“Hey Evie, stick around for a bit?” His eyes connect with mine and my heartbeat starts to pick up. “Josie and I want to talk to you about something before you’re done for today”
Fuck a duck.
I knew today was too good to be true. I’m not reliable right now, not without a car to make it to my place of employment. They probably just entertained me with working today to let me go at the end of the day since I was already here.
“Oh, uh, okay sure.” I respond, slowly making my way back to the island and continue with unpacking the groceries. Even if this is my last day working, I don’t want to not help. With the eggs in my hand I turn around too fast and lose my balance. The eggs splatter across the floor and my body seizes up as I’m catapulted into the past.
I’m on my hands and knees, collecting the egg shells into my hand. A tremor runs through my hand as I go to grab another piece. The fridge door slams close with a thud that you can hear vibrate through the appliance. “It’s your fucking mess. You clean it up.” He grumbles as he stomps off to the living room and plops himself on his chair. Leaving me with a moment of solitude to try and collect myself. Closing my eyes, sucking in a stuttered breath. Slowly I release the breath of air. Then opening my eyes I lean forward and continue to clean up.
Great. I ruined all the eggs. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz.” I try to laugh it off, because if I don’t laugh I’m going to cry, and Irefuseto cry. I drop to the floor and begin picking up all the large broken egg shells and toss them into the egg carton. Eggs are the absolute worst thing to try and clean up. The gooey egg whites are so hard to collect, they slide right through your fingers.
I huff in frustration as I try to keep my breathing steady. It’s just some eggs, I try to remind myself. I feel the sting at the back of my eyes, as I try to keep the tears at bay.
“Evie.” Josie’s soft voice brings me back to the present. Warmth slides across my shoulders as I realize that Josie is beside me. She has a small garbage bag in hand as she gets down on her knees and begins to help me.
“Oh no. Josie I’ve got this. This is my mess. I need to clean it up.” I go to grab the bag from her but she pulls it out of my reach.
“We can clean it together. Go get some paper towels, okay?” Her voice is soft as she tells me what to do next. It’s a contrast to what I’m used to and it makes me feel sick that my past still has such a visceral hold on me.
With the paper towels firmly grasped in my hand I return to Josie and see that all the bigger pieces of shell are gone and all that’s left is to clean up the whites and yolks. There isn’t as much as I initially thought, it seems that most of the mess was able to be contained within some of the cracked shells.
I use a paper towel as a makeshift wall as I try to scoop up the contents and place it into the bag. It works for the most part, and once the bulk of it is in the garbage bag, I take a wet paper towel and wipe up the remainder of the mess.
Having Josie in my presence as a silent partner and support calmed my nerves more than I would like to admit it did. While I’m still nervous about this talk that Monty mentioned, I don’t feel like my clothes are suffocating me anymore.
“I’m going to make hot chocolate, would you like one Evie?” Her calm voice continues to slow my heart rate and I find myself nodding to the offer.
I sit at the island and watch Josie putter through the kitchen like I didn’t just drop all their eggs across the kitchen floor. She places a pot on the stove, before pouring some milk into it. The clicking of the oven sounds soothing as it brings the flames alive and begins heating up the milk.
She busies herself as she grabs a few things from cupboards. It’s only after I see her adding cocoa powder to the milk and whisking it do I realize she’s making hot chocolate from scratch. I sit up straight, watching her chop up chocolate before adding it to the warming milk.
She’s humming a tune as she mixes, not quite loud enough for me to catch what it is. I hear footsteps coming up the hallway, and I watch as Monty comes sauntering into the kitchen. He’s changed into a black Henley shirt and grey sweatpants.
The sight of Monty should be criminal. I’ve never wanted to drop to my knees for a man as fast as I do right now. His bicep flexes as he scratches the back of his head. He doesn’t notice my eyes on him, but I watch him as he eats the distance between him and his wife. He steps up behind her and whispers something into her ear.
The melodic sound of her giggling twists something inside of me. A longing that I didn’t realize I had begins growing in my chest. Weighing heavy there as I watch how at ease these two are with each other.
Monty moves around her and grabs three mugs, setting them on the counter next to the stove. Josie fills our mugs to the brim before topping them with whipped cream.
I take the first sip of hot chocolate and moan. “Holy fuck this is so good.” Bringing the cup back up to my lips I take in another gulp.
“It’s my moms recipe. I always loved having hot chocolate to end the night.” Josie says, as she takes a seat next to me at the island. Her shoulder grazes mine as we sit side by side.
Were the stools always this close or did she move it closer? Does she feel the need to sit close to me to comfort me when they let me go?
The hot chocolate turns sour in my mouth at the reminder that I might be losing this job. The thought of not spending my afternoons with Shiloh and hearing about his day, or watching the daily changes of Hayes. It’s amazing and crazy how much a baby can change and grow within the first year.
I put my hot chocolate down and push it in front of me.
Is it hot in here? It feels like it’s a million degrees. Combing my fingers through my hair before wrapping it in a bun. When I look up, I see a deep brown gaze connect with mine. He’s on the other side of the island, with his forearms resting on the counter top. He offers a soft smile before he stands up, bringing his cup to his lips he tips it back and finishes off.
“So, Josie and I wanted to talk to you about this morning.” He starts, as he places his cup in the dishwasher.
Fuck a duck. Here it comes. “I just wanted to say I amsosorry about this morning. I promise I will get a vehicle sorted out. I just need to find something with what I have saved up. It’s just been hard to find something in my budget.” I feel warmth on my lower back, I look to my right and lock eyes with Josie. There is a soft look on her face as she rubs gentle circles on my lower back.
“Evie, it’s not about the vehicle.” She starts, and then her eyes widen slightly, “What I mean is– We talked the other night. We hate seeing you have to rely on ride shares or Harper to get you to and from here every day. I can’t imagine the stress just to make sure you have a ride home.”
“Also, I don’t like the idea of some stranger driving you home and knowing where you live.” Monty grumbles. I look over to him in confusion, I mean that’s what a ride share is for. You’re asking a stranger to drive you home, it’s no different than a taxi. When Monty notices my confusion I watch as his cheeks flush before he looks down.
