Closing Books (19 page)

She looked down at the items, then back at him, confused about what she was supposed to do.

“Everyone has to say something,” Tyler explained.

As she took the pen and paper, she thought about what to write. She knew everyone had spoken the good of how Mandy had survived, but that wasn’t all Mandy Shannon was. Since the purpose was to let go of Mandy, she decided to be the one to let go of what wasn’t good about her.
 

She scribbled onto the paper before saying, “In memory of the girl who forgot how to trust.”

While she placed her piece of paper on the top of the pile, Dan picked up a twig and Marianne handed him a kitchen lighter. Dan paused and blinked.

“No one smokes,” Marianne explained.

Dan took the lighter with a wry smile. He lit the lighter, placing the fire right at the tip of the twig. Once it caught fire, Dan shifted his grip to the middle of the twig and handed the other end to Evelyn while cocking his head toward the pile of paper.

Evelyn took it and lit the slips of paper, watching them turn into ashes.

When the paper was completely gone, Dan kicked some soil over it to fill up the ditch. Mr. Sawyer then went behind one of the trees and handed everyone a white rose. One by one, they stacked the roses above the newly covered ditch and headed back to the mansion, leaving Dan and Evelyn behind.

“Thanks for doing this.” Evelyn tiptoed and gave Dan a peck on his lips.

After placing her own rose, she strolled back to the car with Dan. They drove up to the mansion where, as usual, Marianne had prepared a sumptuous meal for everyone.

Evelyn opened her eyes and glanced over at the clock next to her bed.
 

“Crap.” She jumped up and ran her hand through her hair. She couldn’t believe she’d overslept, especially since she’d gone to bed earlier last night.
 

She smiled as she picked up her phone and saw Dan’s text.

Will be there in fifteen minutes.

Tossing the phone back onto her bed, she tried to hurry, but when the doorbell rang, she had only just stepped out of her bath in her bathrobe. She strode out and opened the door after checking the security screen. “You’re early. Give me a few more minutes.”

She turned to go back to her room, but Dan grabbed her arm, and stopped her. “Take your time; we’re not going to Ty’s for breakfast.”

She turned back to him and asked, “Why?”

“We’re going out.”

“Where? I need to work.”

“No you don’t. Kate says it’s fine if you disappear for a few days, as long as I get you back in one piece. So…” He reached to the side and pulled out an enormous pink Care Bear. “Happy birthday!”

Lifting the bear, he handed it over to an extremely confused Evelyn while he stepped in.

“It’s not my birthday.” She struggled to carry the gigantic Care Bear. Even using both her arms, she couldn’t get a firm grip on it. Using her leg, she hitched the bear up before grabbing it around the neck.

Dan had gone on into the living room, picking up magazines and some pieces of clothing off the table. He held them in his hand, looked around for a moment, and eventually chucked them onto a corner of the couch. “I know. We had a funeral for Mandy Shannon, I thought Evelyn Jordan deserves a birthday.”

Evelyn took a few steps and dropped the bear. She stood and considered the possibility of hauling it all the way into her room without dragging along the other stuff that was scattered around. “And why is there a need for such a huge toy?”

He looked around the house and grinned. “I was afraid you might lose it if it wasn’t large enough to be covered by,” he scanned the living and said, “stuff.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he laughed.

“I’m kidding, I don’t mind the mess—not that it’s messy at all.” Stepping forward, he pushed her damp hair behind her ear and took her hand. “You said you didn’t own any toys, so I wanted to get you one that’s…special?” He lifted her chin and kissed her softly on the lips. “You hate it?”

She smiled and returned his kiss. “No, I love it. Just need to find a way to get it into my room.”

“You can ask me to help.”

“Why can’t you just carry it in for me?”

“Because I think it’s good practice for you to ask for help.”

She wanted to retort, but after the stunt she created last night, she deserved it. Nodding, she cleared her throat dramatically and asked in the sweetest voice she could conjure, “Dan, would you
please
help me put this lovely present into my room?”

