Page 1 of A Tinsel Tale

1

EVIE

Ilean all my weight against my bulging suitcase so I can zip it up. Packing for six weeks isn’t easy. I glance at my watch. Eleven o’clock. Dang it! I wanted to be on the road by ten. After hauling my suitcase to the door, I shrug into my winter coat and slip on my leather gloves. I live in a modern, upscale one bed, one bath apartment in downtown Chicago. Pricy but worth it. About as opposite as you can get from my childhood home. The only thing the same is the lake view from my balcony. My apartment has stunning views of Lake Michigan and Downtown Chicago and it’s close to everything. It has a rooftop outdoor pool, indoor spa and fitness center, a resident lounge… which I never have time for.

Honestly, there’s a reason I’m dragging my feet. I’m in no hurry to return to my Michigan hometown. I haven’t been back in almost a year. A hectic work schedule is always my excuse, and although it’s true, it’s not the whole truth. Since my mom died, it’s too painful to go back. Do I feel guilty for leaving my dad to deal with his grief alone? Yep. Does that motivate me to do better? Nope.

Then there’s the other fly in the ointment…Jamie. My first love.A flash of dark hickory eyes and a wild mop of hair liberally streaked with copper catapults my belly into a freefall. The last time I saw him was at my mom’s funeral almost three years ago. He’d been with some stunning blond clinging to his arm. I’d been so out of it with grief that she’d barely registered… until much later. He’d hugged me so hard, but I hadn’t let him penetrate my protective walls, nope not me. I’d remained stiff in his arms even though all I’d wanted to do was sink into his embrace and never let go. But if I’d surrendered, I’d have never survived. Prior to my mom’s passing we’d hardly been on good terms, but I guess tragedy levels the playing field.

Sighing, I leave my apartment and close the door behind me. I’ve tried to prepare myself for this homecoming. It’s so hard to go back there with mom gone. And I’m sure to run into Jamie at some point, which I dread. It’s a small town. I assume he’s still working for the fire department, but I don’t ask, and everyone back home knows better than to bring him up. From football hero to firefighter. Not a big leap.

I feel more vulnerable now without the emotional shield of Vance, even if it was an illusion. I finally got smart and broke up with him six months ago. I woke up one day and decided I’d had enough and ended it. I needed more. The sex was great, but it had become more of a habit than a relationship.

The fact that he was my boss had complicated the relationship but even more so the split, but I’d done both anyway. He is still not on board with the breakup. He now promises to include me in his personal life, make our relationship public, he even offered to marry me if that’s what it took to keep me happy. So romantic of him. I’d declined. Too little too late and I don’t love him. I thought I had but I’d been fooling myself.

It’s been tense at the office since then. Now I’m taking a leave of absence to help take care of my dad after his knee replacement surgery and it couldn’t come at a better time. Since my firm doesn’t schedule the nonessentials between Thanksgiving and the new year, the timing is perfect for multiple reasons.

It won’t be so bad to be in snowy Michigan over the holidays, I say, trying to convince myself. I swear, my hometown could be featured in a Hallmark Christmas movie. My parents’ homestead sits right on the lake. My grandparents bought the property in the early ‘50s. They’d never be able to afford a home like this now. Lakefront property is prime real estate, --throw in a couple of acres, the barn, and like many of the OG’s, my parents are sitting on a small goldmine.

Dad. Not my parents.The tightness in my chest feels like a million tears bottled in a too-small container. Even after three years it’s almost more than my mind can comprehend. Mom and I won’t be drinking hot cider while we decorate the tree listening to Christmas tunes. Dad won’t be teasing Mom with his corny jokes, the two of them acting like newlyweds after forty years of marriage. It feels like yesterday and forever at the same time.

The ache in my heart is the main reason, but not the only reason, I don’t want to step foot back in my hometown. An old memory sneaks through my defenses before I can intercept it. Mom, Dad and me bundling up, loading the ax in the pickup, driving to the Barrington Farm, then taking forever to find the perfect tree. Jamie Barrington helping us chop it down and load it up while we exchange heated glances, counting the hours before we can be alone with each other.

Before I head to the parking garage, I stop to say goodbye. “Hi, Warren.” I smile at the doorman with the twinkling gray eyes and warm smile. I love this man. Handing him a colorfully wrapped Christmas gift, I say, “I know it’s early, but I’ll be gone until the first of the year.”

“Thank you, Evie. It won’t be the same here without you,” he says, looking pleased as he accepts my gift.

“I’ll miss you too. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Your grandkids will be here for Christmas, right?”

His face lights up. “Yes. My wife is already decorating and shopping. Lord, help me.”

“That’s the fun of it.”

“If you say so.”

“My dad’s surgery is the week after Thanksgiving. Send some good thoughts his way.”

“I’ll keep you both in my prayers. He’s lucky to have you,” he says.

“I’m the lucky one. I haven’t been much of a daughter lately. Pretty much a failure in fact, but thanks for saying it.” Impulsively, I give him a big hug. Warren is one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met and is a constant in my crazy, hectic life. Lately I feel like I’m living in a pressure cooker.

I step outside to the parking garage and press the key fob to my white BMW convertible. Probably not my most practical decision but what the heck. Not great in the snow or ice for sure. One of my extravagances after winning a big case last year. I’d definitely earned it. That case had been brutal. Long hours, pressure beyond belief with the stakes so high, an innocent man’s life. As the lead defense attorney, I felt like it had all rested on my shoulders. But we won and gained national attention.

The satisfaction of clearing an innocent man is about as gratifying as it gets, but during the trial my life was not my own. It was out of control, like my career owned me. It was all-consuming and overwhelming, and it’s even more so now, if that’s possible. Especially since theDatelineepisode aired. News flash… the reward for success is more work than I can possibly handle.

Brr. It’s freezing on this blustery mid-November day. Even in the parking garage the cold air cuts right through me. I throw my suitcase in the back then slide into the soft leather seat and buckle up before calling my dad.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Evie! Are you on the road yet?” His eagerness kills me. I am such a horrible, selfish person.

“Just getting started. I’m going to stop and get a coffee to go, then I’ll be on my way.”

“Drive safely. I can’t wait to see you.”

“It will be good to be home,” I say, and I think I even mean it. The sky is gray and depressing as I pull out of the parking garage. “I’ve missed you, Pops.”

“We’ll have a lot to catch up on,” he says.

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