Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“I don’t even have a Christmas tree,” she said to herself as she walked in through the door.
She rubbed her face in exhaustion. The pain in her body had mounted to a point of needing to lie down, and so she did.
She flopped on the couch once more and sulked.
There was no lie she could tell herself now.
Her mind kept going back to how lonely she felt since Pawpaw passed, and as she basked in her squalor, the horrible encroaching feeling dawned on her.
She was destined for a state of disrepair as much as her house was.
But the man in the ad from long ago? Too perfect and unattainable. He would never go for a girl like me.
Most certainly not. He apparently had his whole life together, and she?
Well, she couldn’t even fix herself a proper meal those days.
And the man at the drugstore? Married, as he should be.
But still she rolled her head off to the side with her arms draped carelessly on the couch.
The act of kindness he gave her was going to have to suffice.
Evelyn kept staring at the empty corner in her living room. There were still a few unpacked boxes nearby, a dusty end table she was unsure if she’d keep, and a few storage boxes full of clothes that no longer fit her.
She smiled and decided to get rid of it all to make room for a Christmas tree.
Each box of clothing was taken to her sedan so that she could donate it, and soon the table followed.
She vowed to herself that she would lose weight for spring, and so all those extra spring clothes were no longer necessary.
Before she could slow down, half of the things in her living room were gone.
Happiness came over her, exfoliating her dead soul like warm and cleansing sands on achy feet.
With a cup of tea, she sat in front of her computer and opened Facebook. Her mission was clear. She was going to ask if anyone had a spare tree to donate or sell so close to Christmas. Her fingers drummed on the desk. Her brown eyes focused hard. And to her surprise, numerous people responded.
She had her tree, all for free. The people of her small town had pulled through for her.
Joshua, her neighbor across the street, was kind enough to go pick it up for her in his flatbed.
It was then that Evelyn realized she was going to have to try to reach outside of her introverted shell if she was ever going to get along without Pawpaw.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas played on the TV as she decorated the fake tree with a smile. Glee. Joy. Blessed.
Anxious. Afraid. Alone.
Powerful. Strong. Determined.
Sad. Defeated. Melancholy.
Tired.
Weak.
Hurting.
She was hungry. Starving. While taking a break from decorating, she had got so preoccupied with scrolling mindlessly on the town’s discussion page that she forgot to even think about dinner.
And walking into the kitchen? It was an absolute disaster.
One more pizza ordered. One more bottle of cherry Coke. Just one more.
While eating a fourth slice, she looked over and noticed Pawpaw’s old sunburst Taylor acoustic sitting there against the other couch, waiting for love. It originally belonged to her daddy, but when he passed, Pawpaw took it. So now that he had passed, she took it.
She walked over and picked it up.
Joy.
She tuned the strings.
Happiness.
She strummed a G chord.
No, not that one. She strummed a D chord, her favorite chord and key signature in the whole world.
Perfection.
The little disheveled living room became a breath of unwavering delight.
Colorful lights bloomed and sparkled against the muted TV.
She kicked up her feet on the old coffee table and slouched back, playing every Christmas song she knew and loved.
It healed her nerves in a way she hadn’t felt in months.
Her voice rose with every high note, longing to feel the magic of the snow on her skin and the innocence of being a little girl in the wilds of Alaska all over again.
Back when she was brave. Back before adulthood hit.
Back when she believed she could fly and swim with mermaids.
Adulthood was difficult for someone who was never truly taught how to be an adult. And maybe she needed to accept it.
And grow up.
Whatever that meant.
Evelyn Morgan spent that Midwest winter alone, and she discovered how deep and lonesome those winters could be. So lonesome she could cry.
She walked into the kitchen, sat at the table, and held her hands in her hair.
Each tear fell on the littered table as she clutched her hair by the roots.
The cold draft rushed across her feet to where she always had to wear slippers.
But never mind this crying. Evelyn pried herself away from that bondage of depression and simply went to bed.
The nips of ice bit at her window, and the smell of someone’s wood stove burned in the night air. Perhaps it was Joshua again.
