Chapter Eight:
……..The idea startled her as she thought, "When did this happen?" ……
After their great kiss, John took Evangeline back to his family home. He showed her around. The kitchen table where he’d sit and do his homework while his Mom made dinner before going to the club to sing. The living room with all of his and Mike’s trophy’s and accolades. There was a picture of John graduating from High School, College, and Quantico. As Evangeline looked at it, she stated, "You’ve always been a looker, huh?" John just blushed.
She then picked up a picture of a distinguished looking man and she asked, "Is this your Dad?"
With pride in his eyes, he said, "Yeah, that’s Dad".
"You’re a combination of both your parents also", she said.
John then showed her upstairs, his Mom’s room, Mikey’s old room and finally his old room. When she walked in, she spotted a twin bed and just started to laugh. John replied, "What is it now?"
Evangeline, still partly laughing said, "A twin bed. That explains a lot".
John said, "Huh?"
Evangeline said, "It explains why you like that twin bed in your room in Llanview so much. It gives you a sense of home".
John was amazed at her intuition and realized that she was right. In his dark days, he needed something, no matter how small, to keep him connected to a better time. He pulled her in for an embrace and said, "Don’t tease me, you like that bed to".
Evangeline purred, "Oh yeah, I like it to".
John kissed her passionately again and when their lips parted, he said, "Let’s go to bed".
Evangeline said, "Okay, give me the linens for Mikey’s room and I’ll make that bed up for me".
John looked perplexed and said, "What do you mean? You’ll sleep in her with me".
Evangeline exclaimed, "I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be respectful to your Mom".
John laughed and said, "Are you kidding? Mom won’t care".
Evangeline gave him a sideways look and said, "Why wouldn’t she mind? Do you bring women here often?"
John looked shocked at her question and responded, "You’re actually only the second woman I’ve ever brought home". At that point, he got kind of quiet and looked off to the wall behind her.
Evangeline thought, "How stupid am I? I just reminded him of Caitlin again. It has to have been a tough night for him, going back to places where he’s been with her. What was I thinking?"
As he continued to look at the wall, Evangeline touched his cheek to get his attention and said, "I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. I didn’t mean to remind you of Caitlin".
He touched her hand with his and said, "No, its okay. Actually, for the first time that I can remember, seeing those places with you tonight just reminded me of the good times with Caitlin. Really, it’s okay".
Evangeline gave him a hug and held on for a little while to make sure he felt comforted.
As they parted, he said, "Now, will you sleep with me in here?"
She punched him in the chest and said, "You are like a dog with a bone. No, I’m staying in Mike’s room".
He relented and said, "Okay, I’ll get your bedding for you".
They got ready for bed and he let her use the bathroom first. The bathroom was between his and Mike’s room and had private doors to both rooms. When he was done in the bathroom, he opened the door to Mike’s room to say goodnight to her. She had already fallen asleep. As he stood there looking at her, he thought, "She just gets more beautiful to me the longer I know her". He turned and went into his room with a smile on his face. He thought, "Who knew she’d be old fashioned about certain things".
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When Evangeline woke the next morning, she knocked on the door to make sure he wasn’t in the bathroom before she entered. After she finished using the bathroom, she knocked on the bathroom door to his room. When there was no answer, she opened it. She could tell his bed had been slept in, but he must have gone downstairs.
She decided to go ahead and put on her clothes before she went downstairs looking for him.
When she had gotten all freshened up and dressed, she walked down the stairs. She could hear laughter coming from the direction of where he had shown her the kitchen. As she approached the kitchen, she could see John’s profile as he sat on the couch in the attached Family room. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and nothing else and he was eating a big bowl of what looked like corn flakes. As she got a little closer, she could see the TV and it looked as though he was watching that kid cult favorite, "SpongeBob SquarePants". She only knew what it was because Matthew Buchanan had told her all about it one day.
As she got to the doorway, he turned to look at her and she said, "Is this how it will be, you and our kids on Saturday mornings, eating cereal and laughing your heads off?"
When the words were floating in the air between her lips and his ears, she cringed realizing that she’d said them OUT LOUD! She saw the look in his eye as he comprehended what she just said. To her happiness though, before he could comment, his Mom came up behind her and said, "Good Morning you two".
Evangeline was so happy to have his Mom come in at that moment, that she said a little too exuberantly, "Good Morning Mrs. McBain".
Eve looked at her strangely and figured that she must have interrupted something. She figured she‘d find out what it was later. She asked Evangeline if she’d like some breakfast and offered either cereal, bagels, or toast and eggs. Evangeline said she’d like a bagel and some juice and followed Eve into the kitchen.
Quickly, John joined them and put his empty cereal bowl in the kitchen sink. He told them that the call he received the night before was from Bo and that he had to get to the station pretty soon. He went upstairs to get ready for them to head back. While he was up there, he heard Evangeline and his Mom laughing and talking and it brought a warm feeling to his heart and a smile to his face. Then, he flashed back to what Van said before his Mom walked in. He thought to himself, "She’s thought about us having a family? Wow, when did this happen? I’ve thought about it to".
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John and Evangeline said their goodbyes to his Mom and headed for Llanview. They rode for about 15 minutes just listening to the rest of the Prince CD and not saying anything. Then, John broke the talking silence by saying, "I’ve thought about it too".
"Thought about what?" she said.
"Thought about us having a kid together, being a family", he said.
Because he was driving, he couldn’t look into her eyes, but he could swear he heard her gasp and then stop breathing all together. He said, "Take a deep breath Van. I’m not saying I want to have a kid with you right now. I’m just saying that the thought has crossed my mind like it obviously has crossed yours".
"Why would you say it obviously has crossed my mind?" she said defensively.
He said, "I heard what you said when you came downstairs this morning. Don’t deny it".
‘I’m not denying it", she said. "I just didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. We’re a day by day thing and I don’t ever want to freak you out with my random thoughts. When have you thought about it though?"
He went on to say how he was watching her one time when she was talking and playing with Matthew and he thought to himself that she’s going to be a great Mother one day and it would probably be nice to have a family with her. He said that his were random thoughts also.
They both rode a little further in silence, each just contemplating what the other had said.
About 10 miles from the Llanview City limits, John told Evangeline about Antonio maybe being arrested for the murder of Angelina/Isabella Santi. He asked if she minded riding into the station with him first and then he’d take her home.
She said it was no problem at all.
About 10 minutes from the station, he asked if she’d had a good time and if it had been worth the wait for their first real date.
She smiled a big smile and said, "Definitely worth the wait. I can’t remember ever having such an amazing time. Also, I want to thank you for honoring me by letting me in on a part of your life that most people don’t get to see".
He reached over and took her left hand in his right hand and said, "You’re welcome. I haven’t felt that good in years and thank you for letting me share a part of my life with you and being patient enough to wait until I was ready".
Right before he parked the car, they had the same thought simultaneously, "When did this happen?"
