Lead the Way (7 page)

              “Okay, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to knock on the office door.”

              “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

              Eva makes her way to the office.  She finds that she wants to talk more with Gabriel, but she doesn’t want to seem strange.  He isn’t there to be her friend.  He’s her employee.  There probably isn’t anything that she would have to say that he would want to hear anyway.  She closes the door to the office, powers up her computer, and makes herself comfortable in front of the screen.

              While her computer is booting, she thinks about what Gabriel told her in the kitchen.  She can’t imagine what it would be like to watch your friends killed right in front of your eyes.  She can’t imagine the horror he must have been through and seen.  She wonders how he is able to go through such trauma and carry on.  She wishes that she were as strong as him.  She may ask him later on how he does it.

              She reviews her story and begins to type, when there is a knock on the door.  “Come in,” she says, continuing to type.

              Gabriel peeks his head in, “Sorry to bother you, but where do you keep the mop and bucket?”

              “You’re not bothering me.  The mop and the bucket are in the utility closet near the front door.”

              “Okay, thanks,” Gabriel says, closing the door softly.

              Eva continues on typing, when there is another knock on the door about five minutes later.  “Come in.”

              “Sorry, um, where do you keep the cleaning supplies?”

              “They’re in the utility closet too.  I think that they’re on the top shelf.”

              “Oh, shout.  Sorry.  I probably should have looked harder.”

              “Don’t worry about it.  There is so much junk in there.  I’m surprised you were able to find the mop.”

              “I’ll try not to bother you anymore.”

              “Okay.”

              Eva continues on with her story, becoming more engrossed in it with each word that she types.  She is just getting to an exciting part when there is another knock on the door.  “Come in,” she calls.

              “Sorry again,” Gabriel says, coming into the office, holding three different bottles in his hands.  “There are so many different cleaners.  I wasn’t sure which one to use.  I was wondering if you have a preference or one that you can’t stand.”

              Eva turns around in her chair to look at the bottles.  “Um, I honestly can’t answer that.  You might want to call Rosa and ask her.  Personally, I could care less which one you use, just as long as the floor is clean.”

              “Okay, I’ll call my Aunt.  She’ll definitely have the answer.  I probably should have done that in the first place.”

              “No worries.  It’s your first day.  I’m sure that you’ll figure things out.”

              “Let’s hope so.  I don’t want to keep bothering you.”

              “No.  Probably not.”

              After Gabriel leaves, Eva rolls her eyes and a giggle escapes her lips.  She turns back to her computer screen.  She is about to begin typing, when there is another knock at the door.  “Yes Gabriel,” she says. 

              “I tried calling my Aunt, but she’s not answering.  Since she’s not answering, I decided that I should probably wait and mop later.  If that is okay with you?”

              “Of course, it’s fine.  You don’t have to ask me.  I don’t care in what order you do things, just as long as they get done by the end of the day.”

              “Oh, okay.  Gotcha.”

              “Hey, since you’re not going to mop, you could do some errands for me,” Eva suggests as a means to get him out of her hair. 

She doesn’t want any more interruptions.  Gabriel being out of the apartment will ensure that.  She shows Gabriel where the packages are and gives him a piece of paper with the different addresses where she wants the packages to be sent.  She gives him another list of other errands she would like him to do and enough money to do everything. 

              She expects that it will take him a couple of hours to get everything done.  By the time that he gets back it should be lunchtime.  She is anxious to see how he makes grill cheese.  She’s pretty sure that he’ll have no problem cooking her up a perfect grill cheese, but she still wants to give him the test.

When he is gone, she breaths a sigh of relief, but she can’t stop smiling.  It feels good to be in her apartment alone.  She thinks about Gabriel and all of his questions.  She is surprised that she didn’t find him annoying, but she found the whole thing comical. 

Under different circumstances, she probably would have been irritated.  She takes her writing time very serious and absolutely hates interruptions, but when Gabriel was bothering her, she found it kind of cute. 
Maybe this is going to work out after all
, she thinks and returns to her office.   

* * * * *

              Gabriel has just finished at the post office and is sitting in his car going over Eva’s errand list.  He’s planning out the logistics when his cell phone rings.  It’s Rosa. 

“Hi, Auntie,” he says, happy to hear from her.  He wants to tell her about his day with Eva so far, and see how she thinks things are going, because he doesn’t have a clue.

              “Hi, Gabriel.  How are things going over there at Eva’s?”

              “I think that everything is going okay.  I can’t really tell.  She is very guarded and I can’t get a good read on her.”

              “That’s Eva.  It takes a long time for her to let her guard down, but she will.  Just give her time, Mi hijo.”

              “Well, she hasn’t fired me yet, so that’s a good sign.  I’m just out running errands for her right now.”

              “That’s good.  I saw your missed call on my phone.  What did you call me for?”

              “Oh yeah, I just wanted to ask you which floor cleaner that you use.”

              “The blue one.  The other ones are crap.”

              “Okay, thanks.  I just wanted to make sure I used the right one.  I asked Eva, but she didn’t have a clue.”

              “I always use the blue one.  It makes the floor shiny, but not slippery.  Mi hijo, try to talk to Eva, okay?  I’m an old woman, but you’re a young man, I think that she will talk to you more than she talks to me.”

              “What do you want me to talk to her about?”

