[November 26, 1948]
It was six in the morning — the next morning of Thanksgiving. Evelyn Bellamy had two days left to spend in Hyannis Port. Her friend, Wendy had been asleep and snoring loudly; she had drank a little too much last night. They'd gotten home at midnight and had to sneak into the house so Maurice or Julia wouldn't nag at them for breaking the curfew and drunk driving.
Evelyn wiped her damp hands on the nightgown she was wearing, her hair styled into a French braid her mother had taught her to do. She poured some hot water into a teapot on the countertop. "Bonjour, Evelyn." Julia's voice almost startled her, but Evelyn regained her composure. "Morning, Ma." She faintly smiled at her mother while stirring the tea. "Do I smell rose tea?" Julia remarked, her lips curled into a smirk; she'd always known it was her daughter's favorite drink. "You know it," Evelyn simply replied before putting the lid on the teapot and bringing it to the coffee table in the living room.
"Oh, merci!" Julia thanked her daughter when her empty teacup was filled with tea to the brim. She then noticed the newspaper on the table, Evelyn had picked it up just as it was delivered by a man. "You know..." Julia leaned forward to grab onto the newspaper. "Ted asked about you a lot yesterday." She quickly goes through the pages; she was a fast reader. "Oh." Evelyn's heart sunk into her stomach. She set her teacup down to pay full attention. "I told them you had a fever. Do you feel better now?" Julia's hazel eyes remained on the papers as she was directly talking to her daughter. "Yes, Mama. I was just fatigued." Evelyn pressed the palm of her hand against her face and rubbed her temples. She had made rose tea to calm her nerves but all she was getting was the opposite.
"I sure hope a night in the town was enough." Julia's words stink of sarcasm, and domineering. "Mama..." Evelyn snatched a distinctive blue package with the winged Gallic helmet logo that was lying on the table — you could tell it belonged to Maurice; only true Frenchmen smoke Gauloises. "No, I'm just curious. You said you were tired but then..." Julia shrugged and threw her hands in the air. "Wendy wanted to see downtown." Evelyn tried to get an old lighter to work until her mother handed her a new one. "Ma fille... Do you still want to go to Hollywood?" The mother was like a cat on a hot tin roof; she felt awfully nervous asking that. "Yes—" Evelyn paused to take a drag from a cigarette. "God, yes," She continued, soaking into the couch — the taste of Maurice's patriotic cigarette mixed well with the floral tea, it almost put her to sleep.
Julia leaned forward, looking askance at Evelyn, as if she didn't believe her answer for one bit. "Then why did you pick political science as your major?" Sipping the hot tea, she waited patiently for Evelyn's answer. "Mama, we've talked about this." The daughter's constrained groan broke into the mother's thoughts. "I'm sorry, it just... doesn't fit your starlet dream." Julia was shaking her head while leaning back into the leather couch. Evelyn sighed deeply. "Women are experts at multitasking." She gave a simple answer; it seemed like a hassle to try and explain her thought thoroughly. "Heh, of course." Julia reached over to hold Evelyn's hand. "And you proved that to me," the daughter said, smiling and taking another puff of her cigarette. "Merci, Evie." The mother tightened her grip on Evelyn to gesture her appreciation.
After finishing the newspaper, Julia abruptly placed it back on the small table. "Say, will you see Ted today? I sort of promised him that you would be up for it." She enquired of Evelyn. "Of course, Ma. I will visit them in the afternoon." The girl nodded her head, a faint smile on her face and a hand behind her neck. "That's my girl," Julia replied before looking away. She began to wonder whether or not to tell Evelyn about Joe's offer regarding her Hollywood dream. "Where's Wendy?" Julia's eyes glanced at the stairs — she'd decided to not talk about it just yet. "She's knocked out cold. Stayed up too late." Evelyn secretively said, hiding the truth about their last night's shenanigan. "You girls are trouble." Julia quipped, hinting at her knowledge of their secret.
Evelyn stepped into the Kennedy compound. She heard faint music playing from the backyard and decided to check it out. "Wow, it's like Hawaii here," The girl sarcastically said when she saw Ted lying on a chaise longue by the pool. "Evelyn?!" The tanned boy emerged from his seat, lowering his sunglasses to get a clearer vision. "Hi, Edward," Evelyn said, waving at him casually. "Oh God, missed you last night." Ted approached her as she was walking towards him. "Yeah, I was a little under the weather," She answered with a pair of squinting eyes — it was a mistake not to wear a hat or sunglasses like Ted did. "Well, you look good." The boy eyed her from head to toe, he seemed so much cheerful with her around. "Thank you, Ted." She pulled him into a tight hug — ignoring the sweat on his body — both of them had their hands touching the back of one another.
