Fan Fiction ❯ Eve's Garden ❯ Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

They never spent a day apart after that.

Michael would stop by Eve's work to bring her roses from his grandmother's garden or pick her up for dinner. He had a dozen lilies, her favorite flower, delivered on the one week anniversary of the day she first knocked on his door. Eve would drive to the ranch and take him lunch on her days off. Eve and Michael went to the movies, to baseball games, horseback riding, and for picnics in the park. And every night Michael was a perfect gentleman, never trying to seduce her; the pair would fall asleep in each others arms after talking for hours.

Two weeks into their relationship, Michael told Eve that he loved her. After stammering a bit, unsure how to answer, Eve excused herself to talk to Diane.

Diane could see the fear in Eve's eyes, "Oh, Evie, don't worry. He says that to me too. I'm sure it's just innocent, meant to let you know that he cares about you. Not the capitol L love."

Eve breathed a sigh of relief, "Are you sure? Thank God. I was about ready to run for the hills. How could someone be in love after only two weeks?"

Eve and Michael continued their courtship.

He took her to his favorite seaside town and rented a room with a romantic view and a whirlpool bath tub. Eve had never used one before and made the mistake of putting bubbles into her bath before turning on the bath's jets. The two were nearly blue in the face with laughter as they tried to get the bubbles to subside after the entire bathroom became engulfed like a replay of an old "I Love Lucy" episode. They walked hand in hand on the water's edge and watched the sun set. Michael took Eve fishing off the pier and they ate steaming hot clam chowder out of bread bowls.

She "kidnapped" him one day from work, blind folding him and driving him to the top of a beautiful look out point high above their town. She had arranged a candlelit gourmet dinner and soft music. She removed his blind fold just as the sun was setting and the lights were beginning to be turned on down below. He cried and said that no woman had ever done anything so beautiful for him.

He made a tape of all of his favorite songs for her. She bought him a copy of her favorite book. He made her breakfast in bed, the scrambled eggs a little runny and the toast a little hard- she didn't mind. She found recipes for all of his childhood favorites and made him dinner. The polenta was cold, the veal was tough, and the garlic bread was burned- he didn't mind. He rented a motorcycle and took her for a ride in the countryside. She wrote him poems and left them on his pillow when she woke before him.

And Eve realized she loved him.

She went back to Diane one morning. Diane admitted that she had lied before, "I'm sorry," she said, "I knew he loved you, even then, but I knew you were too afraid of something so serious. He really, really does love you. I've never seen him so happy. Or you. Do you remember that I told you that Michael had downed half a bottle of alcohol that night he saw Pete kiss you?"

"Yes…" Eve said, puzzled.

"Well, I found out why. He admitted to me that the moment he met you, he knew you were the woman he would marry someday. He's had other girls he was interested in end up liking Pete instead. After feeling what he felt that first night, and seeing Pete kiss you, he thought he'd lost his chance. He was crushed. I don't know how or why, but he knew, even then. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, but I could see you were really happy. And so was he. I didn't want you to end things before they'd had a chance to begin."

But Eve wasn't scared any more. What she felt was more pure, more intense, more true, than anything she'd ever felt before. She called George to tell him that she was in love.

That night, Eve took Michael back to the restaurant where they'd had dinner together for the first time. She sat across from him this time, and after dessert, when he touched her cheek with his hand, she cried.

"Oh, Eve, what's wrong? Did I do something? Are you unhappy? Did you bring me here to end things?"

"No, Michael, no, not at all. I've never been more happy."

"Then why are you crying?"

Eve took a hold of his hand and looked into eyes, "I'm crying because I'm happy. Because I realized something today."

Eve took a deep breath, " I love you."

This time a single tear rolled down his cheek.

When they got back to his apartment, he held her in his arms like he never wanted to let go. He held her like a starving man holds a loaf of bread, like a drowning man holds a life preserver. He kissed her greedily, over and over again. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids, her nose. He kissed her shoulders and the inside of her elbows. He kissed her like her wanted to taste her over and over again. They made love then. Softly, slowly, with an earnestness that neither knew they felt, and a passion that epics are written about.