[Intertwined Souls 05.0] No Good Deed Read online

  “You got as far as the end of the street and I decided to follow you. You didn’t see me, but Henry did.”

  Eva smiled. “Henry didn’t tell me.”

  “No, I think he didn’t want you to worry that the crazy Greek was shadowing you.”

  “When did you stop?”

  “I didn’t stop following you, but I did stop thinking of you as a cripple.” Zoe grinned. “I stopped thinking of you as a cripple when I threw the rock.”

  Eva smiled. “That was a lucky throw.”

  “It was a very lucky throw because my aim was usually horrible. That day you managed not only to walk to the church and back, but you were walking steadily. I watched you pass and I threw that rock. I really didn’t think it would hit you.”

  “So you thought it was alright to attack the cripple?”

  Zoe cocked her head to the side and regarded Eva for a moment. “I didn’t see you as a cripple that day. You weren’t a cripple anymore, so it was alright to throw a rock.”

  Eva chuckled and shook her head. “What are you saying, Zo?”

  “I’m saying that you should remember how hard you worked then and how hard you are working now,” Zoe replied. “You also have to contend with something you didn’t have in Larissa.”

  “I was younger then?” Eva quipped, making Zoe shake her head.

  “No; our pregnancy. You still have morning sickness and all the other good things that come from that.”

  “I said that I don’t mind.” Eva smiled. “I’m used to throwing up at all hours of the day. Did you tell Father about that in your letter? My hand is so shaky that I don’t think he could read it if I wrote to him.”

  “I didn’t mention that you have been refusing to take your medication or that you are using canes to steady yourself. I didn’t want to worry him,” Zoe replied and got up from her seat when she saw Eva’s tiredness etched on her face. “I think you’ve spent far too much time up and about. Do you want to go for a rest?”

  Eva stared down at the floor. “I want to lie down,” she said.

  Zoe gave her a kiss and went into the living room. Moments later she came back with the wheelchair. Eva sighed as Zoe helped her up and into the chair.

  ***

  Two figures stood in the now deserted kitchen. Both women were tall and looked similar, although one of them appeared younger. She slowly walked to the doorway and watched Eva and Zoe pass through the living room and into the bedroom.

  “Eva saw you.”

  “Well, that answers whether she has that gift. Red is quite a handful and knows how to deal with Eva.”

  “There’s no doubt about that. She’s quite a fierce young woman.”

  “We have to tell them.”

  “Yes, it’s time.”

  “I didn’t want this to happen.”

  “I know, and it’s my fault.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s mine. I broke the rules. I’ll tell Zoe first.”

  “I think you may have met your match with her.”

  “It’s a good thing I go where angels fear to tread…”

  CHAPTER 25

  May 24, 1951

  “Don’t drop it!”

  “I’m not!”

  “You are!”

  “I’m not!”

  The little girl attempted a glare at her twin brother, one that her mother used when she wasn’t happy with her. Larissa Lambros got the glare so often that she was quite familiar with it. Unfortunately, her brother Nicholas was immune to her glares. They didn’t scare him and he just stared back. She knew Nicky was going to drop the toast any minute and she put her hands on her hips and sighed.

  “Mutti doesn’t want her toast with germs!”

  Nicky gave Larissa his own version of the glare and rolled his eyes. “You talk too much, Lari!”

  “Do not!”

  “Do too!”

  “Do not!”

  “Do too!” Nicky said and then turned. He opened the fridge and tried to find the Vegemite jar. He always put Vegemite on the toast and then toasted it. His parents loved it, so he continued to make it. It was the only thing they were allowed to cook.

  “No Vegemite,” Nicky mumbled and looked back at his sulking sister.

  “There is; I saw Mama putting it in there yesterday.”

  “There isn’t.”

  “There is!”

  “Lari, there isn’t! See?” Nicky opened the fridge door wide. “There isn’t!”

  “Okay, there isn’t. So we put strawberry jam,” Larissa reasoned.

  “Can you put jam in the toaster?”

  “Why not? We put Vegemite and Mutti loves it.”