"I've missed you a lot, Eve." Ted hummed in relief when he still recognized the familiar scent of Evelyn's perfume. She had always known to have soft scents of apple and rose lingering — along with a light aroma of cinnamon, too. "Me too, kiddo." Jokingly, she ruffled his hair; treating him like a kid brother rather than a friend. "Please. Don't call me that." Ted took a few steps back while brushing his hair back into place. "I'm just messing with ya." Evelyn poked him on the arm, taking a seat on one of the long chairs.
"So, how've you been?" She asked with the heat from the sun slowly getting to her — however, she remained calm and breezy. "Lonely. So I'm inviting some friends over tonight." Ted responded with his eyes staring at the sky and his body soaking in the sun. "Here?" Evelyn didn't think Rose would let his friends visit since they were mostly considered degenerates by her. "They're civilized ones, Eve! We're gonna have a barbecue here." Ted argued before rising from his seat once again. "Can I join? I'm in Harvard, you know? The most civilized of the civilized." Evelyn's attempt at relieving the tensions between them suffered defeat; Ted continued to have a stern look on his face.
"You're not the only one from Harvard." The boy grabbed onto his shirt that was hanging on his chair. "Oh?" "Mike is coming too. Remember Mike?—the blonde guy you met at the diner?" Ted asked before putting on his clothes. He stretched his arms upward and groaned in relief. "Yes—yes, of course." Evelyn stuttered like a child. The thought of having Mike around with the Kennedys didn't seem like a good idea to her. "He's in freshman year too. Ever seen him?" Ted's interrogation didn't stop there; he was determined to get an answer to a question he had. "Well, I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." With such difficult questions being thrown at Evelyn, she had thought her strategy to get the best outcome was to be as vague as possible.
Ted stared into Evelyn's eyes for some time, seemingly analyzing her and the odd look on her face. "Hm. Interesting." His lips formed a smirk without many expressions. "How so?" Evelyn slightly cocked her head, she began to struggle with her breath. "He said he met a girl at Harvard and possibly the love of his life." The boy then squeezed his body next to Evelyn, sitting awfully close to her. "Woah— who's the unlucky girl?" She could only chuckle to hide her anxiety. Though a non-believer, she began praying to God to protect her from what Ted was about to say. "You, Evelyn." Two words, he only said two words, but once again, it felt like the whole world was crashing. She watched his lips moved in slow motion, it was like a dream; it gradually worsened and no longer fun, but she could not get out of it.
Evelyn swallowed a lump in her throat, she averted her gaze to the pool rather than Ted's condescending eyes. "Why are you messing with him?" The boy and his jealousy-filled confrontation pushed Evelyn into a fight or flight mode in a matter of a second. "What the hell did he tell you?" She couldn't stand listening to Ted's heavy breathing, he reeked of envious odor. "All sorts of things. You invited him to your dorm." It was like being nagged by a parent; Ted had overestimated his exact position in Evelyn's life. "We were just hanging out," The girl monotonously spoke; the boy had reached his limit.
"Sure, but hanging out with you is always a disaster waiting to happen." With such insensitive words pouring out of his mouth, Ted didn't even recognize himself at that moment. Evelyn only shook her head with her eyebrows narrowed; expressing her confusion non-verbally. "You make everyone fall head over heels for you and you break our hearts like it's a piece of trash." The soft features on the boy's face contorted in rage; it conveyed his feelings in all the wrong ways that Evelyn felt there was nothing to feel sorry about. "That's never my intention." Evelyn tried not to go too far with her defense, but Ted was attacking her where it hurts the most. "You're so oblivious." Ted scoffed loudly, he turned cruel and vicious — like a stray dog right after you refused them a bone.
