Evangeline
I'm woken up by Luke, who is kneeled down in front of me, shaking my shoulder. My eyes flutter open and he caresses my cheek. I don't know what time it is, or how long I've slept for.
"Do you feel any better, Kitten?" Luke ask
"Yeah." I say.
"That's great, because you need to go to class. I can't keep you in here forever." He says
"Okay." I mumble. As I sit up, fire runs through my body. It takes a great amount of self control to not show that anything hurts. Luke hands me the water and a roll of Ritz crackers. I groan internally, not wanting to eat anything from fear of throwing up again.
"You need to eat these and drink plenty of water." He says
"Luke," I whine scaredly "What if they make me sick again?"
"Evangeline, you have to eat them. If you don't eat them, then we aren't going to get the supplies to make your dress." He threatens. I huff and tear into the package. I bring one cracker to my lips and force myself to eat it. I pause in between each one to see if it makes my stomach hurt. So far, it isn't. I down most of the water in one go to get it over with. It feels good on my scratchy throat.
I force down the crackers and some more water to make him happy. He tries to lay me back down so he can press on my stomach, but I refuse to let him. He eventually gives up on trying because I'm so scared of it. He gives me a hug before I leave and I mentally grimace when his hand brushes against my back. Just as I make it to my class, the bell rings signaling for a class change, meaning I'm right on time. I take my seat and the teacher behind class. Thankfully school goes bye quickly.
I trudge to the east wing to wait on Luke. Excitement runs through my body since now we get to go get the things I need to make my dress. My mid section burns with every move I make. I ignore it to keep Luke from thinking something is wrong. I plaster on a smile when he comes out.
"Ready to go?" He ask me
I nod happily and hop from my chair.
He pulls me to his side and wraps an arm around my shoulder. We say bye to Grayson and Mrs. Cheryl before heading to the car.
Luke drives us to the nearest crafts store where I skip excitedly inside. Luke grabs a buggy for all the items I need.
"Okay, what first?" He ask looking at all the isles.
"Um, tape measure." I say and lead him to the isle with the different measuring tools.
"Wait," I say my heart sinking as I think
"What's wrong, kitten?" He ask
I look at all the price tags with sad eyes.
"All of this stuff is really expensive. I don't want to make you pay that much just for a silly dress." I say and fiddle with my fingers. All my hopes dying inside me.
He turns me to face him and looks at me with a small smile.
"Evangeline, I don't care how much it cost. Money means nothing to me. This makes you happy, and that's all that matters. Get anything you need or want, and don't worry about how much it cost." He tells me. A big grin spreads across my face at what he says. I turn back around and pick out the tape measure I need. I skip through the isles, grabbing everything I need and putting it into the buggy. I try to get the not so expensive stuff, but still the good kind that doesn't break easily. I have to ask Luke to get things down for me from the top shelf because I'm short. Finally, we get all the small things I need and head to the fabrics. My eyes roam the rolls of cloth, searching for what I need. I finally spot the burgundy color and grab the roll. I also get a silky roll to put on the inside of the dress to make it more comfortable. Luke finds the white laced fabric that looks exactly like what I drew and I dance around in happiness.
"Why don't you get the blue and the white to make the dress I like?" He suggest
"Really, I can make both?" I ask excitedly
"You can make as many as you want." He says. I squeal with joy and he chuckles at me.
"What color blue was it again?" He ask. I flip to it in my sketchbook and show him. I had brought it in in case we needed to see a fabric again.
We search for the colors and only find the white. An employee sees us looking for something and comes over to help us.
"Hi, are you finding everything alright?" The lady ask
"Can you help us find this color blue, or something like it?" Luke ask her. I show her the drawing and she smiles.
"Oh my, that's beautiful." She says. I blush at her words. She scans the fabrics and looks behind a few. She makes an 'ahah' sound and pulls out the fabric from behind another.
She hands it to Luke who puts it in the cart with all of our other things.
"Do you need help finding anything else?" She ask. He name tag says Clair. It's such a pretty name.
"What else you you need, Kitten?" Luke ask me
"A sewing machine." I say.
"Do you know what kind you are looking for?" Clair ask me. I shake my head no.
