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Welcome to Paradise (Chapter 4)
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 Created on 12-19-07
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Evelyn stared at her ceiling as the hammock swayed back and forth beneath her. The Georgia night stuck to her skin against the constant blowing by the ceiling fan of slightly cooler air. All had seemingly stabilized,yet she couldn't stop thinking about the boys she had met earlier that day. Their presence made her feel welcome in a place where she was a stranger. Then, the oddly kind Dylan stayed in her mind. His friends seemed to treat him harshly. She wanted to seem them again - she had a summer to get to know them all. A breeze blew softly through her open window, bringing her back to reality. She drifted in and out of thought for the rest of the night, unable to sleep.
She came back to reality to the peacock down the street and the sun just coming over the coastal frontier. Her aunt Jo was still asleep and the house's silence burned her mind. Evelyn had to leave. She stood up and threw on a pair of shorts and an old lacrosse hoodie over top of her camisole. She then went into the little sea-side town.
The store fronts were dark, and the breeze whistled along the sea walk. However, out in the water was a figure on a surfboard, rolling in on a wave with unmatched grace. He lifted his ocean licked hair with glimmering sunrise bouncing off. And their eyes met.
He came out of the water holding his surfboard and walked up to her. "You know, its a little creepy to be watched by a girl who just happens to be the only person out at this time in the morning."
"You're out." She responded, still stunned by his tanned skin and sun bleached hair.
"I'm surfing." He tried to catch her eyes and get her to match his glance. "What are you doing?"
"I had to get out of my house, and a walk sounded nice." She grinned.
"What's your name?" he looked at her curiously.
"Evelyn." Her heart started beating quickly.
"Really, well Evelyn, perhaps you should be a little more conscious of the fact that people don't like being watched." He teased and smiled.
"What is your name?" She stared up at him.
"David. I'll see you around Evelyn, I need some breakfast." With this he lifted his surfboard and walked away from her.
The rest of the day seemed uneventful, though her aunt called her cell phone to congratulate her on the job at the bakery and let her know she could pick up her schedule so she could start next week. She also sat down with her new boss in the bakery and talked for a while, learning that her name was Jessica.
"Evelyn, before you go, I'd like to know why you're here. Your Aunt said you were having family issues so she invited you here." Jessica asked with a look of concern.
"Jo could probably give you a better description of my mother to you, but she hates being involved in anything that could ruin her reputation. It was just easier for her daughter to disappear than for her to actually help me with a restraining order on an ex boyfriend." Evelyn sighed loving the ability to be honest with this good woman.
"Sounds like a problem, but I guess a good thing is that you don't have to worry about him anymore, right?" Jessica smiled warmly.
"No, I don't. And it is wonderful."Evelyn paused and looked at her boss," Do you have a family?"
"I was going to. My husband died a few years back and we never had children." Jessica smiled painfully.
"So why not remarry?" Evelyn asked encouragingly.
"I could never love anyone other than my husband. I could never imagine children with anything but his features, or another man in my bed. It's a lesson I guess you'll learn when you fall in love. My husband helped me open this bakery, he built our house, and worked hard so he could always provide for the family we wanted." She sighed and wiped her flour covered hands on her apron.
"Well, I'm sure it makes him happy that you still love him so much." Evelyn smiled to be returned with a similar gesture filled with pain.
She left her encounter with her boss with a strange feeling that the people here weren't as one-dimensional as she originally assumed. The little sea side town had a little more color to it as she left the bakery and started to walk towards her aunt's gallery.
Later that night at dinner, Jo asked," So, have you made any friends yet?"
"I think I'm working on a few. Played frisbee with some boys yesterday and met a really weird girl named Hillary. There's also a girl named Lydia who lives in the old manor." Evelyn took a bite of salad.
"Someone moved into that place? I thought they were going to tear it down. There was this awful accident there about 7 years ago. We thought no one would buy it." Her aunt looked over her head in curiosity.
"What kind of accident?" Evelyn asked.
"I never found out. All they said in the papers was that the entire family was killed in it." Jo took a sip of her wine.
"Interesting." Evelyn said to herself.
No wonder Lydia said it was going to be a lot of work. She should only imagine what kind of accident it was.
That night, she slept and slept. Being awake for over 24 hours finally caught up with her and allowed her to sleep the rest of the night. Her dreams seemed nonexistent and when she awoke her room was already filled with light and Jo was gone. What time is it? How long did I sleep?
She decided she would wear her shorts again and threw on a t-shirt. Once she slipped on her sandals she was out the door. The sun was almost at its zenith and the walk was busy, at least for the town. Out on the beach, with no surprise, were the boys playing frisbee.
"Hey! Evelyn!" Dylan spotted her. He ran up to her,"What are you out doing?"
"Nothing really, just walking, finding ways to spend my time before tonight." Evelyn smiled remembering the party at the factory.
"Oh, are you going to a party or something?" Dylan asked curiously.
"Yeah, there's one at the factory tonight." She grinned.