"I'm not oblivious. I know what I did, but understand I've been hurt before." Evelyn resorted to being sensible — to reason — with Ted. "By my brother, yes." The boy stood on both his feet, looking down at Evelyn. "Brothers. Plural." Evelyn added more gasoline into the flame. "Jesus—" "Listen— Ted, I'm not here to fight. Between you and me, Mike is nothing more than a good friend." Nevertheless, Ted was still the most kindhearted out of everyone else, and Evelyn dare not hurting him. She gave a gentle smile to him, he only emitted a sigh and gestured for her to walk alongside him into the house.
As they sat on their favorite seats on the couches, a high pitched noise — like a creaking door, was heard from the upstairs. Ted quickly glanced at the stairs before looking back at Evelyn. "Jack's here." He sipped on the cold water inside a glass he was holding. "He is?" Jack's name threw Evelyn off balance. It had been more than a year since they last saw each other, the girl began to wonder if he had changed in any way mentally or physically. "He wanted to go to your house, but mother thought it'd be interruptive," Ted explained in depth, while Evelyn on the other hand was glad he didn't come; she'd be too flustered around him.
"As I live and breathe!" Speak of the devil. "Evelyn Bellamy!" The man stretched his arms open, he was ready to give Evelyn hugs and kisses like an older brother. "Jack..." The girl responded shyly, she arose from the couch. "Jesus, you're all grown up now. I bet you break a lot of hearts, hm?" Jack paced closer to her, pulling her into a brief hug before kissing her tender cheek. "No, I don't! What has Ted been telling you?" Evelyn placed her hands on her hips; posing like an angry elder. "Nothing I didn't know already." Jack gave a bellow of laughter, Evelyn joined him with her soft chuckling. "Oh, you sly fox." She nudged him on his ribs, Jack had the power to make her cheeks turned rosy.
"Hey, I'm going to town for some stuff. Wanna tag along and catch up?" Jack laid his large hand on Evelyn's shoulder; establishing the first skin-to-skin contact between them. Evelyn turned to the younger boy in the present, he shook his head and waved her off. "It's alright Eve. Go ahead, I have to make some calls to my pals anyway." He couldn't have been more insincere but in the spur of the moment, Evelyn also couldn't have been more terrible at reading people's minds. Jack grinned widely at Ted; his way of saying thank you. "Alright, come on. I call shotgun." He wrapped his hand around Evelyn's thin arm, he pulled her into his side. The girl looked at him in shock, "Wait, what?" She wouldn't want to drive a Congressman's car and crash into a pole. "Well, yeah! I wanna see your driving," Jack exclaimed. They were inside their own world as soon as they stepped outside.
Their voices were loud that Ted couldn't help but listened to what they were saying to each other. "I drive real fast, Jack. You don't wanna end up in a crutch, do ya?" Evelyn exaggerated, but through her way of joking, she was hoping Jack might understand. "Oh, come on... a lady can drive her man sometimes." Jack flashed a smile to the girl. He opened the door to his car and motioned with his hand, Evelyn sat on the driver seat where Jack usually does. Ted stood on the porch awkwardly; he watched them from afar. As the car started to accelerate, he despised his brother for stealing the girl away — and the girl for picking Jack over him.
Afterward, Ted made his way back into the house and decided to actually call his friends. His finger on the rotary phone spun the dial and ended up calling Michael Vogel. "Hey Mike, you coming?" Ted's other hand was holding the cord that connected the phone; he tinkered with it nervously. "Yeah, later. I just got back from an outing with my dad." Mike answered with heavy breathing on the other side of the phone. "Golf, again?" Ted questioned with a surprised tone to his voice; he never understood how Mike's father, a lawyer, had so much free time. "Mmhm. Again," The blonde boy replied shortly. He was, at the time, busy writing a letter to a friend he had made in Florida — Ted had caught him at the wrong time.
"Well, I just called to tell you that Evelyn's joining us tonight." And silence began to grow between the two boys. Mike put down the pen he was holding, he exhaled out his nose — it was loud enough for Ted to hear the discomfort in his breathing. "Seriously? I thought it's for the boys." Mike couldn't have lied better; he was torn between being excited to meet his 'girlfriend' Evelyn or to be nervous about it. "Jean might join too..." Ted intentionally added. Mike only hummed before replying with two words, "Sure, Ted." "OK. See you at seven, then." The boy immediately hung up to do quick thinking.
