Un-betaed

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The Next Day

Chapter 9 

The next day, Saturday morning, dawns with bright sunshine and clear skies.  John decides to sleep in late.  For him it has been a whirlwind of a week.  Evangeline declared her love for him; Evangeline broke up with him; John Doe is Cristian Vega; Evangeline skips town; Cristian Vega is released from prison; Evangeline and he are somewhat back together.  

John really doesn’t know if all that Evangeline said means that they are back together or not but it does give the indication that they’re not broken up like she planned.  John knows that he has to be patient.  Even though Evangeline says that she doesn’t blame him for not loving her he knows that it has to have hurt her when she said that she was ‘falling in love with him’ that he didn’t readily say ‘I’m falling in love with you too’.  It wasn’t enough that he did say that if he ever loved again she would be the one.  John, John, John, he thinks, you have to do better. 

John dresses and decides to go to Rourke’s gym to ‘beat up the heavy bag’.  Dressed in sweats with his wallet and keys in his pockets John opens his door to head out but standing at his door is Natalie Vega.

Funny enough John is not surprised to see her.  He knew that eventually she would show up to quiz him about Cristian.  Bo hit the nail on the head when he suggested that Natalie will run to John when she is confused and upset.

“Hello John. Are you heading out to somewhere?”

“Yes I am Natalie.”

“Well can I talk to you first?  It’s about John Doe or Cristian as we now know.”

“Come in for a few minutes Natalie.  I don’t have much time.”

John doesn’t want to spend a lot of time with Natalie nor does he want to talk about Cristian.  Only select people know that John knew days ago that John Doe was really Cristian Vega.  Maybe Cristian told his family that John knew.

“John how long have you known that John Doe was Cristian?  Is that why you wanted me to spy on him?  Did you know all along and wanted Cristian locked up? Did you do this to be with me John?  Why would you do that to Cristian?  You are with Evangeline.  Why would you take Cristian from me and still stay with Evangeline if you wanted to be with me? Are you planning to leave Evangeline?  Were you just waiting for Cristian to be sent to prison before you broke up with her and then pursue me?  I don’t understand John?”

“Natalie you have this all wrong.  Who says I knew anything about John Doe being Cristian before he was sentenced?”

“Cristian said that you came to the prison to tell John Doe that you know that he is really Cristian Vega.  Even though Cristian asked you to keep his secret you told him that you couldn’t do that.  And now days later Cristian is at home.  So tell me John did you do all of this to be with me?”

“Natalie why would I do that?  Cristian is your husband.  I’m glad that he’s alive.  For so long I carried the guilt of his death on me.  Now that I know he is alive I am happy for him and you. It does grieve me all the pain he endured during his absence but he can now get treatment for that.”

“John that still doesn’t answer my question.  Yes it’s great that Cristian is alive and yes he is my husband but did you do this for me John?”

“No Natalie I did not do this for you.  When I realized that John Doe was Cristian I informed the necessary authorities, as is my duty as an officer of the court.  Now if you will excuse me I was on my way out.”

John ushers Natalie out of his apartment and locks his door. Natalie looks at him but John can’t read her expression.  Deciding not to try and figure Natalie’s mood John makes his way to Rourke’s gym.

After being cooped up inside all week Evangeline forgoes the gym for an outside run in the park.  Fresh air and a nice breeze do wonders for her disposition.  That’s not to say that she’s in a bad mood but she does have a lot on her mind.  This morning she allows herself to think about the situation with John and decides that she should give it another try.  Now that they both agree to be more forthcoming with what they expect; can give; and want to happen in the relationship; she concludes that a recipe for success.  Returning to her apartment with a smile on her face and a spring in her step she’s ready for a hot shower and then to the diner for some food.

Settling into her booth at the diner Evangeline orders her food and spends the wait checking her voice messages.  One in particular causes her to smile.  In no way is she surprised at the message.  Just as she’s preparing to respond to the message a shadow falls on her table.

“Evangeline can I talk with you?”

Trying ever so hard not to smirk or give any hint of attitude she responds,

“ Natalie, I would prefer not to, but, if you insist, you have until my food arrives and then the conversation ends.”

During the ride back from Philadelphia and talking with John about the ups and downs of their relationship they both come to the conclusions that they erred in their approaches with Natalie.  Both of them tried to accommodate her in deference to her loss of Cristian but that only served to make Natalie believe that she could treat them any old way.  For one Evangeline determined that no longer will she treat Natalie with ‘kid gloves’ nor will she stoop to Natalie’s level of rudeness.  

Still standing at Evangeline’s table Natalie is surprised at Evangeline’s response.  She has never heard Evangeline use such a tone with her but even still Natalie continues with what she wants to say.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that John Doe is Cristian Vega.  Cristian is back at home now.  John knew and for me he helped Cristian get released.  That shows you how much John cares about me. I told you Evangeline that John and I have a connection, one that you will never have.”

“Natalie is that connection anything like the one you have with your husband Cristian?”

Natalie is so irritated with Evangeline’s quick comeback that she turns a bright shade of red and opens her mouth to say something to put Evangeline in her place but before she can mutter a word someone else steps up to speak to Evangeline.

