Coming Home

[Eve Mallory]

Eve hadn't been home since last Christmas and then very little, but last Christmas had been heartbreaking for her. She never realized how much she looked like her mother, but after being gone and then returning every year like she did it was only a more poignant reminder of what he had lost.

Why had she told Josh she'd come alone?

Nervously she walked up the steps and placed her palm on the door wishing that her papa would be back to himself on the other side but knowing that couldn't happen. She sighed and looked for the key she knew was under the flowerpot then entered the house, she might have knocked if she thought he'd have answered but she doubted it.

"Papa...I'm home..." she called although doubted he'd answer back. Sighing she shrugged out of her coat and put it on the rack. It was cold and dark in the house and it sent shivers down her spine so she moved towards the hearth to make a fire, when that was finished she called for him again, "Papa?"

She didn't think he'd answer but Aunt Agatha might have.

[William Mallory]

William sat in the same chair he had been in since the day his loving wife died. He had been in this chair when he received the dire news and he would be in this chair until the day he could be with her once more. William vaguely heard the front door open as thoughts of his lovely Evelyn drifted through his mind. Hearing a familiar voice calling from the entryway, he ignored it as his imagination. Watching as a very familiar figure entered the den, William nearly jumped out of his chair. "Evelyn!" As the fire lit in the hearth and the room began to brighten he finally recognized the figure for who she really was. "Eve..."

Tears threatened to burst from his eyes and his voice seemed to fail him for the moment. She was the spitting image of her mother and it pained William to know that he could hardly look at his precious little angel and not burst into tears. He wished he could be the father he should be but his love for Evelyn kept him in his chair. "Come give papa a hug, angel." He feigned a weak smiled as he seemed to find his voice once more and would try his best to enjoy this moment with the only living remnant left of his wife.

[Eve Mallory]

Eve nearly jumped, he was coming towards her so quickly one might have thought he was okay, but then she saw it. That subtle shift in his eyes from hope to despair, to mild acceptance. He had thought she was her mother...but...how preposterous that was. Eve didn't think she looked anything like her mother...not when her mother was so beautiful, so lovely, it had been a long time however, since Eve looked in the mirror. She was growing up to be the spitting image of Evelyn and she knew for whatever reason that would hurt him.

But when he spoke to her she was shocked for it was the most he had acknowledged her in nearly four years ever since her mother died and she wondered if he was feeling alright...she came immediately to his side to hug him yes and to feel if his forehead was warm, "Are you okay papa, you shouldn't be running around so quickly..."

[William Mallory]

William smiled at the fussing of his beautiful, loving daughter. A daughter that he had neglected for far too long, he would make his first attempt at being a father again right here and right now. Hugging her back as she hugged him, he kissed her lightly on the forehead, trying his best to hold back the tears that wished to come forth whenever he looked upon Eve. "Calm down Eve, I'm a stupid man, not a sick one." His eyes held sadness for the loss of his wife and for the way he had buried everything else under the pain of that loss, yet they also held the burning desire to make everything right once more.

"Sit down my precious Eve.....are the Jordans taking care of you?" He asked, his voice on the verge of breaking down and giving up on him.

[Eve Mallory]

She moved to sit only because she didn't think she couldn't stand anymore for the pure shock of him. Things she hadn't dared dream stirred inside her heart as she acknowledged his recognition and if she weren't almost positive it was impossible she could have sworn that she didn't smell alcohol on his breath...was he sober?

Her heart sped up and adreneline coursed through her veins in worry for her father...what was this new phase of his?

"Yes of course Papa...but I wasn't staying with them I...I mean i'm at school most of the time but they invited us to dinner so I was going...I.." she felt a bit guilty since the Jordan's had practically adopted her since the tragedy and she was starting to recognize them as the parents she needed, though nothing compared to her own father. Still her guilt was tenfold for starting to consider another place home.

[William Mallory]

William stared at his daughter as phantom memories from the realistic dream he had the other night floated through his mind. The dream that had cured him of his drunken depression. It felt so real, his wife Evelyn had been standing right there in front of him....yelling. She had been mad at him for placing her above all else, even their daughter. She had spoken truth and William could not help but regret the choices he had made since his wife's passing. "Eve don't ever be ashamed for what the Jordan's have done for you..." He sighed softly thinking of the Jordans and how wonderful it was to have people to count on in times like these.

Adopting a weak smile, he looked up at Eve, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "Eve hunny, can you ever forgive your foolish father for loving your mother a bit too much?" He stood up and walked over to the window, throwing open the curtains light had been let into the Mallory house for the first time since Evelyn Mallory had passed away.

[Eve Mallory]

She looked at him strangely, " Papa what are you talking about?" she asked getting confused. She had never expected him to apologize for the way he treated her, mainly because she loved him so much she closed her eyes to the pain that he had inadvertantly given to her in his grief over losing his wife, she had accepted it and believed that he was due for the pain and so was she, "Of course you loved mama...Papa!" she said startled when he opened the curtains and got up and went to his side, the light hurt his eyes especially after he drank and she had forbidden light in the house since she knew it pained him, this change so sudden was throwing her off balance.

"Oh papa please do sit down I don't...I don't understand this."

[William Mallory]

Turning to face his daughter, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closed to him. "Oh precious Eve, your every bit the spitting image of your mother...both inside and out." Kissing her on the cheek, he pulled back and stared into her eyes, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Since your mother died I have been an empty shell of liquor and depression...." He paused for a moment, his face adopting a sad look for a moment as he resumed his explanation. "I can't be that anymore honey, I need to get back to life."