Should he inform Bobby about Mike and Evelyn? Would Evelyn be okay with it? What if Bobby already knew? After some thorough thinking, Ted decided he wouldn't let himself be involved with the drama between the three of them; if anything unfortunate were to happen, he'd be the first to walk away.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Jack yelled out with a hand grasping on Evelyn's arm. There was a mischievous grin on Evelyn's face as she continued to stomp on the pedal, accelerating the car faster. "Jack, your car's amazing!" She loudly exclaimed, she was swerving lane to lane in the empty road. "You driving at seventy miles per hour is not!" The man loosened the tie around his neck to allow himself to breathe unrestricted. Evelyn slowly lifted her foot off of the pedal to slow the car down. "I thought you liked going fast?" She took her eyes off the road to glance at the man next to her, unconcealed confusion on their faces.
"I get nervous around you." Jack chuckled innocently — not knowing how much impact his words had on her; Evelyn could feel her stomach twisting in knots and a lump forming in her throat. "That's my special talent, you know? Making people nervous." She played along without resistance. Jack groaned softly as he shifted in his seat, he nodded his head briefly. "Yeah, that's accurate..." "Right?" "...But it was me who made you nervous back in the day." And the two of them locked eyes for a bit too long that Jack had to reach for the wheel to avoid an oncoming vehicle that was moving fast in their direction. "Holy shit." Evelyn took hold of the wheel, dismissing what had just happened between them.
But the stillness and the soundlessness inside the car created a certain type of tension that Jack hadn't felt in fairly some time. The man's heart started to race, his breathing became coarse, and frankly, he had forgotten how it felt to be around Evelyn — she was always a breath of fresh air. "You made me too nervous, I had to run," Evelyn abruptly said. Slightly smirking, she recalled every single detail from that humiliating day. "Yeah, I remember that alright. Nineteen forty-five. Like it was just yesterday." Jack cracked a window open, he placed a cigar between his lips and lit it. After the first inhale, he has dissolved into laughter alone. "You ran from that bridge like you're never coming back." His bantering with Evelyn was unending. Though he was kidding, that day in summer never left his mind; it was playing on repeat like a long, vivid film.
The girl mocked Jack's laugh before turning serious again, "You kissed me, Jack." She received a long, forceful groan from the man beside her. "It was just a peck on the lips. And we were playing a game of dare." Jack shrugged with both his hands thrown in the air. Evelyn gave him a sidelong glance, she scoffed to show her dissent. "You were crazy. I was way too young for that stuff." Jack stared for a long time before scooting closer to Evelyn. "I don't regret it." He flashed a teasing smile to the girl, stealing her focus on driving. Evelyn stifled her laughter, "Stop it." She pushed her hand gently against Jack's face, placing him back to his seat.
The car ride was eventful as they continued reminiscing the old memories they shared. Ten quick minutes later Evelyn pulled over at a hardware store. "Park right here. Yeah, here's good." Jack watched as Evelyn carefully parked the vehicle parallel to the roadside. "Well, do you need me to come?" The girl twisted the key, shutting off the car engine. "Nah, it'll be quick. We have two more stops after this." Jack puts on his black hat and gloves. His greenish-gray eyes lit brighter as the sunlight crept into the car. "Two more?" Evelyn asked in a lack of enthusiasm. "Stay," Jack stated quickly before making his departure to the run-down store.
"Where are you going?" Ted cried out to his older brother who was putting on a coat on the porch. "I need to go into town," Murmured Bobby, sotto voce; he was absentminded. "Why's everyone going to town!?" Ted, frustrated, slammed the book he was reading onto the wooden small table in front of him. "I'm just doing errands for mother." The man held up a small piece of paper with Rose's writing on them. Ted exhaled his breath out, he looked down to the floor in boredom until an idea presented itself in his head. "Can I come—" But before he could finish his sentence, Bobby was disappeared out of his sight — possibly sprinted to his car before the boy could pop the question.
"Alright, on to the next one." Jack instantly said as he passed some heavy bags to Evelyn. "Christ, what are these?" Evelyn tried to catch a glimpse of the content on her laps. Jack slammed the door to the passenger seat right before snatching the bags away from the girl and placing them on the backseat. "Those, my darling, are coals." He said while pulling the gloves off his hands. "Preparing for Christmas?" Evelyn joked. She started the car and began reversing it slowly out of the parking spot. "If that's the case, it's all for you." Jack's wittiness was superior to Evelyn, he'd plunder the spotlight away from her in any room.
