THE RECORD SHOP ⋆ 𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗹

thirty

SEPTEMBER 18, 1991. OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON.

ANOTHER DAY BEGINS with Evie working her shift at the shop. She's been working more while she's been home since John's been working less. He's started his chemo treatments earlier than expected, Evie can see how badly it's affecting him, but she still knows that he will make it through. He has to. Evie can't bear the thought of losing her father, he's the most important person in the world to her. She probably wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for him and so it's near impossible for her to imagine a world in which she has to live without him.

Being in the record shop more often recently has led to a lot of reflecting on the past year. Being in the shop never fails to help Evie see how much her life has changed. In the past year, she has gotten into a great relationship, gotten healthy again, been able to grow from her trauma, moved out of home to Seattle, and work for Rolling fucking Stone. She struggles to comprehend how insanely amazing this past year has been, but then she also remembers that John is now battling cancer and that she doesn't get to see him as much as she wishes she could, and that Dave and she are basically in a long-distance relationship which is tough at times, and that she hardly has time to see her best friends anymore.

Her shifts at the shop have made Evie realize that her life will never be as simple and comfortable as it once was. She will never again be able to work a casual weekend shift like she did when she was nineteen. Her next biggest concern won't just be trying to get a piece into Benny on time for the next print issue. She struggles with accepting the fact that that time in her life is over. She won't get to meet Dave for the first time and get butterflies every single time he calls her. Despite this, she knows she is a stronger person now than she was then. Nineteen-year-old Evie was sick and struggling with her past. Now, she accepts what she has been through and doesn't allow it to weigh her down anymore.

Evie is happy today because after her shift today she just gets to head straight home to Dave. She feels like her mind has been all over the place lately, thinking of the past and looking forward to the future. She's rarely fully present, the only time she is present is when she's with Dave. He has a way of making all Evie's thoughts drift from her mind, she becomes completely focused on him for some time and it feels great to let go of her anxieties just for a while.

Her day goes quickly which surprises her. Usually days she wants the shift to go quickly feel the longest. She must've spent more time lost in her thoughts than she realized. After locking up she gets straight in her car and starts for Seattle.

As she pulls up out the front of their place Evie can see that there aren't any lights on inside, but Dave's car is parked out the front. Weird, she thinks, unsure why Dave would be sitting inside in the dark. She thinks maybe he might be sleeping, she and Dave didn't get home until early this morning after spending all night at Krist and Shelli's.

Evie slowly pushes open the door trying to keep as quiet as possible to avoid waking up Dave if he was sleeping. Instead of finding Dave in the bedroom resting, he is stood by the dining table which is laid out in a romantic dinner by candlelight.

"What's this for?" Evie grins as soon as she processes what Dave has done for her.

"Well we've only got a couple of nights left together, I wanted at least one to be special," Dave says sweetly.

"I wish you didn't have to go so soon," Evie sighs as she walks towards him and pulls him into a hug. Dave holds her tightly and smooths down her hair.