Chapter 4
4
CHERRY
Early the next morning, Cherry awoke to Jeremy’s voice in the distance. She lay there groggily, not ready to get up because it had taken quite a while to finally drift off to sleep last night. She kept thinking of Evan’s situation, her own part in it, what would be best for the young boy, and finally realized just how much she needed the help, too. It wasn’t just a ’one-sided’ favor anymore, but considering how badly Colette was gonna flip when she told her she was moving out?
Yeah, it was a little comforting to know things were already lined up on her behalf. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she looked around Evan’s bedroom for any signs at all that this was a mistake.
Instead, it looked like suburbia had settled right here in this home. His bed had a quilt on it that seemed a little faded. A small cheap dresser that had seen better days was nearby, with two framed crayon pictures complete with two small Polaroids tucked in the corner of the father and son in the other room. Beside the bed was an old nightstand that had a bubbled corner where one too many cold drinks had rested, causing the finish to lift – and a lamp with a smiley face sticker on the base.
Jeremy , she thought silently, smiling.
Stretching and moving stealthily, she opened the closet door and felt a little guilty about snooping so much – but marriage was a big deal. If there was something ‘off’ about the man, she needed to know quickly and the only way would be peering into an unauthorized glimpse of his life.
A few T-shirts, uniforms, and a heavy coat hung in the closet with a sprinkling of shoes kicked into the bottom. No great mystery there, she mused and saw an old hatbox in the corner on the shelf. She craned her head out of the closet to make sure no one had walked in to catch her in the act – and slid it silently off the shelf to peer inside.
Lifting the lid, she swallowed and braced herself for the worst. Why would any guy have a weathered, floral-covered hat box… and stared at the contents. An embroidered handkerchief, a packet of letters tied with a ribbon that looked ancient, and photos of a woman hugging a boy who looked like Jeremy and a girl with dark hair.
“When my mother died, I put the only valuables we had here into that box so Jeremy could have his grandma’s things someday,” Evan’s voice said quietly from the doorway – and she nearly dropped the box as she jumped, startled.
“I’m gonna put a bell around your neck,” she grumbled, mortified to be caught snooping, only to see his smirk.
“I’d wear it and tell everyone it was a special request from my wife.”
“You’re not funny.”
“Who’s joking?”
“Don’t you even knock?”
“I could have,” he agreed quietly, not looking away from her. “But I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what I just did. See, digging around doesn’t answer questions – it creates more. If you want to know something, ask me. I will tell you anything you need to know, Cherry.”
“Fine,” she blurted out grumpily, her pride still stinging from getting caught in the act. She put the lid back on the box and slid it back onto the shelf before looking at him, crossing her arms. “I have a few questions.”
“Go ahead.”
“First – where’s Jeremy?”
“Watching cartoons and eating Captain Crunch,” he replied without hesitation, a smile touching his lips. “I’m really glad you asked about him first, and that makes me feel so much better.”
She didn’t want to preen under his praise – and doubled down, her mouth running away from her before her head could catch up.
“Number two – are you some weird freak?”
“Define ‘freak’…” he said carefully, looking at her curiously. “What do you mean by that?”
“Whaddya mean asking me ‘ what do you mean? ’ – it’s a question. Are you a freak? Are you weird and keep fingernails in a jar? Do you have a collection of hair from hairbrushes? Are you branded? Tattooed? Pierced? Or do you have…” and her voice faded as Evan stepped into the room, not looking away from her as he shut the door. He stood there for a moment, warily, before he reached for his shirt. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“I don’t have any fetishes, if that is what you are asking,” Evan said quietly and pulled his shirt over his head without any signs of shyness. “I don’t have any piercings, no brandings or permanent marks, but I am tattooed… and if that’s a problem, then I suppose we need to talk.” He stood there, his tanned chest before her as his arm dropped to his side, with his T-shirt wadded in his fist.
There on one pectoral muscle was a weird collection of lines and dots – and another one clustered on the other side of his chest. He was built and obviously had spent some time in the sun as a smattering of freckles were evident on his shoulders, running down his arms. He had a small trail of hair running from his belly button and disappearing…
Cherry swallowed and jerked her eyes back up to meet his. He stood there boldly under her inspection without any emotion on his face – waiting.
“My call sign is Orion, and I’m an aviator attached to the carrier stationed here,” he said simply, his voice steady. “I got this tattoo when I was eighteen before I joined the Navy – and it’s the constellation Orion. In Greek mythology, Orion was the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and is supposed to symbolize a hunter. My dad and I used to go hunting every fall until he died when I was seventeen. I wanted to honor him and my new career.”
She remained silent, touched at his explanation and still a little overwhelmed by his appearance. If he was handsome before, just hearing this, seeing him, was making him utterly appealing.
