Evelyn (Cate Blancett x OC Story)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

They passed through a quaint little village and beyond it. Down the cobble-stoned driveway, they approached a three-story English manor that had projecting side wings like the paws of a resting lioness. There was a stone doormat, a garden of moss and rock and snow, a dog barking hollowly at the noise around the side, where a yellow garage showed beyond the evergreen trees.

Evelyn carried the mulled wine and gingerbread biscuits into the house, helped Cate move the tree, and heard the door behind her close with a soft, firm report. She turned and found Cate looking at her patiently, her lips pursed a little as if in deep thought, and Evelyn felt that in the next second Cate would ask, 'What are you doing here?' as if she had just realised, or not meant to bring her here at all. Standing in the middle of the room with polished floorboard between them, Evelyn suddenly felt like she was an intruder. She ran her fingers through her hair. 'You have a lovely home, Cate.'

'Do you really think so?' Cate asked, looking around the hall. She looked pained for a moment, then merry. Like a storm or current, and it vanished, Evelyn thought. 'The kids must have left already. Take off your coat.'

Cate took the overcoat around her shoulders and Evelyn folded Cate's scarf inside out and laid it across the back of a straight chair by the door. She put the wine and the cookies on an end table.

'I like your jumper,' Cate said, smiling. 'Green suits you. Perhaps we can get dinner in town tonight but it's about time I cook you something as well. It's almost lunch.'

'I'm really not that hungry-' Evelyn started but Cate was already walking away, her hands in her pockets and her plain beige suede shoes with high heels making light slow clicks on the wood floor. Her ankles below the blue dress were pale and thin.

'What would you like?' Evelyn heard Cate shout from the other end. 'Where is that bloody cat.'

Evelyn quickly crossed the white hall, past the photographs of small children, blue-eyed and squared-chinned like Cate, to the door where she had disappeared. 'What are you doing?'

Cate was bending over a cabinet, searching for something. 'What am I doing?' She then stood up and quickly went into an adjacent room, and reappeared, lifted out a tray covered in wax paper. 'Shall I make us sausages? It's spicy. We will have it with fried rice and salad.'

Evelyn nodded. 'Is it just us today?'

'There is no one here but the gardener. And he's far away. Is that alright?'

'And your husband?' Evelyn asked, before she could stop herself.

'Is in Sheffield,' Cate replied curtly, dropping a bag of cherry tomatoes in the sink. 'Do you want some cola?'

Evelyn opened the fridge and saw it was all canned. 'Would you like to share one?' She tried to sound as detached as Cate. 'I don't think I want to drink it all.'

'Mm,' Cate said, still with her air of remoteness. She seemed tired. She was worried about other things, Evelyn thought, more important things than her. Cate looked around the kitchen, and the same pained dissatisfaction came back to her face. 'Let's eat in the garden. There is enough heat to warm us both. What would you like to do after? Take a walk?'

'Will you show me around the house?'

'Of course.' Cate smiled at her. 'And some music.'

Evelyn carried the drinks to the gate-leg table in the garden and set it on a bright green placemat. There was a dozen of long coral roses in a vase, on the centre of the table. Cate moved around with the heater until she felt satisfied, turning its head towards the seats, and took the vase to the kitchen on her way.