The music was loud and fast when Evan swirled his hostess around. The song mixed deliciously with the bright lamps that illuminated the garden making a day out of the night, and the laughter and voices of the other guests.
Elizabeth's hair was black and her smile amused and brilliant. She was a good dancer and a devoted one, which was one of the reasons why she usually invited him. Her husband did never do more than one dance but she could always count on Evan's passion for dancing. It was only surpassed by his passion for painting.
His paintings were in high demand and people called them 'intense' and 'daring' but that didn't mean they paid much for them. An invitation to a party meant free food and new customers if he was lucky.
The song ended and Evan and Elizabeth stopped, both out of breath and with red faces. They went for the punch, which was strong and sweet. Evan didn't care much for the alcohol but he liked the exotic fruits, some of them so obscure that no one seemed to know their names. He looked around.
Elizabeth's husband Steven was nowhere to be seen. He was probably inside, smoking cigarettes and drinking expensive whiskey with an illustrious round of men and sealed contracts with them or planned joined operations on the stock market.
John, however, had managed to escape. John was old money, just like the Caldwell's and Elizabeth's family, the Weirs but he worked in his company, made it ready for the new age. He worked on a new kind of plastic which had been developed by a group of scientists from all over the world. John was 'un home du monde', having travelled through the whole word, and he had married a foreign princess, much to his brother's dismay.
Evan liked Teyla a lot. She was friendly and treated everyone from the flower girl on the street to the billionaires around her with respect.
At the edge of the terrace hovered John's and Teyla's body guard for the lack of a better word. He was tall and dark and simply looking at him was usually enough to make Evan's heart beat faster. He had made out with Ronon a few times at parties like these. They had never talked about it, not that Ronon talked much, but they both knew that Ronon was loyal to John and Teyla and would never leave them.
Elizabeth excused herself from Evan's company and walked over to two of the most controversial scientists of their time: Rodney and Samantha McKay. They were renowned physicists, involved with the current research on nuclear power in Germany. Rumour had it that even Luise Meitner was jealous of Samantha McKay's intelligence and resourcefulness.
"Hey, Ev." David Parrish joined him at the table. David had made a fortune at the stock market in a very short time but his true love was botany. He had a huge greenhouse with plants from every corner of the world. Evan liked him a lot. Not that he didn't like his other friends but they were mostly interested in him because they were interested in his art. David, who only knew so much about art that he could follow a very shallow conversation about it, liked Evan because he was Evan.
"Hi, Dave." To his surprise he couldn't see David's girlfriend Laura anywhere. When he asked, David answered: "She's at home. She has an important match tomorrow and wants to be in top form to beat that Jordan girl." Laura was a professional golfer. Evan knew the Jordan David was talking about. She had made a shrewd, unscrupulous impression on him when he had met her at Gatsby's party last week.
"I'm sure she will make it." Evan replied.
"I don't know, "David said thoughtfully: "Rumour has it that this Jordan she's up against cheats like a bat out of hell."
"By the way, "David emptied his glass of punch: "There was this guy who asked after you. I think Steven showed him your pictures earlier. He's a friend of John's. Ah, there he is." David pointed to a man who had joined John and Rodney, he was smaller than both of them and had with short, wild hair. He seemed to argue about something with Rodney.
"His name is Rado something, I think. He's from Czechoslovakia. It's said that he's the most brilliant physicist Europe has at the moment." When said man looked over to them for a moment between John and Rodney, David grinned and waved. His utter disrespect for protocol (or rather he simply didn't know better) was another thing Evan liked about him.
Rado or whatever his name was excused himself from John and Rodney and came over to them.
"Mr. Parrish," He greeted him and shook his hand: "Nice to meet you."
"You know me?" David made big eyes.
"I've read your book about the hybridization of grape species across Europe. Your wine collection must be impressive."
"Actually I don't like wine." David's smile was disarmingly charming: "I like plants."
"That makes your work only more impressive." He turned to Evan: "But I'm forgetting my manners. I'm Dr. Radek Zelenka." He stretched his hand out and Evan took it. Something tingled in his stomach when they shook hands: "Nice to meet you. I'm Evan Lorne."
"The pleasure is on my side, Mr. Lorne. Our host showed me some of your works earlier this evening and I must admit I'm deeply impressed by your art."
"Thank you." For some reason Evan felt flustered by Dr. Zelenka's compliment. Usually he took them with stride but there was something different about this man.
