JULY 17, 2013
I wanted to approach her last night but by the time we left the stage she had left the party. Like fate had crossed our paths just to make sure we felt like we were were absolutely nuts. Maybe I was just living in the moment of a fantasy. A charity event themed for an era we'd never know. In a place we'd never been. It was crazy now that I come to think about it.
But I couldn't stop thinking about. I couldn't help it. I knew everything about her. Everything that made her who she was. It kept me up a better part of the night just trying to work through the insanity I'm sure it was. Trying to decipher what was real and make believe had my head spinning. They say everybody in the world has a twin but to look like somebody you've only know from pictures is a whole other story. Like I said, the family said I could have easily passed for my grandfather but I never knew him because he died five years before I was born. Pictures were all I had.
My grandmother was beautiful as well. And every bit this Evelyn I thought I knew. A beauty that is timeless. Maybe I'm a little biased as she was family but I felt like she was family without one word ever being spoken between us. None of it made sense but she was just there. The love of my life. Maybe even lives if you believe that you share eternity with that one special person. Why was she mine and why didn't I understand what was going on? I wanted to. I wanted to know what it really felt like to touch, taste and feel every part of her.
I had to give up. After all what were the odds that our paths were likely to cross again in this lifetime? About a million to one I would imagine. I just had to let her go. Pretend I never came face to face with possibly the only woman I'd ever loved every time I stepped onto the planet. You couldn't blame me though. It's the one thing we spend all our lives looking for and few ever find. That eternity to call our own.
I was jolted back to reality when the tour bus came to a complete stop at our destination. The rest of the guys had brought their families and significant others while I was flying solo this trip. It was the faint scent of lavender that caught my attention. I know, I know. Psycho but it was right there I swear. I looked at the group filing down the aisle of the bus and saw a few gray haired couples but it was coming from....where? I didn't know. I joined the crowd as we made our way toward the tourism center at Pearl Harbor. They informed us we'd be seeing a short film before we set foot on the boat to visit the memorial itself. I was still picking up that scent. Where was it coming from?
We followed our guide into the small room and seated ourselves as we pleased. She was close. I didn't know how but I could feel her. She was there. Were we getting that second chance? Please say yes. The lights dimmed. What showed on the screen was more than just a history lesson, it was the history being made. The stuff you learn in books is one thing but to actually be there was quite another. I heard a gasp come from somewhere nearby and I knew it was her. Don't ask me how. I just did. Seriously, how can you explain something you don't even understand? Donnie already thought I'd gone off the deep end. I just prayed it was one of those things he kept to himself until we got my psych evaluation back.
As we exited the theater, out of the corner of my eye, a wisp of light brown hair drew my attention toward her. Her head turned briefly to acknowledge a comment from another tourist from the group and that's when I realized I wasn't as crazy as I thought I was. It was her. I was getting that second chance but being as we were going out to the memorial itself, I figured I'd bide my time until she was alone. Good thing too because she was seated next to one of those elderly couples I mentioned earlier. She was very cordial to them. Laughing when it was appropriate. It must have been one heck of a story. I watched as the breeze tossed her long brown hair around like it was nothing
I was falling deeper and deeper with each gesture I watched her make. I think she was totally oblivious to my lingering gaze because she never once turned her head to look at me. Either that or it was if we both knew what going on and let the fates take us where they were supposed to. I must have been out of my mind for being able to detect that slightest of her actions. Generosity was her nature and she was extending it to the couple that had taken to her almost as much as I was taken with her. Like she was their daughter or something . I loved the sound of her laugh. The coy aversion of her eyes before she'd look back up with the most gorgeous smile. Oh, I was so far gone.
The boat slowed and docked at the memorial and we exited in a timely manner. Please just give me five minutes I prayed to the man upstairs as we all moved inside; surveying the wreckage the Japanese had done to such a massive piece of machinery. I watched her as she studied the metal graveyard beneath us. She headed toward the back to the wall of names where very few had ventured to yet. My eyes ran over the long list of the men that given their lives for the mass destruction that was this boat. I turned to watch her briefly and snapped my gaze back when she turned hers toward mine. I was trying to play it as cool as I could until I felt the timing was right. I edged toward the information plate that explained what we were looking at. It was at that moment I had to know. Was she my long lost love or was I just dreaming? I took a deep breath and spoke that name I shouldn't have known but somehow did.”Evelyn?”
She turned her gaze to mine and when our eyes connected, once again we were lost in time.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This is the final chapter of my story. Thanks to all those that gave it a chance. It was my most favorite thing to write to date.