“Anything for you.” He winked and picked up the bear easily.

While Evelyn got ready, Dan moved around the house, picking up the pieces of clothing flung all over the floor and dining chair, and placed them on the couch. Then he arranged her magazines, placing them neatly on a corner of the table.
 

“So, you haven’t told me where we’re going.”

Though she only left him alone for less than fifteen minutes, her living room looked drastically cleaner than it was before, almost like how it looked after Kate had been over. She stood, distracted by the lack of clutter on her floor.

“Just thought I’d help you pack things up a little. Had nothing to do,” Dan said.

Evelyn was used to Kate cleaning up her stuff; it didn’t matter much to her. She knew that many people who live messily always claimed to know exactly where their things were. Evelyn never bothered to lie about that; she never knew where her things were.

She knew, roughly, that she’d probably thrown something into a particular corner, but other than that, she was usually clueless. Whenever she was desperate to find something, she would simply call Kate and pray that Kate had packed it away neatly.
 

“I didn’t do much. Just picked up your clothes and gathered your magazines.”

Evelyn smiled and shrugged. “I don’t mind. I guess it’s easier to find my clothes when they’re in a heap as compared to all over my house. So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” The corner of Dan’s lips turned up, almost into a smirk.

“You know, this whole secrecy thing let me learn something about myself—I. Do. Not. Like. Surprises.”

“You’ll love this one.”

She shook her head; his arrogance was annoying her, but she couldn’t help thinking it was somewhat alluring.

Taking his arrogance as a challenge, she started her quest of prying some information out of him. Throughout the whole drive, she tried asking him different questions in various ways. She tried goading, coaxing, and pleading with him, but none of it worked.

Having run out of creative ways to question Dan, she gave up and watched the passing scenery while her mind continued to muse over the possibilities of where they were heading.

When Dan finally pulled the car to a stop, she looked out at the park and wondered what they were doing there. She turned to ask him, but he’d already closed the door behind him and was moving toward hers.

Once she stepped out, she glanced around and spotted Marianne waving at them.
 

Sitting in the shade of the tree, everyone except Joseph was there. A large mat was spread out with all sorts of food that must have been prepared by Marianne. “A picnic?”

Dan grinned and, with his arm behind her back, led her toward the group.
 

“Happy birthday!” Marianne smiled, pulling out a small cake from a chilled lunch bag. “I’m sorry, I didn’t have much time to make it look better. Your boy there didn’t bother telling me until after he sent you home last night.”

“I wasn’t asking you to bake one. I was asking you and Kate to
pick
one.” Turning to look at Evelyn, Dan said, “I had to go buy your present.”

“Why would I
pick
one, when I can make one?”

Evelyn looked down at the cake. It already looked like a store-bought cake. “I’m not trying to be polite, but it looks beautiful as it is. Thank you.”

“Oh, come sit down. Kate said these are your favorite dishes. Try them!”

“Thank you, Marianne, for preparing all of these.”
 

“Oh, my dear, Dan planned it. I just did what I do every day—cook! And you should know I love cooking.”

She sat on the mat while Ryan said, “Try the cake first.”

“Because Marianne says he can’t have any until you take the first bite,” Kate added.

Evelyn laughed softly. “Aren’t you afraid you’ll get fat from all that eating? I mean, you can’t work out in your condition, and you’re opening a gym.”

“This boy still has his dumb bells in his room. And don’t listen to him complain about having difficulties moving around; he’s always moving around on his own. Can’t sit still.”

“Joe working?” Dan asked.

Tyler nodded as he ran his fingers down Kate’s hair.
 

Evelyn looked around. She’d never imagined herself having a picnic with such a large group of people. She’d never thought she would fit into such a scene, sitting idly under the clear blue sky, being among the smiling faces and the laughter that filled the atmosphere.
 

She leaned onto Dan and whispered, “Thank you.”

Brushing her hair behind her ear, Dan hooked his arm around Evelyn’s shoulder and pulled her closer toward him. “You’re welcome.”

