Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A young Jim watched eagerly from the porch, cradled in the arms of a woman, as the new neighbors drove up to their garage. The woman stood up and walked back inside, saying something to a man, incomprehensible to young Jim's ears. The woman continued walking to the nursery, placing Jim in his crib. Then she quickly left the house with the same man, leaving Jim alone with his flurry of unfocused thoughts. Jim grabbed onto the side rails, walking around the crib, in an attempt to satisfy this growing desire to return to the arms of the woman again. But with no escape, Jim succumbs to crying and shouting instead.

Thankfully, it wasn't long after that that the woman returned, accompanied by another unfamiliar woman, and picked him up in her arms once more. The tears suddenly stopped dripping down his face. Both women smiled.

More words were muttered that Jim couldn't understand, but this other woman leaned in close and pinched his soft cheeks. Jim couldn't contain his laughter, his actions controlled by the simple touch of this stranger.

Soon, the two women escorted Jim across the street. Two men grabbed boxes out of a strange green creature with four rounded feet. The women raised their hands at them as they walked by and entered another home.

The two women took a seat across from each other. Jim heard sounds, but was too distracted looking around the room to identify the source. Then he abruptly started shifting up and down, wrapped in a pair of arms. It calmed him, relaxed him, and soon he couldn't help but slowly close his eyes and fall asleep.

He didn't wake until the front door opened. A second, cheerful sound erupted soon after, and Jim looked towards the source to find a third, younger woman holding a small creature around Jim's size. This new woman handed the creature off in exchange for some small green material. Then the other returned to her seat across from Jim. The new woman smiled, shook her head in response to some words muttered from the woman across from Jim, and walked back out the door she came in.

'And that's supposedly how we met, Evelyn,' Jim thought to himself. 'As two nearly newborn infants.' Jim checked his watch. It had been ten minutes, but he still only had the same two words on his paper bag. And he still had no idea what to say about her. 'Can you believe it, Evelyn? Here I am, a writer, unable to form words when I most need to. I bet you would know what to say. You always did. How do I summarize the value of a person with 30 years worth of content?' Jim decided to look around the bar for some pointers and inspiration. He found no pile of already finished bags laying around anywhere. Jim could see patrons leaving the community with their completed paper bags in hand.

Still, Jim managed to steal a glance at a few paper bags. Many had photos attached to the sides. But he did not possess a photo of Evelyn. Others wrote acronyms from the names of their lost loved ones. Others simply had no message at all. Just a name and some beautiful drawings to honor them. His lack of artistic talent drove him away from borrowing those inspirations. 'Evelyn never knew how much she meant to me. I need to tell her,' Jim decided. He remained determined on writing a very special message for Evelyn. He returned to the bar, ordered another drink, and reclaimed a seat, committing fully to the task. But the only way he would decide what to write on the bag would be by remembering those important moments in life they shared.