“And this one,” he said quietly. “This is the Virgo constellation – because Jeremy was born on September thirteenth.”
“I see,” she said hoarsely.
“Some people get their child’s birthdate or a pacifier – I wanted it to match the reason for my call sign. Does this make me strange or a freak to you?”
No, it makes you wonderful, she thought silently, shaking her head, as she remained standing about six feet from him. He nodded, pulled his T-shirt back over his head, and looked away, reaching for the doorknob.
“Evan?” she blurted out, feeling like she needed to say something to clear the air between them.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for telling me. I was just concerned that maybe there was something that I was missing, and I’m nervous, okay? I’m really nervous because this is a big step, and we barely know each other – but I’m not backing out. I just wanted to know more about the guy I’ve agreed to help and take your name. I mean, this isn’t a little thing. Marriage is a lot and permanent.”
“For some people, it can be,” he agreed quietly, meeting her eyes. “I hope that maybe someday it can be something we look back on with happy memories and not regret. I didn’t have the greatest experience with my first one, so I understand being nervous because I am too,” he admitted in a hushed voice. “It’s not just Jeremy, but both of us and I don’t take this lightly.”
“I hope we look back with happy memories also,” she whispered, feeling almost grateful that he understood and didn’t resent her for snooping. He answered her questions, was open about everything, and shared his feelings regarding this, his hopes and dreams.
What else was there to ask for?
“Come have some breakfast,” Evan offered, opening the door and nodding. “I made a pot of coffee, and then we can start tackling the list of things to get done today.”
Nodding, she moved in his direction – only to see him shut the door again, turning toward her and meeting her gaze.
“But to answer your question,” he began, his voice cracking slightly with an intensity that blazed from his eyes. “I’m not a freak or some weirdo, but if we ever cross that line and sleep together? If we ever decide to make this a real marriage – I won’t hold back at all. I’m warning you now, we’ll break that headboard.”
And with that, he left the room, leaving her standing there, completely dumbstruck. She had to replay what he said in her mind at least forty times before she slowly turned to look at the bed – and then back at the empty doorway in disbelief.
Normal, casual, and very single ‘dad sel -in-distress’ who needed her help had just threatened to break the furniture if he took her to bed consummating their marriage.
Smokin’ hot just turned into nuclear meltdown , as her brain prepared to leak from her ears like molten lava. She stood there, hearing those words, and kept gawking at the bed, flushing wildly. Her brain went into overdrive, picturing all sorts of unexpected obscene things… with a perfect stranger.
“Did he just threaten to…? How would he even…? Oh my heavens, my forehead should have a big ol’ ‘Rated R’ stamped across it right now,” Cherry’s voice faded off weakly as she put a hand on the wall to keep from collapsing as her knees wobbled precariously, looking back at the bed once more, as her brain went into overload. “Oh my gosh…”
“Cherry! Are you awake?” Jeremy called out from the living room. “C’mon out! Daddy said we are having a big surprise today and that you are gonna be a part of it…”
Uh, yeah, she swallowed mutely as she walked down the hallway to where the two were. Jeremy was sitting on his knees in front of the television, wiggling around and chewing a mouthful of cereal. Evan emerged from the kitchen like nothing had happened and set a cup of coffee for her on the table before walking off again.
Oh, I’m surprised all right, kid. You have noooo idea what your Dad just said to me – and I don’t think I can walk away from any of this now.
Cherry somehow managed to walk into the dining room to get the cup of coffee he’d made her without stumbling or tripping over her own two feet. Collapsing into a chair, Jeremy ran up and smiled at her, nearly putting his hand in her face as we waved happily.
“Hi,” he grinned – and then smiled, revealing little, tiny teeth that hadn’t fallen out yet. When does the tooth fairy start to come around , she thought numbly. I don’t even remember how old I was .
“Hi, Jeremy,” she said quietly, only to see a plate move into her line of vision as Evan set it on the table near her. His hazel eyes held hers and his face revealed nothing, as if this was all just some elusive secret or something she’d imagined. Given enough time, she probably could have imagined something like that happening, where he would say something that would just strike every gong, tambourine, or percussion instrument in her soul like a symphony; but no, he’d clearly read her like a book, took it, and applied it.
“Eat,” he said simply, obviously not afraid to dive into the first task on the list. “I’ve got plastic totes that we can use to bring your stuff over.”
“Cherry’s stuff?” Jeremy questioned. “Is Cherry going to come live with us?”
Evan’s gaze held hers – waiting. She didn’t look away as she gave him a slight nod and saw something flicker in his eyes as his Adam’s apple moved slowly up and down.
It was time.
“Jeremy,” Evan began and cleared his throat. “I’ve asked Cherry to marry me – and she is going to. Today, in fact.”
