Care Package

SAM

If you’d informed me the night I met Evie that I’d be sitting across from her butt naked, nothing but her comforter covering my junk, eating Chinese food after the best fuck of my life, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it.

Even now, as I sat across from her with a cardboard box between us as a makeshift table, I was still in disbelief that a woman as impeccable as she could give me the time of day.

While the little white carton of sesame chicken distracted her, I gazed at her body.

She had a rosy sheet wrapped around her breasts, hiding my view there, but the way the candlelight danced across her skin and contoured her collarbones, her jaw, and the shallow spots under her cheeks was like artwork.

Her hair was piled into a voluminous brown bun on top of her head. Frankly, it was a mess, but I didn’t know if I’d ever seen her look any more perfect.

Evie looked up from her chicken, and I glanced away. My work suit was all wadded up on the floor, but I couldn’t bring myself to stress about wrinkles. I could only relive how everything got strewn across the room in the first place.

“So, what’re you doing tomorrow?” Evie asked, setting her takeout container on the box’s top.

“I have to help Mom with some grocery shopping, but if that’s an invitation, I can be here afterward,” I suggested.

“It’s a date,” she said, smiling sweetly while claiming the rice.

A date… Now that I thought about it, Evie and I hadn’t been on a real one. Our relationship started pretty unconventionally. I wouldn’t consider screwing in a bar bathroom, faking being a couple, or banging on the floor of her apartment as dates, even if they were all fun.

I couldn’t just take her anywhere, though. Evie was special. I needed to brainstorm some ideas.

“Thanks for offering to spend the night here,” she said, glancing over at the mess of sweat- and cum-stained blankets where we would have to sleep later.

~As if she has to thank me…~

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, toying with her. “You’re only using me so you don’t feel alone.”

“Hey…” Evie furrowed her brows. “That’s not why at all.” She looked earnest, like she was about to get sappy on me. I didn’t mind, though. I felt pretty sappy about her in return.

“If I’m being one hundred percent honest, Vázquez…”

~Here it comes.~

Evie grinned. “It’s the size of your cock.”

Laughter erupted, and I threw my head back at her unexpected jest.

As our chuckling died down, all I could do was stare at her dumbly. Her ex-husband must’ve been crazy to cheat on such a rare gem.

“What?” Evie asked.

I shrugged. “I just can’t figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“Why your ex, Doctor Dickwad, did what he did,” I said. “I mean, you’re pretty, smart, funny…I knew it the moment I met you, so what was his excuse?”

I shouldn’t have asked. Evie drew in a hard breath and severed eye contact. Sorrow curdled her face.

“Sam…,” Evie muttered. “I—I don’t really feel comfortable—”

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted. “It’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s okay,” she said. “I ~want~ to tell you; I’m just…I’m not ready.”

Evidently, there was more to the story than I knew. The suggestion of a secret did pique my curiosity—but the last thing I wanted to do was make Evie uncomfortable.

“Hey, that’s okay.” I offered a reassuring smile. “I’ll be here for you when you are.”

***

“So, how’s Evie?” my mother asked the next day. I was helping her and Pops put away groceries, and she’d clearly been bursting with questions for a while now.

“She’s good,” I said, grinning. “I was with her yesterday helping her move into her new apartment, and I’m seeing her again later.”

“She’s a feisty one,” Pops said, appearing from the walk-in pantry. “I like her. The way she went off on Carla last weekend…pure gold.”

I furrowed my brows, sliding the next can to my mother across the black marble countertop. “I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable for you guys after Evie and I left.”

“No, no,” Ma assured me. “We’ve always gotten along well with Carla. That’s why we invited her to spend Christmas here. I didn’t like how she was speaking to you, though. I appreciate that you have a woman who will stand up for you.”

~Why didn’t you stand up for me yourself, then?~

But I knew that wasn’t fair. My parents didn’t like conflict. As far as they were concerned, their home was open to anyone who needed a place to stay—especially family. Carla had been family for a lot of years.

“Did she say anything interesting after I left?” I couldn’t help being morbidly curious. I’d loved Carla once. I did hope that she’d found what she wanted in her new life.

“She didn’t stay very long,” Pops said thoughtfully. “Got a phone call from that new husband of hers, and he wanted her somewhere right away. I worry she doesn’t stand up for herself enough.”

“Carla?” I laughed incredulously. “Standing up for herself has never been Carla’s problem, Pops—trust me.”

~Ping.~ My iPhone chimed from my rear pocket. When I saw the name ~Angel~ across my screen, I developed an unruly grin.

Angel

Hey. I’m suddenly not feeling so good, so I think it’s best if you just stay at your place tonight.

My smile faded as swiftly as it occurred.

Sam

Is everything okay?

Angel

Yeah, I think the Chinese food we ate last night isn’t sitting too well with me. I’ll be fine.

Sam

Okay, I’ll see you Monday at work, then?

Angel

Yeah, I’ll be there.

Sam

Alright. Feel better, angel.

I slid my cell into my pocket with a sigh. “What’s got you so down all of a sudden?” Ma asked, sounding concerned.

Evie had said her stomach was off, but I couldn’t help wondering if I’d done something off-putting last night. Maybe I’d put my foot in my mouth—bringing up her ex-husband.

If that was the case, though, I doubt we would’ve had that little morning make-out session before I left.

“Evie…she just canceled on me. Said she was sick.”

My mother trailed to the pantry, materialized with two large cans of chicken noodle soup and a package of crackers, and slid them toward me with a smile.

“I’m not gonna take you guys’ food, Ma,” I protested.

“I’m not asking you to take it. I’m asking Evie to take it.”

“If your woman is sick, you bring her soup,” Pops said, adding a two-liter bottle of ginger ale to the pile. “It’s a gesture she’ll appreciate—trust me.”

They smiled at each other, and it was obvious that Pops had done that for Ma a few times over the course of their relationship. And, well, who was I to argue with people as old and wise as my parents?

***

An hour later I was knocking at Evie’s apartment door, holding a brown paper bag filled with soda, soup, crackers, and a box of candy canes for when she felt well enough to eat them.

Evie’s muffled voice shouted from inside, “What’re you doing here, Vázquez?”

I was confused until I realized she must’ve seen me through the peephole. Her voice was raspy, and I could hear periodic sniffles through the wood. Maybe she just had a cold, but it sure sounded like she’d been crying.

“I just came to drop off some soup and ginger ale,” I said.

No answer.

I’d thought she’d at least accept the groceries, even if she didn’t let me in. A nerve-wracking weight built in my gut as we stood in silence on opposite sides of the door.

“I don’t want you to see me like this…” she muttered.

I raised my brows. “Evie…you know I don’t care how you look, right?”

I sincerely didn’t. The woman could stand in front of me in sweatpants, a stained shirt, and greasy hair—and I’d still find her attractive.

No response.

“O-okay, well…” I set the care package on her doorstep. “I’ll leave the stuff here, and we’ll just talk Monday, okay?”

Nothing.

As I headed away from her door and down the hallway, I couldn’t help feeling bummed by her rejection. I just wanted to be there for her. If it meant cuddling until she fell asleep on my chest, or even holding her hair back as she got sick, it didn’t matter.

But she clearly wanted to be alone, so she didn’t leave me much choice. I just hoped she would be okay.