They sat around eating and chatting the whole morning, until Kate had to go meet a client. Tyler then drove Kate to work while Mr. Sawyer sent Marianne and Ryan home.
 

Evelyn and Dan lazed around in the park, chatting about nothing in particular. She laid her head on Dan’s lap, watching the clouds drift along with the warm summer breeze. She listened to the children’s laughter and the mothers’ chatters. Even though it wasn’t really her birthday, so far, it had been the best she ever had.

Kate always bought her something nice, but Evelyn was adamant that there be no celebrations. She hated her birthdays; they reminded her of a time where she was naive enough to believe in birthday wishes, only to be disappointed.

Now, it didn’t seem to matter what she’d believed.

It didn’t matter that her birthday wishes never came true, it didn’t matter that the only birthday cakes she’d ever seen was through the windows of a bakery.
 

All those memories hurt, and though she could still remember them, it didn’t seem that important anymore.

They stayed until they were hungry then headed for lunch, which was another affair that lasted hours. By the time they stepped out of the restaurant, Evelyn thought they’d be heading back to the mansion to wait for the others to return for dinner.

“Tired?” Dan asked.

Evelyn shook her head; she hadn’t done anything except eat and chat. There certainly wasn’t any reason for her to be tired, but she was feeling rather lazy. The slow-paced day made her want to laze the rest of the day away.
 

“Good. I’ve got something else planned.”

“And what’s that?” She should have guessed that he wouldn’t tell her anything.

As expected, he shrugged and grinned. “You’ll love it.”

With last night and that morning’s experience, she knew nothing would get him to tell her what he was up to. Dutifully, she strolled alongside Dan toward his car.
 

Periodically, as they chatted in the car, she would glance out at the scenery and try guessing where they were heading. Soon, they were out of the city area, and she didn’t recognize the streets they were on. If Dan weren’t the one driving, she’d probably be freaking out right now.

Instead, she turned to him and continued to list all sorts of ridiculous ideas. At first, she was simply trying to goad Dan into telling her what he was up to, but after a while, they were having so much fun with it that she just continued.

Not long after, she noticed the tiny glow of lights in the middle of the horizon. She leaned forward and squinted, wondering what it was. She could feel Dan’s eyes on her, so she was certain that whatever she was looking at was their destination.

She continued staring at the lights, and as they got nearer, she could see the tip of a Ferris wheel. The round metal structure emerged further, and more lights lit up at its base.

“Fun fair! You’re taking me to a fun fair!” She turned to look at Dan for confirmation, but she immediately cleared her throat and forced her wide grin into a small smile when she saw the indulgent grin on Dan’s face.

She hadn’t meant to get all excited, but she couldn’t help it; she’d never been to a fun fair before.

She used to watch on television how kids played at amusement parks and fairs, but she never had the chance. She never even allowed herself to dream of going to a fun fair. Surviving the day itself was tough enough.

When she grew older, fun fairs and amusement parks became reminders of a childhood she never had and of the nightmares she wished to forget.

Getting out of the car, she leaned against the door and watched the myriad of lights and the blue and white awnings that stretched across the different stores. Loud music blared from the speakers placed randomly across the fair, and like the park, it was teeming with children, parents, and couples.
 

“Ready?” Dan asked, turning her attention back to him.

“Definitely.”
 

Dan took her hand and led her into the crowd. Pulling her toward a store, he asked, “Anything you like?” His chin gesturing at the soft toys hung up against the wall.

Evelyn shook her head. “One huge bear is enough.”

“Then there isn’t any fun. Pick something.”

She bit her lips and stared at the toys on the wall, hesitating.

“Humor me.”

Sighing softly, she pointed to the purple Care Bear, a much smaller version of what he bought.
 

“All right, our aim is to earn 75 tickets today.”

“Is that difficult?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

Dan pulled her close. “I’m pretty good at everything here, so…”

“I learn fast.”

“Okay, then let’s do it this way. 75 is the number we need. Let’s see who can get more tickets. Loser has to prepare dinner for the other.”