Epilouge
The paperwork was numbing. "It takes so much to die," Chris had said. The next day, he left for Canada.
Standing at the bus station, Max slid something into his hand. "Money," she said. "From Logan. He said it's to get a new guitar."
"Tell him thanks. He's a good guy."
"Yeah. Call, if you need anything. You saved me, so much," Max said.
"Thanks," he said, hugging her briefly, then turning to board the bus, so she wouldn't see his face. Those two girls he thought, those two women ,it must have taken so much for them to do what they did. But they did it anyway. He knew that Eva and Max could easily have left him, or not trusted him. But they did.
+++
Max sat on the Logan's couch, her legs draped across his lap. He rubbed her feet gently.
"Long day?"
She nodded wearily, then glanced at the counter where the box of ashes, Eva's ashes sat. Max had collected them from the morgue that day. Next to them sat her planner.
"You okay," he said, noticing her drifting gaze.
"I will be," she said, smiling slightly. "I lose everybody."
"Not everybody."
"I was so glad to have her. Even just for a week."
"Remember that, then. Remember having her."
They sat quietly for a few minutes, his fingers working small circles across the soles of her feet.
"I almost forgot," he said, setting her feet gently on the ground. He left briefly, then returned. "Here."
He dropped something into her lap. It was a wrap, the sort you'd wear with a fancy dress. Max felt her fingers swim between the delicate folds of icy green silk and delicate gold beadwork.
"It was my mom's. You take it."
"It's beautiful."
"Well, you said your mother…" he paused, almost entranced, watching her drape it gently around her shoulders. It seemed to flow across her arms, settling along her curves. "You are so…that's a good color for you."
She smiled slightly and slid it back from around her shoulders, folded it gently, and laid it on the table.
"Thank you," she said and hugged him lightly. She didn't pull back. It felt good, she decided, to have someone so close, so warm. She looked up slightly, and noticed he was looking down at her. His eyes were warm. He lightly stroked her hair, then drew his fingers along the line of her chin, tilting her face upward. She felt his lips delicately on hers. He pulled back when she didn't respond.
"Don't…" she whispered.
"I'm sorry…I didn't…"
"No. Don't stop."
He leaned in again. She kissed him back.
+++
"Are you ready?" Logan asked as Max dropped a bag in the back of the Aztek.
"Yup," she said, walking around to the passenger side and sliding in. "Did you fax the thing?"
"Yeah. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Absolutely. And when we get back…"
"When we get back, I'll help you look for the other one."
Max glanced down where Eva's box sat on the floor. She nodded again, smiling. As they drove, she flipped through the photo filled planner, each snapshot revealing some new part of Eva, some part Max hadn't known about.
+++
Don Lydecker sat at his desk. A dull pain pulled at his leg. He grimaced as someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," he ordered.
"Sir, I thought you might want to see this," said the man, dropping a newspaper onto his desk, then leaving. Lydecker picked it and flipped through the pages until he saw something that had been circled. It was an obituary.
Eva Neil Eva died twice, for the second time on Wednesday… he read. His eyes skimmed through it. It was a short piece, after all, Eva had remained a mystery for the most part to the writers. He came to the end. Eva is survived by her adoptive family, parents Pam and Jonathan Neil and brother Trevor, and by her brothers and sisters Krit, Zach, Jondy, Brinn, Max, Syl, Zane, Delsa, Jace, …."
Every X-5 was listed. Every one. He dropped the paper to the desk.
She was gone.
+++
Logan sat in the car and watched Max advance up the walk, the little box and the planner in her hand. Logan glanced at the dashboard, where Max had laid a photo she'd taken from the planner. Eva stood on the deck of the house they were now parked in front of, dressed in shorts and a tank top, her arms wrapped tightly around a boy of about ten. Both smiled, brightly, the boy's eyes squinting slightly. The sun must have been in his eyes. Max had informed him solemnly that that was Trevor, who liked to play basketball.
The house was large, with open windows, surrounded by pine trees. Bitten down crocuses lined the stone rock. Max climbed the three stairs to the large cedar porch. She knocked on the door and stood, waiting. A woman answered. Logan recognized her as the woman from the planner pictures. He had talked to her on the phone. Her voice had been gentle, musical, much like Eva's. It was hard to believe they weren't really related. Her tears had been real. They might not have been related, but clearly that made no difference to her. Eva was her daughter.
Max stood, motioning gracefully. Pam responded, smiling slightly, then embracing Max tightly. They were both crying. Max then handed her the box, her fingers lingering on it briefly. Then she let go, turned and quickly returned to the car. She smiled tightly, a few tears on her face. She wiped them away quickly.
"Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded.
"It's okay," he said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, it is."
The End
