Eunice
Two months later…
“Are you bloody sure about this, Eunice?” Nora asked while Clarisse looked at me with wide eyes. Craig, on the other side, didn’t seem fazed. He seemed shocked, but he did understand. Nora looked at him and her anger fumed.
“Was this your bloody idea? I swear to God I will kill you if I come to know that you were the one who entertained this idea! She isn’t ready for this yet! Gosh, it has only been two months since she got out of the relationship!” She seethed in anger. Craig, on the other hand, snorted, giving her a wayward look.
“Says the woman who slept with me just a week after we met,” he replied back.
“Watch yourself, Craig. Try to enrage me and I will kill you in your bloody sleep!” Well, I knew that was never going to happen. In the past two months, they had been trying to get on as a couple, but with a hot-headed Nora, it seemed to be going nowhere. Craig wanted to tame the wildness at all cost. Let’s hope he didn’t get himself bitten.
“Nora, shut it, would you?” Clarisse cut in. “This god forsaken idea is hers, but god help me, Eunice, do you have any idea what you are suggesting? It has only been two months since you had handled yourself back. God damn it, are you even ready for this?” she asked. “It just seems so hasty. What happened to the promise you made to him? I know I rejected the idea at that time, but what you want is crazy. It smells like rebound or even a fucking one-night stand.” Clarisse tried to put some sense into me, but I couldn’t bring myself to think about the promise I made to him. I had given him my word that he would get a second chance, but he would have to earn it. However the last month I spent with Craig and his brother made me realize that some things are to be left off, not to worry about. I gave him chances, I waited for him, I begged him to take me back. How much more could I do?
“God, can you all just trust me for once? You want to talk about him, Clarisse. Did you see me when he rejected my love and choose Anne? Or what about the time when I tried to kill myself? I wanted a husband, a family, everlasting love, everything one could imagine about a solid true love, and what the hell did I get? A year or two of happiness and then when fate turned his eyes away, I was pulled into months of misery, pains that I wish no one to bear, accusations of something I never could think of, breaking me to the point where death seemed the only hope for me. Was that what I deserved?” I questioned, leaving them speechless. I wanted to do this, to move on. I just wanted to move forward without my past. I had put my mind to rest from all thoughts of him. I just couldn’t think about him every damn time without remembering the past. He had been mine for a short period, mine to love and I was his, but it was all short, temporary. He became the monster of my dreams. We were complementary to each other but I didn’t know what happened later on. Without him, I didn’t feel whole, but I had to try again. A part of me was missing. It was my own self that I was before I married him, before the tragedy hit us. I wanted to put in the effort to learn to become that person again, to be me.
“Damn, why do I get the feeling that you have your mind set on this? I just don’t think you’re ready emotionally!” Nora said in frustration.
“But she is. She wants this. God, why can’t you just both understand she needs this? She really can’t live with the dead past and memories weighing her down. She suffered a lot, and if she doesn’t try now, how will she move forward with her life? You both hated him, loathed him, and now you’re taking his side. What for? Don’t you remember about what all that happened?” Craig asked, giving me an assuring smile. Nora shook her head, while Clarisse breathed out a sigh.
“If this is what you want, I’ll help you. But whatever it is you want, I feel like you’re just rushing it, Eunice. I’ll be there for you when you’re over this,” Nora said. I turned to Clarisse, waiting for her answer. She would really help me out in ways of building me again.
“Well, I don’t think I can stay away from this! Damn, maybe I could come with you and ogle the guys from far away.” She gave me a bright smile before engulfing me into a hug.
“By the way, have you found anyone yet or have anyone in mind? Any special one you are looking for?” Nora asked, taking a seat beside Craig. “We really don’t want a person you go out with to be a creepy person.”
“Well, I was hoping if you could all help me on this…I really have no clue, but I have one small request I’ll let you know later on. Just don’t ask me what it is,” I answered hesitantly.
“I bet we can have Nora go and interview all those suits and Clarisse and I could sneak in some bad guys with tattoos and piercings for you without her knowing,” Craig joked. Nora hit him on the arm, hard. I really wasn’t the girl for bad guys. One experience was enough to ruin all my dreams for a bad boy for me.
“God, woman, it was a goddamn joke,” Craig said, trying to get away from Nora. He was not successful.