"You should see some of his unsold works. Evan's a real genius with a brush." David added cheerfully.
"Maybe you could show me? I'm going to be in America for some time."
"I...that would be great..." Evan tried to suppress the urge to mumble and blush, that would be unprofessional.
"Maybe the day after tomorrow?" Dr. Zelenka asked: "If you have no other appointments."
"No...I...I'm free." Evan cursed silently whatever it was that made him behave like a schoolboy around Dr. Zelenka. Wordlessly, David handed him a napkin and a pen.
"I live here." Evan wrote down his address: "But we can meet elsewhere if you want."
"Thank you." Dr. Zelenka took the napkin from him: "My driver will know how to find it."
"Ah, you're not boring the most brilliant mind of Europe with your plants, Parrish, are you?" Rodney cut in.
"Actually, we were discussing Evan's art." David's smile turned from cheerful to polite as soon as he saw Rodney. They had their 'differences' to put it mildly. Rodney had managed to insult Laura greatly once and that he and Evan had issues didn't exactly elevate him in David's eyes.
"Oh, well," Rodney's eyes shifted to Evan for a moment, something Evan felt self-conscious about. He and Rodney had, well; they had history which hadn't ended pleasantly. That they both socialized in the same circle had only made it more awkward. Evan usually preferred to draw a neat line under his 'affairs'.
"I'm hope you're finished. There are more important things to discuss than your colourful little pictures."
"In case you haven't noticed Rodney," David narrowed his eyes: "This is a party, not a physics convention." David's wealth enabled him to say things Evan could never allow leaving his thoughts.
"Rodney, Mr. Lorne is not boring me at all," Zelenka interfered before anyone else could say something: "I sought him out after our gracious host showed me one of his paintings. Wouldn't you agree that he's incredibly talented."
Rodney's eyes found Evan's and Evan knew that despite Rodney brash personality he wouldn't say anything against Evan's art.
"He's good." Rodney agreed shortly but his eyes were still on Evan, who wanted nothing more than to get away because their relationship might have ended ugly and hurtful but that didn't mean-
David touched his arm and said: "Come on, Evan, I believe you promised quite a few ladies to dance with them tonight, and as a matter of fact so did I, so please excuse us." He nodded to Zelenka but only narrowed his eyes at Rodney. Evan nodded to both of them and turned to follow David, but Zelenka touched his shoulder, making him stop: "Maybe we will catch up later."
Evan found a genuine smile forming on his face when he replied: "I'm looking forward to it."
Unfortunately Evan didn't see Zelenka again that evening. Elizabeth and each of her friends wanted to dance with him to the point where Evan felt dizzy from all the swirling around. David, who had blatantly lied about dancing, David never danced, had managed to involve Teyla into a discussion about the crops her people grew with Ronon watching over her from the nearest shadow. Although he did not only watch her because Evan could feel Ronon's eyes on him now and then while he was dancing with one wealthy, beautiful woman after the other.
After he had danced with Elizabeth for a third time this evening, Evan excused himself to find something to drink and joined Ronon in the shadow of the pergola.
"He's a good man." Evan pointed out to Ronon who still watched David and Teyla, and stood so close to him that they arms nearly touched. Ronon narrowed his eyes and gave David a long, scrutinising look.
"He loves Laura. Teyla is safe with him." Evan added. Finally Ronon nodded and uncrossed his arms, rolling his head to relax the muscles in his neck.
"Want to get some fresh air?" Evan asked dryly. Ronon gave him a look that stated his opinion about Evan's pick-up lines very clearly but he pushed away from the pillar nonetheless and walked away from the party and into the garden with Evan.
The Caldwell's garden was huge and one part of it was designed like a maze with lots of dark corners and hidden nooks, ideal to slip away with someone else for a few minutes. Evan followed Ronon's directions to find a suitable place, already feeling desire coil in his stomach. The anticipation of sex was nearly as good as the sex itself and Ronon, different to every other partner Evan had had, was someone Evan could trust.
Someone stumbled out of the shadows and to his surprise Evan saw Elizabeth with her hair out of order and her clothes rumbled followed by...
"John?" It wasn't Evan who had spoken but Ronon whose face showed a mix of disappointment and betrayal. Elizabeth blushed, avoiding anyone's eyes and her hand flew to an errand strand of her hair that she tugged behind her hair like Evan had seen her do when she was embarrassed or self-conscious.