  Nicky grinned. He went over to Larissa and put his arm around her. “You’re smart; I love you,” he said and gave her a kiss.

  Larissa kissed him back and set out making the toast.

  The door opened and Nicky carried the tray with two cups of tea and toast. Eva glanced at Zoe, who was trying very hard not to laugh. The tea had spilt onto the toast, which was making Larissa glare at Nicky.

  “Good morning!” they sang out. They waited for Zoe to take the tray and then they jumped onto the bed.

  “Morning, Mutti.” Larissa started the ritual. After a few moments she gave Eva a look. “Now, Mutti?”

  Eva tried to hide a smile and nodded. The children scrambled off the bed and lined up at the base.

  “What’s going on?” Zoe asked.

  Larissa cleared her throat and dramatically took a deep breath. Eva shook her head at her ability to ham it up.

  “Mama, we thought we would sing and dance for you today.”

  Zoe’s eyebrows went into her hairline and she turned to Eva, who was getting out of bed. “Where are you going?”

  “Over there,” Eva replied with a smile. She stood behind the children.

  Larissa took out a large piece of paper and again cleared her throat. “Today we want to tell you how much we love you.”

  “Yeah,” Nicky added.

  “We love you because you are all nice smelling,” Larissa read off her list. Eva looked up at the ceiling, trying valiantly to stop the laugh that was coming. She knew what the children were up to, since they had come to her and told her of their plans.

  “We love you because you read us stories,” Nicky said and then turned to Eva, “and we love you too because you read us stories as well, Mutti.”

  “We love you because you give us Vegemite.” Larissa looked up from her list. “But we didn’t have any today.”

  Zoe nodded, touched by her children’s actions. Tears fell silently as she watched them.

  “We love you because...” Larissa looked at her brother and in unison they said, “Because you are our mama.”

  Zoe wiped away her tears and watched as Eva brought the record player and set it up. She put on Zoe’s favorite song and the children danced to the music around Eva, bumping her and twirling her around. The song finished and everyone jumped back on the bed with Zoe.

  “Okay, now who is going to clean the kitchen?” Eva asked.

  “I cleaned it yesterday!” Larissa objected.

  “Why don’t you both clean it?” Zoe suggested.

  “I cleaned it yesterday,” Larissa mumbled as she got off the bed and followed Nicky out.

  “So, Mrs. Lambros, did you like that?” Eva chuckled, scooping Zoe to her.

  “It was priceless.” Zoe cuddled up.

  “Want me to show you how much I love you?” Eva nuzzled her neck.

  “Oh, yeah.” Zoe giggled as Eva undid the buttons of her pajama top. “I like that idea.”

  Eva woke with a smile on her face. Larissa and Nicky. They were going to have two beautiful children. “Oh, that hurts,” she muttered and put a hand on her head. She opened her eyes and blinked. A tall dark haired woman was smiling at her from the other side of the bed.

  “Ugh,” Eva exclaimed and shut her eyes. “I hate this!”

  “Hello, darling,” the woman said when Eva opened her eyes again
. Eva could not believe she was seeing her mother, Daphne. She was just as Eva remembered her: tall, with long black hair and light blue eyes. She stood smiling down at her the way her mother always did. Eva’s heart ached and she tried to choke back the tears.

  “Oh god, not now. I can’t deal with this now…”

  “I’m sorry, Evy, I am.”

  “Hm.” Eva grimaced as a bout of nausea struck her. She swallowed audibly and tried not to throw up. For a moment it seemed she was going to lose that battle, but it passed. “Ugh.”

  “You’re having morning sickness.”

  “Ugh, this is crazy,” Eva muttered and turned to find her glasses on the bedside table. Ever since the accident, her eyesight was worse and she couldn’t focus properly. She put her glasses on and blinked. Daphne was still there.

  “Yes, I’m still here.”

  “Great,” Eva said with a sigh. “First, flying books, then Sister Abigail, and now my mother!”

  “Evy.” Daphne reached out and touched Eva’s cheek. Eva’s eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright in bed at the feel of her mother’s hand on her cheek. She cradled her head in her hands. “Oh, god, I hate this.”

