Read Online Dear Adam by Ava Zavora - Free Book Online Page B

It was
stubbornness which had overcame her. How could she tell him how his
voice electrified her? She could feel how smug he had been, then
irritated that she hadn’t fallen all over herself cooing about how
sexy he sounded.
    But it was more than that. He wasn’t just an
empty wit. Adam had something to say, and the combination of his
voice and talent in saying it – stunned her.
    Eden put on a summer dress
and wedge sandals then fixed her hair, feeling heated and out of
sorts, ready to jump out of her skin. She wasn’t really cooking for
dinner, just fixing a big salad, which took no time. But she wanted
to undo the spell his voice and his poem had cast over her. If she
wasn’t careful, she’d turn into a besotted fool.
    Once Dante came home from his dad’s, the two
of them took off for her parents’ house, 15 minutes away.
    "How are you?" her mother
asked as Eden kissed her cheek in greeting. She looked at Eden with
a searching gaze, something making her brow furrow a
bit.
    "Good - great, Ma," Eden replied, looking
over her shoulder at all the people in her parents' living
room.
    Cousins she had never met before were
visiting and she made a special effort not to seem distant.
    When dinner was in full swing, people out in
the garden or in the kitchen eating, and the house was full of
music and laughter, her mother had set Eden aside for a moment and
asked her again, "You're sure you're okay?"
    Eden laughed a little. "Ma, I'm fine.
Promise," then gave her another peck on the cheek.
    She was ordinarily shy, but tonight she was
bubbly and talkative. Yet, she was far, far away.
    Later, one of her cousins e-mailed photos of
that night, and Eden saw there was a candid one of her taken
unaware. She was in the kitchen, smiling at someone out of the
camera's view. There was something different about her face,
whatever it was perhaps that her mother had discerned.
    Her head was filled with the stirring words
of a poet, seduced by the voice of a stranger.

 
    Chapter 6
     
    Subject: Monday
    ----------
    From: Adam -

    Date: Mon, Aug 6, at 5:12 AM
    To: Eden E
     
    Good morning my dear.
     
    ----------
    From: Eden E

    Date: Mon, Aug 6, at 7:51 AM
    To: Adam -
     
    My dear Adam, good afternoon!
     
    How are you today?
     
    ----------
    From: Adam -

    Date: Mon, Aug 6, at 8:21 AM
    To: Eden E
     
    I increasingly notice your absence more each
day, when we are busy or sleeping and such.
     
    From my last mail: "OK but that doesn't
answer my question regarding what you first thought of."
     
    I am well today. Quite productive thus far,
and you?
     
    How was dinner?
     
    ----------
    From: Eden E

    Date: Mon, Aug 6, at 8:31 AM
    To: Adam -
     
    That is what I first thought of - that exact
scene.
     
    I just got to work and already I'm
distracted. I hope nothing important gets dropped on my desk
today.
     
    I was late to dinner - I misunderstood the
time. And when we walked in, I had the pleasure of a roomful of
mostly strangers turned to my son and my seemingly rude and
inconsiderate self. My son didn't want to go but I cajoled him and
asked, "Don't be unsociable." He laughed and said, "You're the one
who's unsociable!" It turned out to be fine and I got to know a
cousin and her family. Plus, the food was great, which always makes
anything bearable.
     
    Perhaps the poem influences what I think of
your voice - You seem so grave and soul-weary. At first I put down
"cynical" but that wasn't right.
     
    It's a voice of an outsider, dressed all in
black, judging everything with unfathomable eyes. There's none of
the mischief that shows up in your e-mails but then the poem itself
is not very playful.
     
    Is that what you were seeking?
     
    ----------
    From: Adam -

    Date: Mon, Aug 6, at 9:02 AM
    To: Eden E
     
    I'm glad