Compound 41

Chapter 8

Even through the din of the bar, Evelyn thought she had heard a strange growl sound come from the handsome stranger, who was now in a seat at the bar. He and his friend were sitting there, the friend getting the attention of the bar tender to order drinks, and the stranger still staring at Evelyn intently. A wide range of expressions crossed his face, as it seemed he was having a lot of conflicting thoughts go through his mind at all once.

Evelyn tried not to stare, but her eyes were continually drawn back to the handsome man, whose dark hair with large loose curls were perfectly atop his head, and olive colored skin. Something about him seemed to capture her attention repeatedly, regardless of how hard she tried to focus on her friends and what was going on at her own table.

"Everything ok?" Alyssa asked, following Evelyn's glance across the bar, trying to see what had so completely captured the attention of her friend.

"Yeah," Evelyn began, "It's weird, I feel like I know that guy or something. Like he's really familiar, and I feel like I should know who he is, but I'm positive I've never met him before."

"He's cute" Alyssa said with a grin. "His friend is too. If there were more space and a free table, I'd suggest we invite them over" and with that, she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Evelyn.

"He's probably in town for the wedding" responded Chris, feeling a little left out, as the ladies were appreciating the attractiveness of the newcomers and he was feeling at a loss in his efforts of self-promotion with Evelyn, who he had always admired. "After tomorrow, you'll probably never see him again" Chris followed up a note of cheer in his tone.

"It's just so weird" Evelyn said again, "I really feel like I know him somehow, or like I'm supposed to know him, or..." and Evelyn stopped herself from saying out loud what she was really thinking, and that was that somehow, the stranger was hers and she his. But that was not something she planned to open up to her friend's entertainment at this point, since it made so little sense to her. She actually felt protective of the feelings she couldn't describe and the stranger that seemed to be producing them within her.

After enjoying their meals and a few drinks, Evelyn and her friends were ready to end their evening. It had required a conscious effort on Evelyn's part not to spend too much time watching the handsome stranger, who made very little effort to conceal his intentional stares in her direction. Had the feelings inside of her not been so strong, her rational mind would have warned her against this stranger, someone whom she had never met. Especially as he continued to stare at her from across the room for the better part of almost two hours. Any other situation with that type of admirer, and she would have insisted on someone accompanying her somewhere safe in order to avoid the intense stares and possible ill intent of the seemingly obsessed stranger. But for some reason she couldn't rationalize, Evelyn wasn't afraid.

Evelyn never felt threatened by this stranger, and actually longed to meet him. She continued to argue with herself that he was more than capable of coming across the room to meet her, and if he chose not to, it was his loss. She was actually disappointed when she was ready to leave, and he had never made a move in her direction.

Evelyn and her friends made their way to the door to leave, Evelyn maneuvering her wheelchair past others in a direction that would lead her past her stranger. It was the long way around, but she couldn't help herself. She felt compelled to get as close to him as she could. The urging within her something she wasn't able to fight. But as she passed around a group of people standing, losing sight of her stranger for a moment, and then coming back into view of his seat, he was gone.

Evelyn's insecurities about herself began to overwhelm her. She had always done well with hiding her feelings of inferiority at being confined to her wheelchair, but she had always longed to be free to run as she remembered she had in her youth. She was smart and capable, well-educated and developing a great career for herself, but she felt hindered by her chair. She tried not to let it bother her when men would choose not to pursue her because of her inability to walk, but she knew it was their problem, not hers that prevented them from an opportunity to get to know her better. But at this moment, she felt all those prior rejections flood through her memories at once, as she felt that it must be the case now, with her stranger. She was crushed to think that he must have chosen to avoid her because she was in a wheelchair. She felt rejected by him, and for some reason, as that word resonated in her mind, it seemed to bear with it a weight she couldn't have imagined would be so strong from a random encounter with a stranger she never even spoke to.

By the time Evelyn had reached the front door, where her friends were waiting for her, she was almost in tears at the thoughts and feelings that had so suddenly welled up inside of her.

"Evelyn, what's wrong?" Alyssa said quickly, aware of the dramatic change in Evelyn's demeanor. "Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine" Evelyn choked out. "I think it's just the long day kind of crashing in on me all at once."

"Want me to take you home?" Chris offered, also concerned at how upset Evelyn was. "I can come get your car later and take it back to your house."

"No, that's ok. But thank you" Evelyn responded, quickly regaining her composure. "I'm just tired. I just need to get through this wedding tomorrow, and then I'll probably sleep for a week. It's been a lot of work, and I'm sure it's just the stress of getting it all put together that's got me so worked up."

"Ok" Alyssa said, admiring her friend who always seemed able to accomplish anything. "Text me when you get home so I know you made it ok."

"Alright, I will" Evelyn responded with a smile. She and Alyssa always looked out for each other, and she appreciated what a good friend she had in her.

"Goodnight" Chris said, leaning down to give Evelyn a hug. "Get some rest, see you tomorrow" he said.

Evelyn gave Chris a hug back, and could have sworn she hear what sounded like a growl somewhere off in the distance, similar to what she'd heard in the bar. She told herself she was losing her mind, and it was probably just her imagination, but she knew that she had heard something, and that through the whole night, she had felt something new. Like her 'inner strength' that she had always felt after her treatments was somehow stronger than it ever had been. And that it was somehow affecting her physically as well, not just a feeling inside. She felt like she could smell and hear things differently for the last couple of hours, and that even her senses of taste and touch seemed somehow heightened. She couldn't help but feel like somehow, the encounter of seeing the stranger, even from across the room, had awoken something in her that she had only barely known existed.