AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I fell in love,” she said simply and dropped a kiss on his head. “I gotta go. You going to be okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You going to call him?”
“I’ll text him,” Evan decided. “That counts, right?”
Liza rolled her eyes, and with a last pat, crossed to the front door. “Yes, but do not tell him you love him over text. That’s a terrible fucking idea.”
“I wasn’t going to,” Evan protested, even though he’d been considering that very thing.
Liza sat on the bench by the door to pull on her snow boots and shot him a knowing look. “Uh-huh.”
He scowled. “Why do you always know when I’m lying?”
She rose to grab her coat from the peg by the door. “Because I watched you do it to Mom and Dad so much.”
“Then why can’t I tell when you’re lying?”
“Because I’m sneakier than you are.”
“So not fair.” He sighed. “I’ll text him and ask him to meet me for dinner, all right?”
She shrugged into her coat and zipped it up. “No.”
“No?”
“Sitting across from him at a restaurant? That’s going to feel like a date. It’ll just make you more nervous.”
“I don’t think it’s possible for me to be more nervous,” he muttered. “Fine. What do you suggest?”
“You need to do something other than just sit and stare at each other,” she replied, pulling out her mittens and tugging them on. “Go for a hike or something.”
“Colin’s not really a hiker,” Evan said.
“Well, you could always get drunk.” Liza jammed a stocking cap on her head. “But I don’t recommend it.”
“Didn’t you propose to Claire when you were drunk?”
“Yes, that’s why I don’t recommend it. It took me six months to convince her I was serious.”
He chuckled. “Remind me to tell your kid that story one day.”
“Remind me not to let you babysit.” She laid a hand on the doorknob. “I love you, Evan.”
“I love you, too, Eliza.” She wrinkled her nose at the use of her full name, making him smile. “Give my love to Claire.”
She nodded. “Let me know what happens with Colin.”
“Will do,” he replied, and with a wave, she slipped out the door.
Shivering in the blast of frigid air that accompanied her exit, Evan shoved away from the table, abandoning the pile of unsorted mail. He walked into the living room, only a few short steps away from the tiny eat-in area off the equally tiny kitchen, scooped his phone off the army foot locker he used as a coffee table, and dropped into his favorite chair.
The ancient recliner creaked ominously under his weight, his sweatpants catching on one of the many strips of duct tape he’d used to repair the rips and tears that had appeared in the brown Naugahyde over the years. But the cushion sank beneath his butt like butter, and when he pushed back, the footrest kicked out smooth and easy. He had some of his best naps in this chair, and had thus far managed to hold out against calls for its destruction from his sister, her wife, and his mom.
His dad secretly loved it, but publicly sided with his wife to ‘keep the peace’. Evan had more than once caught his father eyeing it longingly, and whenever he sat in it, it was with a delighted sigh.
Kicked back in it now, Evan checked his phone. He had a text from Esme, a silly little meme that made him grin, and one from his dad, reminding him that he was on the schedule at the store. During the summer he worked for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, going to whichever state park or recreation area needed him. He loved the work, loved hooking up the refurbished Airstream he’d inherited from his grandparents to his Jeep and taking off for weeks at a time, exploring the state and getting paid to do it. He logged enough overtime between May and September and lived leanly enough the rest of the year that he could get by on just his summer salary. But Michigan winters were long, and he got bored easily, so during the off-season he worked for his dad at the family sporting goods store.