“Well, don’t joke like that,” Nora said. “And Eunice, we will all help you. If he dares bring some idiot or fool, I get your dad to beat him to shit. Maybe I’ll just make something up to give him a taste of your dad’s fist.” Craig’s eyes went wide.
“No, he won’t. He would never do that,” I said, trying to reassure him. I should have been a bit scared about it, but I wasn’t. I just wanted to get rid of the burden of the dead past and love that I carried. This was my new beginning.
“Why can’t I trust that?” Craig said, making me and the girls break out in laughter.
***
A day later
With a deep breath, I dialed the number, trying to keep myself in control. To my dismay, the phone was picked up before I had the opportunity to hang up.
“Hello,” an unsure voice said. This was it.
“Anne,” I whispered. “This is Eunice.” I breathed. All I could hear were her deep breaths from the other side. Minutes passed. I knew the reason behind what passed in the church. The worst part was that she became the gossip of the town. I met her father, he was my godfather, and we talked about Anne’s behavior, and her mother’s too. He was devastated with their behavior and the gossip about Anne. She was called a skank and slut. She withdrew from society. Brad Edgings sat teary in front of me, sorry about their behavior. He blamed himself for everything. It hurt me to see him like that. I promised him that everything would be fine, that I would make it fine. Anne was played by her mother, and her mother made her do things because of being deprived of the love she dreamt of. It was twisted and fucked up, yet I felt sympathy for her. Maybe if Morine and Brad would have talked and decided to make things work, they all would have been happier rather than having their life turned into a circus and being the gossip of society.
“Anne,” I called for her again.
“Yeah?” she whispered. “Why are you calling me?” Her voice shook.
“I need a favor, and some of your time too. I have promised something to your father and for that, I need to meet you.”
“Wh…at? Is it related to what I did to you and…what favor?” She hesitated.
“It’s actually more than that, but as much as I don’t like you and want to hate you, I really can’t blame you for everything. It takes two to tango, and you were pushed in the wrong direction by someone you trusted. I can’t forgive you yet, but for the sake of your father, I can always try. He’s sad and scared for you, and I wouldn’t mind burying the hatchet between us for him. He has a lot on his plate now, and if you and I can ease some of his worries, I’m ready to try if you’re ready to move forward.” I really had to do this for her father and the very sad fact that he had begged me. He was my godfather and seeing him like that really wasn’t easy.
“I…can try,” she exhaled.
“Let’s meet at the Revoir Restaurant at ten a.m. I’ll tell you about the favor I wish to seek from you. Are you fine with that?” I asked.
“Does it relate to Joshua?” she asked, being unsure. Hearing his name brought a sigh to my lips. Somehow I’d started to hate the name itself. Whenever anyone said his name, the monstrous things he said and did would flash through my mind.
“No, it doesn’t. I talked about it with your father,” I said calmly even though on the inside I wanted to snap.
“Would it make him happy, Eunice? If I come?” Her words held concern and hesitation. Maybe she really wasn’t that bad, just maybe.
“Yes, it would help him relieve some his worries and pain.”
“I will meet you at ten then,” she replied softly. For the first time, I couldn’t imagine her being a shitty bitch.
“See you then.” I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. It really was fucking hard.
“How did it go?” Clarisse asked.
“She’ll come, I’m quite sure. This might be her new beginning too,” I replied, earning a smile from her.
“Hope she does come. We’re not doing this for us, but her father. If she doesn’t agree to it, I’ll kidnap her and glue her to the seat.” She grinned and I knew she was liking the idea more and more every minute. Well, I need to keep that in mind, desperate times would call for desperate measures.
***
“Okay, it’s freaking not working,” Anne yelled as soon as she entered Nora’s apartment.
“What?” We all looked at her in shock. Either she wasn’t putting her best effort into it or there weren’t any good guys left here. Alex warned me that getting her a date could either go downhill or be a damp squib. It was really hard to find her a good guy. Her father had asked me to help her—more like pleaded. Her mother’s actions had put a mark over her reputation. She was known as a home wrecker, slut, and god knows what by this judgmental fucked up society. We set up a date for her with a nice guy from Nora’s firm, then a model working with Clarisse, and the last one she met today was a friend of Nora’s, one of the partners in her firm. Now she was back saying that nothing was working. Nora and Clarisse looked at me, both with narrowed eyes, while Craig grinned, a grin saying I told you so. He had told us on occasions that dolling her up wasn’t something a good guy would really appreciate. They would be judgmental and think her to be a daddy’s spoiled brat. Maybe sometimes we should really listen what the guys have to say.
