Eventide: the time from when the sun begins to set until total darkness has descended...It was once of those magical seasons that lives forever in memory. An Italian seaside village. Days of adventure and romantic exploration. Moonlight swims in a sparkling sea. A once-in-a-lifetime love. And though it ended in heartbreak, though she moved on to marry happily and have a son, Carrie never quite put that summer behind her. Now she's dying young and still haunted by thoughts of her long-ago love. Her best friend Lauren, determined to put Carrie's mind at ease, sets out to do something completely foreign to her own cautious, conservative nature. Out of love, Lauren will find and confront the man she despises, the man who broke her best friend's heart, the man who has spent the last twenty years running from his past. Out of love, she will journey alone to retrieve secrets left behind after that never-for-gotten summer. And somehow, she will set into motion events that change nothing...but transform everything. As the mysteries of twenty years unravel, as husband and son and friend and even a long-lost love converge to say goodbye, something unexpected unfolds. Another seaside adventure. Another moonlight swim. And somethow, even at eventide, the miracle of enduring grace.
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Prologue
1989--Italy
It was momentary and often overlooked, though it happened everyday.
A glance toward the eventide had stopped Carrie before, made her consider all the sunsets she'd missed, but never a pause with such foreboding. The sunset had been dramatic as Carrie, with Lauren and Graham, walked the cobblestone path along the village seashore. Now the light settled down, bringing a dark feeling of change. She quickly made a joke and laughed to avoid whatever warning this night attempted to bring.
"Beat you to the water," she said and started running.
Lauren raced after her until they reached the shore, where they kicked off their sandals to let the smooth Mediterranean waters cover their feet.
"I beat you," Carrie called, though Lauren had been ahead of her.
"Oh, no, you didn't," Lauren said, reaching down to splash water Carrie's way.
Graham approached more slowly, watching them as he came, the silent observer.
"We should swim," Carrie said, gazing farther out. Each wave slid softly over the pebbled shore to wrap around their feet. Behind them, strands of jazz played somewhere; the sounds of laughter and conversation in robust Italian tones filtered down from the village.
"It's nearly dark," Lauren said.
"Yes, it's nearly dark," Graham echoed as he came to Carrie's side. She laughed at his smile, remembering their night in this very place, swimming in streams of moonlight.
"And the Benders are expecting us for dinner," Lauren reminded.
Carrie sighed, thinking how perfect it'd be to swim in waves turning a deep chrome blue.
"Oh, it's the eventide," Carrie said, staring at the light on the horizon, the evidence of the sun's staged bow and exit into the sea.
Lauren unwound a string of seaweed from her feet.
Standing beside Carrie, Graham stared in silence at the liquid rhythms that met the last stretches of light on the horizon. His fingers wove through hers, and Carrie felt the electric tingles of his touch. She wondered if that sensation would ever subside--how she hoped it never would.
"Surely you have a poem or quote for this moment, Lauren," Carrie said.
Lauren splashed softly through the water to Carrie's other side. "Well, hmm, as Longfellow wrote, 'The day is done, and the darkness falls from the wings of Night.' I could go on."
"Yes, do," Graham said in an interested tone that pleased Carrie. Graham had tried to bridge the rift that had come at Lauren's arrival in Italy a few weeks earlier.
"'As a feather is wafted downward from an eagle in his flight.' That's enough," Lauren said firmly, though she smiled at them both.
"Lauren does this all the time--remembers the best quotes and says them at just the right moment. I wish I had such a memory." Carrie took Lauren's hand and pulled her closer. Now all three faced the darkening horizon.
Carrie knew the discomfort between Lauren and Graham would improve in time. It was her love for both of them that brought them together on this bella noche.
We each have our secrets. Is that what keeps Graham and Lauren at a distance? Perhaps soon we will give what we carry to one another, our burdens lightened at last.
"We should get back," Lauren said, then took a step away. "Or, I could go if you guys want . . . you know, some time alone. We only have a few more days left."
"Then back to America," Carrie whispered, wondering how to ever leave this perfect summer in Italy. Would it all disappear once the real world returned, become like a dream or a story once told?
"I really am American through and through," Lauren said. "And I'm so happy to be traveling home with an escort. The getting here alone nearly did me in."
