would cry from fear, not understanding why her mother was wailing and crying.
The staff at the hospital wanted to do something for Grace, but no one knew what to say. Carla said she was just compelled to help Grace, so she sat next to her and gently took Grace’s hand. They sat quietly for a long time until Grace started to talk to Carla. She said she wasn’t sure what to do to survive. She told Carla that they had lived week to week for almost three years and she had no job and no money for the next week’s rent. Carla offered to let Grace and Evie stay in her rental house. She declined the offer at first, not wanting to take advantage of her. But Carla assured Grace that they would work it out. Carla proposed that Grace do some much needed cleaning for her, and then once she found a job they would work out the rent amount. At that time, all Grace had to live on was the small check from social security for Frank’s child and what she could make cleaning for people. It seemed like the perfect solution.
Carla said she was thrilled to have Grace and Evie as neighbors and grew closer to them with each passing month. Grace and Evie were doing well enough, but Grace was so lonely after losing Frank. She was still a kid really. After all, she was only nineteen years old when she became a widow, and she felt so lost and alone. Carla tried to talk her into going back to Oklahoma, to her parents. She was too proud at first. They had not parted on good terms. Grace wasn’t ready to forgive her father for some of the things he had said, and she wasn’t about to ask for help from him. Then it changed from too much pride to too much guilt. She felt so guilty for what happened to Frank and for how hard things were for little Evie. But then Ralph came into the picture and, well, as they say, the rest is history.”
When Carla spoke of Ralph Dark her voice would take on a sickened tone. Almost as if speaking of him made her stomach turn, but her face would look angry. It was clear that she hated the man; there was no doubt of that, and I was certain that as my memories continued to come I would feel the same way.
“Carla said that Grace met Ralph when she was cleaning a house where he was doing odd jobs for the owner. He asked her out to dinner and was a real charmer in the beginning. Carla told me that she’d often wondered a thousand times what would have happened if only Grace had gone back to her parents before meeting that man.”
Jason had listened patiently to the details told to me by Carla Wilson and seemed unable to speak for several minutes.
“What a sad story,” Jason whispered while staring out into the room as he reflected on the details of what I’d shared with him. “So your dad died when you were two years old?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I shrugged. I knew in my head that I was Evie and that it was me that all this had happened to, but I could not accept it in my heart. I still felt like we were two separate people, and I had no memory of a father named Frank. My father was a wonderful man named Bill, and I could not make my mind think of anyone else in that role. All the same, I was moved and saddened hearing about the young couple and the tragic end to what must have been a deep love. I felt so bad for Evie having lost her father at such a young age. I felt it for Evie, not for me. When I would write in my journal, I often wrote letters to Evie, giving her praise or trying to comfort her. Maybe as more details came out and I started to remember more, I would be able to somehow mesh us together to be one person.
Once we were in our bed, I cuddled close to Jason. I needed to feel comfort and wanted to feel secure. I would sometimes feel as if I couldn’t catch my breath. It was as if I couldn’t get my lungs to fill up completely. I knew it was the tension that came from just trying to grasp all that was happening. It was still so freaking unreal. It felt as if it were
The staff at the hospital wanted to do something for Grace, but no one knew what to say. Carla said she was just compelled to help Grace, so she sat next to her and gently took Grace’s hand. They sat quietly for a long time until Grace started to talk to Carla. She said she wasn’t sure what to do to survive. She told Carla that they had lived week to week for almost three years and she had no job and no money for the next week’s rent. Carla offered to let Grace and Evie stay in her rental house. She declined the offer at first, not wanting to take advantage of her. But Carla assured Grace that they would work it out. Carla proposed that Grace do some much needed cleaning for her, and then once she found a job they would work out the rent amount. At that time, all Grace had to live on was the small check from social security for Frank’s child and what she could make cleaning for people. It seemed like the perfect solution.
Carla said she was thrilled to have Grace and Evie as neighbors and grew closer to them with each passing month. Grace and Evie were doing well enough, but Grace was so lonely after losing Frank. She was still a kid really. After all, she was only nineteen years old when she became a widow, and she felt so lost and alone. Carla tried to talk her into going back to Oklahoma, to her parents. She was too proud at first. They had not parted on good terms. Grace wasn’t ready to forgive her father for some of the things he had said, and she wasn’t about to ask for help from him. Then it changed from too much pride to too much guilt. She felt so guilty for what happened to Frank and for how hard things were for little Evie. But then Ralph came into the picture and, well, as they say, the rest is history.”
When Carla spoke of Ralph Dark her voice would take on a sickened tone. Almost as if speaking of him made her stomach turn, but her face would look angry. It was clear that she hated the man; there was no doubt of that, and I was certain that as my memories continued to come I would feel the same way.
“Carla said that Grace met Ralph when she was cleaning a house where he was doing odd jobs for the owner. He asked her out to dinner and was a real charmer in the beginning. Carla told me that she’d often wondered a thousand times what would have happened if only Grace had gone back to her parents before meeting that man.”
Jason had listened patiently to the details told to me by Carla Wilson and seemed unable to speak for several minutes.
“What a sad story,” Jason whispered while staring out into the room as he reflected on the details of what I’d shared with him. “So your dad died when you were two years old?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I shrugged. I knew in my head that I was Evie and that it was me that all this had happened to, but I could not accept it in my heart. I still felt like we were two separate people, and I had no memory of a father named Frank. My father was a wonderful man named Bill, and I could not make my mind think of anyone else in that role. All the same, I was moved and saddened hearing about the young couple and the tragic end to what must have been a deep love. I felt so bad for Evie having lost her father at such a young age. I felt it for Evie, not for me. When I would write in my journal, I often wrote letters to Evie, giving her praise or trying to comfort her. Maybe as more details came out and I started to remember more, I would be able to somehow mesh us together to be one person.
Once we were in our bed, I cuddled close to Jason. I needed to feel comfort and wanted to feel secure. I would sometimes feel as if I couldn’t catch my breath. It was as if I couldn’t get my lungs to fill up completely. I knew it was the tension that came from just trying to grasp all that was happening. It was still so freaking unreal. It felt as if it were
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