metanoia

Chapter Seventeen

She woke up before me that morning, and everything was like it was before she left. That day was my last day at work before Matt shut down the store, and then we were both off looking for new jobs. Matt was my one real friend (he was actually only 23, so he was pretty close to my age) so we kept in touch. He told me my shift that day was only 4 hours, so we'd just hang out together and clear off the shelves. I could "bring my girlfriend if I wanted", according to his text. I considered it, but I didn't know how Evie would feel about hanging around a boring half-empty grocery store all day. Anyways, after I thought about work a little, I got up to go to the bathroom and shower. Evie's little bottles of strawberry shampoo and conditioner were back, and so were her bottles of face and body soap. I'd missed the way the shower was strawberry scented, and I was glad to see those stupid little bottles taking up all my shower storage space.
After I got washed off, I pulled on a t-shirt advertising a videogame I hadn't played in a while and a pair of my best jeans. I combed through and gelled my hair, and came down the stairs to see Evie on her knees, her head in the cupboard, searching for something.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
She bumped her head on the way out of the cupboard. "Ow..." She said, rubbing her head. "No, no," she said when she saw me. "I'm okay. Just looking for another skillet..." There were already 2 on the stove, and she probably couldn't fit another one on there. She had eggs frying in one and bacon in the other.
"What else are you making, baby?" I asked, sitting down at the little table.
"I wanted to make French toast," she said slowly. "I didn't know what you liked best, so I thought I'd just make a little bit of everything."
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her chubby little waist. "I love everything you make."
"Oh, hush. I wanted to make your favorite, since you've probably been living off coffee and cereal here by yourself."
"How did you know?" I chuckled.
"All of my Special K strawberry cereal is gone." She said with a wink. "Did you like it?"
"Hey," I said, "in my defense, it was all you had. Plus, it's not exactly gender-specific cereal, you know."
She giggled. "There are women in all the commercials."
"Yeah," I countered, "but there are usually men in all beer commercials, and some women drink beer."
"Touché." She said, winking and turning back to the cupboard. She eventually gave up looking for the second skillet and just made me eggs and bacon. It was just as good as what my mom used to make for me. I planned on having to encourage her to eat, but it just kind of happened. She didn't really put up a fight. She did eat some fruit, which was a major thing - before her recovery, the sugar and calories in fruit were too scary. There were lots of scary foods for Evie, like cupcakes and peppermint bark. She loved peppermint bark, so I bought her a box, not too long after we met. Later I found it in the trash. I confronted her, and she told me it was way too high in calories for her. I felt crushed. She had such a hard time eating more than 800 calories a day, that I never knew what to make for her or give her. I hated how much she talked about her weight. It got so annoying sometimes. Hopefully, I thought, that would stop now that she's recovered.
"Want to go have sex again?" She asked, dropping her plate in the sink and waking me from my reverie.
"Evie..." I began. I thought she was over her sex addiction.
"I just missed you... I was so bored and deprived at the hospital. I was too afraid to send you super erotic letters, I didn't want the nurses to read them..."
I laughed at that. "Erotic letters? Wow."
"Yeah," she said. "I really thought about it. I was horny out of my mind sometimes, just dreaming of you. I had all this pent-up sexual tension."
"You'll be okay." I said. She sighed sadly, and I decided to give a little. "We can spend a nice day together today and stay up all night long satisfying each other. Okay?"
She smiled and hugged me. "I love you!" She said.
"Only because I let you have your way." I said, pretending to be angry.
"Oh, you know you love it." She giggled, pressing a kiss into my hungry lips.