Eve of Forever

Evette stumbles down the stairs of her dorm, pulling her favorite oversized beige cardigan over her arm, her tote bag, heavy with books and doubling as her purse, swings wildly on her other arm. She corrects her footing just in time before she nearly falls catastrophically down the stairwell.

“Shit, shit, shit.” She arrives safely at the bottom and rushes out the door into the crisp, autumn air, and begins speed-walking towards the restaurant the next block over. She continues cursing under her breath, knowing she is once again late, which shouldn’t be a surprise anymore after 21 years of perpetual tardiness.

If I could just get my shit together enough in front of my dad, it would be a miracle. She huffed across the street up to the entrance of Demora’s, the restaurant she served at, and pushed through the doors, immediately snapping her head from table to table in search of her father.

A hand rose up and gave a little wave, and Evette sighed as she spotted him and began walking over. He smiled gently through his scraggly salt-and-pepper beard as she sat down across from him, struggling clumsily with the bag on her shoulder before finally dropping it on the floor beside her.

“Hey, Dad! Sorry I’m late. Were you waiting long?” Evette asked, pushing her frizzy hair back away from her face while smiling sheepishly.

“Oh not too terribly long. Definitely not the longest you’ve made me wait.” He chuckled, “I’ve come to expect that I’ll always end up waiting on you.”

“Yeah… I know.” Evette said, laughing awkwardly. One of her coworkers came around and took their order and they started off with uncomfortable small talk before the real questions began.

“So… how is Christy?” Evette asked apprehensively. Christy had been his latest girlfriend in a long line of failed relationships. Her father had been married 4 times, but he never let much time pass from the end of one relationship until he was on to the next woman. Sometimes Evette questioned his timelines. There seemed to be some overlap on occasion.

“That ended over a month ago. She started letting herself go. I’m seeing Tammy now.” He replied gruffly. Evette just silently nodded her head. She had never even met Christy in person and now he was already over her. She assumed Tammy would end up the same way.

Part of her always wanted to confront him when it came to his relationships, how he could never seem to stay single for long, yet couldn’t stay in a relationship for longer than a couple of years at a time either. She knew it wasn’t worth the fight though, he was short-tempered, and would always get aggressive anytime Evette questioned his actions or choices. Since she had been living in the dorms the past 2 years, she didn’t feel the need to press the issue. She was out of the house now, therefore she no longer had to deal with the fights between her father and whatever woman he was with at the time, or the fallout when the relationship inevitably imploded.

“Tell me what you’ve got going on. Gonna graduate anytime soon?” He asked, crossing his arms and eyeing her as if she were under some sort of police investigation.

“Not anytime soon, I just started my junior year, Dad. It’s gonna be another two years before I get my bachelor’s.” Evette replied, a slight annoyance escaped in her tone although she tried to hide it. He just grunted in response as the waitress came by to drop off their food. He began digging into his pasta while Evette shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

“I do have a special conference I’m going to this weekend. It’s for history majors in the honors program. I’m not presenting, but it’ll be a good experience because I could be a presenter next year. We get to stay in a nice hotel in some place called Ferndale. All expenses paid.” She said, hoping for some sign of approval. He grunted again before answering.

“Seems like a lotta work for a whole lotta nothing when you could’ve been working at the shop with me and be making a decent living.” He said without looking up from his plate and continuing to shovel food in his mouth. Evette deflated a bit, her shoulders slumping forward slightly.

She knew she shouldn’t expect any sort of approval from him. She started working in his motorcycle repair shop after graduating high school, and stayed there for a year before finally deciding she couldn’t take it anymore. She applied for college and once she was accepted, she applied for the dorms and never looked back. Between the constant passive-aggressive comments from her father, his endless rounds of girlfriends, and the constant arguing between him and her younger brother, she had enough. She had always dreamed of attending college, but was told time and time again by her father that she couldn’t handle it, and would make better money at his shop, but nothing was better than the freedom and independence she felt when she left home and started her classes. Despite his obvious disapproval, a small part of her still longed for some sort of supportiveness.

“Well, I’m happy with where I’m at. I think I’m learning valuable life skills, you know? And I’ve always loved history, you remember when I was a kid and I loved watching all those historical documentaries and reading the ancient mythology books that Mom-“ Evette’s nervous rambling was cut short when her father abruptly dropped his fork to his plate with a loud clatter and gruffly cleared his throat. Evette quickly looked down at her lap as heat rushed to her face. He didn’t like it when she brought up her mother.

It had stayed a sore- no, forbidden- subject of conversation for as long as she could remember. Her mother, from what she could remember, was a warm, caring and gentle woman. The relationship and marriage her father had with her mother was the longest one, a whole eight years. She had died when Evette was only seven years old, her brother only four. She had taken her own life, but Evette knew little about her or the details surrounding her passing. Her father refused to speak about her.

“You said you were staying at a hotel out of town this weekend?” He asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah, with the other students that were invited to the conference.” Evette replied, grateful that her father chose to resume the conversation rather than remain silent- or worse- fly off the handle and storm off.

“Any boys staying there with you?” He questioned, a sharp glare piercing her. She rolled her eyes. He was always on edge when it came to her being around the opposite sex.

“A few, but they’re staying in separate rooms on an entirely different floor, and before you ask, no, I am not the least bit interested in any of them.” She replied haughtily. She couldn’t help her irritated tone. He should know by now how she felt about boys.

“Don’t let them try and sneak into your room. They’ll act like it’s no big deal and before you know it they’ll-“

“Dad, how many times do I have to tell you? I’m not the least bit interested in having any sort of relationship. I’m 100% focused on me, myself and I. In fact, I really don’t like the majority of men I meet. I have no patience for them, I don’t like the games they play to try and get girls, and I despise the idea of getting into a tangled, messy relationship. I don’t want a man fucking up my life, and I’ll be damned if I let one have a chance to. That’s a promise.” Evette quickly scooped a bite of her pasta into her mouth and tried to hide her annoyance.

He should know I don’t want another fucked up man in my life, he gives me enough problems. She fidgeted anxiously in her seat. She realized she had cursed in front of him, but hoped he would overlook it in light of the answer he was obviously wanting out of her. Thankfully, he did just that.

“Good. The last thing I need is another ass to kick.” He ground out, causing Evette to roll her eyes once more. The rest of the lunch progressed rather silently. No more remarks about Evette’s education, no reprimands, and certainly no praise.

Evette was relieved when lunch was finally over and her father took off after a quick, awkward hug. She practically ran back to her dorm room and dove face first into her bed with a dramatic groan.

“I hate men.” She hissed into her pillow.

She had finally started to loosen the tension that her body had built up over lunch when the door slammed open. Evette’s head snapped up. Her roomate, Veronica, was standing triumphantly in the doorway, an almost insane smile stretched on her face.

“I got me a NEW MAN!” She proclaimed proudly. Evette slammed her face back into her pillow, her groan more dramatic than her last.

Perfect timing.