She rolled over.
Who…cares?
Spring came knocking on her door in a few months’ time to offer its happy song.
Well, it was trying to come, but as it would be in the Midwest, it was losing a weather custody battle with winter.
Some days it felt like spring, and some days it snowed.
Evie would wear a thick wool coat to work in the morning and then need the air conditioner on full blast in the afternoon.
It was March 1st, two days before her 40th birthday, and on this morning the TV played another cooking show.
Oatmeal simmered in a pot. A bowl of fresh fruit was directly next to it.
The sun shone on the clean kitchen table that was now crowned with a lively bouquet of numerous tulips, irises, and hyacinths.
Where disastrous moving boxes were nested and stacked in corners now was a clean space with a decorative floor lamp or some other piece of decoration she’d bought from the local dollar store.
One of her newfound addictions, no less.
The hair wax pot on her bathroom counter contained watery wax.
Her bathroom had rich aromas of rosemary and mint as the shower ran hot and she, inside, was singing.
The tea kettle screamed at her on the stove, and out of the shower Evelyn came and grabbed the towel so fast that she ripped it clean off the bar rack and made it come loose.
She scoffed at being torn between the kettle and picking up the screw that fell out.
Choosing the tea kettle, she yelled, “I know. I’m coming!
” She walked forward and stepped right on that screw, suddenly hissing and hopping while trying to hold up her pink towel wrapped about her.
The stove was turned off, and she sighed and smiled, pouring herself a nice cup.
“There we go! That should do it!” She took her oatmeal and fruit into her bedroom, sporadically eating in between picking out what to wear.
It was a big day for her. The possibility of a promotion, and she wanted to look her absolute best!
She put a white sundress against her body and looked in the mirror.
She grimaced and chucked it to the bed. “I’m not doing senior photos at the lake.
” Hangers were scooched to the side, and she smirked and then put on a pair of dress slacks, a blazer, and a leopard-print blouse.
She cast it away with a repulsed look. “It’s springtime, Evie.
Get with the program.” She sighed and continued as she rummaged deeper.
“No, definitely not,” she said. Until then she saw an old storage box.
She paused and slowly removed it and put it on the bed.
She popped the lid off and saw the dress that Pawpaw got her when she was in her twenties to congratulate her on graduating college.
Apprehensively, she pulled it out and let the beautiful fabric fall.
It was a lovely shade of celeste, Pawpaw’s favorite color.
And it was a dressy enough of a material that she could wear it.
With soft flowing short sleeves and a tapered waistline, the neckline wasn’t too plunged to where it was inappropriate.
But this dress was something she wore over fifteen years ago.
Evelyn pushed doubt aside and became eager to put it on.
It fell effortlessly around her! Tears welled in her eyes as she touched her stomach and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
It fit. Thirty pounds down now. Her full lips smiled widely as she twirled to let the fabric flow and catch the air.
The beautiful feeling consumed her entirely.
She lifted up her light-brown hair and shook it about playfully.
“I wish you could see this, Pawpaw. Oh, but wait! There is someone who can see this!” She turned and grinned. “Teddy!”
The heavy patters of paws came fluttering with clumsy movements, and in came the new fat tabby ginger she adopted, a male rescue named Teddy. “What do you think?”
He rolled over on her foot exposing his sandy-colored belly.
“Oh, a lot of help you are. I’m going for a promotion today, so I gotta look my best!”
Then she smelled wax cooking.
“Ah!” she hollered. She raced frantically into the bathroom and removed the lid to blow it off trying to cool it. “Oh,” she said shakingly with a bounce in her body movements. “I keep getting you too hot, then you get too cold!”
There was no time to wait, as she was already running late. She turned off the warmer, packed her tweezers, and headed for the door. She kissed Teddy goodbye and left.
Every step she gave had a dance in it. Joshua smiled and waved at her from across the street. “You got that interview today?”
She opened her car door. “Yes! Wish me luck!”
“Good luck! Maybe before you know it, you’ll be designing all the business signs in town!”
She smiled, thanked him, and left. It was a really nice thing to say.