Chapter 19 #2
Together, they placed their orders and went to sit down on the brown sofa and listened to the rain outside the window.
Caleb made small talk with the veteran with the guitar and politely asked if he could use it.
The two gathered to talk happily while Caleb tuned it.
Evie looked over as Mr. Eaton came to sit and she and Caleb scooted over to give him room.
As she smiled, she looked over and noticed that Sarah looked unwell. It was like she was hiding her face.
Why, she seemed like she was dying inside of something. And then she got up and left. Evie tried to greet her before she left, but Sarah seemed like she was in a bad mood, and so she refrained.
The whole café lit up when Caleb turned to Evie and sang the song to her, Lady A’s “Need You Now.”
She absolutely blushed, laughing like a lovestruck little girl all over again. She was proud of him. He was singing without needing the whiskey!
And then they left, passed his exit, and carried on to Maple Street.
Evie’s heart radiated happiness. The rain came harder as Caleb slowed down, and Evie enjoyed looking out the window at all of the winter decorations at the end of people’s driveways and even up on their porches.
She felt colorblind to the world of pain and heartache now, but her heart could color all of those sepias and grays with the joy she felt.
They got closer to her house, and she began planning in her quiet mind what food she would cook for him after they made love.
She imagined cuddling up on the couch with a banquet of anything she could throw together, or maybe he was gonna drop her off and leave.
That didn’t happen either. At that point, even if she never got her Valentine’s date, it wouldn’t matter. Every day was like that with him.
As they walked inside, Evie saw a note wedged into her mums’ pot. She let Caleb go inside, but she picked it up and opened it up. It read…
“I guess I should’ve told you sooner. I’m sorry.
I won’t bother you anymore, but I didn’t mean for it to get this far.
I guess I should be brave like you and go after what I want and not settle for less than what I deserve.
Can we please leave this alone and have you forgive me for what I did?
I didn’t mean to ruin your life. You deserve him.
You really do. I hope you’re happy, my friend. Love…”
Joshua Jackson.
Evie gasped and felt her head overcome with a crushing sensation. She looked across the road and could barely see Joshua sitting on his porch way up in the drive.
Joshua brought out his phone and texted her, “Are you going to report me to the cops?”
She gasped in shock and wrote back, “It was you who did all of this?”
He wrote back, “Yes. I’m so sorry.”
She swallowed hard and settled down. Joshua would never have done anything like that unless he was inclined to.
Something was wrong. She wrote, “It takes a hell of a lot of a man to admit this. No, your secret is safe with me. But why would you do that to me? You almost ruined my life and his.” She ended it with a sad emoji. It really crushed her.
Across the street, Joshua clutched his face.
Sarah had cheated on him with Alan Moffet of all people, and no one knew.
Sarah didn’t even know that he knew, and when he had found out Caleb was tailing Evie, he was looking for a hot recovery, and she was the best thing he could try to go after.
He was hoping he would have gotten to her first, but he didn’t. And he tried to break them apart.
He wrote back to Evie, “I don’t wanna say because as you have said, the talking has gone far enough. I’ll deal with it. Let’s just say I was jealous. Caleb was a tough case that you broke. I hope the best for you and him.”
“Evie!” Caleb called.
“Coming!” she answered. Evie texted, “What happened? Why did you do what you did? Why did you tell Sandy?”
Joshua thought sadly about his wife and his situation. “Like I said, I have my reasons, but I now know what can happen to someone’s life if they gossip too much. I’d rather keep that between my wife and I.”
“Whose car was the black sedan?”
“It was Breanne.”
“Let me guess. You slept with her?”
Joshua frowned in shame on the other end. “Things get nasty in a small town. I’m sorry I got so jealous over Caleb having you. I know none of this probably makes sense, I just wasn’t thinking.”
Evie sighed and wrote, “Yeah, but sometimes we gotta try to stick together and be honest with people about who we are, what we need, and why we’re hurting.”
Joshua let it sink in.
Then she wrote, “It’s the only way we can heal our small-town scars.”
It was Joshua Jackson all along. But it no longer mattered. Evie forgave him. She knew what it felt like to be in that position a little bit.
Inside, Caleb was sitting on the couch and looked worried. He patted the couch, and she sat next to him. His voice spoke dryly and slowly, “Sit next to me, I gotta talk to you about something.”
Evie drafted up all sorts of miserable scenarios and reluctantly sat next to him. “What is it?”
He shook, his nerves unsettled. The low light was ominous, and the rain came hard. The lights cast a shadow on his eyes as he looked downward. The house was quiet. “I have to confess something to you. I was gonna wait until Valentine’s Day, but I can’t.”
She steadied herself, but it was hard. “It’s alright. Whatever it is, we can get through it.”
“I’m in love with someone.” He still held his hands, leaning over on his knees in thought.
Her whole head felt like it was going to burst, and her lips went numb and cold.
“And I can’t hide it anymore. My past is healed, but this woman also feels like she can mend my future.”
The knife twisted, and she felt like she was going to choke. Internally, she was. Her heartbeat hit the floor, or so it felt.
And with that, Caleb scooted off the couch, turned to her, and got down on one knee. Evie felt the tidal wave coming into her chest, for she didn’t know what was going on.
Until he pulled a small black jewelry box from his pocket.
She absolutely burst into tears.
He gently grabbed her hand and spoke to her tenderly, “That woman is you.”
She covered her face with her hands. All over her body shook.
“Evelyn Marie Morgan, I know I leave soon for deployment, but…when I come back, will you marry me?” He opened the box to show her a beautiful gold band with a ruby surrounded by diamonds. She had never wanted a diamond. A ruby with gold was her dream ring.
Evie’s emotions crashed as she fell on top of him, knocking him over. Together, they held each other and rolled over on their sides. She bawled and clutched into his chest with reckless abandon, and she was stuttering the word “yes” over and over again. She cried harder, “Yes!”
Caleb lifted her hand and helped her sit up. She was shaken to the core. He had to steady her hand with his. He lifted the ring from the box then lifted her chin. As he kissed her, he delicately slipped the ring on. Through broken lips and breath, she returned that sweet kiss.
He was worth waiting for.