“It sounds like she was able to recruit you to her cause.”
“I think we had the same cause. We both wanted to make people happy, make their lives a little less hard. Cooking food was a great way to accomplish that.”
“I believe it is.” Cathy sets her spoon down in the middle of her empty bowl. “See. Just that bowl of ice cream has made me happy.”
“Want another?” I ask her.
“No, thanks.” She touches her stomach. “Like you said, people want to eat but they don’t want to put on the pounds.”
“I don’t think a few pounds would hurt you,” I tell her. “Besides, Ken gives you a workout every day.”
“That she does,” Cathy agrees with a grin. “But I think I’ve had enough ice cream just the same.”
I chuckle. “If you say so.”
“So what happened next?” she asks curiously.
Where was I? Right.
“We started dating. She started her own organization which focused more on improving people’s lives through food. Then we moved back here to the US. Her family lives in New York.”
“Betty?”
“And Andy, her father, who’s a stockbroker. She has a brother and a sister, too. She’s from a rich family, but I had already guessed that. I think if I wasn’t already a Michelin-starred chef, her parents would never have approved of our relationship. Not that Evelyn and I wouldn’t have gone through with it anyway. As it was, they were thrilled.”
“Betty was thrilled?” Cathy gives me a look of disbelief.
“Well, she didn’t disapprove of me, at least. I remember her bringing her friends to my restaurant in New York once and telling them how glad she was that her son-in-law was a chef.”
“So you lived in New York?”
“For a while. That’s where Evelyn and I got married. But you know me, I had to open more restaurants, so I had to go from place to place. The more restaurants and stars I got, the busier I became. My marriage to Evelyn started suffering from it. No matter how kind and patient a woman is, she has limits, after all.”
“Of course,” Cathy agrees. “Everyone gets tired of always giving.”
“I actually thought we’d get divorced,” I continue. “But then she got pregnant and everything changed. I realized I had to take care of my family.”
“I guess a baby can save a marriage.”
I nod. “It was like Evelyn and I were back at the start. Everything was exciting again. We couldn’t bear to be apart. But just when I thought everything was going to be alright, Evelyn found out she was sick.”
I frown as I remember that day. I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget how she cried as she told me about her condition and then how she gave a big smile afterwards when she told me what she was going to do about it.
“She could have been treated, but not while she was pregnant. She would have had to get rid of the baby, and Evelyn couldn’t do that. She said she couldn’t live if it meant someone innocent had to die.”
Cathy gasps softly. I can tell she’s reliving the emotions I felt that day – the pain, the anger at how cruel everything was and how helpless I felt.
“I told her she was innocent, too, but she wouldn’t hear it. I had no choice but to respect her decision. I hated it. I hated the fact that she was dying each day while our baby grew inside her. I hated the fact that I couldn’t do anything to save her. All I could do was try to make her happy and hope that after the baby was born, it wouldn’t be too late for Evelyn to keep living. But my hope was useless.” My hands clench into fists on my lap. “It was too late. Evelyn started getting the treatment, but it wasn’t doing much for her. Childbirth had taken too much of her strength. She died weeks after Maisie was born.”
Cathy places her hand over mine. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry about what happened to her and I’m sorry you had to relive it by telling me.”
I shake my head. “It’s not like I’ll ever forget it.”
Sure, I’ve managed to move on. It doesn’t hurt so much to think of Evelyn anymore. But I’ll remember her as long as I live.
“Betty isn’t ever going to let me forget it,” I add.
Cathy frowns. “Does she blame you?”
I nod. “She thinks I could have talked Evelyn into getting rid of the baby, into living.”
“She didn’t know about Evelyn’s condition?”
“No. Evelyn didn’t want anyone else to know. And that’s one more thing Betty resents me for. She thinks I should have told her.”
“I see.”
I reach for my glass of water as I run out of things to say. To my surprise, she squeezes my hand. When I meet her gaze, I see the sadness on her face.