Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:06:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cassandra Whitehead <cocoa8007@yahoo.com>
Subject: Garden of Eve (6)

Jackie had only been home for a mere 10 minutes when
there was a knock at her door.  She opened it to find
Eve standing there.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize."  Eve walked into the apartment
and stood nervously.

"I'm sorry about tonight and I know you're wondering
why I didn't tell you about Joyce. It's not because I
was trying to hide something from you, but it's
because Joyce is a part of my past that I'm trying to
forget ever happen.  She almost destroyed my life and
I just don't want to remember her in any way, shape,
form, or fashion.  I'm sorry I didn't tell you about
her before."

"Oh, baby that's okay." Jackie walked over to Eve and
embraced her.  She had been wondering why Eve had kept
that secret, but when she had seen the way Eve looked
at Joyce and the hatred that was in her eyes, she knew
that there had to be a really good reason why.

"Baby there's one more thing." Jackie slightly pulled
away from Eve so they could make eye contact.

"What is it?"

"I think it might be best if we didn't see each other
for awhile." Jackie completely broke contact with her
and looked at her.

"What? You're breaking up with me."

"Baby, no." Eve grabbed Jackie's hand and they moved
to the couch to sit down.

"It's just that I know Joyce, and I know how
vindictive she can be.  I don't want you to get hurt
and she would try to do just that.  I don't know any
other way to protect you besides leaving you alone,
until this mess is over."

"No, Eve. I'm not letting you do that. I'm not scared
of her.  I finally overcame my fear of us being
together and you think I'm going to let some psycho
chick mess that up.  I can handle whatever comes."

"Are you sure?"

"There is one thing that I'm sure of, and that's that
I love you.  And that's all I need to be sure of."

"I love you too." Eve leaned over and kissed Jackie.
She was happy to hear that Jackie wanted to stick
things out with her, but she also knew that the real
test was coming.  There was no telling what crazy
Joyce was up too.



** It didn't take long for Eve to find out exactly
what Joyce was up too, she was planning to ruin her
life yet again.  For two weeks Joyce terrorized not
only Eve but Jackie and Mike as well.  Joyce had
slashed the tires on Jackie's car, broke out windows
at Mike's house, broken into Eve's apartment and
destroyed the painting that was on her wall, which was
given to her by her deceased grandmother, and showed
up at Eve's job and had smashed her computer, leaving
a note that said I still love you. When they had had
enough, the three got together and called the police.
They were all sitting at Mike's house talking when an
officer knocked at the door.

"I'll get it." Mike walked to the front door and was
astonished by the man that stood there.  The name on
his badge read Officer Friendly, but his name should
have been Officer Fine.  Mike had to remind himself
why the officer was there and showed him into his
house.  For the next hour they described in detail the
events of the past two weeks to the officer.

"Well, it looks like your next step is to get a
restraining order against Ms. Taylor.  Also, I'll
place men at each location for a couple of days to
make sure that she doesn't continue to bother you.  I
also advise you to keep each other aware of your
location. Call someone when you leave and arrive at a
different place.  That's about all we can do right
now. Just try to stay calm and be extra cautious."
Eve and Jackie thanked Officer Friendly for his time
and Mike walked him to the door. Mike was suddenly
very happy that he had decided to wear his navy blue
Polo shirt and blue jeans.  That shirt always give him
extra confidence because he looked so good in it.

"So, what name goes in front of Friendly?" Mike
couldn't think of one witty or clever thing to say
besides that.  Officer Friendly stopped at the door
and turned to face Mike.

"Xavier."

"Oh, Xavier Friendly, that has a nice ring to it." As
Mike made the statement he quickly surveyed to make
sure he didn't have a ring on.

"No, I'm not wearing one." Xavier said.  Mike couldn't
believe he had been caught.  He really could spot a
man without a ring from a mile away.

"Well, Mr. Addy, be safe and I'll be checking in from
time to time."  He gave Mike a devastating smile and
walked out toward his patrol car.