She chuckles and motions for us to follow her. She leads us to an isle filled with multiple brands of machines. She stops in front of one and sighs.
"Have you ever used one before?" She ask.
"Yes ma'am." I clarify
"Okay, so, this one is supposed to be the best. It's easy to handle, doesn't jam as much as others, and it's a great price." She says pointing to the one she stopped at. "We've had a lot of great reviews about it." She boast "And, I find it's very pretty." She says admiring the designs in the picture on the box.
"Then that's what we'll get." Luke says confidently
He picks up one of the boxes and I clear room in the buggy for the heavy item.
He spots something down the isle and walks to it. The box is tall, but I can't tell what it is.
"Don't you need one of these?" He ask pointing to it. I walk over to it to see it's one of the dress making mannequins.
"I don't have to have it. They just make it easier to make the dress is all." I explain slightly wanting one.
"Then we can get it too if it makes it easier." He says and goes to grab one.
"Luke, I don't have to have it. We've got enough already." I say worried that I'm making him pay to much
"Evangeline, stop worrying about money. We're getting it." He says and lifts the box. I huff in annoyance from his stubbornness. We make our way to the cash register where Clair, the employee who helped us earlier, rings up our stuff. I physically cringe when she tells us the total. Luke looks unfazed and hands her his debit card.
"You should come back when it's finished and show me the dress, I'm sure it will be even better than your drawing, which was amazing by the way." She says as she bags what will fit in the bags.
"Thank you, and we will." I say happily
Luke carries the big boxes while I get the bags. We practically play Tetris, trying to fit everything in the trunk of the car. Luke shuts the trunk with a thud and we climb into the front seats.
"Thank you." I say after buckling up.
"You're welcome." He says and begins driving home.
Guilt washes over me when I remember the large amount of money we spent. I sigh and look out the side window to distract myself. It must concern Luke because of my sudden mood change because he looks to me worriedly.
"What's wrong?" He ask
"I feel bad making you pay that much." I say and look to him with sad eyes.
"Evangeline, I make enough money as it is. If I didn't do this with it, then I would have wasted it on something I didn't need, like a bunch of new movies or something. At least with this it is actually going to be useful." He says trying to cheer me up. "You need to stop worrying about money. You are too young to worry about money." He says
"I'm not used to having as much money as you." I explain
"I know, but now you do. Now it's time for you to be a kid. Not a grown up like you used to have to be." He says
"Okay." I say just to end the conversation.
He drives us home and unloads the car as I set everything up in the free corner of my room. Luke helps me set up the little table we had gotten to put the sewing machine and the measuring board that helps me make straight cuts in the fabrics.
I set up the sewing machine and thread the needle. Luke watches, as I do this expertly, from the edge of my bed. I open the tape measure and hold it out to him. He takes it confusedly and stands in front of me as he awaits for me to tell him what to do.
"I can't do it myself." I explain "First, from one shoulder to the other." I explain. He does as I say and then writes down my measurement on the chalk wall. I then get him to measure from my shoulders to my mid calf just above my knee. Then I measure my waist size and chest size. Let's just say my chest wasn't very big if you know what I mean. I let him take the rest of my measurements and write them on my wall. I then, write them on the pages with the two dresses so I can remember what sizes they are.
I measure out the fabric and then make an outline on it with a marker. I cut along the line and then pin the pieces together. This in total, takes almost two hours. Luke leaves to go make dinner and I start music to keep my mind occupied as I work. I had already completed my homework during class and study hall.
Now it's time for the real hard work. Time to sew it. I place the pinned together material onto the sewing machine and turn on the power. I carefully begin to sew the fabric together to conjoin the skirt and top together. Then, I begin to work on the top, so I will be able to hang it on the mannequin because there is no way I'm going to finish tonight. Luke interrupts me by calling me downstairs for dinner.
I turn off the power to the machine, turn off my music, and head downstairs. He made a delicious chicken Alfredo which I love just like all the other foods he's cooked.
"How is your dress coming?" He ask
"Good, I might have it finished by tomorrow or the day after."
"Well you sure do work quickly." He chuckles
"I'm just really good at this. Ms. Victoria always made me fix everyone's clothes if they messed them up." I explain. "I never minded though. I like to sew, it's fun." I say trying to make it seem not as bad.