"I heard about that, but didn't think anyone I knew was going besides the guys. Do you have a ride out there?" Dylan asked.
"No, I hadn't really thought about that yet."
"Then I'll give you a ride." Dylan smiled happily and returned to the guys with her. They discussed the party and smiled laughing about what could happen and what was going to be there. They boys seemed excited at the recollection of the amount of alcohol to be present.
"Who throws these parties?" Evelyn finally asked.
"There's this girl named Hillary who is this heiress daughter. She has so much money and her father lets her do whatever she wants. Besides, he owns the factory, so she can use it without any legal issues. She literally throws money around with her parties, and her secret tree house...Oh, the stories I've heard from people who have been lucky enough to be invited there. If she personally invites you anywhere you do not say no." Dylan stated while staring off into space.
Evelyn sat Why would Hillary have invited me to the tree house without even knowing me if its hard enough to get invited if you do know her. She then also considered Dylan I wonder why he knows so much about her.
Michael laughed as Archie put his arms around Joseph and started acting like an extremely drunk woman,"Hey there big boy, what do you say we have a night out on the town. Just you and me, let you experience the stars.."
Dylan turned and laughed,"Come on Joseph, we all know your gey."
Joseph laughed and shoved Archie off of him." So we're all going to the party tonight?"
"That would be cool." Evelyn smiled.
The group planned when to leave and that they would pick up Evelyn. In the mean time, they would play frisbee for a while. After a few hours the group decided to take a break while Dylan and Evelyn took a walk up to the bakery to see if they had fresh cookies.
"So, how long are you going to be here?" Dylan asked.
"At least for the summer, maybe longer. I want to try and go to college even if its community college, but the closest one is in Savannah." Evelyn sighed.
"You could do an online college." Dylan suggested.
"No internet access at my Aunt's house, and besides, the county library is a little far off." Evelyn sighed. "And no computer."
"That could be a problem. This past May I graduated and I start at the repair shop in August. I decided I wanted a break from everything after school ended." Dylan sighed. "I used to deliver papers."
"That's interesting." Evelyn smiled politely. Looking at Jessica, happy to see her, she asked" do you have any fresh cookies?"
"Evelyn, you'll be working here come monday and you don't know I bake them fresh every morning?" Jessica laughed
"Oh, well, could we have a dozen chocolate chip?" Evelyn smiled.
"$2.75, as of monday you get a discount though." Jessica winked.
After leaving Dylan stared at Evelyn," She really likes you."
"What do you mean? Isn't she like that with everyone?" Evelyn laughed.
"No, not really. She tends to be serious and reserved, but nice. She just doesn't like talking to people - just loves baking. It's neat to see her happy though. I've never really seen her like that." Dylan took a bite out of one of the cookies.
Within minutes of being less than 10 feet of the guys the cookies had vanished. "Who is up for another round?"
"Actually, I think I'm going to go change into my bathing suit. It's a beautiful day, its hot, and there's a perfectly good beach." Evelyn then started walking back to her house when Dylan ran up to her, grabbed her and started carrying her back to the beach.
"You don't need to change." He laughed as he threw her into the ocean.
"Don't think you just won, because you're coming in too!" Evelyn grabbed his arm while he was taking off his shirt and pulled him into a wave.
"Don't know about you guys, but we're actually going to get our trunks." The guys headed back towards the Kristof house, leaving Dylan and Evelyn alone to splash each other.
"I wasn't planning on getting my shirt wet ya know!" He pushed her playfully.
"Yeah, well I think you should watch yourself boy!" She jumped at him making them both land in a wave.
"I think you're making a big mistake." Dylan laughed pulling her into his lap.
"Why? What are you going to do to me?" Evelyn laughed playfully pulling away from his grasp.
"Do you really want to know?" Dylan started to lean towards her face.
"Hey guys!" Archie threw a water balloon at Dylan's head.
"That hurt you moron!" Dylan got up, moving Evelyn to the side. "If you think I'm not going to pay you guys back for that you're wrong!" He got out of the water and started chasing Archie and Michael down the beach.
Evelyn laughed. She liked being around the boys. They were pleasant, spontaneous, and funny. Standing up from the water she walked onto the beach and took off her soaked sandals, hoping they weren't ruined. She then ran towards he boys, tackling Michael as Joseph knocked Dylan over top of Michael. An old woman actually stopped walking and laughed at the group.
Standing up, covered in sand, they all followed each other into the waves. After a while of horseplay, they looked to each other laughing. "If we're going tonight, I doubt we want to go smelling like crab shit." Joseph laughed.
"Yeah, might be a turn off since there's going to be all that dancing, loud music, and who knows what else." Archie jeered.
"I kinda want a shower because I feel dirty." Evelyn joked staring at Dylan. The boys were in shock. Why did I just make that kind of joke? Because I like him? Dylan seemed stunned.
"Then you better go get one." He said embarrassedly.
