Promises Forgotten
Chapter 55

Evie was waiting for me at the elevators, behind the row of security so that none of the reporters could sneak onto the upper floors. I lifted Elliot up and held him, also reaching out for Evie’s hand. We entered the elevator and Jason raced in. He shook his head.

“That was ridiculous. I can’t believe you just decided to chill with the reporters.”

Shrugging, I stole a k**s from Evie. “I’m enjoying this…being relaxed. If I could have shown up in jeans without the stock market plummeting, I would have.”

“It absolutely would have dropped by ten points at the very least.” Jason laughed. “You heading up to the top? I’m going to step onto the security floor.”

Nodding, he pressed the Floor 46 and 52 buttons. We waited, and he jumped out and waved before taking off in a sprint. I looked at him and looked at Evie, shrugging. The doors dinged closed and opened on the 52nd floor. Heading out together, I saw a duffle bag and a guitar case. My eyes widened and I looked at Evie.

“Don’t look at me. It’s your son’s carry on bag.”

Kneeling down, I looked at Elliot. “Did you make your mom lug a guitar clear across country with one arm?”

He beamed. “Yup!”

“Why would you do that?”

“I wanted to hear you and mom sing together. Like you used to.”

Sighing, I looked up to Evie, who put her hands up. Shaking my head, I put him down and he raced off onto the floor of the office.

“No one is here right now, so it’s fine. All the regular employees have the day off and everyone else is in a meeting down below.” I grabbed the guitar, and she took the duffle bag that I’m assuming had her and Elliot’s clothes.

“I remember the first time I came into this office, and I just stared out the window looking at the view.” She mused, walking up to the wall of windows facing downtown. “It was breathtaking, but I all I wanted to see was when the morning fog blanketed everything down below and just the tops of the building peeking out over the clouds.”

Smiling, I opened up my old office. Evie walked in and looked around, frowning.

“All my stuff is gone. It’s been delivered to the LA office. Adrian already moved in.”

She nodded, looking over the liquor choices. “How pissed would he be if I just emptied all the alcohol out after the shit he pulled today?”

Smirking, I put my hands up this time. “I didn’t see anything.”

She giggled and grabbed a bunch of the bottles in her hand, disappearing into the bathroom. She came back and placed what I assumed were empty bottles back in their places. Grabbing the rest of them, she disappeared back into the bathroom. Laughing, I peeked my head out the door.

“Elliot, come here!”

He raced through the desks and tried to slide to a halt, but crashed directly into me. I staggered, but caught us both. “Woah there, cowboy. Hold your horses. Come sit.”

His eyes widened and I picked him up and placed him in the CEO seat. Of course, he looked tiny, but he reached up and laced his hands together, putting his elbows on the desk.

“Can you explain to me why our stock dropped more than thirty points today?” He mocked a deep voice, and I heard Evie chuckle from the bathroom.

“I’m sorry, sir. The Board put out a message that they refused to make the logo a dinosaur.” I went on my knees in front of the desk.

Elliot slammed his palms down on the desk. “Unacceptable! How dare they! Fire them all!”

Evie was laughing as she put back the last of the empty glass bottles. “Never in my life have I wasted so much money. Literally poured it down the drain. Thousands of dollars.” She looked back at me. “Got anymore? I’m on a roll.”

Shaking my head, I got up and pulled her to me, kissing her fiercely. She pulled back, blushing. “Z…” Glancing over at Elliot, his hands were laced together again, but he had the happiest grin on his face.”

“I don’t think he minds.” I kissed her again, softly this time. “I can’t help myself. If I can’t k**s you, I’ll attack Elliot with k****s and I don’t think he wants that.”

She pulled away and Elliot screamed and laughed as I went to grab him out of the chair. He wiggled, but I planted a good number of k****s on his face and head before he squirmed out of my grip. Running over to the windows, he leaned close, not touching the glass.

“Do birds ever fly into the windows?”

I barked out a laugh. “No. Never a bird. I did get a nice view of when Godzilla walked across the bay, though.”

His little head snapped to me, and his eyes were as big as saucers. “You…saw…Godzilla?”

Squatting down, I pointed to where you could see some of the water. “He rose up out of the water and walked across the downtown area. It was so early in the morning, the mist covered most of the area. He rose up as tall as the buildings and just made his way across into the water over there.” I pointed in the opposite direction. “He was just walking through. It was easier because there is a lot of boat traffic in the morning, but not a lot of cars. The whole building shook, but I only saw a few of my books fall from the shelves.”