  “Eva, look at me,” Daphne said and sat at the edge of the bed.

  Eva looked up even though she knew it was a hallucination. The sound of her mother’s voice made her heart ache. She closed her left eye and opened her right one to find Daphne was indeed there.

  “You can open both eyes, darling.”

  “No.” Eva shook her head. “If I’m going to hallucinate, I want Jasper and the rest of the rabbits.”

  “You had a pet rabbit when you were five, and his name was Jasper.”

  Eva’s eyes popped open and widened in surprise at the news, almost forgetting she was speaking to a figment of her imagination. “I did?”

  “You did. Felt sorry for the poor animal, since you insisted you take him into the bath with you,” Daphne replied with a little chuckle. “He must have been the cleanest rabbit in all of Berlin.”

  “Hm,” Eva murmured. “You’re going to be a grandmother. That is, if you were still alive you would be a grandmother; if you were alive and not a figment of my imagination.” She smiled on seeing Daphne’s face light up. “That’s nice, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is. Even though I’m dead, it’s still very nice. You are going to be a wonderful mother, darling.” Daphne stroked Eva’s cheek.

  “Can you do anything about the nausea?”

  Daphne’s face creased into a smile, which only made Eva scowl. “Unfortunately I can’t. That will be cured in a few more weeks.”

  “A few more weeks?” Eva asked, feeling a little sick to her stomach just thinking about it. “I’m going to become really good friends with a bucket, and not the one that hit my head.”

  Daphne laughed lightly. “Well, yes.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “That’s what you get when you become a mother.”

  “I want to be a mother,” Eva replied and leaned her head back against the pillows, not quite believing she was hallucinating about her mother and having this one-sided conversation.

  “I did as well, and it was the best thing I ever did. The day your father and I—”

  “I don’t want to hear how I was conceived,” Eva muttered.

  “Are you sure? You were conceived in Larissa.”

  “Rather not,” Eva mumbled as she felt the heat rush up her chest and into her face. “Sorry.” She realized she was apologizing to her hallucination and she shook her head.

  “It’s quite all right.” Daphne leaned across and kissed her on cheek. “I loved you the moment you made yourself known inside me. From the very first moment you were alive. When you were born, my darling, the minute I saw you, I knew that I could never give you up.”

  “Were you going to?” Eva asked and wondered why she bothered to ask that question.

  “No, I didn’t want to,” Daphne replied. She fell silent for a long moment. “My parents wanted me to, but I couldn’t abandon you.”

  Eva smiled. “That’s nice. Not everyone abandons me.”

  “Oh, you were never abandoned. Tessa, Tommy, Irene, and Stella were all there even when I couldn’t be.”

  Eva scowled. “My mother didn’t know about Tessa or Tommy, so you must be a hallucination.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Of course,” Eva muttered. “You do now because you’re a figment of my mushed up brain.”

  Eva rolled her head on the pillow and gazed at Daphne. “Since I’m having this wonderful dream, let’s talk about the babies.”

  “What would you like to know? You were this chubby little bundle of joy. You were so quiet, and you had a thick mop of black hair and huge blue eyes. I fell madly in love with you.” Daphne stroked Eva’s head. “You were my baby.”

  “I had this vision on the ship when we were coming back. We had twins. Now I had another vision, I think, or it could be just wishful thinking, or I could be having a really nice dream, or I could be just so fruitloopy. I don’t know.”

  Daphne nodded. “Was that your first vision?”

  “On the ship? Yes, it was.”

  “What about now?”

  “Fruitloopy dream,” Eva mumbled. “My eyes change color with a vision.”

  “Oh, they do? What color?”

  “Green.”

  “Like now?”

  Eva blinked. “Ugh. Now I have to get up and have a look,” she said. Dragging herself up, she felt dizzy and stopped. After a long moment, she brought her legs over to the edge of the bed and sat up.

  “Zoe told you not to get up without her being here.”

  “You know about Zoe?”

  “Yes.”

  “Of course you do,” Eva replied as she took a deep breath. The dresser with a mirror was near the door. She didn’t have her canes, and the wheelchair was also near the door. “Can you move the wheelchair?”