"What else did she make you do? So far, you had to be a seamstress, eat only bread, sit in the floor, and only speak when you had permission." He says rattling off all the things I've had to do for her.
"I had to clean a lot." I say stabbing a piece of chicken "It didn't bother me. It just made me tired." I say
"One thing I've noticed about you, is you are very organized." He says
"I don't like messes. It annoys me when something isn't in its place. Like, colors for example; I want them in rainbow order, unless I intentionally put them in a certain pattern. It's one of the reasons why I love my bedspread so much." I say as I push around my food.
"Well, I'm glad I got that one instead of the other one. You would have hated it. There were lines going in all direction with different colors colliding. Kind of like abstract art." He says laughing slightly.
"Me too. It probably would have drove me insane." I laugh
"Okay, so tell me something else about you that I don't know." He says
"What do you want to know?" I ask
"Um, favorite subject in school?" He ask
"Definitely math." I say
"Really? I thought it would be English." He says surprised with my answer
I giggle and shake my head no "Nope." I say popping the p for extra effect
"Why do you like it then?" He ask
"I like the stability of it. All the other subjects don't have straight answers. They can bend and change. Not with math though. You either get the right answer or the wrong answer. No in between. I know I can do a certain formula to get a certain answer. I like that." I explain
"You like control." He says figuring it out
"Exactly." I say and point the fork at him.
"Why?" He pushes. Now he's getting into a sensitive area. I have many reasons why I want control. Many of which, he doesn't need to know about.
"I just always have." I say trying to drop the subject.
He seems to get that it's not something I want to talk about, so he lets it go.
"Do you want ice cream?" He ask. My eyes light up at the mention of the sweet treat. I've never had it before, but everyone says it's really good.
"Yes, please." I say excitedly
He takes our plates and takes the rest of mine in the trash. I gave up on trying to finish it because it was making my stomach hurt. I really want to try ice cream, so I can deal with the pain later.
He scoops out two small bowls of chocolate ice cream and puts spoons in them. He hands one to me and begins eating the other. Nervously, I take a tiny scoops and put it in my mouth. The coldness bites my senses, but the flavor takes over my taste buds.
"You sure do like ice cream too." He jokes as he watches me do a happy dance with my dessert.
"Just let the ice cream and I have our moment." I say in defense.
"You've never had ice cream before?" He says in disbelief
"I've had it, just not a lot." I say "I'm not like you, remember?" I remind him.
"Yes, I remember." He says sarcastically.
We finish our dessert and I head upstairs. I brush my teeth, so I don't have to do it later and keep working on my dress. Luke watches from my reading chair as I work. I focus intently on making the seams straight and perfect, just the way they should be. After finishing the major parts of the dress, I shut everything off and hang the dress on the mannequin. I clean up my space and put everything where it should be. I use the baskets underneath the bay window as storage for my supplies. All I have to do tomorrow is sew on the collar, make the bow, and sew that on too.
"It looks great so far, Love bug." Luke compliments my work. I grin proudly as I admire it.
"Can we keep reading?" I ask him. He grins and pats his leg signaling for me to come sit down like last night. I crawl into his lap and he brings out the book we were reading. He holds the book out like last night and reads aloud to me. I listen to him and hug Ellie and a blanket close to me. I am in love with 'The Fault in Our Stars'. It's written amazingly and the characters have such a unique bond between them.
"Can we do this every night?" I ask when he pauses to turn the page.
"Sure, Love bug." He says he keeps going with the next page and through the next for chapters. I start to fall asleep and stop listening. He realizes this quickly and takes me into his arms. He carries me to my bed, where he tucks me in with Ellie.
"Good night, Evangeline. I love you." He says quietly and places a gentle kiss on my forehead. A small smile spreads across my sleepy face at his actions and I mumble a goodnight in return.
*************
I hope you all like this chapter, along with all the others. I just wanted to clarify that Luke loves Evangeline in a FATHER & DAUGHTER way! Not a girlfriend/boyfriend type way. That would be kind of weird, and not to mention, slightly illegal.
(If you didn't catch it, that was sarcasm. It's VERY ILLEGAL and VERY WEIRD.)
But other than that, have fun reading my lovelies!