invited some of her friends who are instructors at the Royal Ballet School and that's why she is planning on changing the play! Can you imagine- me- getting a recommendation from them or them giving me a scholarship! It would be a dream come true!" Her eyes shining bright, she couldn't help but twirl and give a little performance as she danced to her grandma's side. Her feet avoiding each item on the floor as she danced on her toes, keeping in mind her teacher's teaching that she should use only her eyes to glance down every once in a while to plan a path ahead.
"Yes, but I would hate to see you run off to who knows where in pursuit of your dream," Papa said as he got up from behind the counter.
"You know you would actually enjoy it Papa! I wouldn't be around to pester you all the time!"
Patting her head, he gave her a doting look, "I'll tell you a secret- no grandparent out there ever hates their grandchildren's pestering or anything you might pull. We live to pamper you." Smiling, she put her arms around her Papa to give him another hug.
"I love you, Papa! I think I would miss you the most if I could go."
"Pish-posh! She hasn't won the scholarship yet. So there's no need to put on this melodrama and the day is awaistin'! So Evelyn, you will be managing the front while your grandfather and I work on packaging these mail-in-orders for Eb*y. I still wonder if we won't need help to package the Chinese headboard set, so don't be surprised if we need you to stay late today."
Eve groaned as she laid against the counter, hiding her head underneath her arms as if she would disappear out of her Nanna's sight. "Come on, Nanna, how heavy is that thing? Just get my brother or dad or hel- ck, one of my many uncles to help!"
"Sweet Pea, you are perfectly capable of helping us or atleast attempt to. Besides, women kind did not fight for years for our equality to men, just for you to hide behind them when things get tough!"
"How is me trying to not break my back and women's rights connected?" she exclaimed, flinging her hands up in frustration.
Patting her cheek, she said, "It has everything to do with it and second of all, you forget I have been watching you grow up and I am perfectly aware of your weight training for ballet." Walking away, she left another jab in her arsenal, "Thirdly, don't think I didn't catch you almost saying Hell earlier, either. You can be assured I'm dragging you to the back for some extra help."
"Damn," she whispered underneath her breath. 'It's going to be a SUPER long day, sh*t!'
-- --
After an hour of no guests and stumbling over her geometry problems for the next half hour, she finally heard the usual gun shot like sound of the screen door to announce her friend Libby coming in. As usual, she had her curly espresso hair in a messy bun and her topaz colored eyes defined with eyeliner and mascara, but her outfit was different from her usual wardrobe. She was actually wearing a skirt, but she had matched it with geometric patterned leggings; a tank top with an off-the-shoulder, long sleeved, see-through, black lace top and her signature black high top converse with her black ribbon laces. It was actually pretty close to her usual outfit but the skirt was totally out of place and threw her for a loop.
Placing her school bag and bow case off to the side; she pushed her geometry book and notebook to the side and jumped up on the counter to take its place. "Brat!" Eve sarcastically said which Libby just puffed out her cheeks and stuck out her tongue, "what's up? and what's with the skirt? I don't believe I've seen you in one since- well...never."
"Humph! You would continue to never see me in a skirt- if it wasn't for D- Clark!" Referring to her father, who she refused to call dad ever since he had started dating after her parents divorce. Atleast, she made an effort in front of her friends and family, but Eve knew that in her dreams, when her heart was open once more to her memories and hopes for the future, she would call out dad and mom. Eve had never told her, but she had woken up one night to her friend's wistful voice as she called out for them. Eve could only grab her hand; as she knew that while it would be painful to wake up to reality in the morning; the reality of the dream is a sweet comfort and medicine at the same time. Maybe no one else would understand in their life, but Eve understood, she understood all to well of the need to remember the love of a lost parent.
"Oh? What did he do this time? Try to scout out your feelings on another woman? Or maybe tried to disquise meeting his girlfriend by going out on a roadtrip?" Thinking back, he has really tried a lot of different ways to make Libby happy and more open to the idea, but Libby absolutely had no attitude to budge on the matter. "You know, I need to give Clark some applause. He has gotten quite clever when it comes to you."
"Humph- you can save it for when I'm not in the room! And he isn't just clever anymore- he's downright demonic in my eyes right n-ow!" her voice cracking, Eve knew her friend's emotions were close to the surface. One could see the tears threatening at the corner of her eyes and her red nose from her sniffles as she had tried to hold back most likely on her way here. Grabbing a tissue behind the counter, Eve smoothly dabbed the corners of her eyes so her eyeliner wouldn't run. It had become a habit over the years over their long friendship, to protect each other's tears and wounds.
"What in the world did he do this time? Do you need me to go slap some sense into him?"
Plastering on a rueful smile, she breathed in and out before continuing, "So he had asked me to go out for dinner at your guy's little restaurant that's attached to your B&D, you know," referring to her family run Bed and Breakfast, the Blue Rose.
"Uhuh."
"And I honestly thought he would never try to pull anything at one of my favorite places, but- but HE- I don't know, maybe he thought it would help me cope or something, but he decided to have me meet his fiancee there! Of all people, HIS FIANCEE, Evie!" Right then and there, Eve heard the funeral bells for the relationship between Clark and Libby.