"We're going to surprise Ted tonight. I'm inviting some of my friends." Jack thought the more the merrier. "Government friends? How scandalous." Evelyn faked a gasp, covering her mouth with a hand. Jack only smiled as a response, he was savoring the moment between them. "Floor it. We need to buy some frozen food to grill." He lowered his eyes to his feet, perhaps as an attempt to hide the grin on his face. "Mario's meat market?" Evelyn questioned with her eyes gazing up to buildings surrounding them — it had been a while since the last time she was in town. "Yes, Ma'am." Jack took his hat off and ran his fingers through his thick hair.
"I'll take a dozen of rib-eyes and another dozen of sirloins," Bobby ordered some frozen red meat for his family. Enzo, the butcher, never questioned Bobby about the amounts of food he bought ever since he did some digging on the Kennedys. "Anything else, Bob?" "Maybe some of those patties. My brother's having a barbecue tonight." Bobby took his wallet out while the Italian man in front of him began packing his groceries in a brown paper. He handed the money and lifted the heavy paper bags in his arms. "See ya," Enzo said, Bobby nodded his head and made his way to the door until a feminine voice echoed through the small shop.
"Jack, that's not the right sauce!" For a second, Bobby had thought it was his someone special but he shook it off. "The hell it ain't! A1 sauce, right?" Then another voice joined in and it immediately caught Bobby's attention. Wait a minute... He could not shake the feeling of recognizing the familiar voices, he turned around from the cashier to the back aisle. "Rose never used A1, she doesn't like the orange purée in it. So... she used this." When Bobby's eyes landed on the woman, his heart skipped a beat. It was Evelyn who put a halt to his steps.
"L&P?" The man was his brother, Jack. "Yeah, they don't use orange purée or raisins— another thing your mother dislikes." Evelyn was rather cheery around Jack; she was slapping his shoulder playfully and constantly having a pleasant smile pasted across her face. "Oh, so you're telling me I don't know my own mother?" Jack flamboyantly crossed his arms on his chest, a bottle of sauce in each his hand. "No, I'm just more observant than you are, Mr. Congressman." Evelyn patted him lightly on the face as she walked away from him.
Bobby's blood was boiling in blistering heat when Jack began smirking and touching the part of his face where Evelyn was caressing for a quick second. "Jack!" He yelled — slightly too loud that everyone in the store glanced at him. "Hey-hey! Bobby!" Jack casually responded although Bobby's face was mixed with anger and discomposure. "What are you doing here with Evelyn?" The younger man rushed to his brother across the aisle. Jack looked around in confusion, "Well, doing some shopping for Ted. What about you?" Bobby held up the heavy brown paper bags in his hands. "You're mommy's errand-boy now?" Jack chuckled in a deep tone; he was either completely oblivious to Bobby's fury or too lazy to address it seriously. "Why's Evelyn with you?" Bobby completely dismissed Jack's teasing remark. His eyes roamed the place, trying to catch a glimpse of Evelyn. "She seemed bored with Ted, so I asked her to tag along." The older man simply shrugged — there was no reason for him to go in detail, Bobby wasn't Evelyn's man after all.
"Jesus, Jack, I was calling for you." The girl returned to the aisle, her eyebrows furrowing at Jack but when the man turned around to face her, Bobby appeared in the present. "Evelyn..." Bobby's voice became breathy when he mumbled the girl's name. He felt goosebumps all over his warm body when Evelyn gave him a hesitant smile. "How you doin'?" She simply replied. "Good... Wow, it's been so long." Bobby could feel his desire to just hug her in the middle of the store burning. "Yeah." Evelyn airily responded before turning her head to Jack. "I found it." She held up a pack of specific spice the man had told her to look for. "Good job." Jack took it from Evelyn and examined it while Bobby awkwardly idled with them. "Well, Bobby, see you at home." The man nodded to Bobby before heading to the cashier.
Evelyn trailed behind Jack, but when a hand grabbed onto her forearm, she was forced to stop in her tracks. "Eve." Bobby twirled the girl to face him, he then stared at her in silence — none of them wanted to start the conversation. "What?" Evelyn broke the silence with an absence of interest in the discussion they were about to have. "What happened?" Bobby's genuine concern for her was finally being expressed, but Evelyn didn't acknowledge it — not worth it, she thought. "What do you mean?" "What happened at college?" Bobby asked, he glanced at the freezer next to him and placed his paper bags onto it.