Evelyn laughed at him, and flipped her hair as she turned away, smirking to herself. Yeah, I like him. She walked with a gigantic smile all the way back in her sopping clothes, but she didn't care. The shower washed away the sand with its hot water and soap, but left the smirk and confidence.
He came to pick her up 5 minutes early. Her Aunt was already home from the gallery and she was still applying mascara, when the door bell rang her hand jerked, and it went on way too heavy. Damn it. She took a washcloth to her eye as Jo called,"You're date's here."
"He's not my date!" she screamed through the pine door. After fixing her eye she entered in a tank top and jeans, showing off her slender figure, only to be matched by him standing there in a black shirt, showing off every muscle in his lean body, a black cowboy hat with his hair peeking out from under the edge, and fitted dark blue jeans. He's on fire.
"You have fun. I'll see you tomorrow when I get home from the gallery." Jo smiled and went back to the kitchen where she had been enjoying a cup of tea and doing paperwork.
In the 1976 Mustang sat Joseph, Archie, and Michael - all piled in the back seat, of course. The sight of poor little Joseph squeezed in between the twins was enough to make anyone laugh, especially Evelyn. She happily tried to pull the seat forward for them to have more room, but quickly realized the car did not come equipped with that feature.
The inside of the factory peeped out from the blackened glass windows. Reds, Greens, Blues, Purples, Pinks, Greens - all glinted visibly as they parked and approached the doors entering into the thick music. As the doors opened, the were sucked into the ocean of music, and people dancing to the strange music, best described as a form of New Age with Techno.
One of the conveyor belts had been changed into a bar, with ice buckets of lagers, wine coolers, exotic liquors, and a rainbow of dishes of shiny pellets that looked like candy. The electricity flowed from the crowd around the platform dancing around the musicians. Immediately, from the scaffolding Hillary descended upon the group with a large smile.
“You came!!!” Immediately she screamed above the music, hugging Evelyn. Without a question or even introduction she took her hand and within seconds Evelyn had been whisked through the crowd onto the platform as the music stopped and she took the microphone. “Everyone! I would like to introduce you to one of my new best friends, E!” She held Evelyn's hand high in the air as the crowd cheered, “Now the party can really begin!” The music recommenced and Evelyn was led off the stage by Hillary. Evelyn searched the crowds for the boys, especially for Dylan, while Hillary took her to the bar. “Let's fix you a drink...”Hillary began pouring a mixture of things from different colored bottles, “And having you try some candy... What's your favorite color?”
“Green,” She replied distractedly. Where is Dylan?She then felt something placed in her hand.
“Try it! It's your favorite color!” Hillary laughed, “It tastes green!”
Evelyn rolled her eyes and put it in her mouth, chewing the tart then bitter candy and swallowing. “What was that? It definitely did not taste green.” She said to Hillary, gulping down the dixie cup full of a fruit punch flavored liquor. She then spotted Dylan. “I'm going to go see Dylan, come get me later Hillary so we can dance and stuff.” She smiled at Hillary and wandered over to Dylan, suddenly becoming very lightheaded and dizzy. “Dylan!” She said loudly making him turn to face her.
“Hey, since when did you know Hillary?” Dylan asked.
“We met randomly after I got the job at the bakery.” Evelyn didn't notice she had stared to teeter.
“Are you okay?” Dylan's face became blurry in Evelyn's view.
“Yeah, I just feel funny.” Evelyn replied as she felt a hand grab her arm.
“You're about to fall over and you look sick.” Dylan tried to hold her up. Evelyn leaned onto Dylan, feeling the warmth of his body through his shirt, and could hear his every breath and heart beat over the crowd. “Come with me, I'm going to find a place for you to sit down.” He pulled her along with his arms around her. Finding a chair near one of the stair cases he sat her down. “What did you have?”
“A drink and a green candy.” Evelyn's eyes were closed as she slumped to a side.
“I'll be right back.” Dylan went over to the bar where a man was attending behind it to make sure no one tried to grab large handfuls and make off with them. “Sir, what are the green ones?”
“It's a barbiturate opiate mix. They normally aren't very popular at the parties except for the people leaving so they can sleep when they get home.” The man replied frankly, his arms still crossed.
“Do you know how it would react with alcohol?” Dylan glanced towards Evelyn who was slumped over.
“Poorly. Probably knock the person flat out if they have no tolerance.” The man kept a straight face and looked out into the crowd, then spoke into the microphone attached to his ear piece. “Ms. Hillary is climbing the scaffolding again, please watch to make sure she does not fall.”
Dylan returned to Evelyn. “I'm taking you back to my place. You shouldn't stay here.” He helped her up and after leaving the doors, picked her up and carried her to his car, lying her down in the back seat. He then left momentarily. What is going on?Everything is blurry, I can barely think. Dylan returned and got into the drivers seat. “I had to tell the guys that I was leaving and that they should crash at one of the places Hillary makes available.” He started the engine, and Evelyn could feel every piston's movement and the purr filled her body as slowly she drifted into complete unconsciousness.
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