Lover in the Window

Forevermore

"Love doesn't erase the past, but it makes the future different."

-Gary Chapman

Two hours have passed since Eve and Eli were at Woolum & Stewart, they are finally back at their home, where nothing feels the same anymore.

"We have stayed here for two weeks already since mom died, why does it feel so different now?" Eve says lightly as she rubs her hand along the china cabinet in the kitchen. "I don't feel mom here anymore."

"I know what you mean, knowing that the house is officially ours makes it not seem like moms anymore." Eli sits down at the table and begins taking his shoes off.

"You know mom would kill you if she knew you didn't take your shoes off at the door." Eve rolls her eyes at him.

"Oh lord, don't start mom." Eli picks back at her.

"Shut up, idiot." she smirks as she jokingly shoves Eli's head.

"So now what, where do we start?" Eli stands up and stretches his arms wide and gives out a loud groan.

"You could start by putting your shoes at the door." Eve points at his black converse shoes that still sit next to the kitchen table.

"And then what mom?" Eli laughs as he takes his shoes and places them into the shoe storage bin that stands next to the front door.

The room is silent, Eli notices Eve had left the kitchen. He walks over to the china cabinet she had been standing by and begins looking at the pictures. There is a clean spot at the bottom where a picture had once sat, Eli, Eve and Tracy, their first picture in the new house, with their new lives. Eli smiles as he realizes Eve had taken the picture to put in her bedroom.

"Eve?" Eli yells and immediately hears her footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Sorry, I had to use the restroom." Eve says as she passes Eli in the kitchen.

Eli doesn't say a word to Eve about the picture. He strolls into the living room and takes a seat in his mom's favorite recliner and leans back. No wonder she always fell asleep here. He looks over and runs his finger around a ring on the table left by his mother's favorite Elvis Presley coffee mug; the handle was a guitar and Elvis' face is printed on the foot of the mug. He goes back to the kitchen and brings her mug and places it symmetrically on the ring. He notices that her red lipstick has stained the rim on one side and the inside has stains of coffee.

Next to the mug was a stack of Nicholas Sparks books that she had read countless times.

Her favorite blanket is laying on the sofa across the room, he takes it and folds it neatly and places it on her recliner.

"Goodnight momma." Eli kisses his index and middle finger and places it on her chair where his mother's head would normally be lying.

Eli looks up and spots Eve standing at the door. "We can leave her things there; she would love that." she says as she walks over and hugs Eli.

"Yeah, it's been that way for ten years, there is no point in changing it now." He smiles and turns toward the fireplace, it is brick and covered in soot in most places, half burnt logs fill the inside. "I'm definitely not going to miss that."

"Oh, heavens no, mom would use it even if it was 90 degrees outside. But it was surely a beautiful sight to see." Eve turns back to Eli who was still staring at the fireplace.

"Totally unrelated but, there's something I need to tell you. I have some friends coming to visit" She grins and shrugs her shoulders.

"Oh boy, I don't want any part of this. I'll be upstairs if you need me." Eli shakes his head and walks out of the room.