“What?” Jeremy yelped in delight and flung himself into her arms, hugging her like they had known each other for years. “You’re going to be my new mom? That’s so cool! We can talk about Transformers, play video games, kick the ball, and did you know that…”
“Jeremy?” Evan interrupted again. This time, his voice was thick with emotion. The little boy froze mid-hug and pulled back, looking at his father. Cherry felt her eyes sting in awareness.
“We’re going to move her stuff over today to our house and run a few errands because the carrier is pulling out.”
“For a week?”
“For twenty-six weeks,” Evan said solemnly, kneeling in front of Jeremy, who stood before her. Cherry reached out to stroke his dark head, unsure what to say or if it was appropriate for her to say anything yet. “I’m gonna be gone for six months with Uncle Pasteur, Uncle Shellac, and Uncle Trophy – the whole gang – but we’re coming back as quickly as we can.”
“But… but my birthday…” Jeremy’s voice was faint and warbled precariously. “I thought I was gonna get to go to first grade with my friends.” Evan’s eyes were shimmering and full of pain as he stared at his son – and Cherry spoke up.
“We were going to make it a surprise, but we are going to have cake tonight – the three of us,” she said quickly, trying to sound upbeat. “And then when your Dad is out to sea, we’ll go school shopping and look for some cool crayons and Transformers T-shirts, and we can take cookies to class.”
“Really?” Jeremy began, looking between the two of them as Evan looked at her with a raw expression full of gratitude – and she nodded at him before looking at Jeremy again.
“Uh, yeah!” she said dramatically. “I mean, what other stepmom gets a cool kid? I have to step up my game and learn how to do this – and we can be partners, making these six months just fly by. Your dad will be so jealous because he has to go to work – but we’ll have fun, take pictures, and write him letters. Does that sound good?”
“Maybe…” he hesitated.
“Perhaps,” Evan said hoarsely, looking at his son again. “We could stop by the store and get a few things – and that birthday cake.”
“We’ve got this, little dude,” Cherry said, ruffling Jeremy’s hair… and finally making him laugh. “In fact, if we find some really cool pajamas, maybe we could get matching ones and have a cartoon pajama party once a week to count them off on a calendar.”
“That sounds fun…”
“That actually sounds pretty great,” Evan whispered, staring at her strangely like he was seeing her for the first time… and then shook his head. He rose to his feet, looked at her again, and then turned to refill his coffee. “We should probably eat so we can get going. It’s going to be a very busy day.”
They ate, quickly changed, and Cherry just wore the T-shirt from Evan that she’d slept in and her jeans from work the prior day. She wanted a shower and her things, and it felt like a stranger’s house— because it was. An hour later, they pulled up to the apartment complex where she rented a room from her former coworker, Colette.
Walking up with the totes, Colette was exiting the apartment, and bad suddenly went to much, much worse . There, in the breezeway, were all of Cherry’s things strewn across the ground. She didn’t have much, but what she had was priceless to her.
“You quit and left me alone there?” the woman snarled angrily. “If you aren’t working, then you can’t pay your rent – and this whole ‘ I’ll just ignore the text messages and phone calls ’ is pure crap!”
“My phone is broken, Colette,” Cherry wailed in disbelief, seeing her alarm clock, her cosmetic bag, and her underthings in a large pile like it was garbage. There was a tiny lizard sunning himself on the leg of her favorite pair of blue jeans that extended from the heap. His little orange fan under his throat was moving back and forth.
“How much does she owe you?” Evan said tightly – and Cherry stopped him hotly, holding up a hand as she glared at her supposed ‘friend.’
“I’m paid up already for this month. You did this because you’re mad.”
“Heck yes, I’m mad! I’m by myself again tonight.”
“Find another job,” Evan interrupted again, his voice cold and blunt as he dropped the empty plastic totes and began scooping up Cherry’s things. Jeremy moved to help his father without being asked – and Cherry rushed to swat their hands away. They were not picking up her underwear, bras, and the box of tampons that were on the ground, much less anything else.
“I’ll get it,” she hissed, flustered and angry beyond belief.
“We’ll help.”
“Yeah, Cherry. We’re friends, and friends help each other,” Jeremy said in a high-pitched voice that was quite pointed as he looked at Colette standing there watching them before she walked off in a huff – only for him to yell, “Meanie!” behind her.
“Jeremy,” Cherry and Evan said simultaneously… and she backed down, letting him discipline his own child.
“Don’t call people ‘mean’ even if they are. We don’t know what they are thinking or feeling, and everyone has a different perspective. While I don’t like that she did this to Cherry, we were moving her things out of this apartment anyhow and bringing our new friend home.”
“Yup,” Jeremy nodded, hugging Cherry again unexpectedly. “You are coming home to live with me.”
“I’m so glad, too,” she replied openly, hugging him back and avoiding Evan’s intense eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Are you missing anything?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Your cell phone is broken?”
