Ah, the Frank and Eva "franchise" continues. Believe me, when I first started writing about this couple, I was only planning on writing one story…so much for that, but that's O.K., they seem to be a well-received couple. *s*
This story is a prologue of sorts for "Frank's Desire." I wanted to set up the relationships that Eva had with her fiancé and her sister before the night at the costume party. I am going to be writing a story that takes place after "Frank's Desire Part 2" and this will help to set things up for that as well. Also, I wanted to hint a little that Frank and Eva were meant to find each other and it fit in quite well here. There is a slight overlap between this story and "Frank's Desire." You'll see what I mean at the end of chapter 7, but what's happening should be very straightforward Enjoy! Please R/R
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Eva woke up as harsh sunlight filtered through the window. She rolled over in bed to find John still asleep. She sighed and carefully crawled out of bed; the last thing she wanted was to wake him up and have him be in a foul mood with her. There had been a lot of that lately.
She walked into the bathroom and started the shower. John had been coming home from work late each night. He worked for a law firm and insisted that they had been swamped with cases. Eva always had a meal waiting for him when he returned home, but he hardly seemed to notice.
The wedding was only a couple of months away; John wanted no part of the planning. In fact, at times Eva was unsure of whether or not he actually wanted to get married at all. His romantic side had all but disappeared and his interest in her seemed to be waning. Eva tried to make herself believe that it was temporary and that when things at the firm slowed down, everything would be fine once again.
After she showered and dressed, she snuck out of the apartment without disturbing John, who was still asleep. She was to meet her sister, Sarah, to pick out the bridesmaid dresses for the wedding. She drove downtown to Celia's Dress Shoppe.
"Eva, please don't make me wear taffeta," Sarah whined. "Please, please, please!"
"Taffeta? What is this, nineteen eighty-four?" Eva laughed. "Chiffon sound better?"
"Much." Sarah disappeared into the fitting room with a sky blue spaghetti strapped gown. A few moments later she emerged.
Eva smiled. "That's it; that's the one. You look beautiful in it!"
Sarah looked in the mirror and smiled as well. "Not too shabby." She took a deep breath and looked at her sister. "Eva, are you sure that this is what you want?"
"It's gorgeous, why wouldn't I?"
"Not the dress, sis…John. Are you two O.K.?"
Eva quickly started shuffling about the on of the dress racks. "Of course. We're fine. Why do you ask?"
"You're not happy, Eva. I know you and you seem…miserable." Sarah put her hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "You were a lot happier this time last year, but now…"
Eva looked at her sister and smiled. "Things couldn't be better," she lied. "Really. I know that you're probably just looking out for me but…"
"Mom's noticed too, Eva…"
"John's been stressed at work and we haven't had much time together, that's all."
Sarah then decided not to push the issue. "O.K., I'll believe you if you want me to."
"I do." With that, the conversation was terminated.