Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 23:33:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Cassandra Whitehead Subject: Garden of Eve ** Eve looked around her empty apartment, checking to make sure she had left nothing behind. This move to Florida was going to be a big one for her. New life, new environment, no drama. She had known for some time now that she needed to get away from Missouri, but she was afraid of what her parents would think. But at the age of 24, it was past time for her to start living her own life, and stop taking care of everyone but herself. Eve had graduated from college two years before, just to move back home down the street from her parents. For a time it seemed as if they couldn't survive without her being here. Now, she knew that she couldn't survive unless she left. Her friend Mike had moved to Florida after graduation, and said he could get her an entry level position with the computer company he was working for. Eve had jumped at the chance. She sent him her resume 6 months ago, and had a response within 2 weeks. The rest as they say is history, because here she was ready to make a new life somewhere else. ** Jackie looked in the mirror one last time. Making sure that every hair was in the right place and that her makeup was flawless. Tonight was the big night for her. Tonight Tony would ask her to marry him, and they could finally begin their lives together. Suddenly she heard a knock on her front door. Taking one last look in the mirror, she hurried to open it. There stood Tony, but to her surprise he was not dressed for a night out. He had on blue jeans and a t-shirt. "Baby, what's wrong? I thought we were going out." Jackie stepped back as Tony entered the room. She made a move to close the door, when someone else stepped in front of it. Tasha. "What are you doing here?" Jackie asked as Tasha come in her apartment behind Tony. She had known Tasha for about 2 yrs. They had some what of a friendship, but Jackie had to admit that she didn't really trust her. Shutting the door behind Tasha, Jackie turned to face them both. "Tony what's going on?" She knew that the next words coming out of his mouth would change her life forever. ** Eve walked through the airport, toward the exit terminal. The butterflies were finally starting to settle in her stomach. She knew she wouldn't be completely at ease until she was entirely settled in her new apartment. A moving company was transporting her things from Missouri to Florida, and they should be waiting for her when she reached her apartment. She looked around until she finally saw the one face in the crowd that she knew. Dropping her bags, she ran to Mike and was engulfed in a huge bear hug. "Eve, I can't believe you're here. We are going to have so much fun." Mike placed her back on her feet and walked with her to get her bags. Eves parents were under the impression that Mike was her boyfriend, and that she was moving to Florida to be closer to him. Little did they know that good ole' Mike was gay, and that their little angel was a lesbian. They grabbed her things and walked outside to the car that Mike had left double parked. "I can see you haven't changed at all. Still waiting for your car to be towed away." "Come one Eve, you know the real reason why I do this. One day, the right police officer is going to come and give me a ticket, and on that special day, I will meet the man of my dreams." "And that's exactly what it is, Mike. A dream" "You'll see. And when it happens I'll say I told you so." All Eve could do was laugh as she got into the car. Mike was the best friend a girl could ask for. She hoped that his dream did come true, because if someone deserved to truly be loved and adored, it was Michael Addy. ** Jackie stood in shook looking from Tony to Tasha. She couldn't believe her ears. Did Tony just say that Tasha was pregnant, with his baby? "You're kidding right? I mean, there's no way you can possibly be serious." "I am serious, Jackie. Tasha is pregnant, and we have decided to get married." Now, Jackie knew that she was losing her mind. Tony getting married, to someone else. No way. She didn't know how to react. She should be upset, no mad as hell. She should be throwing things, hitting things, or just hitting him. She should be yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs. But all she could do was stand there and look at him. "That's why I came over, Jackie. To tell you the truth face to face. I wish I could make this better, but I can't. I'm sorry." Not saying a word, Jackie opened the door and waited for him to get the picture. Tony took Tasha by the hand and walked out with her. Jackie softly shut the door behind them, and crumbled to the floor. Allowing all of her pain to come out in the form of tears. ** Eve and Mike arrived at her apartment just as the movers were pulling in. With Mike's help, Eve had secured a studio apartment, not more than 20 minutes away from her job. Mike had taken care of everything, including getting the key from the landlord the day before. They began to move things into her apartment when Mike's cell phone rung. Eve could hear him talking to someone in the background. The other person seemed to be crying. "Eve, sweetheart, I have to go. A friend of mine is in pretty bad shape right now and she kind of needs me." "Oh, that's okay. I should be fine here. The trailer with my car should be getting her some time later this afternoon, and I can occupy myself by getting this apartment in some type of order. Go, and I hope your friend is okay." Mike placed a kiss on her forehead and walked toward the door. "I'll be back later tonight to make sure everything is okay, and maybe we can even go out and see a little bit of the city." "Sounds great." Eve gave Mike a smile goodbye and turned her attention toward the tornado called her apartment. ** Jackie once again opened her apartment door, but this time the face that she saw was full of love and compassion. Mike walked into the apartment and took Jackie in his arms. He reached behind himself and closed the door. They walked over to the couch. Mike placed a pillow on his lap, and