Believe Me, It's You

by S. A. Cook

  “I'd love to come,” she said. “If Dylan can, I can.” Dylan smiled to himself, hanging an ornament up high on the tree.

  “Yeah, Grandma, we'll be here, at least for a couple days,” he said. “Whatever I can convince Calvin to carve out for me.”

  “You call the shots, Dylan,” Grandma said, giving him a look. “He'll schedule you around the clock if you let him.”

  “Nah, I told him I didn't want to do much until New Years Eve,” he said. “Then I have the New York thing. I'm doing the first single off the new album.”

  “Oh, that's nice, Dylan,” Grandma said. “I know it'll be a big hit.” Dylan smiled.

  “Thanks, Grandma,” he said. “I hope you're right.”

  They had a nice dinner of leftovers, sitting on the floor in front of the television, watching a football game. Grandma yelled at them not to spill anything on the carpet.

  That night, Dylan sneaked into his old room and woke her up, moving into the bed next to her and spooning her from behind. He lay still, and Eva could tell he was falling asleep. She looked at the clock. It was 3:00am.

  “Dylan, don't go to sleep,” she whispered. “Your grandma's gonna wake up in a few hours, and realize you sneaked in here.”

  “Hmm? Nah,” he said, almost asleep. “I set my phone for 5 am. It's on the dresser.” She smiled to herself, and drifted off, feeling Dylan's soft breath against her neck, his arm around her waist.

  The next morning, they got up at 5 when the alarm on Dylan's phone went off. He went back into the sewing room and got his clothes and headed into the bathroom to shower. She went to the kitchen and fixed coffee while she waited to get into the shower. Grandma came in, turning on the overhead light.

  “Hi Sweetie Pie,” she said, patting Eva's back. “You're up early.”

  “Yes, I guess something woke me,” she said. “Whatever it was, it woke Dylan, too.”

  “Is that him in the shower?” Grandma asked.

  “Yes,” Eva said.

  “He's a good kid,” Grandma said, pouring them both some coffee. “You seem like a really nice girl, Eva. I think you're good for him.”

  “Thanks,” Eva smiled, sipping her coffee. “I'm probably not what people would envision for him.”

  “Why do you say that?” Grandma asked.

  “I don't know. I'm older,” she said. “I'm not famous, or anything.”

  “Well, I think it's nice that you're older. That last girl, Vanessa...she was kind of flighty. Dylan's too mature for girls his own age. He had to grow up fast,” she said. “And don't worry about not being famous. That's the last thing he needs.”

  “That makes me feel better,” she said. “Thanks for saying that.”

  “Just take good care of my boy,” she said, patting Eva's hand. “He means the world to me.”

  “I will,” she said, and she meant it.

  They said their goodbyes in the driveway, the car packed and the engine warming.

  “I'll be back by Christmas, Grandma,” Dylan said, hugging her.

  “You watch. Calvin will work you up to the last minute. You drive carefully,” she said. “And don't go anywhere in the city without Teddy.”

  “I won't, Grandma,” he said. Eva hugged Grandma and Grandpa, thanking them both for a wonderful Thanksgiving. They waved as Dylan drove down the quiet street.

  “So you had a good time?” he said, turning to Eva.

  “I had a great time,” she said. “Thanks for bringing me.”

  “You're welcome,” he said. “Are you okay with Christmas? I meant to talk to you about it, you know, and see if you wanted to come here. But she kinda beat me to it.”

  “Sure, I want to come,” she said. “Do you want me to?”

  “Of course I do,” he said. “I want to spend Christmas with you, wherever you want to be.”

  “Here is good,” she said. “I wouldn't want to see them spend the holiday without you.”

  “Good,” he said. “And you'll be divorced by then. Oh my God.”

  “What?” she said, turning to him.

  “I don't know if 'Porter' is your name, or his,” he said.

  “It's mine,” she said. “I didn't change my name when I got married.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Wow. It just struck me, I might not even know your real name.” Eva laughed.

  “'Porter' is my real name,” she said. He looked at her and smiled.