Carrie laughed. "Well, next trip to Europe, you'll have to come for the entire vacation, not leave your best friend to jaunt around while you sit behind an office desk."
"Next trip to Europe, eh? Oh, to be back to Coke that tastes like Coke," Lauren said.
"Back to hamburgers and fries," Graham added.
"Back to jobs, responsibilities, and routines." Carrie frowned and was surprised by the warmth of Graham's kiss on her cheek.
"Always my free-spirited Carrie," Graham said softly near her ear.
Lauren stepped away. "It's getting dark. I'm going back to the pensioni."
Carrie turned to Graham and studied his face in the deepening night. Their eyes spoke of a deep longing and of summer days. "I guess we should go back too, not send her along alone."
"Yes, and we have a few more days together."
"And our entire future," Carrie said, then called to Lauren, "Wait, we'll come with you."
They turned from the sea, sand clinging to their wet feet. Shoes in hand, they climbed the steps back toward the promenade, back into the village lights, where Italians and tourists meandered along the narrow streets and village plaza. Carrie glanced back, then stopped. Lauren waited a few steps ahead with Graham beside her. Darkness had overcome the sea and sky except for a thin line of deep red that faded to a hazy blue and black. The stars were taking their places, shaking off sleep and tired eyes. Carrie thought how easy it was to miss the vast wonders within each day.
"Good night to the sea, to the sun and the day. We have plenty more together."
Carrie felt sudden meaning in how they all stood in this moment. An eventide foreboding. A time that was the end of something. What would they find in the time to come?
"That is a promise," Carrie said, then to Lauren and Graham, "Promise?"
"What are we promising?" Lauren asked.
"To be together always. No matter what the future holds, let's promise to stay close and never let life steal us away from moments like this. Moments together."
They both hesitated. Carrie met their eyes and sensed their unspoken commitments.
She wouldn't let worries or apprehension take over these final Italian days. Someday they'd look back at the years since this moment and tell the stories of this summer and of the time between. This night would be a marker in her life, the ending of one age and the beginning of another.
And anyway, that someday was surely a long way off.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eventide--A storry of three young lives enmeshed forever,
By
This review is from: Eventide (Paperback)
Carrie, Lauren and Graham, three teens, meet in Italy for a few days in July, 1989.Three young people,whose lives would intertwine until Carrie dies at an early age.Graham learns about justice and forgiveness, and Lauren comforts the man who refused Carrie's love. Carrie did marry a man who loved as Carrie couldn't love back.
Twenty years later,Carrie's husband, son, Graham and Lauren come together to say goodbye to Carrie. A cat, a dog, a boy,a stranger meet and suddenly the unexpected happens. This ia a story of love, forgiveness, and God's grace. You won't want to pur it down until you've read the very last line.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Relaxing read,
This review is from: Eventide (Paperback)
Eventide is a well chosen title, because it reflects everything about the book, the pacing, the emotional journeys of the characters, and Carrie's peaceful approach toward death. However, the story is told in an almost impersonal way. It feels as if the reader is watching the story unfold as a whole, and never really gets deeply involved with any one character. Perhaps this is just the style of Martinusen's narrative; but, even so, reading this book is somewhat of a calming experience. That is most likely because of the poetic phrasing. Those looking for a relaxing read will find in Eventide a peaceful exploration into death and the resurrection of memories buried but not forgotten. - Devin B. Wieland, Christian Book Previews.com
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quiet Elegance,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Eventide (Paperback)
Cindy Martinusen has an elegance to her writing that draws us in slowly, embraces us, then turns our eyes to things weighty and deep. She's done this for us in previous novels, and once again she uses the sea as a symbol of life and death. As a small gift to previous readers, she even references places familiar from "The Salt Garden."
"Eventide" is a story of a man and a woman whose desire to understand the past draws them in an ever-tightening circle toward a young woman on her deathbed. Carrie, the dying woman, is a former love of Graham, and the best friend of Lauren. Their attempts to unravel old mysteries drive wedges between them, while also offering chances to draw them closer than ever. Along the way, Carrie's adoring husband and likeable son are pulled in as well. This is a story of haunting beauty, profound insight, and intrigue. While wearing certain colors of a mystery and a romance novel, it takes on hues all its own--hues that match Martinusen's ability with words. For those longing for rich stories and characters, look no further.
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