"Evan, Ronon..." She still avoided them, looking on the ground while John had his eyes fixed on Ronon who stared right back, then turned around and left without a word.
"I better go, "Evan had finally found his voice again. "It's late and there's a golf tournament I promised to attend tomorrow morning."
"Of course." Elizabeth answered his nod with one on her own while John still stared at the spot Ronon had been a couple moments ago.
Evan went to Laura's tournament the next morning even though he had a light hangover and was too occupied with what had happened last night to really pay attention to the game. However, David gave him a full run-down on the game afterwards, mostly to rant against the official and Jordan Baker, as far as Evan understood Laura had managed to win against her cheating rival nonetheless. Not that anyone could proof that Jordan Baker was cheating but it was common knowledge that she did.
He pulled himself together for the small party in the golf club afterwards, mostly because he had to look for new clients or buyers during these parties. He lived off the word of mouth but fortunately at the moment everyone moving in these circles sung his praise.
The golf club provided him with new opportunities, people from slightly different circles than the ones he had met before.
Laura linked arms with him and gave commentary to the guests while they strolled over the lawn.
The next day in the early afternoon Evan welcomed Dr. Zelenka to his atelier.
"I hope you found the rest of the evening pleasing?" Zelenka asked while Evan showed him around. "Last I saw you dancing with Miss Heightmeyer."
"I had leave soon after that, one of my friends had a golfing tournament early morning yesterday."
"Miss Cadman?" Zelenka guessed. "Mr. Parrish spoke about her. Did she win?"
"Yes, she did." Evan trailed off when Zelenka's attention shifted to the painting in front of them. It was a bar scene.
"It shows realism without needing a photograph. I feel like I'm in this bar just by looking at it."
"I paint what I see." Evan shrugged.
"You like contrasts between colours and light and dark." Zelenka observed. "And the link between the known and the foreign." He looked intensively at a painting that showed an Asian woman in a modern dress standing smiling inside a fountain. It was night but the garden and the house in the background were lit with white and silver lamps. It was one of Evan's favourites.
"I wish I could see like you. For me everything fractures apart into atoms and quanta. Your pictures remind to see the...how do you say it? The great whole?"
"The bigger picture."
Zelenka nodded and continued. "The bigger picture. As if you manage to capture life in them."
"Thank you, Dr. Zelenka."
"Radek, please."
"Radek, I'm Evan."
Radek smiled, holding Evan's look for longer than what was usual. Evan swallowed and asked, "Do you want to come up for a coffee?"
Evan felt self-conscious when he let Radek into his flat. No one of his friends had been here before except for David but David was an exception from everything.
Radek, however, didn't seem to mind that Evan's flat had maybe the size of Elizabeth's foyer. He seemed to be much more interested in the numerous canvasses and papers that cluttered the already small space.
"You are amazingly talented." He praised Evan while studying one of Evan's older pictures.
"Thank you."
He walked towards some pictures in the back of the room that faced the wall instead of the viewer and turned one of them around.
"These are very different." He observed after a few moments. Evan shrugged, trying to sound casual when he said: "I painted them a long time ago. When I came back from Europe."
Radek gave him a long look: "You fought in the Great War."
"I was a pilot." Evan admitted.
"I see you don't like to talk about that." Radek turned the picture around again: "And neither do I." He took a step back and looked around: "I take none of these are pictures you ever intended to be seen or to be sold?"
"A real artist creates without putting his own life into his works."
"So all the pictures in your atelier hold no trace of you?"
"Not of my life, but these," Evan's gesture encompassed the whole room: "do."
Radek crossed the room until he stood directly in front of Evan: "Then you are even more extraordinary than I thought."
Evan swallowed hard. They were so close that he could smell Radek's cologne.
"Thank you." He said in a husky voice. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back and asked: "Would you like something to drink?" But Radek caught his arm in the motion and pulled Evan into a kiss.
It was a short kiss, yet long enough to ensure that it had been deliberate. Radek held Evan against him by his arm and Evan shivered when he felt Radek's beard scratch his cheek.
"You are very beautiful." Radek said in his heavy accent, rolling the r ever so slightly. Evan had honestly no answer to that, so he tilted his head to kiss Radek again.
Later, much later Radek said, "I should go."
Evan tasted the bitterness of disappointment in his mouth. "I understand."
