Lover in the Window

Of Past, Of Present

2020

"The good life is not one immune to sadness but one in which suffering contributes to our development."

-Alain de Botton

"Well I could spot those green eyes from anywhere." DeeDee walks over and pats Eli on the back. "You're much taller than I remember." she laughs with her wrinkled hand held outward like an old branch. The sun is high above their heads, throwing an orange beam across DeeDee's small frame and her silver hair shines brightly. Eli stands tall and strong against the blistering wind of midsummer. His shoulders are broad across the top, his chest is noticeably muscular, even when clothes cover it, and his arms are lean and steady.

"I was a little kid last time we met. The Tavern, right?"

"Right. Your momma used to bring you in all the time and show you off. Every one of the girls had a crush on you. Lord if they could see you now." DeeDee fans herself with her hand.

Eli smirks under his ball cap, modest, as he fools around with words to say. "I appreciate that."

DeeDee walks past him but not before she reaches out to touch his arm with compassion. She remembers all too well.

Sometimes the biggest struggle one will ever face in life is the will to forget that which hearkens at the door. The things that bother us only come really late, when the moon is covered by a curtain of clouds, and when the fog cloaks the front porch and yard. That is how it stays hidden. That is why it does not appear during the day - the things which grants us our miseries.

Gambrel & Collett Funeral Home had done a good job at putting the nail in Tracy's coffin. So, for a $30,000 funeral it better be a shiny nail. Eve struts up wearing a black taffeta dress that has a slit up the side that exposes one leg. She tilts her head down until her sunglasses rest on the end of her nose, "Have you read this horseshit? They misspelled her name!"

Eli takes the crumpled newspaper of the local Trinity Tribune and reads...

NEW FALLS, MO -Tracey Evelyn Wells, 45, of Wayward Bay, PA passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 5th, 2020. Tracey is the daughter of Ruth Anne Carmichael (Wells) and Albert Wells, born to them in Montgomery County, PA, on March 11th, 1975. Tracey was brought up on Aspen Court. She graduated with honors from Lakehurst High School. She went on to attend the University of Kentucky College in 1993 where she graduated Valedictorian and majored in Business Economics, earning her PhD. She went on to pursue a career with the American Economic Association (AEA), where she gave seminars on microeconomics, and game theory.

On September 4th, 1996, Tracey married Rory Layton of Middlesboro, KY, and to this union two children were born- one son, Eli Layton, and one daughter, Evelyn "Eve" Layton. Tracey and Rory separated after 8 years of marriage.

Of recent, Tracey opened a local restaurant called T.E.E.'s Safe Haven, an adventure of which that was highly successful. For the last several years of Tracy's life she has received multiple local and national awards in fine dining, cultivating a 4-star rating, and winning the prestigious Zagat Award in 2018. Tracey was also part owner of The Gypsy Tavern, a 2-star restaurant based in Wayward Bay, PA.

Tracey is preceded in death by her two sisters, Claire Wells, and Jill Wells. Her two uncles, John Albert Carmichael, and Louis T. Carmichael. Her mother and father, Ruth Anne Wells, and Albert Wells. Her beloved first daughter, Olivia Anne Wells, whom left us prematurely on December 20th, 1991.

She is survived by her two children, Eli Layton (23) and Eve Layton (18) and her sister, Christine Greene (40) and husband Todd Greene (47).

Two nieces, Zoe Skylar Greene (16) and Penelope Autumn Greene (10). Nephew, Liam Alexander Greene (14).