Chapter 9 #2
“I’ll go down to your basement. We’ll start there, and then if it’s below $600, you can take it. I’ll cover any differences.”
She shook her head. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
He slowly smiled and tilted his head and reached for a brownie. “You know how you keep saying you want to help me and to know more about me?”
She perked up. “Yes, absolutely.”
“Well, you’d be surprised what a pretty face and good company can do for someone. Let’s just say that.”
By saying so little, Caleb had said a mouthful.
There was no way Evie couldn’t understand now.
Like a sparrow knowing what branch to land on instinctively, which one would hold its weight, Evie knew now her lover was someone who wanted to possibly forget certain things in order to feel the wholesomeness of something new.
And if she kept bringing up the topic of wanting to learn about him, it could have possibly been opening up a scar each time.
She swallowed hard and steadied her breath.
She touched his arm affectionately, which was once again something he wasn’t used to.
Ashley and he had made love dozens of times.
But dozens of times in the span of being together for nearly twenty years wasn’t a lot.
It wasn’t like he never loved Ashley, but the torment of being deployed left a heavy strain on their love life. And then there were other things.
When he came to that thought, he pulled away and led her to the basement.
Evie followed and listened to everything he said.
She turned on the lights and gave him the pad and pen he’d requested to make the notes he needed.
It only took him a few more times before he had to go to his truck to get a few more tools.
She waited in the basement and sat on the rickety steps.
It was dank down there, and she had been so afraid of basements ever since her brother teasingly locked her in a dark one once.
Therefore she never went into the basement again after the showing.
But it was dank, dark, and musty smelling down there.
While she sat, she thought about his action and how he pulled away from her.
This time, she didn’t care. Let him pull away, she thought to herself.
Let him do what he must do. It was all so true.
A smile crept upon her lips and was felt in every inch of her body.
She didn’t want to reopen those scars. She wanted to heal them. She still believed even the physical, emotional, and psychological pain could all be healed. Some could call her na?ve, but she simply believed. And even if they ended up never healing, she believed no one should suffer alone.
So, fuck it. She no longer cared if she could save him, if he actually needed saving. But if he did have hurt, she didn’t want him to go through it alone.
Something scurried across the floor and caught her eye as Caleb was heard upstairs coming in through the door. Her eyes peered a bit more, and she lifted her chin from resting on her hand. “Caleb!” she called upstairs.
“Yo!”
“Can you bring Teddy down? I have a mouse down here.”
He brought the big fat orange cat downstairs all cradled up in his arm with the fat falling over his forearm. “I think you feed this Jabba too much.”
She laughed and stood. “Yeah, he keeps sneaking into the cat food.”
He plopped Teddy down on the floor and saw the mouse in question far off in a darker corner. It was huddling.
Caleb began his search and saw Teddy being absolutely useless. He joked, “Man, even the male animals in your life can’t pull their weight.”
Evie crossed her arms. “Oh, he’s useful in his own way.”
“If you have mice, there’s a good chance there are foundation issues. I’ll wait until tomorrow when I can come over with all my stuff and do a good thorough check, because if you don’t need an inspector, I don’t want you paying for one.”
Evie thanked Caleb for his work and went upstairs to leave him to it and also to cook dinner.
He was staying the night, and so she felt that after all the yard work he did, the least she could do was prepare a good, home-cooked meal.
She thumbed through her favorite country cookbook and deliberated which recipe would entice a busy man like him.
She settled on pork chops with seared mushroom and olive salad with a good fat pile of mashed potatoes.
Something filling, something zesty and new, and something comforting.
Before she did any chopping, she went into the only bathroom she had and laid out fresh towels for him on the bathroom sink.
After his work was through, he showered using his own products he had brought, and the faint scent of sandalwood and amber lingered in the air.
Dinner was absolutely splendid in both food and company. Caleb shared a lighthearted fishing story of when his bloodhound seemingly pushed him into the lake. On the heavier side, Evie described being forced against a wall in Los Angeles as a man groped down her pants.
By the time their plates were empty, the sun dipped low in the sky. Caleb looked at her as she refrained from crying. It was a hard thing for her to do now. She didn’t want to cry in front of him anymore. She’d done enough of that.
“Why did you let me pin you against the car if you had that trauma?” He sat back and stretched hands on the table. His gray t-shirt had the sleeves ripped off, and his sandy-brown hair was fluffy now that it had dried. “I kinda feel terrible for doing that to you now.”
“Please don’t. There’s a difference between consent and non-consent. I told that man five times to leave me alone. When I threatened to call the cops if he didn’t stop, that’s when he slammed me into the wall.”
Caleb listened sympathetically, slowly rubbing his lips with his thumbs while his elbows rested on the table.
Evie’s eyes couldn’t resist from watering.
Every single touch a man gave her was violent, lecherous, selfish, and immoral.
The air was still. Not even the traffic outside down near the road was heard.
He could see the hurt building in her eyes.
“Every man who has touched me was either not welcome to do so or was using me. It was never genuine. With you, I know it’s genuine. At least…I hope.”
Caleb asked, “How is it you’ve never had a decent boyfriend or a boyfriend at all? Even when you were bigger, you definitely weren’t hideous, and you’re the most giving and loving person I know. You can’t tell me you haven’t had one decent man come around.”
“My daddy, my brothers, and Pawpaw taught me what love from a man was supposed to be. And even then, every guy I was attracted to didn’t like me in return.
I was overweight nearly my whole life. And in the early 2000s the skinny model trend was all the rage.
If you weighed more than 150 pounds, you were considered fat.
Now that I am older and the body positivity movement has happened and men are more accepting of bigger girls, they’re all married.
