Dawn of Eve - MJ Howson (read full novel .txt) 📗

the ball of tissues in her hand. “Well, I . . . I don’t know. I was twenty-two but still living at home. My mom she just . . . just continued to work. Her work was her life.”

“His accident didn’t bring you two closer?”

“Closer?” Dawn nervously twisted the damp tissues into a rope-like structure. “No. No. If . . . if anything, she became more distant. I mean, she was now in charge of the company. She replaced my dad as CEO. I mean, it was always sort of her company.”

“How did you and your mother deal with his death? What did he mean to you?”

“Why do you care about my dad?” Dawn wiped her eyes again. “I don’t want to talk about him.”

“I’m just trying to draw a line through your childhood and into your early adult life. We all react differently to the loss of a parent.”

“I . . . I suppose.” Dawn wiped her nose and smiled. “But, I’m doing so much better now that I have Eve.”

Dr. Cole smiled and nodded. He knew it was best not to force a patient to talk about something they weren’t ready to discuss. Letting the topics develop organically was always preferable. Given Dawn’s reaction to his question about additional miscarriages, it was obvious to him there was still a lot of work to be done.

“Tell me about Eve,” Dr. Cole said. “You said you have her in a nursery?”

“Yes.” Dawn’s normally pale face suddenly ignited in joy. “I’d set it up for, well, for my baby, after getting pregnant. I really do love having her in there. I know she’s just a doll. I do. But it’s like I’ve got this purpose now. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“It is. As I said earlier, you seem much happier. Tell me, how are you sleeping?”

“Fine.”

“What about your dreams? The nightmares?”

“Oh, those.” Dawn lowered her head and looked away.

“It’s okay if you still have them. It takes time to–”

“I don’t hear my child anymore.” Dawn began to tug and shred her tissues. “I used to be chasing her down this hallway. She was always just out of reach. The spitting image of me at that age, running away. That . . . that dream’s gone now.”

“That’s wonderful, Dawn.” Dr. Cole made a note of this on his notepad. “Are there other bad dreams?”

“Bad dreams?” Dawn bit her upper lip and grabbed the pendant hanging around her neck.

“What is it?”

“I . . . I do wonder about her.” Dawn stared blankly at Dr. Cole. “Eve.”

Dr. Cole scratched his beard and adjusted his glasses. “What do you mean?”

“The store owner told me everything in the store had a story to tell. She’s grown on me so quickly. I just wonder what’s . . . what’s Eve’s story?”

Sixteen

The Diary

Dawn’s umbrella rumbled from the heavy downpour rolling through the West Village. She’d spent the morning staring out her apartment windows, watching the ominous clouds gathering in the sky. Ultimately, the foul weather didn’t deter her from venturing south. She had to learn Eve’s story.

The cool September wind rippled across Dawn’s black cotton trench coat. The entrance to Zuni seemed dark and foreboding, much like the overhead clouds. The sign above the door swung freely in the wind, the chain links rattling softly. Leo, the white cat that led her here last week, was sitting on a table behind the window staring at her. The sign in the front door read Open. Seeing the store, not to mention the cat, made her feel uneasy. She shook it off, walked down the stairs, closed her umbrella, and stepped inside.

Dawn looked around the shop as she twirled her umbrella and secured the loose flaps. The cat remained near the window, giving her a look of boredom. Dawn glanced toward the far end of the corner where Eve once sat. She half expected to see a new doll sitting on the countertop. Instead, the space was empty.

“Hello?” Dawn called out. “Janet?”

The swinging doors flipped open, and Janet entered, smiling. She had on the same dreary long-sleeved gray smock she’d worn last weekend, her glasses propped atop her head.

“Back so soon?” Janet said. “Dawn, right?”

Dawn nodded as she nervously looked around the store.

Janet looked Dawn up and down and furrowed her brow. She asked, “Is . . . is it Eve? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s . . . she’s wonderful.” Dawn leaned her umbrella against the doorframe and walked over to the counter. “She brings me joy. She really does.”

Janet covered her smile and took a deep breath. “That’s wonderful. I knew she picked you for a reason.” Her smile faded the longer she stared at Dawn. “So, why the long face?”

“I’m just wondering about, well, Eve.” Dawn lowered her head and began inspecting the collection of jewelry in the display case. “You said everything in this store had a story.”

Janet nodded and followed Dawn as she slowly made her way along the long counter, gently tapping a fingernail against the glass top. Janet asked, “Has . . . has something happened?”

Dawn stopped just as she got to the spot where Eve once sat. She could still see the dust outlining where the doll once rested. Dawn began to drag her finger across the dust, slowly clearing it away.

“Remember how I told you about my miscarriage?” Dawn asked.

“Of course.” Janet put a comforting hand on Dawn’s. “Losing a child is terrible.”

“Well, ever since the loss, I’ve been having these horrible dreams. It’s like I’m chasing after my child.” Dawn briefly closed her eyes as she tried to clear the image from her mind. “Anyway, when I brought Eve home, I thought my nightmares would end.”

“And?”

“They did end. Sort of.” Dawn began to pace back and forth beside the display cabinet, nervously twirling her sapphire pendant. The cat remained by the window, somewhat mesmerized by her pacing. “The dreams have changed. The girl in the dream, she, well, she’s a bit older and has red hair now.”

“Red