"You didn't write me a single letter!" He noted in bafflement, and Evelyn averted her gaze from him. "I've been busy." She tried to get away but was withheld once again. "You wrote to Ted. He told me you did." Bobby asserted his dominance by barricading Evelyn's path in the middle of the aisle. "We're not arguing here, right?" The damsel stepped forward, closing the space between her and the man. "No, no. I'm just... glad to see you either way." Bobby backed off, he positioned himself aside; unblocking Evelyn's pathway. "I'll see you at home, then." With that being said, Evelyn vanished out of his sight. Bobby realized how much pain he had caused her by merely sending her letters and not one contained an apology from him.
Evelyn briskly found her way to the cashier, Jack was waiting for the clerk to finish bagging his groceries. "There you are." He said in an unsurprising manner. "All done?" Evelyn asked while Jack reached for his wallet to pay. "That's twenty, keep the change." The man nodded before carrying the bags all on his own while Evelyn opened the door for him. "Hey, I'll drive." Jack requested after putting the groceries in the backseat. "You sure?" Evelyn ceased her walking, Jack opened the door to the passenger seat, inviting the girl. "Thanks." She made herself comfortable in the seat and carefully pulled her skirt aside to make sure it won't be caught on the door when it's closed.
Jack suddenly sighed and placed his hands on the roof of the car before started talking, "I know seeing Bobby must be hard for you." He lowered his face to look at Evelyn who was sitting graciously in the car. "What?" The girl narrowed her eyes, she looked up to Jack. "I know he's trying to get with you, OK? I see it in the way he talks." Unaware of the fact that it was far more complicated than that, Jack had thought his two cents might have some meaning to it. "But I also see that you don't feel that way about him." He resumed with his kind intention. "I just—" "You just love him as a friend, I get it." Jack bravely made his assumptions. "He needs to accept it." There was no response from Evelyn, she only stared at him with her empty eyes. "And he will. He's getting married." Jack was about to slam the door close when Evelyn placed her hand on top of his.
"When did you know about that?" Evelyn asked curiously. "Scoot over." Jack reopened the door and the girl did as she was told. He sat on the passenger seat instead, making Evelyn the designated driver of the day. "Pops called me before he even told Bobby about it." Jack began to spill the beans as the car slowly accelerated on the road. "He asked me if Bobby would go along with his plan." Evelyn clasped tightly to the steering wheel, transferring her rage to an inanimate object instead of subduing it. "I told him he'd need to guarantee Bobby something first, then perhaps he would." Jack didn't think much of Evelyn's silence, he was too deep into his storytelling. "But still, I've no idea what he proposed to Bobby that made him accept it." The man lifted his shoulders in a dismissive shrug.
"Gosh. What a transaction." Evelyn had a stern look glued to her face; it hid the pain, the agony that she was experiencing by listening to Jack's side of the story. "That's my family, Lyn. Nothing to be proud of— but that's family." Jack stretched his lips into a faint smile, he felt defeated just by saying those words. Evelyn kept on driving at a consistent speed while her mind was jumping to conclusions faster than the car itself. "Is there anything real anymore in this world?" She uttered by mistake, a shocked look on her face. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from." A smile appeared on Jack's face while the girl was apologizing. "You're real." He replied to Evelyn's question. "You're a real star, Lyn." And in response, Evelyn scoffed with a pair of sorrowful eyes. "I've got a long way to go." She shook her head and Jack wondered what was going through it.
"You have a reserved spot in Hollywood." Jack was specifically referencing the deal his father had made, but Evelyn misunderstood him; thinking he was just inclined to look through rose-colored spectacles. "And you... the Senate." She took part in the charade. "The fifties has great stuff for us in store, Lyn." Jack reclined into his seat, tipping his hat off a bit to his face. "Well, we're great stuff, Jack." If a person didn't know any better about Evelyn's feelings, they'd think she was genuine — unfortunately, she was a great actress — even Jack couldn't sense the insincerity in her voice when she spoke about Bobby, the only person she loved and despised at the same time.
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P.S: I'm very sorry for the VERY late update! Anyway, this is just a filler chapter — boring, I know — but I wanted to get some Evelyn and Jack's moment in this book. We'll be moving on to Christmas '49 in the next chapter, and finally, the wedding.