Somewhere Between Black and White Read Free Page B

put for a moment,
unconvinced, until Abby motioned for her to follow.
    ***
    Evie sighed with relief as she watched
her sister and mother leave. When she reached her bedroom, Christian was
sitting motionless on the bed. She passed him without saying anything and
headed to the bathroom. Her joints were screaming, and all she wanted to do was
throw herself under the covers.
    “I’m sorry I left tonight.”
    “Christian, I’m exhausted. Let’s just
forget about it, okay?” She tied her hair back into a ponytail and shoved her
clothes in the hamper.
    “You need to lose me, Evie.”
    He still hadn’t moved. Evelyn sighed and
walked over to the edge of the bed to sit next to him, putting her hand on his.
“What have I told you? No one is leaving, so stop being ridiculous. I can’t
even imagine my life without you.”
    His eyes were glassy. “You deserve
better.”
    “Stop.” Why
can’t you just take the medicine? Why?
    “Evie, I want to.”  It was as if she had
verbalized her question. “It’s just . . . the way it makes me feel. It’s like I’m
dead. I feel nothing. I can’t work like that.”
    He was referring to his art.
    Christian had taught at the university,
but he lost his position due to his instability. He had a magnificent
talent—everyone agreed upon that. He could create colored pencil drawings like
no one had ever seen. They didn’t even resemble pencil; they were more like oil
paintings. But he never did anything with them. He never showed them to anyone.
    He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed
it gently. “You’re hurting, aren’t you? I can tell.”
    She blinked, her heavy lids signaling it
was closing time.
    “You lie there a couple minutes while I
run you a hot bath. Then I’ll give you a massage.” He headed for the tub.
    “No, Chris, it’s late.”
    “No arguments,” he called from the
bathroom. “You don’t have to do anything.”
    Evelyn lay back on the bed and listened
to the water run, wondering if she could continue to live this way, but her
devotion to Christian ran as deep as the despondency in his eyes. She wished he
could be happy. Be comfortable in his own skin. Just . . . be .
    Tears flowed down the sides of her face
and dripped into her ears. Was it possible for a person’s hair to hurt? Because
she was certain that even her hair had nerve endings.
    “You ready, babe?” 
    Evie quickly wiped her face and sat up,
forcing a smile for her husband.
    “Yeah.”

 
    Five
    Later
that week, Sophie went to Murphy’s with Lisa and her husband. She had to admit
she was having a pretty good time, watching everyone make fools out of
themselves on stage. And the two drinks she’d had definitely added to the
entertainment value.
    Tim, the friend Lisa wanted her to meet,
was surprisingly pleasant. That is, until he tried to convince Sophie to sing
with him. He looked pretty loose himself as he perused the karaoke menu, trying
to make a choice. “How about that Prince song? ‘ You
Got the Look’ ?”
    “Uh, noooo,” Sophie replied. “If you
want to do a song, you better make it a solo. You’re not getting me up there.”
    “Hey, if a paunchy little guy like me is
willing to get up there, then a gorgeous girl like you should have no trouble.”
Sophie turned to Lisa with a raised eyebrow.
    “Don’t let her fool you,” Lisa said.
“She’s done karaoke before. She and I sang ‘ Love Will Keep Us
Together’
a
few years ago . ”
    “That was never to be spoken of again,”
Sophie warned. They all turned to watch the person on stage, who was doing a
soulful rendition of “ You Are So Beautiful” .
    “These people who take themselves so
seriously are something else,” Tim said. “You can’t do a song like that in a karaoke
bar. It has to be something fun.” He studied the menu a little longer. “Here.
This is the one. ‘ Don’t
Go Breaking My Heart’ . I’m gonna go put in the request.”
    “He’s crazy if he thinks I’m singing
with him,” Sophie