My Dearest Girl

The Funeral

Tall trees lined the roadway with not a house in sight. Evalina felt nervous as the driver carefully glided over the freshly paved roads. Nervous for the funeral? Nervous that this drive seemed never ending? Truth is, she wasn't sure. 

Thoughts were swirling around her head. She had waited her entire life for a chance to meet her.  If it was this easy to find me why didn't she try sooner?  Evalina thought. Why didn't she want to see me grow up?  It was as if she was reliving the middle school bully who once used the insult "your mom didn't even want you" which sent her into a spiral as soon as her mom had picked her up from school that day.

The car took a sharp turn as it abruptly turned off the roadway into a tree lined drive way. Which you could only tell was a drive way and not just a back road because of the inconspicuous mailbox hiding in the trees. Evalina grabbed onto the handle above her suddenly feeling  nauseated. 

The car came to an abrupt stop in front of a tall black gate surrounded by a stone wall. The wall had the initials A.W. inscribed at the very top. Evalina grabbed the funeral invite out of her purse to double check what she already knew. 

Evalina was too busy trying to stuff the contents of her purse back to how they were when she heard a small tap on the glass. Evalina whipped around, suddenly brought back to the current reality.

A small woman stood, in all black, her head barely reached up to the window of the blacked out sedan. She was elderly and had a kind smile that reached ear to ear. Evalina nervously opened the door, put one kitten heel on the ground and smiled back. 

"Hello Miss Evalina, welcome to Water Estates. We have been awaiting your arrival." The woman kindly gestured towards the gate which sat a mansion practically.  The woman proceeded to lead Evalina into the property. Waters? Estates? 

As Evalina walked up the never ending drive way she noticed the many rose bushes that lined the stone path. The roses were primarily red with a few white ones sprinkled in. Waters Estates was beautiful. The shrubbery alone could win an award. 

"How was the ride miss?" Asked the elderly woman. 

"It was lovely. Thank you for sending a car. I didn't catch your name?" Evalina cocked her head slightly, wondering if she was potentially related to this kind woman.

The woman chuckled and glanced up at Evalia with a twinkle in her eyes. "I am Beverly, I am the house manager of the Estates." Evalina wasn't quite sure what the term house manager exactly was but she decided to not prod.

They finally reached the three small steps that led up to black door which also had A.W. inscribed. Beverly opened the door and the overwhelming smell of cigarettes and a floral scent hit Evalina's nose. She was instantly reminded of the letter, which sat in her purse. 

Glancing around, Evalina noticed the pristine foyer which consisted of vases of more roses. Otherwise there were no decorations. The house looked practically empty from the view of the entrance. The sound of heels tapping, expensive heels, started to come from above where Evalina looked up and saw a woman coming down the all black staircase. She had black slacks, a turtle neck and black sunglasses on even though they were indoors on an overcast day. The most prominent feature on her was her bright red hair. It was a short bob but it exuded a confidence like no other. As she glided down the stairs, practically staring into Evalina's soul, she took a long drag of the cigarette in her dainty hand. By the time she reached the bottom step she let out a cloud of smoke then smiled with a cheshire like grin.

"Damn, you look just like her. Lucky bastard." The red head grinned.  She removed her sun glasses which revealed deep brown eyes with specks of green. "Alice, Alice Waters. Nice to finally meet you." She stuck out her hand which was adored with several gold rings.