Evie Interrupted, page 7
“He left smiling, so things went well.”
“No things did not go well. I opened my stupid mouth and kind of sort of agreed to be his tour guide tomorrow.”
She clapped her hands and did a little bounce of excitement. “Yay!”
“Not yay. I can’t go tomorrow.”
“Why not?”
“Oh, I don’t know, she stands about five feet six inches tall and can’t be left alone.”
“What about Liza?”
“Sundays are family days.”
“Let me sit with your mom,” Maine offered.
“I would never ask you—”
“You didn’t. Hannah works tomorrow and she’s been here long enough to go it alone. Besides, if there’s a problem I’m a phone call away.”
“What if it requires you to come here?”
“I’ll load up Miss Evelyne and bring her with me.”
I hesitated. It was a truly kind offer, but Maine never even babysat when we were teenagers. I wasn’t sure if I felt comfortable leaving my mom with her. Although, she knew and loved Maine.
“Evie, please let me do this for you. I promise to check in every hour.”
“Half hour.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
A zing of electricity ran through my body at the prospect of spending the afternoon with Butler.
“Are you sure? I can’t predict her mood or state of mind. It could change from one moment to the next.”
Maine straightened her shoulders. “I’m absolutely positively sure.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“I’m so excited for you,” Maine said through a toothy grin.
With each step toward my car my smile widened and butterflies grew in my stomach. Once inside my car I took my phone and sent Butler a text confirming tomorrow’s plans.
Me: Hey, it’s Evie Chapman. Tomorrow is a go. How about we meet at Dough-Mates at noon?
Within seconds a response came.
Butler: Hello, Evie Chapman. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at noon.
Me: Great. Anything special you want to hit first?
Butler: Wow! That’s a suggestive and loaded question.
I reread my text. Holy shit! My face burned with embarrassment.
Butler: I bet your cheeks will still be red tomorrow. ;-)
Me: :-p
I smiled at his text, but then something horrible dawned on me. Butler had my number now. The same number he got a mysterious late-night text from. My forehead hit the top of the steering wheel at the exact moment my phone dinged. I braced myself and read the text.
Butler: Heeeey, it was you who texted me the other night.
Me: It was a silly mistake.
Butler: Sure.
Me: I mean it.
Butler: I believe you.
Me: It doesn’t sound like you do.
Butler: You make me smile.
Me: :-p
Butler: You like to show me tongue.
Me: OMG! That’s taken totally out of context.
Butler: Looking forward to seeing it in person tomorrow.
Me: SMH.
The pragmatic part of me kept pushing against the emotional part of me. I knew this was a one-shot deal with Butler tomorrow. I’d have to face that reality when the day was over. But for now, I just wanted to be a young woman excited about going out with a seemingly great guy.
Memories
“Please don’t be here when he comes,” I said to Mom as I took one last look at myself in the mirror.
“Young lady, you’ve lost your mind if you think I’m going to let you go out with a boy I haven’t met yet.”
“It’s Tony Sawyer. You know his parents.”
“Not well. Besides, this is a big moment in your life, and I don’t want to miss it. You only go on your first date once.”
“Dad is missing it,” I sassed.
“And he hates that he’s at a conference and not here to size up your date.”
My head dropped back as I let out a loud sigh. “I can’t believe you’re going to embarrass me.”
“Evie, give me a little credit. I have no intention of embarrassing you—”
My heart leaped from my chest at the sound of the doorbell. I looked at Mom with wide eyes, not knowing what to do.
She worked hard to keep the corners of her mouth from curling into a smile. “You might want to answer the door.”
“Right,” I mouthed, so Tony couldn’t hear me.
I rushed down the hall, stopping at the coat closet to calm myself before seeing Tony. Wrapping my fingers around the doorknob, I composed myself, and opened the door. Tony was standing on the front porch holding a bouquet of flowers. My insides melted. I’d never had a boy give me flowers before. Certainly, this sweet gesture would endear him to my mom.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he said.
We stared at each other for a long time.
“You look great.” Tony smiled.
“Thanks.” I smiled.
I was wearing a pair of dark jeans with my cream-colored sweater, and tan boots. I wore a little makeup and had my hair down to accentuate how it and the sweater complemented each other. It was the outfit I felt the most sophisticated in. Suddenly, a loud clearing of a throat caught both Tony’s and my attention.
I gave him a slight eye roll before turning toward Mom.
“Tony, this is my mom. Mom this is Tony.”
“Nice to meet you, Tony.”
“Hey,” he squeaked.
“So, where are the two of you going tonight?”
Tony and I exchanged glances.
“Um…to dinner and a movie,” he answered.
“Dinner will be at…?”
Tony jolted, realizing Mom was talking to him. “Pisano’s.”
“Very nice,” she said.
“Well, we better go if we’re eating before the movie,” I interrupted.
“Yeah,” Tony said. “Oh, these are for you, Mrs. C.” He handed my mom the pretty bouquet.
“Why thank you, Tony. That was very sweet of you.”