Jackie laid on the couch placing her head on the pillow. "Tell me everything that happen, sweetie." Jackie began telling Mike what Tony had told her. Mike had never liked Tony. There had always been something about him that rubbed him the wrong way. Tony and Mike were about the same height and build. Both were around 5'10", but were Tony had muslce, Mike had bone. Tony was a light caramel color, with pothole dimples, and beautiful hazel eyes. He kept his hair close cut, and dressed to a "T" everywhere he went. Mike, like Tony, was also a wonderful dresser. Mike loved to look good where ever he decided to go, even if it was just the corner store. Mike had long, shoulder length hair, that he kept in braids. He too had an outstanding smile with dark brown eyes. Mike was more of a cocoa color, with smooth skin. He loved to take care of himself. His motto was, "In order for someone to desire you, you must first look desirable." And he did. The big difference between Tony and Mike wasn't their sexual preference, it was Tony's inability to care about anyone but himself, and Mike's inability to not care so much. Mike got taken advantage of and Tony was the type of person who took advantage. Mike had told Jackie since the day she met Tony that he was not the one for her. It was just to bad she had to learn the hard way. Mike sat with Jackie for another two hours consoling her, telling her how lucky she was to be rid of Tony, but of course she didn't see it that way. Finally Mike knew it was time for him to go. He had promised Eve he would be back. "Sweetheart, I have to go. Eve is expecting me to come back some time tonight and I don't know what she might need help with." Jackie slowly lifted her head from the pillow and sat up on the couch. "Look why don't you come with me. You can finally meet the only other woman in the world that could drive me to go straight." "I don't know, Mike. I'm not really up to meeting new people right now." "Who said anything about people? She's one person. Come on." Mike stood up and pulled Jackie up by her hands. He walked with her into her bedroom and helped her find something to put on. She took her hair down out of the bun she had put it in and placed it in a ponytail. Mike was always jealous of Jackie's long hair. He couldn't believe Tony was so stupid. Eventhough he was gay, he knew a good woman when he saw one, and Jackie was one of the best. She stood at about 5'1", long dark brown almost black hair, light brown eyes, beautiful smile, her skin was the color of oak wood, nice brownish complexion. She was about 115 lbs, and loved to dance. Mike didn't know many African American women were ballerinas, actually he didn't know any accept one, and that was Jackie. To watch her dance was to be taken away into a dream world. Finally Jackie was ready to go, and they left to go meet Eve. ** Eve had been trying for what seemed like forever to hang a painting up on the wall behind her couch. She had divided her apartment into three areas, the livingroom, bedroom, and dining room. Once entering the apartment you would step into the living room, which at the present moment and time was packed full with all her belongings. Off to the right were four long stairs that would lead up to her bedroom, which had a long window for it's back wall. Mike had informed Eve of the window in advance, which had given her time to search for blinds to cover the huge attraction. Eve had also purchased Chinese blind walls which would go at the top of the stairs, separating her bedroom from the rest of the apartment. The bathroom was on the same little level as her bedroom. Straight ahead from the door, you would walk into the kitchen area and off to the left of it she had placed the same dining set she had in her old apartment. Eve almost had the painting in place when she heard a voice behind her saying, "That's a beautiful painting." Eve lost her footing on the back of the couch and started her descent toward the floor. ** As Mike and Jackie pulled up, the trailer carrying Eve's car pulled up behind them. Mike told Jackie to go up while he took care of the car situation. Jackie walked into Eve's apartment and watched as she struggled to place a painting on the wall. Jackie walked up behind her to get a closer look at the painting. Once she was standing behind Eve she realized why that painting looked so familiar. It was a painting by Melinda Byers, entitled Fourth Generation. Without thinking Jackie spoke to Eve. "That's a beautiful painting." Realizing the great error she made, Jackie watched in horror as Eve lost her balance on the couch and began to fall. Jackie reached out to catch her and they both hit the floor. Eve landing with her back to Jackie. Eve turned around to look at who her intruded upon her peacful silence and was astonished to see who had to be the most beautiful woman she had ever seen looking back at her. Hurriedly, Eve got up off of Jackie, afraid that she had hurt her. She stood in front of Jackie and reached out for her hands to help her up off the floor. Suddenly the butterflies were back in Eve's stomach, but it was not because she was nerves about her move, but as soon as she touched Jackie's hands she felt a wave go over her entire body. "Are you okay?" Jackie asked Eve once she too was up on her feet again. Eve found that she couldn't speak. All she could do was stare into those sparkling light brown eyes. Jackie too was staring at Eve. Eve stood at about 2 inches taller than Jackie at 5'3", 120 lbs, shoulder length black hair, that she also had in a ponytail. She had dark creamy brown skin, and soft full lips. As Jackie continued to stare she could see that Eve's eyes were not dark brown, but a dark grayish color. But what caught Jackie's attention the most was the small beauty mole that was on the right side of Eves mouth. It gave her face a whole new dimension. "Well, it's nice to see you two have already meet." Eve quickly dropped Jackie's hands and turned toward Mike, who was standing in the doorway, enjoying what he had just seen. He knew that this was the beginning of some new develops in all three of their lives. ****More to come*********