  “Okay, well what's your middle name?” he asked.

  “Laura,” she said.

  “Eva Laura Porter,” he said, considering it. “That's pretty.”

  “What's yours?” she asked.

  “I thought everyone knew that,” he said. “Don't you read the teen magazines? Birthday, middle name, favorite food, favorite color....”

  “No, I don't read them,” she said. “Tell me.”

  “Thomas,” he said. “Like the poet, but really like my Uncle Tommy.”

  “Oh, that's nice,” she said. “Dylan Thomas Moore.”

  “Favorite food..anything Italian. Favorite color..blue, like your eyes.”

  Eva smiled, looking out her window. She felt him take her hand in his. It was a perfect morning.

  Chapter Forty-One

  They dropped the car off and got back to the apartment by 1:00. Dylan set their bags in the bedroom. Eva looked in the refrigerator for something for lunch.

  “Dylan, I think I'm gonna go to the corner store and get some bread,” she said. “I can make us some sandwiches for lunch. Do you need anything?”

  “No, I don't think so. Oh, can you check the mail when you come back?” he asked. “Our results are supposed to be here by now.”

  “Sure,” she said, kissing him before he shut the door and locked it.

  She went to the little market on the corner of her block and bought some good Italian bread and a half gallon of milk. She picked up a bottled water for Dylan and one of the chocolate bars she knew he liked, as a surprise. She carried her single bag of groceries home, stopping at the mail room before she got on the elevator. She unlocked the box and pulled out a stack of mail. She saw an envelope from the testing center on top. Her hands were too full to look through the stack, so she climbed onto the elevator and rode up to her floor.

  As she walked toward her apartment, she could see the door was open and she heard voices.

  “I'm telling you, get out, man, or I'm calling the cops,” she heard Dylan saying.

  “Where's my fuckin' wife, buddy?” Paul's voice said.

  “Paul, what are you doing here?” she put her bag and the mail down. Paul was just inside the door. Dylan was standing with his hand on his hip, cellphone in one hand.

  “What the hell is he doing here?” Paul asked. “Are you fucking this kid now?”

  “Get out,” she said, walking straight toward Paul. He put his hands out to block her as she walked toward him.

  “I'm calling the cops,” Dylan was punching in 911 on his phone.

  “I'm going,” Paul said. “You're messing with my wife, you know. The judge is gonna know about this, Eva,” He backed out the door, and Eva slammed it shut.

  “Dylan, I'm sorry-”she said.

  “What the fuck, Eva?” he said, glaring at her. “He had a key.”

  “I know, I'm sorry,” she said. “I meant to have the locks changed. I--”

  “You lied to me,” he said.

  “No, it's not like that,” she said. “I mean, I didn't mean to lie...I was going to call the locksmith when I got back from L.A., but I forgot. There was so much going on-”

  “Eva, you lied to me,” he said. “I can't believe...I've been honest with you about everything.” He turned his back on her and walked toward the bedroom. She followed him, trying to explain.

  “I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to lie,” she said. He picked up his bag and opened it. He went to the bathroom and grabbed his toiletry bag and shoved it into the suitcase.

  “Are you leaving?” Eva said. “You can't-”

 
“I can,” he said. “I can't tolerate liars, Eva. I get enough of that shit in L.A.” He pushed the screen of his cell phone. She stood and watched him, not sure what to do. He waited for someone to answer.

  “You put me in a really bad situation,” he said. “That asshole just used his key and walked right—hey, Teddy. Can you come pick me up? Yeah, and get me a room, please....I'm at Eva's now. Yeah, that's fine, whatever...okay.” He picked up his bag and headed for the door.

  “Dylan, please try to understand my side,” she said. “I never meant to lie, I just-”

  “I'm pissed at you, Eva,” he said. She could see the anger on his face. “I need to be alone and think.”

  “Okay,” she said. He sat with his back to her in the kitchen, waiting for Teddy. She sat in the dining room, trying not to cry, hoping maybe he'd change his mind and stay. They sat in silence for 20 minutes, then the buzzer rang. Dylan got up and headed toward the door. She followed him, standing behind him with her hands across her chest. He turned and looked at her for a few seconds.