“I thought they were for me,” I mumbled under my breath.
“I’m springing for the food and the movie. Besides, my mom got the flowers and told me to give them to your mom.” His pathetic explanation was followed by an approximately four-second awkward silence.
“You two have fun, and Evie, remember, 11 p.m.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek.
As Tony and I headed to his car, he turned to me. “Fuck, I thought for sure your mom was gonna give me the third degree. I was sweating my ass off.”
“She’s not like other moms.”
“Hey, can I touch your tits under your sweater tonight?”
Tony was cute but lacked a tremendous amount of finesse in the romance department.
“Let’s see how the date goes, okay?”
“Cool.”
Present
“Mom, you’ve got to get out of bed.”
A defiant grunt underneath the comforter was her only response. I didn’t know if there had been a full moon the previous night or what, but something in the cosmos did a number on Mom. She wandered the house in an agitated state until 4 a.m. and now, because of her late-night escapades, Sleeping Beauty did not want to leave her warm bed.
Maine would be here soon. I asked her to come early so I could go over a few instructions. I was still very nervous about leaving my mom in the hands of my best friend. Not that I didn’t trust Maine. On the contrary, I trusted her with my life and my mom’s. It was like leaving your firstborn with a new babysitter. You knew your own baby’s signals, what he wanted or needed. I knew how to read all of Mom’s quirks, signals, and routines.
“Mom, please, we’ve got to get you up and dressed. Maine is coming over to spend time with you.”
A slight shift in the comforter was all I got. Simultaneously, Linus made a beeline out the bedroom as I heard the front door open.
“H-e-l-lo-o-o-o-!” The sound of Maine’s voice traveled down the hall toward us before she appeared in the doorway.
“She had a rough night. I can’t get her out of bed,” I said, my voice trembling.
Not only was I running on only a few hours of sleep, I was nervous about today with Butler. I didn’t know why I agreed to this in the first place. It was a stupid idea. I needed to stay here, especially after last night. Looking at Maine, I said, “I’m calling today off.”
She walked to the end of the bed and sat. “The hell you are.”
“I can’t get her up. I don’t know what kind of mood she’s going to be in today because the two of us were up until 4 a.m. I have to get her into the shower, get her dressed, and fix her something to eat before I even think about getting ready myself. This was a very bad idea. I’m going to text Butler and make up some excuse.”
“Are you through with your meltdown?”
“You don’t understand,” I snapped.
She stood in front of me. “Breathe in a cleansing and calming breath. Today is nothing more than today. It’s not the beginning of something or the end of something. We’re going to get Evelyne ready for the day and you’re going to tell me what I need to know. Then, while she’s eating breakfast, you’re going to get ready for the da—”
My hand flew into the air stopping her from finishing the word. “Don’t call it a d-a-t-e. That implies a potential sexual component.”
“Uh-huh,” Maine uttered while slowly nodding her head.
“Which there is none,” I continued. “I’m just showing a new citizen around town. It’s like a civic duty if you think about it.”
“I’d rather think about his bulging biceps and perfectly round ass.”
“Maine!”
“What? Like you haven’t noticed.”
“Like you haven’t noticed,” Mom mumbled under the covers.
“Even Evelyne knows you’re full of shit with this civic duty talk.”
Mom peeked out from under the comforter. “Full of shit.”
“Damn right,” Maine said.
“Great, all I need is for the two of you to join forces.”
Maine turned her attention to Mom. “Miss Evelyne, you wanna get up and put on a cute outfit?”
My head shook. Maine was about to get her first lesson in being a caregiver for someone with dementia. It would take a lot more than the promise of a cute outfit to get Mom out of bed.
“Okay,” Mom said, tossing the comforter to the side and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. I’d been trying to get her up for the past forty-five minutes with no luck. Maine comes in and on her first try has success.
“She’s probably wet,” I said, opening the dresser drawer and grabbing an adult diaper.
“Miss Evelyne, we’re gonna take these pissy clothes off and get you looking pretty. Does that sound good?”
“With pissy clothes sounds good,” Mom answered.
As I watched Maine help my mom, I felt a twinge of jealousy. It was ridiculous. I should be glad that she was comfortable and trusted Maine. Mornings were getting harder and harder. It had been taking me almost an hour just to convince Mom to sit up in bed. Now Maine came in, said a few things, and Mom was up and ready for the day.
“How about we put this green shirt on with your jeans, and super cute tan booties?” Maine held up the outfit for Mom’s approval.
“Okay.”
“And after we get dressed, I’ll do your hair and makeup. Okay?” Maine said, as she helped my mom out of her wet pajamas.
“If y’all are good here, I’ll go make breakfast,” I offered.
Not looking at me, Maine said, “We’re good here and I brought doughnuts for breakfast. You go on and get ready for your civic duty.”
Seeing that my best friend had more skills than I realized in this department and everything seemed under control, I headed to my room.
