The Curious Tales of Evelyn Stark

Why is your arm off?

Evie settled on the couch. They'd been back from their nice quiet vacation and Wakanda for about a week and they had the house to themselves. Pep and Morgan were in DC. Pep had some contracts to finish up and Morgan wanted to see the Avengers/Cap exhibit instead of staying with Evie and James.

James was currently out. He'd gone down to Brooklyn to get stuff out of his storage unit to show Morgan when the other Stark women returned. He'd been gone most of the day and Evie was enjoying the silence around her. She'd considered putting on an old record, but the reminder of what it felt like to live alone was strong. As much as she loved her family she occasionally missed the silence.

Her cell phone rang, she checked the screen. Peter. She answered quickly, "Is everything okay?!"

"Yes. I was just wondering if Bucky made it home yet?" Peter asked, "We met for breakfast before my classes and he said he'd be back around this time. I wanted to make sure he'd made it safely."

"Peter you realize that James is one hundred and seven, an Army veteran, former assassin, super soldier, and can handle himself right?" Evie asked, with a deep sigh.

"Yes but I'm still concerned. He seemed off," Peter said.

"How so?" she asked.

"Just spacey. He's never spacey," Peter said.

"Pete he went to get some of his old stuff out of storage to show Morgan. Stuff that belonged to his sisters and him growing up. There's a lot to unpack emotionally there." She explained to the young man.

"Okay. Just text me when he gets in. Or I'm going out looking for him," Peter stated. She knew the young man would scour Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan for James if absolutely necessary.

"Thanks Pete. Love you kid," she said, smiling at the young man's protectiveness over James.  She knew deep down Peter didn't want to lose another positive male influence in his life.

"Love you too," Peter said before hanging up.

Evie looked at her watch, deciding she'd put their dinner in the oven, and pour herself a glass of wine. She stood entering the kitchen, "FRIDAY preheat oven to 375 and turn on the news."

"Yes Ms. Stark," FRIDAY said.

Evie pulled the vegetable lasagna she'd made earlier that day out of the fridge letting the glass pan come to room temperature, as she poured herself a glass of wine. She looked out the cabin windows enjoying the early summer view before her. Everything was green and it made her happy, reminding her of the greenery in Wakanda. She tested the glass making sure it wasn't too cold once the oven had beeped. Quickly she slid it in setting a timer for an hour. Evie moved out to the porch with a second glass of wine settling in a rocking chair.

Her car pulled up and parked. James slid out, and Evie immediately noticed his arm was missing. Quickly she did a tally noting that he had no visible blood, or bruises. Overall he looked okay. "James why is your arm off?"

James jumped, looking at her finally realizing he was being watched. "You're terrifying when you do that."

Evie crossed her arms, "Did something happen to your arm? Was there a calibration issue? Are you okay?"

"I'm....fine...why?" James said it slowly crossing his arm across his chest. The impact wasn't the same as him folding both arms across his chest. Now he just had his wife staring at him like he was an idiot. Not that her facial expression wasn't abnormal when he was up to something. And by the bundle of blankets in his car he was absolutely up to something.

"Because a Spider Kid called worried about you about two hours ago. Wondering if you'd made it home," Evie said, "Now where the fuck is your arm?"