              “I don’t know.  Just try to get her to open up and talk about all the things that are bothering her.  You just met her, so it will probably be hard, but I mean, over the next six weeks or so, try and get her to see that she needs to get help.”

              “Auntie, Eva barely knows me, so I doubt I’m going to get anything out of her, but I will try my best.”

              “Gabriel, you have always been so good with people.  Remember that time when that boy was being bullied and he brought a gun to school?  Remember how you were able to stop him?”

              “I remember.”

              “You stopped him and he got help.  You were able to get through to that boy and stop him from hurting a bunch of people.  If you can get through to someone like that, I think that you could get through to Eva.”

              “I was just in the right time at the right place, that’s all.”

              “I bet if I asked all your Navy buddies about you, they would tell me about how you’re such a great person and friend, wouldn’t they?”

              “I don’t know what they would say, Auntie, but I will try my best to talk to Eva.”

              “You’re so humble Gabriel.  You’re a good man and maybe you could be a good friend to Eva.”

              “You never know what could happen.  Life is full of surprises.”

              “You’re telling me.  I never thought I would be here, laid up with a broken leg.  Life in definitely filled with surprises.  I’m the perfect example.”

              They both laugh and say their goodbyes.  Gabriel watches the people passing by the windshield of his car and thinks about what his Aunt said.  He doesn’t really understand why his Aunt wants him to try to talk to Eva so badly.  Eva’s been the same way for the past five years.  He doubts that there is anything that he could possibly say or do to make her change the way she feels and behaves. 

What could he possibly say or do that someone hasn’t already tried these past five years?  He shakes his head and starts the car.  His Aunt is too sweet for her own good sometimes.  It’s hard for her to accept that people are the way that they are, and that’s it.  If they don’t want to change, they won’t.  It’s the facts of life.

              He told his Aunt that he would try, and he will, but he definitely won’t be getting his hopes up.  When you spend as much time around people, as he did in the Navy, you start to get a good feel of people.  It’s hard to change people’s minds when they’re set.  It’s human nature.  He knows it’s the truth, just by looking at himself as an example. He’s as stubborn as they come and he’s always been that way.  There is nothing anyone can do to change his personality, but he gave his Aunt his word.  He was taught that there is nothing more important than your word and your reputation, so he will keep his word and he will try to get through to Eva.

* * * * *

              Eva is standing in the kitchen, preparing to make her own grill cheese, when Gabriel comes through the door.

“Hey, how did it go?” she calls to him.

              “Went off without a hitch.  I got everything sent off in the mail and I got all your errands done.  I even spoke to my Aunt and she told me which soap to use, so the floor will be nice and clean before I head home.”

              “Awesome,” Eva says, pulling out a butter knife from a drawer.

              “What are you doing?” Gabriel asks when he comes around the corner and enters the kitchen.

              “I was going to make a grill cheese.  I was hungry and I didn’t know when you were going to get back, so I just decided to make lunch for myself.”

              “Well, I’m here now, so go take a seat and let me do my job.”

              Gabriel takes the knife from her hand.  When she feels his fingers against hers, a funny sensation shoots through her.  She is taken off guard.  It’s the first time a man, who wasn’t a doctor, has touched her.  There are absolutely no feelings of panic or fear.  His touch doesn’t bring about any flashbacks.  As she makes her way to her spot at the kitchen table, she wonders what it means.

              She doesn’t have time to process her feelings.  Before she can analyze what has happened Gabriel is placing her grill cheese in front of her. 

“Can I get you something to drink or some ketchup?”

              “Yes and yes.  I’ll have a glass of milk, if you don’t mind,” she says, confusing and conflicting thoughts running through her head.

              “Do you mind if I sit down?” Gabriel asks.

              “Sure,” Eva says, happy for the distraction from what happened when he touched her, but confused as to why he wants to sit and speak with her.

              “So, I told you about myself earlier, so why don’t you tell me a little about yourself,” Gabriel says, crossing his arms and looking at her.

              “Honestly, there isn’t much to tell.  I’m a pretty boring person,” Eva says, taking a bite of her grill cheese.

              “What did you do before your were attacked?”

              Eva feels herself cringe.  She hates hearing the word attack spoken out loud.  “Before I was hurt, I was a normal twenty-two year old woman.  I went out with friends and worked in advertising. I had a boyfriend.  Before I was hurt, I absolutely loved life.  There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t try once.  I was outgoing and I loved anything that was spontaneous or impulsive.  I just enjoyed being young.”

              “Then, some psycho ruined it for you?”

              “Pretty much.  For five years, I’ve been cooped up in this apartment.  That psycho birthed a fear inside of me that I couldn’t have imagined existed back when I was young and free.  I never imagined that I would find myself so scared all the time.  I was fearless once.  It’s almost hard to believe.  I look at myself in the mirror and I don’t even recognize myself.  I am nothing like I used to be.”

              “Trauma changes people Eva, and it usually isn’t for the better.  It leaves scars.  I’ve seen it time and time again in the Navy.  When you have seen or experienced things that are so painful, it’s a hard thing to get over, but it is possible, you know.”

              “Gabriel, you’re preaching to the choir.  I know all the things you say are true.  Most people are able to get over the painful things that have happened to them and move on. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.  Most people’s memories fade and they’re able to have some sort of normal life.  But unfortunately, I’m not like most people.”