Between Octobers

October 17th

October 17th

Clips of his movies played in loop on the giant televisions in Costco. He was all over countless magazines near the checkout aisles at the grocery store. That signature messy hairstyle and strong jaw line were plastered across billboards on the sides of the road, on busses and buildings. Talk shows casually dropped his name in their 'what's hot' segments. YouTube had thousands of hours of interviews and clips showing him being stalked by dozens of strangers with cameras.

He was literally everywhere I looked. What hole had I been living in that I never noticed?  

I enjoyed Evan's company as much as he enjoyed my tedious meandering. His deprecating charm was just what I needed. It turned out that we had a lot in common, too. I loved cooking and he loved eating. He was very funny and I loved to laugh with him. He hated running but loved kickboxing, which I could not get into. Who wanted to get hit when they were working out? But we both loved to watch boxing and Chris Farley movies. 

The other day, he went with me to walk the dog and retched as I scooped up Arnold's poop. I laughed at how easily he became nauseated. Everything grossed him out, whereas nothing got me.  

Anytime we'd run into one of his fans, he was friendly and utterly charismatic. Unless they got creepy, which was 50/50. In the last week, I'd witnessed at least a dozen marriage proposals. Some were clearly kidding, but a few seemed completely serious. Everyone had to give him something. And he took it, without hesitating, even if it was weird. He received dozens of scripts from hopeful writers, flowers, cards, tons of dirty pictures, and several locks of hair. The only refusals went to one girl who tried to give him her underwear—she took them off in front of us!—and another who tried to give him a charm necklace that held a small vial filled with her own blood. Other than that, it was nice to see the interactions with his admirers and how deeply he appreciated their support. I always offered to take the pictures and even started carrying a black marker. 

Evan liked to play combat games with Noah on the Xbox and taught Caleb how to tie his shoes. Actually, he thought he taught him how to tie his shoes. Caleb was pretending; the product of pure laziness.

Marcus, Evan's best friend whom he also employed as a personal driver, had latched onto Lily. He was clearly infatuated from their first meeting and she seemed to think that Marcus was worth getting to know, too. I liked him. He was very sweet and level-headed—the perfect best friend for my dramatic Evan. The potential for happiness bubbled in my stomach.

I'd invited the three of them over for a barbeque that evening. The fall weather was too lovely not to take advantage. I smiled to myself, because it wasn't even lunch time and Evan was already here.

Bright beams of sunlight shone through the sheer curtains of my bedroom window. Just beyond them, to the left, at the edge of what used to be a gaping hole sat a silhouette. Evan was in the back yard, examining the tile work of the new swimming pool. His position, casually leaning to one side, resting against his arm, reminded me of last week, when I brought him home before we left for the movies.

While I was getting changed and easing my conscience in the heart-to-heart with Noah, Lily was feeding Evan. She was excited and babbling, suffering from a moderate case of hero worship, which led her to follow him out to the back porch. He to smoke, and she to make sure Arnold was shut inside the dog walk. She then proceeded to start a conversation, hoping to obtain some level of what she called chemistry. I took a small bit of umbrage when she told me, but made allowances once she apologized. He was her secret celebrity crush after all.

She described the encounter as Evan sitting on the bench in the backyard, leaning on his arm, flicking ashes into the dirt, much the same way he was slouching outside near the empty pool. She sat next to him, purposely invading his personal space. As her shoulder brushed against him, he got up and walked to the edge of the patio, asking about the giant hole in the dirt. She took the hint and gave up.