Breve Series: Date at the Water Grill

Untitled Part 3

                                                                                               -5-

Evelyn woke up unusually early. Normally, she loved to sleep in, and unlike a lot of people of her age, she could sleep through the night. What now, she thought. She had no reason to get out of bed yet; she had nowhere else to be. She had sold her event planning business when Charles was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. She did that not only to take care of him but also so she could share whatever time he had left. She didn't want to waste a moment of it. It was a decision she never regretted. She was grateful that she had had the luxury to spend his final months with Charles. But now she was alone. And while she was financially comfortable enough to never have to work again, it also meant that she had no real goals any more, nothing to get out of bed for. Except for her daughters, of course.

She made coffee, sat down on the comfortable sofa on her backyard patio, and stared into the distance. The house was on a hill and from the patio she had a nice view of the valley. This is where she and Charles used to sit almost every evening. Her daughters suggested that she sell the place. It held too many memories of their life together. But she couldn't leave. She felt she belonged to this house just like she still belonged to Charles... She took a deep breath. Maybe it was time for her to move on and to stop thinking about Charles constantly.

What to do with this day? She decided to call Brigitte to check if she knew the girls' plans for the evening. She looked at her watch; it was after seven. Perfect. Brigitte might be already awake but still at home; she wouldn't have left for school yet. She might not even go to school today, thought Evelyn. She got on her cell phone.

"Hello," Brigitte's croaky voice filled the line.

"Hi darling, it's me. Mom!" Evelyn's bright voice brimmed with excitement.

"Hi mom," Brigitte stifled a yawn.

"I was thinking I might visit you girls tonight," Evelyn said, "You will all be home, right?"

"Is that why you're calling me now? It's barely past seven in the morning. You could call me in the afternoon or do what you usually do, and just stop by."

"Am I bothering you?" asked Evelyn.

"You mean right this moment or in general?"

"I meant right now."

"Oh, in that case, the answer is absolutely and entirely YES," said Brigitte.

"What do you mean by 'in general?'", Evelyn asked suspiciously. "Do I bother you in general?"

"No mom, in general you don't bother me. Or let me rephrase it. You don't always bother me but at this particular moment, at 7:15 am, yes mom, you are kinda bothering me, because guess what. I have to go to school today."

"No need to be sarcastic. I didn't know if you had school today. Or let me rephrase it," she said, imitating Brigitte's voice "I know you have school today but didn't know if you were planning on going. And I just wanted to call you to let you know that I'm planning to come by tonight. And it would be lovely if you could let your sisters know too, so they won't be surprised."

"No worries mom, I'll let them know. But I'm sure they wouldn't be surprised even if you stopped by without any notice."

"I pretend that I didn't hear that," said Evelyn a little bitterly.

"Mom, I really enjoy chatting with you, but as I said, I have to go to school. I have a class this morning that I absolutely can't miss, so could we continue this conversation tonight when you come over?"