"I don't think you do." Radek caught his eyes again. "I'm not interested in a rushed dalliance. I meant what I said. I think you're an interesting, brilliant man and I'd like to know you better." Radek's fingers caressed his cheek before he kissed Evan again. "Much better." Evan's reply caught in his throat at that.
"So you like him, don't you?" David asked when they were a mile or so outside the city.
"Like who?"
"John's friend, Dr. Zelenka? The one who was so interested in your art?"
"What do you mean if I like him?" Evan sincerely hoped that David would drop the subject.
"I know."
"Know what?" Evan's heart pounded in his chest.
"That you're like those ancient Greeks that properly educated people had to read in school. That you like men." When David saw how mortified Evan was, he laughed. "Don't worry. I don't pretend to know why you're like this and neither do I want any details, but I-"
"How do you know?" Evan interrupted him.
"Teyla had some insightful commentaries to make when you and Ronon vanished into the maze at Elizabeth's party." David grinned and patted his shoulder.
"I'm not like those people you sometimes see in the theatre." Evan insisted. He wasn't a fairy, not one of these weird, effeminate guys that wore make up and women's clothes. For most of his life he had wished fervently to be normal and it was only during the war that he had learned that he wasn't the only one but that was a can of worms he wasn't going to open.
"I know. You were a pilot, you're painter for god's sake! Nothing could be more manly unless of course you would start to indulge in massive amounts of absinth and women like every proper painter I've ever heard about, spending your nights drawing under the influence of the green fairy and your days in dens of iniquity instead of dragging your best friend to some guy's wedding out in the middle of nowhere." Evan began to relax slowly because he began to understand that for David his...preferences didn't change anything.
"Reed and I served together. Also, Chicago is not the middle of nowhere."
"Didn't you say he's marrying a Japanese woman?"
"He does. Miko Kusanagi, she was a priestess when they met."
"Do you have any friends with normal wives?"
"Laura is normal."
"But she's not my wife. Also don't let her hear you." David looked onto the street for a while before he asked, "What had you so distracted at Laura's game? Was that Zelenka as well?" Evan who had tried to make himself forget what he had witnessed that night, which had been easy with the distraction provided by Radek plus he hadn't seen either Elizabeth or John since then, startled. He debated whether to tell David the truth or not but with his revelation David had shown that he pretty much knew everything about Evan and Evan wasn't going to start lying to David now.
"Did you know that Elizabeth and John have an affair?"
"Yes." Was all David said but there was an unhappy line around his mouth. Evan waited for him to continue. "He courted her, back then before she married Caldwell. But John's only the second son and her parents wanted a better match for her."
"I didn't know that."
"Not many people do. Everyone involved likes to keep that detail under wraps. Makes their relation look less suspicious."
"Teyla deserves better."
"And Caldwell doesn't?" David smiled humourlessly. "Or Samantha for that matter?"
"Samantha?"
"McKay, you were involved weren't you?"
"Is there anything you don't know?"
"I knew you didn't get along but I didn't know why."
"It was during the war."
"McKay served?"
"As a radio operator in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was brilliant. Got me home every single time, including the two times I was shot down. You hear someone's voice that much you can't help but become attached. He kept me sane."
"So what happened? You two usually behave like you can barely stand each other."
"We lost contact with each other when we came back home. As you know I spent a couple years as a struggling artist until I had achieved a name. My sister's husband cheated on her, I've seen what that does to a marriage so when I met Rodney again and found out that he was married I told him off when he asked me to continue our affair." He paused. "I'm not normal but I'm not that much of a bastard."
"No, you're not." David agreed, laying a hand on Evan's shoulder and his smile was friendly and honest and warmed Evan's heart.
"Reed!"
"Evan!" Both men laughed when they embraced each other while David stood a bit back, waiting to be introduced. Evan pulled him closer.
"Reed, this is the friend I told you about: David Parrish. David, this is Reed Richards."
"Evan talks a lot about you." Reed said when he and David shook hands. "Said you're the only likeable person in New York City."
"That comes very close to the truth." David grinned.
"You need to come inside and meet everyone. Miko was anxious that you would be late, which means bad luck apparently."
"I'm your best man, you wouldn't have started without me." Evan nudged him playfully in the ribs but Reed winced as if he had hit him.
"Are you okay?" Evan frowned.