"Umm, things are definitely getting interesting." Mike
said as he closed the door with a smile of his own.



** Eve had decided to stay at Jackie's apartment with
her for a little while. They both felt safer when they
were together.  Eve waved at the police officers as
she got into her car and headed for work.  She loved
dress down Fridays, it was the only day during the
week that she could ware her jeans and tennis shoes to
work. Jackie was still in the apartment, when she
received a call from her cast director, saying that
they needed to have any important meeting with all
cast members down at the opera house.  Jackie grabbed
her purse and keys and left the apartment.  She too
waved at the police officers as she left.  It wasn't
until she reached the stop light farther down the
street that she remembered that she didn't call anyone
to let them know she was leaving.  She reached into
her pursed and pulled out her cell phone.

"If you want to live, you'll put that away and do
exactly as I say." Jackie closed her cell phone and
looked in her mirror. She saw Joyce's face directly
behind her and a gun pointed at her head.

"We're going for a little drive, just you and me.
Keep straight through this light."  Being as calm as
she could, Jackie did exactly as she was told.



** Eve had been calling Jackie all morning.  She
wasn't answering the house phone or her cell phone.
She had even phoned Mike, hoping that he had heard
from her.  When he told her that he had no clue where
she was, she called the only other person she could
think of, Officer Friendly.  Eve had a horrible
feeling that something was wrong.



** Jackie parked the car in front of an abandoned
warehouse, in the middle of no way.  Joyce got out of
the car and Jackie followed suit when she tapped the
gun on her window.  They walked into the warehouse and
Jackie saw that the only thing in there was a chair
sitting in the middle of the room.  Joyce pushed
Jackie toward the chair and once she was sitting, she
proceeded to tie her up with rope to the chair.

"I don't know what Eve sees in you.  Yeah, you're cute
and all, but you don't even begin to compare to me."
After she finished tying her, she began to walk around
her.

"I have loved Eve for so long that I don't know how
not to love her.  And I'm not going to let anyone,
especially you, stand in my way.  Eve and I are meant
to be together."

"Let's talk this out, Joyce. We can come to an
agreement."

"Shut up." Joyce said as she hit Jackie in the back of
the head with the gun.  Jackie passed out from the
blow and blood began to trickle down her neck.  Joyce
bent down and looked into Jackie's face.

"We'll see who she chooses after today, and if she
chooses you then she can have you. Dead."



** "Eve you have to calm down.  We don't know if
something is wrong yet."  Officer Friendly and Mike
had been trying to get Eve to be still for the past
half hour.  Both men had come to her job after she
called them.  She still had not heard from Jackie and
she was getting more and more concerned by the minute.

"You don't know Joyce. She could have her and be doing
anything to her."

"Eve you don't know that. Don't imagine the worst."
Mike walked over to her and tried to help her calm
down by massaging her shoulders.  Eve was finally
starting to relax a little when her cell phone rung.

"See that's probably her right there." Unfortunately
Mike was wrong.

"What do you want Joyce?"

"It's not what I want, but it's what you want. I have
a little friend of yours here with me."

"Where is she? Where are you? You better not hurt
her."

"You are in no position to tell me what I better not
do." Joyce yelled.

"What do you want from me Joyce?"

"I want you to make a decision.  It's either me or
her."

"Joyce don't do this."
"I'm not doing anything. The ball is in your court.
Who is it going to be? Me or her?"

Eve knew what Joyce wanted to hear.

"I chose you."

"Say it again."

"I chose you, but you have to do something for me."

"I'll do anything for you."

"Tell me where Jackie is so I'll know she's safe. Then
she will be out of our lives forever."

"I don't know about that. I can take her out of our
lives now."

"But I thought you wanted to make me happy."

"I do."

"Then tell me where she is and then it'll just be me
and you."

"Fine."  Joyce told Eve exactly where they were.  Eve
had Officer Friendly write the directions down for
her.

"You have to come alone Eve.  Otherwise I'm not sure
what I might do to her."