The feeling of dread took over my body as I sat on the edge of my bed staring into my open closet. My daily uniform consisted of a pair of jeans, tennis shoes, a T-shirt, and hoodie during the cooler months. During the warmer months, the ensemble was the same except for the hoodie. I couldn’t remember the last time I wore anything different and my wardrobe reflected it.
Flopping back on my bed, I focused on the ceiling. The word mistake kept flashing in my mind. Why I even agreed to this in the first place was insane. I got caught up in the moment and in Butler’s dark eyes. There was no point in going through with today. Nothing would come of it. I wouldn’t let it. And as much as I wished I were the hookup kind of girl, I wasn’t.
There was something special about Butler. He was one of those people you immediately felt a connection with, but didn’t know why. It was best to keep our encounters as brief as possible. Reaching for my phone, I heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I said, sitting up with phone in hand.
“Your mom is having breakfast, so I thought I’d come back here and help you get ready,” Maine said stepping inside my room.
“No need. I’m texting him now.”
Before I knew what was happening, I was flat on my back with Maine on top of me reaching for my phone.
“You are going on this date, Evie!”
“It’s not a date!” My voice strained as I tightened my death grip around the phone.
Maine grabbed my hand and began prying my fingers apart. “Nothing has to come of it. Just go have a nice time.”
“I have nothing to wear.”
“I will help you find the perfect outfit.”
My grip weakened and she was able to yank the phone away from me. We were both breathing heavy as Maine climbed off and plopped down on the bed beside me.
“That was a bit overdramatic, don’t you think?” I said trying to catch my breath.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Maine slipped off the bed and started rummaging through my closet. “I know there’s got to be something in here.”
“I doubt it.”
“Oh, lookie what I found.” She pulled out a long-sleeved black shift dress with a white floral pattern. I’d gotten it to wear on a date with Ben. “It still has the tags on it.”
“Because I never wore it. I don’t think it will fit. I’ve put on a few pounds since I bought it.”
“These black boots will go perfectly. The entire look says you made an effort, but not overly so.”
“Maine, are you listening to me?”
She brought the dress and shoes over. “Yes, I’m listening and ignoring. Now take off that parka you call pajamas.”
“Please, don’t make me do this,” I whined.
Tugging me to a standing position, Maine said, “You’ll thank me later. What underwear will you be wearing?”
“What kind of a question is that?”
“It’s a very important one.”
“It doesn’t matter because no one will be seeing it.”
“Just as I thought, granny panties and one of your mom’s old Playtex Cross Your Heart bras.”
I was greatly offended by her wild guess, even though she was right. The first four months I was with Ben, I wore sexy lingerie, makeup, did my hair, and chose outfits I thought he would like. I liked getting dressed up for him. It made me feel good. When we broke up, he was right about one thing: somewhere along the way I stopped caring about how I looked or felt.
As I was in intense thought a scrap of black lace flew in front of my face. Maine was standing in front of me holding a black lace bra with matching boy shorts.
“Where’d those come from?” I said.
“The bottom of your underwear drawer. They also still have the tags attached.”
“I don’t even remember buying them.”
“It’s a fresh start all the way around.”
“There’s no point in wearing—”
“Evie, the underwear is not for Butler to see. At least not today…”
“Maine!”
“It’s for you to feel empowered and feminine.”
“You’re asking an awful lot of a few pieces of lace.”
“I’m going to go check on your mom and when I come back in here you’d better be dressed, pretty little lacy things and all. Then we will do your hair, makeup, and accessorize.”
There was so much joy radiating from Maine that for a split second I allowed myself to get excited. When did I stop getting excited about life? I’d forgotten how it felt to look forward to something. The future only meant that Mom would shut down, disappearing further into her own little world.
Maine beamed back at me waiting for me to return her enthusiasm. Not wanting to disappoint my best friend, I decided to play along. I could pretend for a few hours that life was carefree. After today, Maine would be satisfied and Butler would be history.
Memories
I jumped out of my skin when the loud rapid knocking ricocheted around my room.
“Evie, we need to talk.” Mom’s voice was muffled, but there was definite anger in it.
I slid off my bed, cracked open the door, and was back on my bed before Mom flung it wide. She stood at the end of my bed, her hand clenching something. She blew out a slow calming breath.
“What are these?” she said, uncurling her fingers.
In the palm of her hand was a tiny pile of red and white capsules. My heart lodged itself in my throat. I’d been found out. Not making eye contact, I muttered, “Diet pills.”
“What were they doing in your desk drawer?”
My head shot up. “You snooped through my things?”
“My snooping is not the issue at the moment. What are you doing with diet pills?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious,” I snapped back with attitude.
“Don’t get smart with me, young lady. Do you have any idea what these pills can do to you?”
“Make me skinny.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your weight.”
“You’re saying that because you’re my mom. My clothes feel funny. Tight.”
The anger in her eyes disappeared, turning soft as she sat at the foot of my bed. “Oh Evie, sometimes it sucks to be a thirteen-year-old girl. So many changes are happening all at once. Hormones are wreaking havoc with your body and mind—”