“Yeah, it has been.”
“Then we’ll take care of that today as well,” Evan said simply. Cherry started to protest, but he held up a hand, looking at her. “If you get stuck and can’t pick him up or there is a problem – you need a phone. I’m not going to argue about this. It’s for your safety and his.”
And she closed her mouth.
All of her arguments fell by the wayside because it was true. She had run out of gas before and had to walk a mile to the nearest gas station, whereas she could have called a coworker to help her.
“This is all you’ve got?” Jeremy asked in confusion, making her feel awful especially because of the way Evan was looking at her, frowning.
Her three totes containing clothing, some personal items, shoes, and a lamp were all she had. There were so many times that she had rented a room somewhere and ended up sleeping on the floor for months on end in her sleeping bag before moving on. When it was just you, it was hard to move furniture by yourself – and it certainly didn’t fit in her car. Then, to her surprise, the little boy spoke again.
“Daddy, where’s Cherry going to sleep? Are we going to move again?”
Her face instantly reddened as she pointedly picked up the tote she had been filling, walking toward the car in the distance. Evan’s voice was quiet as he spoke to his son behind her, obviously following with the rest of her things.
“Cherry will be my wife, so she will share a room with me. We are not moving again for quite some time.”
“Phew… because I like this yard. It doesn’t have a bunch of doggie poop in it like the other one when Grandma lived with us. I didn’t like Mr. Parker’s dog. He scared me.”
“He scared me too,” Evan chuckled before calling out. “Cherry, just set it down, and I’ll load it into the car.” Sure enough, he took over and began maneuvering the totes into his sedan, telling Jeremy to hop in back and buckle up. She opened the passenger door as he shut the trunk and looked at her. “Let’s get you a new phone, drop these off, and then head straight over to the Justice of the Peace because the day is getting away from us.”
She glanced at her watch, surprised.
“You’ve got to get a military ID made, pick up your car, and get a set of base stickers so you can enter with it. All of this is a process; just trust me on this,” he smirked. “The clock has been ticking in my head for a while now.”
Nodding, Cherry got in the car and before she knew it, they were pulling up to the Justice of the Peace. She had a new cell phone, they had dropped off her things, ran to the store to pick up a few items, and grabbed McDonald’s. It had been rush, rush, rush, all day long and now it was almost two in the afternoon. They still had to go by the security offices to get her car registered and her new ID card made.
Evan shoved the last bite of his burger into his mouth and looked at Jeremy in the rearview mirror, causing her to glance back at the little boy where he sat. Jeremy was chewing quickly, had a chicken nugget in each hand, and nodded excitedly.
“We can take two minutes for him to finish chewing,” she protested softly, looking at him. “Jeremy, take your time and chew your food so you don’t choke.” – only to hear Evan chuckle slightly as she turned to look at him. There on his face was a tender smile and a softness that she wasn’t expecting.
“You’re getting pretty good at this,” he murmured.
“I’m trying to think ahead so I don’t mess things up while you are gone.”
“It will be fine.”
“You keep saying that…”
“Cherry,” Evan pressed gently, looking at her. “You’ll do fine… and I trust you.”
“Mistake number one.” she retorted weakly, not bothering to hide her anxiety. “Can we talk more later when we’re alone?”
“If it’s about this, maybe we should talk now?”
“I’m not listening,” Jeremy volunteered, taking another bite of his chicken nugget. Evan and Cherry shared a knowing look before she laughed nervously.
“I just don’t want to be a bad stepmother to you.”
“Like an evil stepmother in the movies?”
“Yeah, exactly like that,” she chuckled and heard Evan’s laugh as she looked at him. His hazel eyes were dancing with amusement, and it was strange to suddenly realize that she’d miss his smile. “If you see green or purple smoke swirling around me, I need coffee… fast.”
“Gotcha!” Jeremy acknowledged, smiling like they’d just made the bargain of a lifetime. Something warm touched her hand, and she looked at it to see Evan’s hand there. He’d laid his palm across the back of her hand, cradling it. Her eyes met his.
“You’ll be fine – and I think we should go in now.”
“Yup,” Jeremy volunteered. “I’m done. Let’s make Cherry one of us – a Buchannan.” Evan’s eyes still held hers, warm, gentle, and searching as his smile slowly spread at his son’s words.
“Out of the mouths of babes…”
“I guess so,” she whispered. “And you’re sure?”
“Yes. Are you?”
“Yes.”
Evan nodded, released her hand, and got out of the car. He quickly moved around to the passenger side door, opening it for her like she was some pampered princess about to descend from her carriage. Holding out his hand politely to her. Jeremy was climbing out of the car and springing onto the sidewalk with excitement, eagerly awaiting them. Cherry stood, putting her hand in Evan’s, and he squeezed it gently, giving her a slow nod.
“Let’s do this.”