“What do you mean, nothing is working?” I enquired, dragging my attention to Anne.
“It means that they just don’t like me!” she answered before settling down beside me. “I mean, like none of them talk a lot. It feels like we’re forced to sit there and just freaking stare at the menu, food, or anyone else but each other. However, today was the zenith point. The guy looked at me from head to toe shamelessly. When we settled down, we talked for just fucking five minutes, and then he fucking looked at his watch after every ten minutes and then every five minutes. God, it was so frustrating. It took all of my control not to snap at him. I tell you this was the worst date ever!” she yelled with her face in her hands. “I hate this!” We all looked at her with pity. I knew it was a bit of our fault for having her too dressed up.
“Hey, it’s all right. We’ll try again and try to find good guys rather than jerks this time,” I said, trying to pry her hands away from her face while mouthing to all the others to help me.
“No, it isn’t really, Eunice. It is so fucking hard to be stared at by people. It’s not only about the guy. Many people know me in the city, and they stare openly at me. Some even snicker and turn their faces away if I just greet them. It is so fucking hard to survive like this. I know very well that you’re doing this because you promised Dad to turn my life back to normal and try to fade the stains on my character. I’m very glad about what you’re doing, but it isn’t easy when people classify you as a slut, a home wrecker, and god knows what else.” She looked in my eyes. The pain she felt was evident. Well, we all understood what she meant. Anne and I might have buried the hatchet, but there were Nora and Clarisse, who gave her shit for the first few days, to the point where she would have run for the hills. I thought she might have, but she came back again for her father. For that, I started seeing her in a new light. With her mother out of the scene, she was doing pretty well.
“I don’t want to give you any trouble and neither to anyone else,” she said. I tried to say something but she shushed me.
“I’m going to Europe for a while. I really need a break from all this and I’m really glad that you helped me get out of my room. You helped me pull myself out of the darkness, and I’m very thankful. You have given me enough courage to stand up on my own, and now I think I need to have a new start too. I will always be ashamed of what I did. You have helped me even when you should have treated me like everyone else did. You just stayed with me, somewhere along the line you became the motherly figure I wished for. Thank you so much for all of it.” She gave me a real bright smile.
“But your dad—” I said.
“Don’t worry about him. I’ll talk to him about this. I really need it, Eunice. I don’t think I’ll be able to find anyone for me here, but maybe there I could find someone who won’t be a jerk. At least I’ll be safe from people’s negative stares and their taunts. Maybe this will be my real new beginning, something I would be grateful for.” Some people really change. I hoped for her to have someone in her life.
“All the best for your date today, Eunice. I think I should go and talk to my dad. I also have to do a lot of packing,” she said, laughing. I nodded to her. She said thanks to everyone in the room, gave all of us a hug, and saying goodbye, she went on her way.
“God, she really changed. Who could have thought that?” Clarisse said.
“Sometimes all they need is a little push in the right direction,” I told her.
“I hope Anne’s mistake taught you something,” Craig said. Nora gave him a deadpan look.
“What do you really know about girls, huh?” Nora asked. An argument immediately erupted between them. Clarisse and I looked at them for a good five minutes and then turned around and walked inside my room.
“Well, Anne’s words really helped us realize we don’t want to overdo it,” she said, closing the door to the room.
“Yeah, but I felt a bit sad for what she had to go through on her dates. I really hope Jason isn’t a jerk.”
“Don’t worry, Eunice, I know Jason, he’s a good guy and the best photographer we had. He has a good family background, no criminal records. He had been in two serious relationships…both of them broke up with him and ended up marrying old men. Nora checked up on him too,” she told me, laughing. “I know him, have worked with him, and he’s really a great guy. I have high hopes that you will really like him.”
“I really hope so,” I told her. I really felt maybe this could be my new beginning.
“Hey, their voices died down. Do you think their arguments are over or they’re on to each other?” Clarisse asked, wiggling her brows. She gave me a devious smile before walking towards the closed door. Opening the door a little ajar, she yelled, “Nora, your ass looks beautiful with Craig’s fingers digging in it!” She laughed like a maniac. A loud “fuck” was said by Craig.
“I’m going to kill you, Clarisse,” Nora yelled back.
“Hey, you should get a room rather than killing me,” Clarisse said, and from there on the bantering began. I just enjoyed it. I should have got popcorn for this.