  “No,” Daphne replied. “Zoe told you not to do that.”

  “Oh, great, now my hallucinations are scolding me,” Eva muttered and was about to get up when the door opened and Zoe poked her head inside.

  “Um…” Eva smiled weakly.

  ***

  Zoe was walking back to the kitchen when she heard Eva’s voice coming from their bedroom. She stopped for a moment and thought maybe Henry or Tommy was with her. She was about to walk away when Tommy came in through the front door.

  “Hey, how’s my stubborn cousin today?”

  “Tommy, I thought you were in with Eva? I had a long chat with her and hopefully you will find a more compliant patient.”

  “Really? I’m not surprised if you had a chat with her.”

  “Yes, I’m Saint Zoe. Now, who is in there with Evy? Must be Henry.” Zoe smiled.

  “No, Henry is home. I just saw him with Alexandra,” Tommy replied. “I’m going to wash my hands and check up on Eva shortly. We have an appointment with Dr. Zuckerman to check on her eyes tomorrow.”

  “Alright.” Zoe nodded. Her mind was on Eva. She decided to go see for herself.

  She entered the room and closed the door. The most noticeable thing was the sound—there wasn’t any. “Evy, are you alright?” she asked. Eva was sitting up looking very confused, which wasn’t a surprise. “Just checking if everything is alright.”

  “Um.”

  Zoe knelt in front of Eva and held her hands. She looked into her dazed eyes and felt sorry for her. “I have some chocolates for you.”

  Eva smiled broadly and extended her hands towards Zoe. “Gimme, gimme.”

  “It will spoil your dinner.” Zoe chuckled.

  “Dinner is roast chicken; I can smell it. It’s turning my stomach. Prefer chocolate.”

  “Maybe later.”

  “No fair.” Eva pouted, only to have Zoe laugh as she leaned over and gave her a kiss. “How’s the head?”

  “Um.”

  “Um?” Zoe repeated and took Eva’s hand. “Look at me,” she said
and tipped Eva’s face towards her. “You look a little dazed.”

  “Uh...do you see anyone in here?”

  Zoe looked around the room and didn’t see anything. “No, love, I don’t.”

  “Ah,” Eva mumbled. “Um…what color are my eyes?”

  Zoe reached over and turned on the bedside light before she turned to her very confused partner. She gazed into Eva’s blue eyes and smiled. “My favorite shade of blue.”

  “Oh.” Eva sighed.

  “Did you have a vision?”

  Eva shook her head. “No…um...”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Eva shook her head. “No.”

  CHAPTER 26

  “Good morning, Doctor in the house! Where is Saint Zoe?”

  Zoe smiled when she heard Stella as she entered the house. Zoe was in the kitchen shucking some beans to cook later. She leaned back in her chair and laughed when she saw her aunt.

  Stella was wearing a dress in the brightest shade of pink ever invented. Zoe could almost see it glow in the darkened living room when Stella passed through.

  Zoe’s eyes almost watered when she saw Stella’s bright yellow shoes and matching handbag. Coming up behind her was Tessa, wearing very calming navy blue pants with a white blouse.

  “Oh, no, I’m going to need sunglasses,” Zoe exclaimed. Stella gave her a kiss.

  “I told her that Eva’s eyesight will deteriorate on seeing those colors,” Tessa replied and also gave Zoe a kiss.

  “Goddess! The two of you would think these colors were made to be hidden.”

  “With good reason,” Zoe quipped, making Tessa laugh.

  “Speaking of my patient, Alexandra told me you performed a miracle and I should address you as Saint Zoe from now on.”

  Zoe laughed and buffed her nails against her shirt. “Alex and I had a long chat about Eva, and it was time I put my foot down.”

  “Oh, dear. How is Eva this morning after you did that?”

  Zoe pointed to the door, which was open. “She’s sitting under the avocado tree watching the sea.”

  “That’s a good sign,” Stella exclaimed and went to the door. Eva was indeed sitting in her wheelchair facing the sea. She wore a floppy hat, and her camera was close by her on the grass. “She’s taking photographs?”