Eve After the Fall

Eve rarely thought about the garden anymore. It had quite literally been several lifetimes since she’d lived there, although certain things did occasionally bring back flashes of those sweet, lazy days – patchy impressions made of smells, and flavors, and bright colors that no longer existed.

Part of her would always miss what life was like way back then, but she’d accepted by now that she was never going back there. And it wasn’t as if life was so very terrible these days.

Life in the modern age did come with its perks, after all. Eve had a rent-controlled apartment in the city that she’d decorated to her liking over the many decades she’d lived there. She even lived there alone, because women were allowed to do such things these days. When she felt like it, she brought back male guests – sometimes more than one at a time – and nobody batted an eye.

An outsider might call her décor style exotic, her apartment’s corners filled with large, cushioned brocade pillows in every color of the rainbow and the old-fashioned oil lamps hanging from the ceiling. Eve had spent many a lazy afternoon lounging among them, enjoying a book, a cup of tea, or even a nap that was a little longer than was proper.

In this day and age, it was up to her how she spent her time, and she took full advantage of that fact every chance she got.

Tapestries hung on the walls, and Oriental carpets covered the floor in layers that looked haphazard but were actually very carefully arranged. Beads hung in the doorways, making a pleasant pattering noise reminiscent of rain when someone passed through from one side to the other. Eve burned sandalwood incense on the weekends, but you could smell the ghosts of those Saturdays throughout the week, giving you the impression you’d just arrived in some foreign land.

Eve kept her fridge filled with fruits from the lands she remembered simply because she could – figs, dates, tart pomegranates, juicy oranges, and the sweetest apples money could buy. Life in a modern 21st-century city was almost as easy as life in the garden had been. Every fruit that ever existed grew freely there. But all of those same fruits were a mere phone call or a quick trip to the market away when you lived in the city. However, few modern people seemed to appreciate that, as a treasure like an orange or a fig was considered quite commonplace. Familiarity really did breed contempt, or so it seemed.

Just then, Eve’s phone lit up with the usual reminder that her shift at the diner would be starting soon, and it was time to catch the train, as there was always the chance that it could be on time today. She had a tendency to get lost in thought, and the reminders helped pull her back to reality when it was absolutely necessary.

Thankfully, she only had to work a half shift today. After that, she needed to stop by Adam’s place on the other side of town and go over a few things. The dreaded ex. She still cared for Adam after all these years, because how could she not after everything they’d been through together, but he still knew how to test her patience unlike anyone else.

That seemed to be true for many women, though, so she felt very normal in that regard.

The lunch shift at The Flaky Biscuit was always crazy, but today, the place was an absolute zoo. She ducked in through the side entrance and hightailed it to the back to get situated and see who else was on shift.

Big Jim was at the griddle and had just added a generous quantity of salted butter to a hot pan. It sizzled and spat as it quickly melted into a velvety, golden puddle, filling the air with its rich aroma. The smoky, meaty scent of salted pork was soon to follow as Jim tossed a thick slab of ham in after it.

Louise was making the rounds with the coffee pot, topping off each customer’s mug as quickly as can be. Louise was old and grey, but she was also fast and sassy, a combination all the regulars loved about her.

And Eve could hear Lorraine’s merry peals of laughter rising above the din, like the ringing of a million silver bells. Oh, to be as young and naïve as Lorraine still was! Eve still had her looks, as she was immortal, but her soul knew perfectly well how old she really was.

Lorraine was still at that tender age when people still took it for granted that life would simply work out for the best without having to do anything special to guarantee that. The last time Eve had felt that way, clothes hadn’t yet been invented, and she was one of only two people in all of creation. “Those were the days,” she thought as she assessed the veritable sea of people filling every available spot in the diner with their bodies and the air with the noise of their constant conversation.

Eve tied her apron around her waist and fastened her name tag to the front of her uniform. She twisted her curly, dark hair into a messy bun and stuck a pencil through it so she’d always have one at the ready before diving right into the noise and bustle of the lunch rush the way she’d done so many times before.

Although she was never excited to be back at work with the sour smell of sweaty human beings encroaching on her from all sides, nothing helped the day go by quite like being busy. She kept the orders coming and her serviceperson’s smile on her face, and the hours flew by. Before she knew it, her shift was over and her feet hurt like the dickens. However, her pockets were stuffed with tips – some practical solace in exchange for another afternoon out of her endless life.

The ride to Adam’s place was a long one, but this particular train was rarely crowded this time of day. It gave Eve time to think and get lost in her thoughts in the way she so loved to do when she had the opportunity. Her lap was warm from the contents of a brown paper bag she’d brought from the Biscuit to give to Adam – a couple of extra takeout meals that had never been picked up by the customers who’d ordered them.

A light rain began to fall as the train pulled into the station and screeched to a halt. Eve savored the feeling of the cool droplets on her hot, tired skin as she broke into a brisk walk in the direction of Adam’s apartment building. Across the street, some teenagers were hooting and hollering over something they found incredibly funny. Somewhere, a cat yowled angrily, causing Eve to briefly wonder why.

And then she’d arrived. She buzzed Adam’s apartment. “It’s me,” she yelled into the speaker over the static. She always had time enough to wonder whether this would be the time that aging intercom system would just plain not work when she heard the tinny, familiar buzz.

She opened the door and ducked inside, wrinkling her nose at the damp smell of mildew that always permeated the hallway, before making her way upstairs.

“You’re in luck today,” Eve said as she unpacked the contents of the brown paper bag in Adam’s kitchen and organized them in the fridge. “Someone ordered chicken-fried steak today. Then someone else ordered a patty melt – your favorites. And neither picked them up. Can you believe it?”

“Well, that’s lucky,” said Adam quietly from where he sat at the kitchen table, his wavy hair falling into his brown eyes as he pushed his glasses back into place from where they’d slipped down the bridge of his nose. Adam always had the look of someone in need of a haircut and a shave, not necessarily in that order.

“Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about today?” asked Eve, taking a seat at the only other chair at the table. Her asking was mostly a technicality. She knew Adam too well, and he only ever asked for one thing.

“Have… haven’t you given any more thought to moving back in here?” Adam asked tonelessly. “This place isn’t the same without you.”

Eve was aware of that as she looked around Adam’s apartment.

The place wasn’t filthy, but it always had the look of a place that hadn’t been lived in for a very long time, even though Adam rarely left the house. It smelled of dust, and armpits, and unwashed laundry, the way it always did. Adam himself was like a ghost. You’d hardly know this was God’s prototype for the human male, made in the very image of the Creator himself.

“I see this,” Eve replied with a chuckle. “You could try keeping the place up yourself, you know. That would help it feel homier, I’m sure. And anyway, you know I can’t come back. I’ll always care about you, but I need my own life now. And so do you, whether you realize it or not.”

Eve got up to leave as Adam nodded sadly, a practiced gesture that made Eve feel like she was stuck in a black-and-white rerun of some old show. She wasn’t sure why she bothered to come when he called anymore. It had to be something in the way her rib ached when he was missing her – the rib that had been taken from his body on the day she was made from the clay of the earth of Eden. He’d always be a part of her, and vice versa, she supposed.

But she wasn’t willing to settle for being that anymore – the carrier of a bone that didn’t belong to her. Her life wasn’t much, and it certainly wasn’t anything like the luxury of Eden, but it was hers all the same. If she hurried, she could just catch the next train home.