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| : : Author : : EvieFan : : Summary : : I wanted to do a more in depth story about Rick and Evelyn after Hamunaptra, and their not being so sure about one another as far as getting married so this one might be a little long, just bare in mind that I like happy endings so have faith |
| : : Chapter Two : : Home : : Back to Archive : : Chapter Four : : |
| After Hamunaptra |
| Chapter 3: Home Coming The trip to New York by ship had taken Rick a week and half due to bad weather at sea. When he arrived, he caught a train out of the big city, and was now on the long trip to Montana. He had his reservations about seeing his parents again, especially his father after their fight, but then again they were the only ones he felt he had left. The first day on the train he spent sleeping recovering from the sea sickness, and now on his second day he had made his way to the dining car. As he sat eating his breakfast he watched out the window looking as the landscape went by. It was fall, and all the trees were magnificent colors of oranges reds yellows. He had forgotten how pretty this time of year was, and was glad in a way that he had come back. As he finished his breakfast a woman walked in. She had blond hair and brown eyes, and caught his gaze. �I�m sorry,� he said feeling guilty for having starred at her. She just smiled at him. �No harm done, do you mind if I have a seat?� she asked. �No go right ahead,� he said. She sat down and looked over the menu. �My name is Rick,� he said. �Oh I�m Clarise,� she responded and shook his hand, then ordered bacon and eggs. �So where are you going Rick?� she asked once she had placed her order. �Montana. I have family out there. What about you?� he asked. �Iowa,� she said taking a sip of water. They talked for a while even after she had finished breakfast, and he found he really liked her. For once in his life he didn�t feel the need to take a woman to bed, and guessed a lot of that had to do with the fact that he was going home. Once they had finished their breakfast they walked back to the passenger car and he took a seat with her. �So what kind of job do you have?� she asked him. �Well right now I�m in between jobs.� That was true enough. He had been in the Legion, been and explorer, and now had enough money to do pretty much anything he wanted. �I was in the French Foreign legion for a short time, then I was in Egypt, and now I�m ready to go see my family.� Clarise was impressed by him. �I�ve never been any further than New York. What is Egypt like?� �Well it�s hotter than...It�s pretty hot,� he said deciding to rephrase that so he wouldn�t offend her. She just laughed. �Hotter than hell?� she asked, and he laughed with her. �Oh yeah you could say that. I don�t know it�s quiet, I was in Cairo for a while, then I went on a dig, and that was a mess,� he said. �That�s very impressive,� she said. �Yeah it was quite and adventure.� Talking about Egypt made him think about Evelyn, and he wished he would have tried to find her after that night in his hotel room. �So what about you?� he asked after a moment wanting to get his mind off of her. �Well I am in College, in New York, going to medical school, and right now I�m going home to see my parents,� she said. �What kind of Doctor?� he asked. It was not uncommon for girls to be Doctors but not very common either. �Just a General practitioner. Once I graduate I want to move back to my hometown and start up my own practice. After they talked for quite some time Rick decided to take some down time and went back to his private car. It was almost a week later when he arrived in Montana, in a city called Missoula. His parents farm was just 30 miles outside of there, and after he got his bags unloaded from the train, he went into the small station and called a cab to take him to the address. While on the road he thought about Clarise. They had gotten to know each other in the three days they had spent together fairly well, and she had given him her parents address, as well as her address in New York, and he figured once he got settled down he would give her a call. He came back to the present when the cab stopped. �Why are we stopping?� he asked not recognizing where they were at first. �This is the address,� he told Rick. When he got out of the car Rick found that the house had burned down, and his heart began to beat fast. �Take me to Dillon,� he said. That was a small town where his father had a business, a small hotel, and he hoped they had perhaps moved there. The cab driver did as Rick said and left him there. After paying the driver Rick went inside seeing Jake, his fathers good friend �May I help...Rick is that you?� Jake asked stunned. �Afraid so,� Rick said grinning. Jake came out from behind the desk and gave him a hug. �God we all thought you had been killed in the legion on a suicide mission.� That was about the truth of it, but right now Rick wanted to see his family. �I went out to the farm, the house was burned down, did they move here?