After ten minutes of walking and a productive conversation, Caddie’s house came into her view.
“That’s our house.” Caddie enthusiastically pointed to the green-roofed house a few meters away from them.
Evan watched her walk ahead of him. He smiled as he saw her rush towards the structure. Though he followed her lead, a pang of fear struck him.
This was it.
The moment he deeply wanted to avoid finally came.
Goodbye.
Evan wasn’t a fan of such thing. He never wanted the feeling of saying goodbye, but it was better initiating the words of finality than letting the other person direct the farewell to an unknown path. Evan always had the belief that if he was the one who began the process, he’ll be in lesser pain since he would be the one to draw the line – a broken one for the people he wanted to meet again or a thick line for those who … just didn’t catch enough of his attention.
This situation was different though. Sure Evan was afraid of being directed towards oblivion, but he couldn’t initiate the farewell talk with Caddie. It was just too difficult for him to do so. He wanted to see Caddie again. He didn’t want to draw any line at all. But did Caddie feel the same thing? His will was leaning towards letting Caddie say goodbye first. In this manner, he wouldn’t utter anything stupid.
As he was contemplating, Evan didn’t realize that he already walked past Caddie.
“Evan!” the voice he memorized by heart called out to him.
He looked around, wondering why Caddie wasn’t within his immediate space. Panicking, he turned around and was relieved to see Caddie about two meters away from him. Exhaling deeply, he mustered the best smile he could and walked towards Caddie.
The Cromwell’s residence was a Southern Colonial style house. The white fence emphasized the beautiful front yard garden. Evan immediately spotted the red rose bushes that were nearest the white fence. The stone path in the middle of the garden led visitors to a covered porch. The garage was on the left side of the house, while a path neatly defined by marigolds led to the back portion of the house. Evan also noticed a circular swing, painted in light yellow, near the end of the trail of marigolds. All in all, the house gave off a welcoming atmosphere.
“Are you that excited to leave?” Caddie asked. Her voice revealed nothing special.
Well, that was what Evan thought.
Caddie wasn’t a fan of goodbyes. She hated the type of words that people say when they reach the said situation. They were always the same things. See you again. Until next time. ‘til we meet again. She was tired of hearing these lines, which is why she never initiated goodbyes.
Caddie gave everyone she met the right to draw the line. Either they will be glad to see her again, or they would rather not cross paths with her.
But this situation made her feel different. She didn’t want Evan to say the usual words she hated to hear. She wanted him to ask her for a second meeting. She wanted him to ask her if he could visit her some other time. But her desires were all indefinite at the moment. And though Caddie couldn’t normally say it, she had to initiate the farewell part. Because even if she didn’t want to say goodbye, it would hurt her more if Evan spoke about it first.
“Uh. Not really.” Evan replied, trying his best to mask his anxiety.
Caddie smiled. “You walked too absent-mindedly for someone who replies like that.”
