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A Change is Gonna Come

We make the hour and fifteen minute drive to our hometown in silence, but it's not awkward. Cal keeps the radio tuned to an oldies station, and I rest my forehead against the cool glass of the window as Otis Redding fades into Buddy Holly. Cal hums along with every song, sometimes singing with the choruses, and if I close my eyes, it feels just like old times. Alive times.

By the time we reach the Welcome to Henderson sign, the sky is alive with color. I shudder in disgust at the Mayor: Eddie Barrow printed below it in smaller letters, and quickly turn my attention to the sunset before Cal notices. It's been so long since I've seen the sun sink behind the mountains that I'm in awe, as if this is the first sunset I've ever seen. And it might be the last, because while no one knew us in Richmond, we'd be discovered in minutes in Henderson.

"Cal?"

He stops singing, but keeps his eyes on the road. "Hmm?"

"What are we going to do?"

He sighs, and I can tell I've said the very thing that he's been thinking. "I don't know, Ede. We can cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Cal, that bridge is now." Literally and figuratively; we're crossing the Split River Bridge. Cal gets my pun and lifts the corner of his mouth in a lopsided grin, but it doesn't reach his eyes. We cross the bridge, and he slows the car and pulls into a wide spot off the road. The gravel crunches under the tires as he angles the car for a perfect view of the sunset that reflects off the still water of the river. He puts the car in park and takes my hand in his.

"Eden, I don't have any of the answers you want." My brow furrows. "I know that's not even what you want me to say," he continues. "But I promise, we can figure anything out together." He laces his fingers through mine, and softly rubs the web of skin between my thumb and forefinger with his thumb. "I don't have the answers," he repeats, "but I know as long as we have this-" he holds our entertwined hands up "-we can make it."

I stare at him in silence for a moment. He looks into my eyes, begging me to say something. "Cal, I- it's gonna be hard."

He nods. "I know it is. But you don't have to go through it alone. I promise. We can move from here. Get new identities. Have a life together."

I ponder his idea, then shake my head. "But my father...He murdered me. He gets to go on living a normal life, like nothing even happened. It's not fair." I choke on the last word.

Cal squeezes my hand. "What your father did-it's unforgivable. I know that. If you want to see him brought to justice, we can find a way to do that. But you can't live your life set on revenge, Eden. At the end of the day, that's going to take away your sense of normalcy."

"Nothing about this is normal, Callum," I scoff. "I didn't ask to die, and I didn't ask to be brought back, either. All I wanted was to finish my degree and have a life with you."

"Eden, I'm trying to tell you. You still can do those things. Maybe not under the name 'Eden Barrow'. There's no reason why you can't still graduate college. Why we can't still be together. We can even have a family. We can adopt. We can make sure everyone knows what your father did. But we can't-"

"We can't do that in Henderson," I finish for him. He's right.

Cal gives me a tentative smile that widens when I return it. He realeases my hand and brings out two large manila envelopes from under the driver's seat. He hands me one of them, and I pull out a sheet of paper. The words "Birth Certificate" scroll across the top of the page, and I blink to maek sure I'm reading it right.

"There's more in there," Cal says with a laugh. I reach inside and pull out a driver's license with my picture and birthdate, but not my name. There's also a passport, the name matching the one printed on the driver's license.