Elliot was nodding, his eyes wide as he looked out over the view. I looked up at Evie, who had joined us at the window. She had a smirk on her face as she looked down at me. There was a softness and a love in her eyes. One that made my heart beat faster. As if she read my mind, her hand came up and settled on the back of my head, just reveling in our proximity. I looked back over the view.

“I think the only other time something crazy happened was with my grandfather in this office. He just bought the building and brought me to see it. It was later in the evening and we saw dancing lights in the sky. They littered the whole sky, moving, twinkling, changing colors. They danced for a couple minutes before disappearing. We were never able to figure out what they were, but we knew we had caught something that maybe we weren’t supposed to see.”

Elliot nodded and put his hand up on the glass. I smiled, thinking back to when I did the same. Being small and seeing this view, thinking that I wanted nothing more than to watch for a supernatural phenomenon. I glanced up at Evie, but she was still looking down at me. Her hand brushed my head.

“I’m sure you will miss it.”

I shook my head and stood up, feeling the crack in my knees, and I winced. “This view is incredible, but then I turn around and see the company under my feet. That I won’t miss. It’s Adrian’s now.”

Elliot raced to the couch and sat down on it. Pulling off his shoes, he climbed up on the cushions and unlocked the guitar case. Inside was the guitar we bought in Vegas. It was at a pawn shop downtown and was nothing special but now it was so special that I almost wished it didn’t leave the wall in Evie’s cafe.

“Come on, Dad! Play!”

Taking Evie’s hand, I walked over to the couch and grabbed the guitar. Sitting on the couch, Elliot scooted closer to me, whereas Evie took off her combat boots and climbed on the back of the single chair. I couldn’t help but laugh as she perched on the top of the chair, her feet planted on the cushion.

“Some things don’t change, do they?”

She blushed, but shook her head as she rolled her eyes.

“Alright.” I strummed the guitar and was surprised that it was in tune. I looked at Evie, who shrugged. “What should we sing?”

Elliot sat back on his knees, thinking. “Maybe the one…the one you played at the fountain.”

My eyes closed and I thought of the song, strumming the guitar again. I started to play and hit the body of the guitar with the beat. Singing, I started off the song, my eyes closed. After a moment, Evie jumped in, singing as well. Our voices came together for the chorus, and I couldn’t help but smile. It felt so right, our voices together. I opened my eyes and looked at Evie, who was singing with her eyes closed as well. Her body moved and her hand was pressed on her diaphragm.

Elliot’s eyes were shining brightly as he listened. The song finished, but I continued to play, changing the melody and beat slightly. Evie opened her eyes, but she didn’t miss a beat. Singing clear, her eyes were locked to mine as we lost ourselves in the music. Our voices came together for the chorus, and she smiled, bright and beautiful. My goddess perched on her chair as though it was a throne. She was my everything and I never felt so full and happy. Looking at Elliot, he started singing along with us during the chorus, and Evie was trying to stop from laughing.

Time seemed to stop, and I wished it would. Our little family together, laughing, smiling, singing, and playing. Together it was as though the three years of pain and loneliness didn’t exist. We were together, and that’s what mattered. I played the song that the little girl at the fountain sang, singing her part myself. Evie was able to go all out this time and I saw her lean back slightly as she sang, matching my voice in harmony. I sang out along with her. Elliot didn’t chime in this time, but he had grabbed the phone, taking what I assumed was a video. It didn’t matter. We would have a lot of these moments from now on. In our home, in my office, in Evie’s cafe. We would be a family.

The song finished and I put my hand down. My arm was tired, and I could feel the pain in my fingers. The absence of calluses that never had time build because of how little I played meant my fingers were soft and painful. Evie started to laugh. It was pure and filled with both happiness and sadness. Shaking my head, I laughed a little as well.

“Um…”

All three of our heads turned to see the crowd that had gathered at the door. Adrian, Nicole, Stacy, and Jason all were standing just inside the door. Standing up, I placed the guitar in the case and grabbed Elliot. Walking over to Evie, she was still perched on the chair, and I placed my hand on the small of her back. Smiling, I looked at the group.

“I would like you all to meet my wife, Evie and our son, Elliot.”