So once again, I’m simply lusted after. Always lusted after and never loved. ”
Admitting the words stung violently like a cobra’s fangs piercing her heart, unleashing the cruel reality of truth’s venom into her blood.
Caleb had heard enough. Her vulnerability was a classic beauty to him. He took her by the hand and said, “Come with me. I want to do something with you.”
Evie looked up to him as he outstretched his hand.
And all she saw was him.
Slowly, she took his hand, and his grip tightened.
Like the leader he was in her life, he led her to the living room where he picked up his phone from his overnight bag and brought up a song.
When it started to play, he plopped the phone on the couch.
Her nerves shook. Her heart pounded as she jerked to hide the tears back.
It was the song that made her fall in love with country, “Neon Moon” by Brooks and Dunn.
Sure, it was a song about a terrible breakup, but the harmonies, swaying melodies, and smokey vibe were all romantic to her.
She looked at his handsome silhouette, his now smooth face basking in the amber lights of her lamp. As the cold rain came with the warming call of an owl outside, he approached her and took her into his embrace. He gently cradled her head to rest it against his chest.
Evie knew what heaven felt like that very moment.
Caleb wrapped his muscular arm around her lower back and held her right hand with his other hand and whispered, “I know how much this song means to you. And I know how much this exact thing means to you.” He smirked.
“I’ve seen enough of your posts on Facebook to know. ” He slowly led her in a dance.
She giggled with a little blush.
The trembling of her lower lip could not be stopped. God himself could not stop it. Thunder nor rain couldn’t stop it either. Her body separated from her mind, and only her heart took control. Evie brushed her cheek affectionately up and down on his strong chest, squeezing her eyes tighter.
He hushed her cries. “It’s okay, baby. I can take all your tears. I’ve got you.”
She whimpered and felt the tears roll down her face, “Boy, do you ever.”
He smiled. Then Caleb tried to guide her out for a little twirl before bringing her back in.
When he did, he tried to dip her in playful romanticism, but Evie freaked and clutched his shoulders, holding herself up.
She feared he wouldn’t be strong enough to hold her.
He snickered, “You underestimate my strength, Catwoman.”
She giggled as he pulled her upright again and they continued dancing. “I’m sorry I’m too big for that.” Then she smirked up to him. “Batman.”
He grinned back down into her eyes, searching them. “I easily picked you up on the bed and threw you down. So, trust me?”
She looked up to him and stammered, “I trust you.”
Once again, Caleb guided her out for a twirl, and she whirled back into him. She feared the possible outcome and grew nervous. But he caught her and dipped her effortlessly with one arm, yet she was still holding on to his shirt. “Let me go,” he ordered passionately.
Her knuckles were white. Her back was stiff, and her abs were overloaded. But slowly Evie let go.
He did have her.
Her eyes sparkled up to his, and he smiled then, pulling her up. He kissed her and then said, “You owe me French toast in the morning for that.”
“I never promised you French toast for nothing,” she quipped back cutely.
“Yes, actually you did. I just had you in a love spell, and you don’t remember.”
She smiled up to him as they moved around the room. “You probably did, Mr. Wright.”
The night was filled with comfort on all levels.
They cuddled on the couch together in their pjs, ate food they both shouldn’t have eaten, and watched a few Batman movies before moving to the bedroom.
And there Evie brought Caleb up close to her belly.
“Here, lay your head on me for a while. Let me rub your scalp and stuff.”
He was hesitant. But she patted her soft belly again. The pink cotton pants of her nightclothes were topped off by a long, white cotton t-shirt that even he had to admit felt soft as hell. He could imagine lying on it and being lulled right off to sleep.
“Come on,” she coaxed. “You completely enamored me out there. Let me make you feel comforted.”
He was still reluctant for reasons he didn’t know.
But after a minute, he shrugged with a grin and curled up by her.
The moment he felt his head resting on her warm and plush belly, his arm wrapped around her tightly with a mighty squeeze.
His hand grabbed her belly a bit and it was comforting to hold.
His grip hurt her a little, but she didn’t mind.
It was the perfect resting place for his weary mind and heart.
The moment her fingers ran through his hair, it was now his turn to feel like he was going to either come alive or come undone.
He wasn’t sure. Her hand brushed gingerly across his strong back, and it made him sigh deeply and collapse in breath.
His whole body melted into the mattress, his head completely cradled by her soft belly.
Thunder sparkled outside across the Midwest sky and they both chuckled. Evie said quietly, “Of course Missouri would randomly get a thunderstorm in the fall.”
Caleb just groaned, “Mmmhmm.”
The rain echoed out in the trees and could be heard plopping little bloops. Caleb’s breath grew steadier every minute. Teddy pushed the door open and came in to join them on the bed. It was a tight fit with Caleb’s body being all scrunched up to lay on her. But somehow, they made it work.
The following morning, she had to leave for work, and he did as well, but he didn’t leave without getting his French toast and a deep kiss.
They kissed with their hands on each other’s faces, tangled within each other’s hair, pushing their bodies viciously against each other. Caleb sighed, rubbing her cheek. “I’ll be having my kids for the week as you know, so I may be sporadic with replies. Is that okay?”
She moaned in a smile, “Of course it is. You don’t have to explain anything to me. I hope you have a good week.”
He grinned with raised brows and a nod. “I’m gonna have a great week.” Before he turned to leave, he asked, “You really are afraid of guns?”
“Yep. It’s the loud, sudden noise.”
He winked. “Next weekend, I’ll teach you how to shoot.”
After one more kiss, they left the house and got in their separate cars. But a strange thing happened.
Evie never heard from him again.