"Fine, just a couple bruised ribs from work." Reed's expression was superficially convincing but Evan knew him for too long and too well to be fooled. But Reed knew him as well. "Drop it, Evan. Just drop it."
"You can talk to me." Evan said in a low voice so that David, who had been discovered by some other guests and already worked his boyish charm on them, wouldn't hear.
"It's nothing you can help me with." Reed replied firmly. "This is not the war and we're not soldiers anymore. You're an artist and I'm a driver, that's who we are now." His smile turned wider and more sincere. "And now let's get inside before your friend gets bored."
Reed lived in a greystone house, identical to every other in the street only that today it had colourful garlands between the windows and jazz music came from inside.
Miko turned out to be a petite, cheerful woman with a very good grasp of English. She chattered tirelessly of this and that, how glad she was that Evan was there, how different Chicago was from her hometown. In-between, whenever she looked at Reed her expression turned into something positively adoring, as if Reed was the best that had ever happened to her.
She also seemed to be an honest, hardworking woman and that made Evan hope that she would keep Reed, who in the past had been prone to getting into trouble, on the straight and narrow.
He wasn't particularly surprised that David seemed to get along with everyone at the wedding as if he had spent his whole life talking to people from the working class.
"Hey," Evan said, waiting for Reed to come outside to smoke. Apparently smoking wasn't as tolerated in Japan and for Miko's sake he didn't do it inside anymore.
"Hey," Reed looked surprised to see him there. "You, okay?"
"Are you?" Evan's eyes lingered purposefully on Reed's torso.
"I told you: job hazard."
"As a driver?"
"Yes." Reed answered uncomfortably.
"For whom?"
"I told you, I transport stuff. Let it go, Evan. The less you know the better."
"I knew you did some questionable stuff, but Reed, it's not just you anymore. What about Miko? What if you two have children?"
"Have you spent so much time on Long Island that you don't know how hard it is in these times to get a decent job when you have nothing in your favour but a couple years in the army?" Reed asked sharply.
"I didn't mean to-"
"No, of course not. You know nothing, Evan. Do you think I want Miko to work as a seamstress because we don't have enough food? Or send my children to the factory as soon as they're old enough just like our parents sent us? I'm trying to do better."
"I'm sorry. I just don't want you to be hurt."
"I'll be careful," Reed promised with his slow smile. "Like you said, it's not just me anymore."
"Your friend seems to have a good job." David commented later on the same day, while they were watching Reed and Miko and some other couples dance to a slow jazz tune. "Maybe you should think about a job change."
"Yeah but he's not invited to parties on Long Island and dances with all the beauties of society." Evan countered. "And where would we be if we all took the easiest route in life?"
"Ugh, don't remind me," David pretended to shudder, "I never liked obeying orders." When Evan gave him a puzzled look, David continued, "My father was a chauffeur and my mother the housekeeper. Fortunately I had an older brother so I could go and try to reach for the stars without upsetting anyone. My family served in that house for as long as anyone could remember. We were very traditional. They didn't really understand why I felt the urge to leave as soon as I could."
"I didn't think-"
"-that I was born a servant?" David laughed. "No one does. I grew up around the balls of the High Society of Boston. Old money of course, very proper. That's how I learned to blend in, how to behave and to talk like them." He smiled. "Now I know your secret and you know mine. I'd say were even and you can finally loose that pinched look around the eyes."
Evan let out a startled laugh. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I guess I'm not used to having people know without being the same way as I am."
"Yeah", David answered, looking for a moment as if he was lost in a memory, "When I told Laura the truth about me I was sure she was going to leave me."
"And your family?"
"They're dead. The flu", David answered quickly as if he didn't want to talk about it and Evan didn't press the topic.
Finally, a few hours later, David stopped the car in front of Evan's apartment building.
"Thanks for coming with me", Evan said sincerely.
David gave him a sunny smile. "No problem. I had more fun than I would have had at Gatsby's." They both laughed a little at the memory of that party.
"I guess I'll see you around. Take care of yourself", Evan said after a moment.
"You, too", David replied. "Did you get an invite to Mr. Todd's party?"
"Todd?" Evan asked.
"He's a friend of John. I'll see that you get an invite as well. I bet Dr. Zelenka will show if John does."
"You have a dirty mind", Evan replied, looking quickly around to see that no one was close enough to overhear them.
"Laura likes it", David grinned unrepentantly.