  “Bye, Eva,” he said, and walked out the door.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Eva sat still, in disbelief that things could go so miserably wrong in such a short amount of time. She was beyond angry at herself for telling him she changed the locks. Why did she do that, she asked herself. Because she wanted to please him. Because she wanted him to know Paul was in her past, that she was serious about being done with him. Why hadn't she just told him she was going to call a locksmith and then followed through?

  She had been operating with a carelessness toward Dylan. She lied to him, plain and simple. She was too guarded. She let him take all the risks in the relationship. Hell, he'd gone to jail for her. Yes, he'd made a mistake and so had she. She forgave him, and he'd forgive her, too. She had to believe that. But right now, she had no idea where he was. Maybe he'd flown home early. She had tried to call him. She'd left a message asking him to call her, she was worried. But he hadn't called back.

  She went to the bedroom and lay down on the bed. The sun was beginning to set. She rolled over onto her stomach, to Dylan's side of the bed. She buried her head into his pillow. She could smell his cologne mixed with the scent of him. She closed her eyes, but the tears came, anyhow.

  She would occasionally let her mind drift to 'I told you this would happen'. But she wasn't going to accept that. She refused to believe this was her destiny—another wrecked relationship, this one so much more valuable than any other. She picked her phone up from the bedside table. She looked through her contacts until she saw her brother's name. She hesitated a second, then dialed.

  “Hello?” a male voice said.

  “Hi, Blane?” she asked. “This is Eva. Is my brother there?”

  “Oh, Eva, how are you? Is everything okay?” he asked, sounding concerned. She took a few seconds to answer, fighting back tears.

  “Yeah, nothing's wrong or anything. I just called to talk to Jacob,” she said. “How've you been?”

  “I'm doing fine. How are you? Oh, here he is,” she could hear him telling Jacob it was her.

  “Hey, long time no talk! What's up? Is everything okay?” Jacob asked. Now she started cry and couldn't stop.

  “What is it, Eva? What's wrong?” he sounded a little panicky.

  “Oh...,” she sighed, trying to get a grip on herself. “I just felt like I should call.”

  “Well, I'm glad you did. Tell me what's wrong?” he asked.

  “I just...it's a long story. I'll tell you one day,” she said. “But for now, I just felt really bad that we hadn't talked. That we weren't talking.”

  “I know,” he said. “I thought about you at Thanksgiving. What did you do for the holiday?”

  “I..well, I'm seeing someone,” she said. “Someone really nice. Total opposite of Paul. You'd like him.”

  “Really? That's so great. What's his name?” he asked.

  “That's a part of the story I'll tell you sometime. He was a client, and it just developed,” she said. “I don't know. We had an argument. Well, I pissed him off. I'm kinda down right now.”

  “Eva,” he said. “Don't be so secretive. Maybe it'll help to talk about it.” She took a second to consider this, and then spilled the whole story. They talked about Paul. They talked about Dylan. He had a few insights about why she lied to Dylan that she hadn't considered.

  “Eva, you don't have to be so guarded,” he said. “You don't have to keep everyone in the dark about who you are. People love you. Maybe not everyone, but some really awesome people love you. Don't put on a front for this guy. It sounds like he loves you the way you are. And stop being so scared he'll leave, you end up pissing him off. Why don't you call him?”

  “I did,” she said. “I left a message. He hasn't called me back, yet.”

  “He will,” Jacob said. “Why don't you eat something and watch some tv. Or read. Get your mind off things. Try him one more time before bed. Whatever happens, it'll be okay.”

  She told him she loved him and said goodbye. They promised to touch base at least weekly. She felt better after talking to him. She tried to follow his advice and made herself a sandwich, thinking how she bought the bread for her and Dylan's lunch. Then she remembered the test results. She sat down with her sandwich and the two letters in front of her. She considered opening her own, but it seemed wrong. They should be opened together, with Dylan. She put them aside and ate her sandwich with the water she'd bought Dylan.

