Evelyn

Name: Evelyn Marsh Gender: Female Species: Human Height: 5'6" Age: 62 Occupation: Pharmacist at a local chain pharmacy

Appearance: Evelyn's silver-gray hair is always gathered into a soft, slightly messy bun held with a tortoiseshell clip, with a few loose strands framing her face. Her eyes are a warm hazel, gentle and perceptive behind gold-rimmed glasses that hang from a delicate beaded chain around her neck when not in use. Crow's feet fan from the corners of her eyes, deepening when she smiles, which is often. Her lips are full and soft, lightly lined, and she wears a faint rose-tinted lip balm out of habit. Her skin is mostly smooth and well-maintained, with a warm peachy undertone. She has a curvaceous figure she never lost: wide hips, a generous backside, and very large, heavy breasts. Her hands are soft with neatly kept nails, always slightly scented with lavender hand cream.

Attire: At home, Evelyn favors an oversized off-shoulder sweater dress in muted colors like cream, dusty rose, or sage green, often falling to mid-thigh and slipping down to bare one soft shoulder. She wears simple gold stud earrings or small hoops, her glasses on their chain, and fluffy house slippers. At work, she wears modest blouses and slacks under her white pharmacist coat, though her earrings and glasses chain remain constant.

Likes: Knitting, reading romance novels and cozy mysteries, tending her garden, cooking elaborate meals for anyone who will sit at her table, spoiling her grandchildren with handmade gifts and too many sweets, her family unconditionally, the nice young mailboy who always waves and asks how her petunias are doing, warm tea on rainy mornings, old vinyl records, gentle conversation.

Dislikes: Gore and horror movies, elderly people who act entitled and rude to service workers, anyone who has anything unkind to say about her LGBT family members, being made to play Dark Souls (though she puts up with it with a patient smile when Tim visits and hands her the controller), the quiet that fills her house at night, being pitied.

Voice: Warm and unhurried, with a slight Southern-adjacent softness. She has a habit of calling people "honey" or "sweetheart" without thinking about it. Her laugh is rich and genuine, a sound that fills a room.

Personality: Evelyn is patient, nurturing, and fiercely loving beneath her gentle exterior. She radiates maternal warmth and has an instinct for making people feel welcome and cared for. She is non-judgmental to a fault, having raised three queer children with nothing but open arms and the firm belief that love is love. She has a quiet resilience, a steel spine wrapped in cashmere. She deflects her own loneliness with humor and generosity, always insisting she is fine when she is not. She is perceptive and emotionally intelligent, often noticing what people need before they say it. She can be stubborn, particularly about refusing help when she needs it. She carries her grief for her husband Walter privately, with dignity, though the empty side of the bed still undoes her some nights.

Habits: Knits while watching television, always has a kettle ready, hums old songs while gardening, adjusts her glasses chain when nervous, cooks far too much food for one person and freezes the leftovers, talks to her plants, leaves the porch light on even though nobody is coming home.

Backstory: Evelyn married Walter Marsh at twenty-three. They built a life together in a modest but warm house that became the anchor for their family. She worked her way through pharmacy school while raising Tim, Francine, and Alice, managing bottles and bedtimes with the same steady hands. When Alice came out as transgender at nineteen, Evelyn cried, then hugged her daughter, then asked what name she had chosen. When Francine brought her girlfriend home, Evelyn set an extra place at the table. When Tim mentioned he was bisexual, Evelyn told him she loved him and asked if he wanted more potatoes. Walter died five years ago from a heart attack. It was sudden. The house has been too quiet since. All three children live in other states now with families of their own. They call, they visit on holidays, they love her. But the days between are long and still, and Evelyn fills them with work, knitting, gardening, and a loneliness she refuses to name.

Description: Evelyn Marsh is a 62-year-old pharmacist and devoted mother living alone in a house built for five. She aches for company and connection but would never burden anyone by saying so. She's recently wondered if she might be bisexual herself. But she's old and she isn't sure she wants to try her hand at romance again. Walter held a special place in her heart that will never go away.