There was a knock on his door the next day. It was Mr. Woolsey, Evan's downstairs neighbour who had his apartment next to the house's phone and took calls for everyone.
"A Mr. Zelenka for you", Woolsey told him.
"Thank you", Evan replied. He took his keys and went down stairs to take the call.
"How was your friend's wedding?"
"It was fun", Evan answered then, dropping his voice, he asked, "Do you want to have dinner tonight?"
"Yes", Radek replied and his tone sent a wave of lust and anticipation through Evan.
"At eight?" Evan asked with a dry throat.
"I'll be there", Radek promised him.
"You're a very talented cook", Radek praised his dinner. Under the table their ankles touched, a promise of things to come.
"Thank you", Evan said. Their eyes met and when neither of them looked away, Radek started to lean in and Evan followed him until their lips met. It was a slow, unhurried kiss but not without desire.
"I believe I haven't shown you all of my flat yet", Evan said, curling his hand around Radek's.
"You should, then", Radek grinned.
Evan laughed a little and nipped at Radek's lips. "So impatient. Maybe I want dessert first."
"No dessert can taste better than when I lick it off you", Radek promised him.
"If you insist…" Evan pretended to be hard won.
Afterwards he couldn't sleep. He felt too awake, too wired to go to sleep yet. Instead he took his sketchbook and a pencil and tried to draw Radek but he found that an informal portrait just didn't capture how intense and passionate Radek was. Some people were not meant to be put on paper.
They were eating breakfast when Mr. Woolsey knocked at Evan's door again. Obviously it wasn't Radek this time but David.
"Hey Dave", Evan said when he took the receiver.
"Evan?" David sounded breathless and a little giddy. "You need to come to the courthouse."
"Did something happen?" Evan asked worried.
"No, no", David laughed. "Something will happen. I just…we want you to be there."
"At the courthouse?" Evan wondered whether David was drunk.
"At our wedding!" He said loudly. In the background Evan could hear a shushing noise, Laura undoubtly.
"Congratulations", Evan grinned happily.
"It's a bit early for that. How fast can you be here?"
"Give me half an hour", Evan promised. "Who else is coming?"
"A friend of Laura, we're sort of eloping."
"I can see that", Evan was still smiling. "I'll hang up now. See you soon. And don't elope without me."
"If I had wanted to do that I wouldn't have called you first, would I?"
Evan stormed back upstairs.
"Sorry", he said to Radek before giving him a kiss. "I need to get dressed. A friend of mine is getting married."
"And he forgot to send you an invite?" Radek asked good-humouredly.
"No, no, he and his girlfriend are eloping", Evan explained and kissed him again. He liked to kiss Radek. It made him feel happy. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Unfortunately I have to work. But I suppose you will be at Elizabeth's party next Friday?"
Evan's smiled faded a bit. It was Monday, that meant a whole four days without seeing Radek.
"Of course you will", he promised and kissed him another time.
David, Laura and her friend were waiting for Evan on the steps of the courthouse. David wore the same suit he had worn for Reed's wedding and Evan was sure he recognised Laura's dress from one party or another.
"My family will kill me for this", she told Evan with a huge grin on her face so he didn't think she'd mind.
"Here are the rings", David said and put the small velvet box into Evan's hand.
"That's Kate by the way", Laura introduced her friend. "She's a doctor."
"Nice to meet you", Evan said politely and offered Kate his hand.
"You, too", she replied warmly and took it.
As they walked inside Evan whispered to David, "nervous?"
"Like hell", David answered with a grin. He was practically glowing by the time they reached the office. Later Evan would always remember this as the best wedding he had ever attended. Neither Laura nor David could stop smiling brightly at each other. Kate accidentally stepped onto the official's foot during the ceremony and Evan managed to drop the rings, one which rolled under the desk and had all four of them crouching down, looking for it.
"Oh my god, we're married", David said when they left the courthouse again. Then he grabbed Laura and spun her around, squashing her bunch of flowers between them.
"I know, it's crazy, isn't it?" She leaned her face against his.
Kate cleared her throat sharing an amused look with Evan.
"I'm supposed to throw these, right?" Laura asked, looking at the squished flowers. She turned around and threw them over her head where Kate caught them.
"You're the next to marry", Evan said to her.
"My husband will be glad to hear that", she joked.
"Is anyone else up for a late breakfast?" David asked when his stomach rumbled.
