Eveline, Part II

Miguel García Tamés

Eveline loosened her grip on the iron railing, composed herself and started walking home without looking back. Along the way, her thought focused on the last expression she had perceived on Frank’s face: it was not the sad grimace of a disappointed lover but rather a serious, cold, sinister look; so terrifying that it had made her heart want to stop beating. She had never seen before this expression in Frank’s invariably merry countenance: this new look was black, as black as the massive boat that awaited him at the station. And yet, she knew that this expression she had caught on the sailor’s face was genuine. He was not acting, no: he was showing his real feelings. She immediately grasped the bitter truth: he did not love her, then. He had never really loved her; his intention was only to lure her into going away with him... But why? To which end? If he did not love her, why had he taken so much trouble trying to be nice to her?

As she walked lost in these thoughts, she heard a paper boy screaming: “Latest news! Irish prostitution network dismantled in Buenos Ayres!” And suddenly she understood everything about Frank: his niceness, his attentions and his sweet devotion for her from the very first time they had met. Above all, she could now explain to herself that odd impression she had sometimes that Frank performed his songs and stories in a strangely professional fashion, as if he had been rehearsing them over and over... How many other girls might have fallen prey to Frank’s charms before her? How stupid she had been!

She went directly to the police station and filed a suit against Frank. A deep sensation of relief overwhelmed her as she went out of the shiny brick building and she thanked God for having inspired her to leave Frank in the crucial moment.  Back home, she dusted off meticulously the cretonne curtains and resumed her boring, insubstantial life.  For some years, she endured Miss Gavan’s harassment at the shop and her father’s abuses at home. But she did not care much, for now she knew that God was on her side.

Then, one Saturday, her father arrived home later than usual, in a particularly inebriated state. As so often, he had started to tease her about the money, but this time she could perceive a strange aggressiveness about him that somehow was not altogether new for her. To her alarm, in his eyes she recognized the same furious look which she had helplessly witnessed many years ago, when her mother was still alive. He was going to beat her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” her father asked in a drowsy voice. She did not answer, and he started advancing clumsily towards her, his eyes injected with blood. She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she prayed to God to direct her, to show her what to do. She realized her father was talking to her “You are not even listening to me! Is this your way to show respect for a father?” He was already very close; she could smell the gin in his breath as she kept moving her lips in silent fervent prayer.

The drunkard raised his hand in order to smack her in the face, but he never reached his goal: Eveline ducked, stepped swiftly aside and, as her father’s body lost balance, she pushed his head with all her strength against the corner of the sink. A trickle of blood flowed out of her father’s ear as his body lay motionless on the kitchen floor, creating a curious pattern on the tiles. It reminded Eveline of a sea wave, a purifying red wave that had released her forever of her father’s future abuses.

The police report stated “Accidental death due to domestic fall. Autopsy revealed high alcohol concentration in blood”. Of course, nobody ever suspected that such a caring, selfless daughter as Eveline might have had anything to do with the fatal accident.     

Eveline mourned her father conveniently, but she did not miss him in the least: actually, she would have felt quite happy had it not been for the constant presence of the voice of her dead mother in her head. As a result of some kind of universal karma, she seemed to have replaced her husband’s presence, and she constantly reproached her daughter for not having kept the family together as she had promised. Eveline tried to convince her mother that it had been God’s will, but her mother did not accept this explanation, so they went on arguing and arguing as only mother and daughter can do.

After the brief mourning period, Eveline resumed her tasks at the store, and Miss Gavan resumed her harassment with growing intensity.

“Miss Hill, you are too distracted these days! Don’t let your grieve interfere with your professional tasks!”

But of course, Miss Gavan could not know how busy her mind was lately, discussing her father’s assassination with her mother. Day after day, the situation at the store was becoming worse.

“Miss Hill: if you keep committing stupid mistakes, you will soon be dismissed!”

Dismissed! The thought of losing her job made Eveline feel dizzy: what should she do then? Were should she go? Frank’s dark countenance flashed in her mind, along with the dark vessel at the station and the looming presence of some dark brothel in Buenos Ayres.  She realized that Miss Gavan’s harassment would not stop unless she put an end to it herself. She remembered with relief that God was on her side. Once again, she prayed to God to direct her.

“Miss Hill: you’re not even listening to me! I am going to have to report your attitude to the store manager!”

She kept moving her lips in silent fervent prayer and God’s answer came loud and clear: Eveline’s hand clutched the big iron scissors and started stabbing Miss Gavan to death, careless of the horrified looks of colleagues and customers. As the body of her oppressor became progressively silent, she started to feel the red, warm ocean that had been flowing onto her body: her hands, her face, her dress were touched by this new purifying wave and she enjoyed it in an almost voluptuous manner. After a while, she searched for her mother’s voice in her own mind but could not find it. Maybe she is gone too, she thought with instant relief. She noticed that the store was remarkably silent. She thanked God: for the first time in her life she was free.

16 December 2016