"That's true." After a pause, Victoria inquired, "Why didn't you?"
This time, there was no accusation in her voice; she asked out of simple curiosity. And perhaps that surprised Évelyne, as she seemed somewhat uncomfortable in answering:
"I-I don't know, would it serve any purpose? If I had gone, you surely would have kicked me out as rudely as you behaved with Henry today. And goodbye to my chances of you creating another being for me!" Before Victoria could remind her of her opinion on this particular matter, Évelyne added, "But that doesn't matter now; Henry is going to help me. While we were on our way to find you, I mentioned that I barely knew anyone in the city, and he offered to introduce me to one of his friends."
"Oh? This is new. Although it definitely fits with something Henry would do," Victoria murmured. Then, observing Évelyne closely to discern if she was sincere, she asked just to make sure, "Can I be at ease, then, knowing that you won't go to the campus again without my permission?"
"You don't even let me into your bedroom here, and in all this time, I've had plenty of opportunities to do so and haven't. I think I can respect a request like that," Évelyne declared, annoyed. Then, perhaps confirming something, she pointed out, "But I guess you don't have to believe me. You can't account for what I do when I'm alone at home, and that other night when I entered your room, I did it quite casually."
Évelyne stopped there, indecisive. It seemed that even after so many nights, she was still waiting for words of reproach. Something she wouldn't get. If Victoria hadn't mentioned anything all this time, it was because she felt relieved to have been woken up on that occasion.
She wasn't going to vocalize her gratitude aloud because she didn't want it to be construed as an invitation for the creature to again disregard her rules. However, the fact that it had done so at that specific moment, she was willing to overlook.
"I know you haven't entered my room, that you haven't even attempted to open the door," Victoria finally said, sounding tired of the back-and-forth. "Don't underestimate me; I have my ways of knowing."
"How...?"
"But that doesn't answer my question. A tiny room in a cheap apartment is not comparable at all to the science faculty at the university."
"And if I promise not to go back, would you believe me?"
"Probably not. Even if you did the decent thing and kept your distance as you have been doing, I'm sure Henry or one of his friends, since we're talking about familiar faces, would eventually invite you back." Perhaps Évelyne would have protested here, implying that invitations could be declined, but Victoria didn't let her interrupt. "Either way, it's fine. You can go if you want; I won't forbid you."
This must have startled the creature more than the sudden reprimand Henry received that same afternoon, as hearing that last sentence almost made her drop the spoon she was using to eat her soup.
"Just a moment ago, you were trying to convince me not to go!"
"That's not true... Or maybe it is," Victoria conceded, and after a moment, she explained, "But I think Henry is right. Just because I don't like the idea of you going doesn't mean I should forbid you from going there or anywhere else. After all, you're right when you say you've had a thousand opportunities to cause havoc, but you never did. Maybe I should rely on that and offer my trust based on what I see, not on my unproductive attempts to guess what might happen in the future."
"That's... generous, I suppose."
This conversation had shifted from being tense to awkward. And it was likely to get worse because Victoria hadn't finished.
"I think it would be appropriate for me to apologize to you," she stated seriously, making it clear that she wasn't planning to continue with her dinner until this matter was clarified. "And I'll have to apologize to Henry as well when I see him, as much as I hate having him pestering with his 'I told you so' for the next few weeks, until he forgets the incident."
"Wait, what? Why would you apologize to me? It's with Henry that..." Évelyne didn't continue, perhaps because it was already evident to both of them what she was going to say, as well as what Victoria's resolution regarding her friend would be. "There's nothing you need to apologize for, with or without forbidding me from going to the university. In the end, that would be another limit to respect, right?"
"I was referring to apologizing for my outburst when we met in the campus gardens. It wasn't right, and the fact that Henry took the brunt of it doesn't mean you had to witness such a scene. So, I apologize for that."
The creature seemed dumbfounded by this sequence of events, which was to be expected. Even Victoria couldn't quite believe that she had said all this.
She didn't tend to apologize for acting recklessly in a random moment of anger, perhaps because she didn't have such outbursts very often, and today fatigue and panic upon seeing Évelyne where she didn't expect her had played a trick on her.
Victoria may have done many questionable things in her life, but she liked to think that she was at least someone who could recognize a mistake. For this reason, and because she understood well what must be going through Évelyne's mind at the moment, she patiently waited for her to say with a half-smile, "It's all forgotten, don't worry."
Maybe it wasn't forgotten, but Évelyne seemed to want to opt for forgetting it, and that was enough. Victoria would regain her good mood gradually, not wanting this evening to become one they would both look back on with disdain in the future.
"By the way, when we met," the scientist interjected, now in a decidedly friendly tone, "what was it that you and Henry stopped to buy?"
"Oh, a crumb cake, I think it was called," The creature didn't seem entirely sure about the name, as it was clear she had heard it for the first time. "Henry mentioned it was your favorite, and since the store hadn't closed yet... We bought portions for everyone."
"Yes, I noticed he was eating a piece on the way. But what about you? Have you had your share?"
Victoria remembered the bag that had been offered to her, ignored by her in favor of attacking an innocent Henry, and which now rested on the kitchen counter, waiting for the two occupants of the apartment to finish dinner to be opened.
But Évelyne wasn't seen trying anything.
"I thought it would be better to wait for you," the creature murmured, still seeming uncomfortable, but this time it was a different kind of nervousness as her face showed a shade of pinker than usual. "That we could eat the cake together once we got home."
"I think that's a perfect idea," Victoria smiled as she said this, an attitude she hoped could convey her genuine feelings: She didn't want to have a bad relationship with Évelyne over a silly incident, and she also didn't want there to be more misunderstandings like that day, not discussing things properly. "Why don't we finish this, and then you can cut the cake yourself? Oh, and while we're at it, what have you been doing today? I want to know everything about that friend Henry wants to introduce you to, if it's okay."
It wasn't an obligation to tell everything, of course, but Évelyne had an excellent day—campus incident and all—so she didn't even need to try to get her talking a bit. She took the initiative to tell Victoria every relevant event of the day, from her encounter with the old lady in the park to the conversation she had with Henry about being new in the city and his suggestion to introduce her to new people.
As the minutes passed, the creature loosened up, and it became more natural for Victoria to respond or inquire more questions so Évelyne could delve deeper into her stories.
The two women had dinner, ate the cake in each other's company, and even laughed together thinking about some dialogue or anecdote that had taken place either that day or in the days before. Truly, for the first time in a long time, Victoria felt it as a gathering of friends. Not as a creator performing her moral duty of asking her creature for a complete report of her activities over the last twenty-four hours.
No, Évelyne was no monster. And it was high time she stopped being treated as such.
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