"I'll come alone. Just stay calm and stay still."

"Tell me you love me."

"What?"

"Say it. Say, I love you Joyce."

Eve thought her stomach was going to turn.  She didn't
want to say it, but she knew in order for Jackie to
stay unharmed she had to do whatever Joyce wanted.

"I love you."

"Joyce. Say Joyce."

"I love you Joyce."

"Good. I'll see you in a little while then."

With that Joyce hung up the phone. Eve turned around
and looked at Mike and Officer Friendly.

"You're not going alone Eve.  We'll follow you in my
car. I'll make sure she doesn't know that we're
there."  Officer Friendly said as he passed the
directions to her.  Eve nodded her head in agreement
and gathered her things.



** Jackie felt like there were little men in her head,
beating her brain with small sledge hammers.  She
slowly opened her eyes and saw Joyce standing by the
warehouse door.  What was she waiting for, Jackie
wondered.  She knew that Eve must going crazy with
worry.  She wished there was some way that she could
send word to her that she was all right, at least for
the moment.  Soon she saw that there was no need for
that, when Joyce started walking toward her, and Eve
was not that far behind.  Both women walked up to
Jackie and looked at her.

"See, here she is.  She's perfectly fine."

"Why is she bleeding?" Eve made a move toward Jackie,
and Joyce pulled her gun from her waist.

"No, I didn't say you could touch her, I said you
could see her."

"Why don't you just let her go? You have me now, what
do you need with her?"

"True." Joyce reached for Jackie's ropes and then
stopped in mid movement.

"You have to do something for me first."

"What's that?"

"Kiss me right here, right now, in front of her."

Eve looked over at Jackie and couldn't believe what
she was about to do.  She walked over to Joyce and
kissed her on her lips. Jackie closed her eyes and
looked away.  She knew that Eve didn't have any other
choice, but that didn't make it any easy to watch.

"Now, let her go."

"Fine."  Joyce pulled a knife from under her pants leg
and cut the ropes that where holding Jackie.  For a
moment Jackie hesitated, not wanting to leave Eve
alone with her.

"Go, Jackie.  I'll be fine."  Still feeling spacey
from the blow to her head, Jackie slowly began to walk
toward the door.

"You know what Eve.  I've changed by mind."  Eve
watched as Joyce aimed her gun at Jackie.  Doing the
only thing she could, she grabbed Joyce's arm and
began to wrestle with her for the gun.  Jackie turned
around in time to see them fighting for the gun.  Eve
tripped Joyce and she fell toward the floor, pulling
Eve on top of her.  They continued to fight for the
gun, when a shot rung out.



** Mike and Officer Friendly had been waiting at the
car for Jackie to come out when Mike heard the shot
fired.  Not waiting for Officer Friendly, he ran
toward the warehouse.

"Mike, wait." Officer Friendly quickly called for back
up and an ambulance.  When Mike entered the warehouse,
he saw Joyce and Eve lying on the floor in complete
stillness.  Jackie was standing by the door, just as
still.  Mike walked over to her, and they both stood
quietly waiting to see who would get up.  They watched
as Joyce pushed Eve off of her and stood up.  She had
blood on the first of her shirt, but it wasn't her
blood.

"NO!!" Jackie shouted and tried to run to Eve, but
Mike pulled her back.

"I didn't mean to do it. It's not my fault." Joyce
said to herself as she looked down at Eve's body.

"No, it's your fault. You made me do this. And you'll
pay." She turned toward Jackie and Mike and lifted her
gun.  She placed her hand on the trigger and shot the
gun.  At the same time she shot, two more shots rung
out in the warehouse.  Mike and Jackie watched as
Joyce's lifeless body fell face down onto the floor.
They both turned to see Officer Friendly standing at
the door with a smoking gun.  Jackie pushed Mike off
of her and ran to Eve.  Blood was everywhere and Eve
wasn't moving at all.  Jackie got down on the floor
beside her, torn off the bottom of her shirt, and
applied pressure to the bullet wound that was apparent
in Eve's side.