With a small chuckle, he wiped away small tears that had fallen from his eyes. "Your mother would beat me senseless if she was here right now... So since your back at home for a little while, i've decided to start getting back to life by getting back in touch with my little angel." Smiling he leaned in and kissed Eve on the forehead, wrapping his arms back around here he resumed his tight hug.

[Eve Mallory]

Eve didn't know how to handle this. It was as if she were dreaming, things were too easy that was the problem, and she had been hurt too many times before when reality came crashing down, true however her father was sober and even that fantasy had rarely come about in her dreams. Oh how she wised he could be happy again, be loving with her again, that her face didn't cause him pain. She didn't know if she could trust this though, but regardless he was making the first attempt in...well a long time, there was only one thing she could say.

"I love you daddy..."

[William Mallory]

Those three special words, warmed William and strengthened his resolve anymore. He knew he was making an attempt and a promise to his daughter that he was back and for good. "I love you too Eve.." Releasing his daughter he turned around and headed for the kitchen, "Eve honey, you must be hungry is there something I can get for you?" Stopping and looking back towards Eve for a response, he realized for the first time today that the world seemed to be just a little bit brighter.

[Eve Mallory]

She blinked a few times, " Oh no papa, I can do that.." she said standing at attention, " are you hungry?" she asked. She also had dinner with the Jordan's coming up, but she would double stuff herself if it meant eating with her father as well.

She was wary of this new side of him, but a part of her didn't even care if it fell through, a part of her simply needed her daddy.

[William Mallory]

William stopped and turned towards Eve, a phantom of a smile shown on his lips. Moving to wrap his arms around her, he took a step back. "Now Eve, I realize i'm not going to get better after one day, but I am still your father. If you try to baby me, how am I ever going to survive while your at school?" With a full blown smile now on his face, he kissed Eve lightly on the cheek.

Walking back into the kitchen, his voice came wafting back into the room. "If your not hungry dear, then how about some tea?"

[Eve Mallory]

"Tea" she nodded as if the idea were simply famous. She was smiling over bright now, part of her still wary but mostly she was amazed and hopeful.

A bit stunned she let him serve her otherwise she would have been up getting the tea and china and whatever else they would need, she had tried many times to interest her father in anything really even if it was just tea and had been overly enthusiastic about menial things until it all started to drain on her. She felt less guilty when she had to go to school and therefore couldn't be around, but more guilty when she went home and didn't want to be there, but if her father was changing if somehow he could be the man she used to raise her arms to as children instinctively do then maybe everything would be alright in the world once again...except of course she wouldn't have her mother to guide her...death was somewhat permanent after all.

[William Mallory]

How long his new resolve would last was another question. Eve had become like a stranger to him, and he barely knew anything about his daughter. Somehow, she had turned into a young woman, instead of the little girl he remembered. And reaching out wasn't easy.

He glanced at her, some of the familiar haze falling back over his eyes again. "I don't even know, Eve... do you actually like tea? Or coffee?"

[Eve Mallory]

"Tea." she answered instantly and affirmitively, she wasn't going to make it seem like he was doing anything wrong at all, and she really did like tea over coffee. She smiled up at him, each moment ticking by her heart thumped in her chest wildly. This man before her was new and exciting but the pain of the past kept her excitment from growing too much.

"Coffee's too strong." she nodded.

[William Mallory]

That caused his heart to give a painful little leap in his chest. He'd remembered Evelyn saying almost exactly the same thing once. He drank too much coffee in those days, and she'd wrinkled her dainty little nose and commented that tea was infinitely preferable over coffee. Coffee, she had said, was too strong.

He gripped the edge of the stove and gave a shuddering gasp. "You really are your mother's daughter," he breathed.

[Eve Mallory]

"I'm sorry." she said instantly the smile erased from her face as if it had never been there. She saw his shudder, and his change in mood and tried to back track, fear etching it's way into her heart. She didn't even know what she was saying she was sorry for, only that she was, and only because it seemed to hurt him.

"I could have coffee if that's better."

[William Mallory]

William stared for a minute, dazed. His eyes were clouded over with memories, and he almost forgot where he was and what he was doing. He could see his dear Evelyn standing before him, looking sad and contrite. Thankfully, he snapped out of it at the sound of Eve's voice the second time. Although Eve looked like her mother, she didn't sound like her.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "No... no. It's fine. I'll make you the tea."

He turned around and filled a kettle with water, then set it to boiling while he got out the cups. But when he went looking for the tea bags, he wasn't sure where they were. "Evelyn, where do we keep the tea bags?" he asked.

[Eve Mallory]

Eve's tension drained away into disappointment. She had started to hope there for even just a few moments that she was getting her father back, she so needed him...well perhaps not anymore. There had been a time that she truely didn't know what to do, when she really needed his strength and love and had been denied both because of his pain. When she had blamed herself for her mother's death, when she thought her father did the same.

Hearing him call for his wife the hope in her chest shriveled up, but she didn't cry, neither did she get angry, nor did she realize that she was slipping away from him just a little more every day.

"Here father." she said standing and going to the cubbord and getting the tea bags herself.

[William Mallory]

It really wasn't fair. Eve just loooked so much like her mother; William couldn't help but be confused to look at her. It felt like he was 16 again, looking at his first love, the girl who would become his wife. It wasn't Eve's fault, but maybe it would have been easier if she hadn't looked so much like Evelyn. Maybe he could have looked at her without thinking of her mother. Maybe it wouldn't have hurt like a needle jabbing into his heart. But with each passing day, she looked more and more like Evelyn.

His hand brushed hers as he took the tea from her, and his eyes met hers. "I'm sorry. I just... you look just like her."