Evelyn Marie Blackburn

Evelyn Marie Blackburn was my mother's name.
She was born in Harris County, Texas in the period before the second world war.
She was an incredible, blue-eyed, dark haired beauty.
She did some modeling in her teens.
I remember seeing a calendar she appeared in for a tool company.
She met and married a young accountant named Jack Brashier.
She married him to get away from home, marriage was typically the way attractive women made the break from the nest in those days.
She was intelligent and philosophical.
She tried to be a good wife to Jack, but her heart was not in it.
She wanted a man who would sweep her off her feet, and finally she met him.
She had gotten a call from the modeling agency about another calendar job, a local tool and die executive wanted to meet her over lunch.
Her contact at the agency told her, "I spoke to the guy.
He came by here.
Nice fella, all business.
I think you'll like him."
Her boss set up the date for lunch, and she met Richard Blackburn at a local dinette.
They ordered beer and sandwiches and Richard did most of the talking.
"I saw your calendar for Acme tool and Die.
You know, Ma'am, you are even prettier in person.
I have big plans, Evelyn, and I feel like you should be part of them."
He gazed into her eyes with an intensity that made her tingle.
She had never felt this way before, but she knew this was the way it should feel between a man and a woman.
She looked shyly at her slender fingers, her cheeks hot, her long, dark lashes caressing them.
"Richard..I.." she whispered.
"Dick." He said softly. "Everyone calls me Dick."
Her deep blue eyes met his dark brown ones for a moment and she went on hesitantly, "Dick. I'm married."
Dick reached out and with both of his hands covered hers.
"You are not happy, though, Evelyn. You made a mistake. I know this. I can feel it."
Evelyn's mind raced, she thought of Jack, his kindness, his gentleness, and a tear trickled down her cheek.
She looked up at him.
He was incredibly good-looking, she thought.
Sandy brown hair, deep, intelligent brown eyes, a broad forehead.
Muscular and graceful in motion.
And, she thought, he has some kind of force, something that emanates from within.
She felt lost and found simultaneously.
"Dick, I can't do this. I can't become my mother."
He looked into her eyes and smiled, "You are yourself, Evelyn. There is no one else like you. I know. Evelyn, if I've ever known anything, I know this; you and I were created to be together."
He reached across the table and wiped a tear from her cheek.
"I will make your life worth living. And you will do that for me. Together we will be complete. Forever."
Evelyn felt a strange trembling, fear maybe.
But she knew that she would never be able to go on as she had before.

To Be Continued