"Baby, just stay with me. Help is coming. Just stay
with me." She kept repeating those words to Eve as
Mike and Officer Friendly came to stand behind her.





** "I miss her Mike." Jackie said she they sat on the
patio at Mike's house. It had been two months since
the shooting.

"I miss her too, but at least she's not in pain
anymore."

"I know, but it just doesn't seem right." Jackie and
Mike fell into silence.

"I don't miss that darn dog.  She was always licking
my leg and humping me.  She needed to be put out of
her misery."  Mike and Jackie looked toward the
sliding glass door as Eve walked out onto the patio
carrying a tray with lemonade and glasses.

"Give me that." Mike said as he rose from his chair
and took the tray from Eve.  Eve placed a smile kiss
on Jackie's lips as she sat in the chair beside her.

"That dog was so blind that every time she made a move
she hit the same wall, over and over again. To tell
you the truth I think hitting that wall that much
caused brain damage.  But I did love Pooh. I'm going
to miss her a little."

"You are terrible." Mike said to Eve as he sat back
down in his seat.

"So what's the big surprise?" Jackie asked as she
began to pour lemonade for everyone.

"Oh, you'll see in a moment." Mike said.

"Hello." Jackie and Eve turned toward the doors as
they heard someone shout hello in the house.

"We're on the patio." Mike called to the unknown
stranger.  Both ladies where shocked when they saw
Officer Friendly walk onto the patio.  They were even
more shocked when he proceeded to kiss Mike hello and
take the chair beside him, while reaching for his
hand.

"Oh, Eve, one more thing. I told you so."  Eve and
Mike began to laugh, while Xavier and Jackie looked
on, kind of confused.



** Later that night Jackie and Eve laid together in
bed talking.  Jackie was making a path around the
bullet wound on Eve's side.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Some times when it rains.  And then some times I wake
up in the middle of the night holding my side and the
pain is almost as bad as it was when it first
happened.  I asked the doctor about it and he said it
was a mind thing, and it probably won't happen anymore
once I get over the whole ordeal."

Jackie moved her hands and let her tongue trace the
same path her fingers had just made.

"You're asking for trouble."

"I hope so." Jackie said as she kissed Eve.  Eve broke
the kiss and moved back a little.

"Did I ever tell you the story about my garden?"

"No, you didn't"

"Well, I would like to."  Jackie placed her head on
Eve's shoulder and waited for her to begin.  She loved
when Eve told her something about her life or actually
any story.  She had a way of making things sound so
exciting and interesting.

"When I was a little girl, I'd say around 10, I had
this garden.  It was in my backyard, and it was like
my home away from home.  I could spend the entire day
in that garden.  I think I planted every type of
flower I could find, and once everything bloomed the
colors were absolutely wonderful.  Well, when I was 12
my dad said that he had had enough of me and that darn
garden.  For 2 years I had spent every free moment I
had working in that garden.  He said either I spent
more time in the house doing my chores, or he would
get rid of it.  I couldn't believe him.  Everyone in
the neighborhood loved that garden.  It was like a
spot of sunshine for everyone. Well, for about a week
I did what he asked. I only spent about an hour a day
out there and the rest of the time I cleaned the
house.  But it didn't last long, I needed my peace and
that's what the garden gave me, peace.  So one day I
came home from school and walked out the back door,
and there was nothing there.  My dad had covered the
entire backyard with dirt and that was the end of my
garden.  I told myself that if I ever found anything
that could give me that much peace that I would never
let anyone or anything take it away from me again."

Eve looked over at Jackie and kissed her forehead.

"Baby, you're my garden.  You give me that peace I've
been searching for, and I don't ever plan to let
anyone take you from me."  Eve took Jackie's hand and
placed it over her wound and looked her in her eyes.
Jackie lifted herself up from Eve's shoulder and
placed another kiss on her lips.  And for the first
time, they were able to show each other how much they
loved each other, by making love.  It was a union that
neither planned to break.