  After she ate, she lay down on the sofa and turned on the television. She flipped through the channels, finally landing on the weather channel. She lay there and mindlessly watched freak tornadoes in the South, 2 feet of snow in Denver, and lake effect snow in Chicago. Her mind returned to Dylan and all the things she wanted to tell him. Finally, she drifted off to sleep thinking of him.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  She was having a dream in which she was floating on the water in a raft, and it was getting dark. Dylan was on a boat and her raft was floating further and further away. She could see him on the deck, holding up a cellphone and shouting at her, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She could hear the phone ringing, and realized she was dreaming.

  She made a grab for her phone, which was on the cocktail table.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Hey, Eva.” It was Dylan. “I got your message.”

  “Hey,” she said. “I want to come see you.”

  “Were you asleep?” he asked.

  “Yeah, but I want to come talk to you,” she said.

  “You shouldn't be out this late,” he said.

  “What time is it?” she asked.

  “It's 12:30,” he said. “I'm at the Tower, on the North side. I think I'm maybe four or five blocks from you. But I don't want to talk tonight. Why don't you come tomorrow?”

  “What time do you leave?” she asked.

  “I think we take off at 3:00,” he said.

  “Okay, then,” she said. “Can I come by around 10:00?”

  “Sure,” he said.

  “Alright,” she said. “Well, I guess I'll see you then.”

  “Okay. It's room 804,” he said. “Bye, Eva.”

  “Bye,” she said. She hung up, feeling uncertain and sad, but hopeful. He sounded tired, but not that angry.

  The next morning, she woke up early. She tried to eat a small breakfast, but felt sick to her stomach. She got out her phone book and began looking for locksmiths. She found three that said emergency service. The first two didn't answer. She dialed the last number and a man answered on the second ring.

  “Hello,” she said. “Is there any way you could come this morning?”

  “What time?” the man asked.

  “Well, immediately,” she said.

  “I can be there in a half hour, but Sundays are expensive...” he said. “For one door, it's gonna run you about $300.”

  “Okay,” she said. “That's fine. Just come.”

  He was there in twenty minutes
and the lock was finished in less than a half hour. He handed Eva a pair of gold keys.

  “There you go, ma'am,” he said. “Brand new lock.” Eva put the keys next to her purse, and took out her wallet. She paid the $300, glad to be done with it.

  She got ready to go to Dylan's hotel. She remembered the test result letters and stuck them in her purse. She took the gold keys and placed one on her key ring. She took a spare front door key off her ring and placed it on the ring with the extra apartment door key and put them in her purse.

  She walked the three blocks to the Tower and walked in the front door. She looked for the elevators. She got in one and pushed the 8th floor. Room 804 was actually a suite. She could tell by the double doors. She knocked on the door, and in a few seconds Teddy opened them.

  “Hi, Eva,” he said with a little smile. “Come on in.” She walked into the suite and Dylan was sitting at a table in front of a floor to ceiling window, with what looked like the remains of breakfast in front of him.

  “Hey,” he said, not getting up. “Teddy, can you leave us alone?”

  “Sure,” Teddy headed toward one of the bedrooms off the living room.

  “No, Teddy,” Dylan said. “Can you go downstairs, or go get some doughnuts, or something?”

  “Get lost? Sure,” Teddy smiled and grabbed his coat from a hanger. “See ya, Eva. I've got my phone if you need me, Dylan.”

  “Okay,” Dylan said.

  When they were alone, she sat in the chair opposite Dylan.

  “Do you want me to get you some food?” Dylan asked.

  “No,” she said. “My stomach doesn't feel right this morning.”

  “Oh,” he said. “I'm sorry.”

  “I wanted to tell you how sorry I was,” she said. “And how I know I've made a lot of mistakes with you. I'm sorry I've been a coward and a liar. I promise if you forgive me, I won't lie to you again.” She could feel tears starting to roll down her face now. Dylan sighed and shifted in his seat. He looked out the big window.

  “Eva,” he said. “Don't cry.” He got up and walked over to her. He knelt down in front of her, his hands on her knees.