“Hi Evangeline. It’s good to see you.  I haven’t seen John yet to thank him so when you see him thank him for not keeping my identity a secret.  It worked out for the best.  I have my life back.  I have my wife and my family all because of John.  I can’t thank him enough.”

Evangeline looks from Cristian to Natalie and notices the hesitancy in their interactions.  Cristian is hugging Natalie from behind and with his head on her shoulder he’s smiling.  Natalie’s face though tells another story because although there’s a smile on her face the smile does not reach her eyes.  

Another thing is that both ladies were so engrossed in what they were saying to each other that neither knew that Cristian was anywhere around them.  Evangeline wonders just how much of their conversation did Cristian hear.  That’s not her concern so Evangeline tells Cristian that if she sees John she will relay the message.  Cristian then pulls Natalie with him to the counter. The food arrives and Evangeline asks the waiter to put it in ‘to go’ boxes.  She’s changed her mind about eating in the diner and returns to her apartment to enjoy her food in peace.

A few hours later and after her nap Evangeline’s sitting on her sofa reading a book when she hears a knock at her door.  She asks who it is and John replies.  She opens the door and invites him in.  They both sit on the sofa.

“Thanks for the heads up about Natalie.  She did confront me at the diner.  She talked about how you got Cristian released all for her and how you two (2) have a connection that I will never have with you.”

“I thought that she would find you after I didn’t give her the answer that she wanted. Evangeline I’ve done all that I know how to do to show and tell her that I want to be with you.  I don’t know what more to do.  That’s why I called you to warn you.”

“We just have to stay united John in how we respond to her.  She can and will twist any niceness into something that will suit her purposes.  But I have to tell you that I think she made a mistake today.  She talked about you and this connection between the two (2) of you and then the next thing we both know Cristian is standing behind her.  I don’t know how much of the conversation he heard but if he heard his wife talking about a connection with a man who is not her husband, that sounds like trouble for the future.”

“Well that’s something that Natalie and Cristian have to resolve.  Just leave us out of it and things will be fine.”

“Oh John, Cristian asked me to thank you for giving him his life back.”

“He’s welcome and I hope that he makes the best of it.  Now enough talk about Cristian and Natalie.  I stopped by to check on you just in case you did encounter Natalie.  Now that I’m here I want to invite you to dinner.  I know that we didn’t plan to see each other this weekend but since I’m here I will seize the opportunity.  There’s this really nice inn on Route 22.  They serve good food and I thought maybe you’d like to join me. I had wanted to have dinner with you while we were in Philadelphia but that didn’t work out so what do you say? Will you join me for dinner tonight, say about seven o’clock, business casual?”

“That sounds like a good idea and with it out of town maybe we can actually enjoy a quiet meal without interruptions.  So what time should I be ready?”

“I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.  So it’s a date?”

John is happy that he stopped by to check on Evangeline. He didn’t expect to see her this soon but with Natalie’s earlier visit to his apartment he called Evangeline on his way to the gym to alert her to the distinct possibility of a visit from Natalie.  Looking at Evangeline he notices how she’s tilting her head and one side of her hair falls over covering her eyes.  He reaches to tuck the hair behind her ear.  She stiffens and he jerks his hand away.  Other than the handshake he has not touched her since the breakup.  When he jerks his hand back Evangeline looks at him and frowns,

“I’m sorry John.  I didn’t tense because you touched me.  I just remembered something that happened at the diner that has me thinking that all might not be right with Cristian.”

“What is it? Do you want to talk about it?”

“It was the way he said what he said about you. Hold on let me remember what he said.”

Evangeline stops and thinks as if like a computer searching her hard disk drive memory for the conversation and the exact wording.

“Cristian said ‘I have my wife and my family all because of John.  I can’t thank him enough.  It wasn’t so much what he said but how he said it.  John we know that when Cristian returned the first time that he blamed you for what happened and he was very upset that Natalie was in a ‘friendship’ with the man who was the cause for their separation.  Today the way that he emphasized the word ‘wife’ and stressed the part that he ‘couldn’t thank you enough’ there’s just something menacing about that.  We have no idea all that Cristian endured during his time away.  If the brainwashing was enough to turn gentle Cristian Vega into a cold-blooded killer what else could still lurk within him?  The judge had the foresight to demand continued counseling.  John, be careful around Cristian.  If at all possible make sure not to be alone with him and especially not alone with Natalie.  Wait, wait before you tell me that you’re a big boy and you can take care of yourself, just humor me here.  We have a ways to go on our journey of life and I want you around to share it with me.”

This time John takes her face in his hands, tucks her hair behind both ears,

“I hear you and I will abide by your request.  You’re right we have no idea what Cristian’s capable of now.  The elevator incident with Antonio for one comes to mind.  For you and for me I will stay alert.  I do agree to limit any solo appearances with either Natalie or Cristian.  Since Cristian is released into Antonio’s custody we probably need to alert him to what happened today.  It would be better if you tell him since you are the one who actually witnessed it.”

“Since you put it like that I think that you’re right.  I’ll call Antonio now.  No better time than the present.”

Evangeline calls Antonio and tells him everything that happened and Antonio agreed that they will all stay alert.  He thanks Evangeline for calling.