� Rick asked of his family. Jake sighed. �Come on back into my office,� he said. Rick did as the man asked and when the got in his office. Rick sat down. �I�m not sure how to tell you this, I guess just say it,� he said, and Rick�s blood ran cold. �The fire happened two months ago, it was at night and everyone died,� he said. Rick closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. �I�m sorry,� he said �I should have kept in contact, oh god I should have,� Rick said wanting to scream. �If you will wait your father left you a few things,� he said. Rick nodded and Jake left for a few minutes. When he returned he had a box. �I have a room for you, my best. Why don�t you get some rest, and when you are ready I can take you out to the Cemetery.� Rick only nodded and followed him out. He felt numb, and once Jake had left he sat on the bed starring at the box. It took him time, but he finally made himself open it. The first thing he took out was a letter. He sat on the bed and opened it finding his mother�s hand writing. Richard, Your father and I put this box together in the event we should pass away. It has been two years since you left, and neither of us have been able to speak to one another. Your father spends his time at the hotel, and Elizabeth and I have been staying with my mother. He was wrong to come down on you so hard, and I know the only reason you were acting like that was because you wanted his attention. I wish sometimes he never would have started in at the hotel, but I can�t turn back the clock. Don�t ever think that we hated you, not even your father. He loved you Rick more so than you will ever know. If I had to give you advise on life, it would be to find someone you love and don�t ever let her go. Everyone in a relationship old or new has doubts, but you must remember to love and to trust. Maybe your father and I will work that out. I do love you Mom. He put the letter down and wiped angerly at his tears. The next letter was another one from his father and he shuttered as he opened it. My son, I am sorry for what I did to you that night. I let my anger show through when you came home drunk, an I should never have punched you like that nor should I have yelled. Your mother and I have made our amends, and Elizabeth is doing well. I have been thinking about sending this to the Legion but I worry that they will read my private words to you, so it will sit in waiting until maybe one day I will have a chance to tell you this myself. The letter ended there, and Rick lay on his bed and let the tears flow freely. He had been such a fool, and now they were gone. Once his tears had subsided, he found a third letter, from Elizabeth dated four months ago Ricky, I found this box in dads office and their letters to you, so I decided to sneak mine in. I wish you wouldn�t have left us, it�s never been the same without you around. The boys still pick on me and I liked it when you were here because you would beat them up for me. Well I sort of learned how to defend myself, Dad hasn�t been happy that I can beat up the guys but He will learn to live with it. It think one day when I can find a way I will come to Paris and find you. I put Paddy in the box so you can have him. Dad said its a box for if we ever died and so I want you to have him. Well I�m going to go out with Katy now. Love you Elizabeth The rest of the night Rick spent looking throught the box. He found a picture of Elizabeth and him when she was five and he was sixteen, dressed up for a Christmas party. Another picture was of Elizabeth, a more recent one and she was so pretty, just like their mother. He fell asleep holding that picture and thought of Evelyn. The next morning he woke up to Jake�s knocking and opened the door finding room service. �I want to go to the Cemetery,� Rick said. �Sure why don�t you eat first.� He nodded. �Were they back together I mean when the fire happened?� Rick asked. Jake sat down. �Yeah they had planned to go to France to see if they could find you. Your father sold me his part of the Hotel, and they left that money for you in the event of, well this,� he said. �Jake you keep it. I have more money than I need,� he said as he wolfed down his breakfast. Once he was ready Jake drove him the short distance to the towns Cemetery. �I�ll wait here for you,� he said. Rick nodded and took a deep breath, then went into the graveyard. He knew where the family plots were and arrived finding three headstones with the dates of their lives. He knelt down in front of his parents grave and took from his pocket his favorite piece of treasure from Hamunaptra, a small ring. He dug a hole fairly deep with his hand and put it there. �Mom dad, I�m sorry I never kept in touch. I will live with this pain in my heart for ther rest of my life, and you two did what you thought was right. I should have realized that you loved me.� He moved to the smaller grave stone and put his hand on it. It read Elizabeth Alexandria O�Connell 1911-1925. �I�m taking Paddy with me buttons,� he said, calling her by her nickname. He took a small bracelet out of his pocket one he had bought for her and burried that next to her stone, then leaned down and kissed it. Once he was ready he left, and Jake took him back to the hotel. Rick sat in his room trying to think about where he wanted to go, and his heart called for him to go back to Evelyn, but he didn�t want to do that, not yet at any rate. He finally decided that he would at least go back to Egypt, and see if he could hire himself out as a tour guide. He knew the resorts in Cairo liked to give their customers guides, and it would give him something to do. Once his mind was made up he decided to get some sleep, and would leave when he was ready. |