<br><br><center>*Apparitions are often confused with hauntings. The difference
 is apparitions are 'live' and hauntings  'recordings.'
― Loyd Auerbach*
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<br><br><center>
![Eve 4.png](https://images.hive.blog/DQmNqxRi7CeB4LKhoHFhuV5eAngWW3sC948GpSYBNjipt4y/Eve%204.png)
*Eve―Very Much Alive*</center>



<br><br>We were drinking draft beer at *The Wheat Sheaf* when my face suddenly went white.

Norm looked at me in alarm. 

"Hey Pal, are you okay. You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Eve and a girlfriend just walked in. What should I do?"

"Go to her and say hello. Ask her if she and her friend would  like to come over for a drink."

"Yeah, you're right. I should do that," I mumbled, panic clouding my thoughts.

Norm grabbed my arm and squeezed it hard. "You can do this, Guy―it's just drinks―no biggie."

<br><br>I got up unsteadily on my feet. The room seemed to be swimming.

"Just greet them both and act friendly," Norm hissed as I lurched away from out table toward the foyer where the two women were waiting to be seated.

"Small world," Eve laughed as I approached them. "I didn't know you came here."

"Hey, Eve. Actually, we haven't been here for some time. Do you know Norm Lockwood?"

She nodded. "He works at the Campus Medical Centre―he's a psychologist. Oh, by the way, Sybil," she smiled, turning to her friend, "you finally get to meet my boss―this is Eli Connors."

"Pleased to finally meet you, Eli," she said giving me a friendly smile, "I've heard only good things about you."

"The honour is all mine. Would the two of you care to join us at our table seeing as the tavern's crowded tonight?"

"Of course we would!" Sybil gushed, "It'll be fun, won't it Eve?"

Eve coloured slightly and agreed but looked distinctly uncomfortable.

<br><br>I led the girls back to the table and introduced then to Norm who seemed immediately captivated by Sybil's friendly smile. Within moments they were engaged in their own side conversation about campus life and people they knew, leaving Eve and I free to converse.

It was awkward at first because we hadn't really socialized on our own outside of work, except for the dinner with Henry, but that helped a bit because we had already broken the ice and could pick up from there.

"So, how did you feel about interviewing a celebrity today?" I asked her.

She paused and looked off into the distance as if picturing the event in her mind. 

<br><br>"It went better than I thought," she confessed, "truth is, I suppose I confused Britni with the alpha, female misogynist role she played on the soap opera. Thankfully, she's not that type of person at all, but she is full of herself."

"I guess those personality traits come with the territory. It would be easy to see yourself as special because of the fans and the media coverage."

She nodded. "She seemed quite taken with you, Eli―did that make you feel uncomfortable?"

"It did," I admitted, "I thought she was teasing. I don't like to embarrassed."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think she was teasing―she was flirting. She found you attractive."

"I guess I just find being the centre of attention uncomfortable. But thanks for trying to console me."

<br><br>Eve’s eyes softened and I could sense a change in her. She didn’t seem quite as distant.

“I get embarrassed myself sometimes in social situations,” she confessed. “I prefer to hide in the background. I could never be an actress.”

“That’s how I feel,” I smiled, “I guess we have that in common.”

“Good to know,” she laughed, “because if there’s a press conference about the project, I don’t want to go before the cameras.”

“We’ll let Henry be our spokesman,” I quipped.

“Uh, no,” she laughed, “maybe we should just let Britni do a news segment on it for CNN and get it over with,”

<br><br>Norm noticed us  giggling together and gave me a knowing glance that said, *I told you everything would work out.*

Well, he was right. I did feel more relaxed with Eve. Maybe we turned a corner in our relationship...

 I just hoped it would last.



<br><br> <center>To be continued…</center>

<br><center>© 2022, John J Geddes. All rights reserved</center>

<br><center>[Photo](https://rare-gallery.com/uploads/posts/4547366-women-model-blonde-face-maxim-maksimov-portrait-maxim-maximov-leather-jackets-jacket.jpg)</center>
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