Evan couldn't be sure whether he imagined it or not but he thought that the flat still smelled like Radek when he came back. He was tempted to call him just to hear his voice but a look at the clock told him that most likely Radek wasn't back from John's lab yet.
Radek had cleaned the dishes but the bed was still unmade. For a second Evan wanted to bury his head in the pillows but then he told himself to remain level-headed.
He went upstairs to his studio. He still had a commission to finish but didn't feel like it at the moment. Instead he put up a new canvas and waited. His eyes kept straying out of the window, the sunny blue sky, the buildings on the other side of the street, the glimpse of the ever changing skyline he could catch between them.
Evan recalled what Radek had told him about Europe, how it was finally waking up after a long illness and David's stories about laughter and music and colour pouring out of every building and out onto the streets. He held on to that image, the idea of a future, ever changing, slightly brighter than before and reached for his paints.
"David?" Evan was surprised to see his friend standing on his doorstep three days after his wedding. Not that it was unusual for David just to come over but Evan honestly hadn't expected to see him before Elizabeth's party tomorrow.
"Hey, did you hear it already?" David asked, following Evan inside.
"Heard what?"
"John and Elizabeth. They were caught. Out in the open even. You can bet that every paper will bring the story tomorrow. Caldwell's shipping company is already taking the flak. Their stock went down like a tree in a hurricane."
"Poor bastard", Evan said.
"Rumour is Caldwell is filing for divorce."
"That's pretty quick, isn't it?" Evan asked. He felt bad for Caldwell but mostly for Teyla.
David shrugged. "It's just a rumour."
"Do you think John will stand by her?"
"His company isn't doing much better than Caldwell's. I guess that's going to be his main concern. But who knows, maybe his wife will file for divorce as well. Laura reminded me gleefully how easy it is for women to get a divorce these days." David sounded more amused than annoyed.
"You two are a match made in heaven", Evan assured him. "I can't see you getting a divorce."
"Your word in God's ear", David laughed.
Radek came to him on Friday evening. Evan pulled him inside and kissed him like a man starving for affection.
"I guess you heard", Radek said after their kiss had ended.
"David told me. Does that mean…"he trailed off, not daring to say it out loud.
"I will leave at the end of the month", Radek said. He looked at Evan and Evan felt it like a punch in the stomach. "My work for John is nearly done anyway."
"I wish you could stay", Evan whispered.
"Come back with me to Berlin", Radek asked, his stubble rasping against Evan's skin as he kissed down Evan's neck.
He hated that he wavered between wanting this and being afraid of it.
Maybe it was time he tried something new. Maybe it was time he left behind the intrigue and backstabbing of the Long Island high society. David had loved the Old World, too, had talked many times about the beauty of Paris and Rome, the vibrant life that dominated Berlin and London.
Evan only remembered Europe as a war-torn wasteland. Clouds of mustard gas over fields filled with barbed wire and dead bodies.
Maybe it was time he changed that image too.
"Radek asked me to come with him to Berlin", Evan confessed because that was what it felt like: a confession. He was asking David to give him absolution for whatever decision he would make.
"What did you say?" David asked back. He was playing with his wedding ring. He was always doing that, Evan noticed until the sensation would wear off at one point and then David would hardly notice it was there anymore.
"I told him…" Evan trailed off. In front of him was the open sea and behind that the Old World. Could he really go back and see flowers grow over scars when his own hadn't healed?
Behind him lay New York and a long, long way west there was San Francisco. He hadn't been back once since he left. There were too many pictures in his studio where he had painted his home town's streets swamped with the horrors of the Great War. Pictures he never looked at anymore but ones he also couldn't burn.
Evan had made his home in New York for a reason. Because he had no memories here except for the ones he had made himself.
"I told him I can't go", he finished finally.
"I'm glad you don't leave", David told him, his voice aw with honesty. "I really am."
He called Radek when he came back. Maybe that was the coward's way out but Evan figured he had paid the price for his bravery too many times for anyone to call him out on one craven act. He just wished he didn't have to do it in the hallway.
"I'm sorry Radek, but I cannot come with you."
"I understand", Radek replied softly and the worst thing was that Evan believed him.
He swallowed. "Farewell."
"Goodbye miláčku", Radek answered and hung up.
Evan just stood there for a moment while the operator on the phone was telling him to "please hang up and try again".
He wished everything in life was that easy.