it. “I’ve been good. I finally watched some of The Americans, by the way.”
He smiled. “Was I right about it?”
“You were, you were.” Evvie nodded slowly.
“You don’t think it’s ‘propaganda’?” he asked, his eyes flickering over to Monica’s.
“Oh my God,” Monica broke in, rolling her eyes, “I’m sorry I didn’t like your show. Talk to Evvie. She liked it.” She playfully yanked her hand away, but Andy kissed it and then pulled it, clasped in his, somewhere under the table. “He is a baby about television.”
Eveleth smiled. “I know. How are the girls?”
“Ah, they’re good,” Andy said. “Their mom is marrying Fred, by the way.”
“Fortunately, the girls like him all right these days. It would be way dicier if they didn’t. It’s one of the reasons we waited a couple months before they met this one.” He tipped his head to the side.
“Oh, so you have been getting to know them,” she said to Monica.
“I have,” Monica said. “They’re great. But you know that better than I do. They’re not happy it’s been so long since they got to spend time with you.” Her eyes flicked toward Andy, and his answered, a little.
A couple more silences, a couple more volleys of nothing, and Marnie brought the food—Eveleth’s pancakes, Andy’s omelet, and something for Monica that looked like a veggie scramble. She did seem like a veggie scramble kind of person—very sensible. Very healthy. Not some cottage-cheese showoff, just a person who was more grown-up than anyone at the table who might be eating, for instance, pancakes.
They ate and talked: Eveleth and Monica talked, and Monica and Andy talked. And when most of the food was gone, Monica excused herself. “I’ll be right back,” she said, bumping Andy’s shoulder so he’d get up and let her out of the booth. When she was gone, Evvie picked at a blueberry on the edge of her plate. “She seems amazing.” She rested her chin on her hand and looked at him. “It’s good?”
He smiled. “It’s so good, Ev. I mean, it’s still early. But yeah, she’s great, I’m happy. And I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been, you know. I’m trying to be a good boyfriend. Weekends are busy, it’s been a lot. I felt bad. I was afraid you’d think I was upset about the thing we talked about at your house, about the suitcase and everything.”
Evvie felt her cheeks get pink. “I wondered, yeah.”
“I’m sorry. I admit it blew my mind a little bit. I don’t know.”
“I didn’t mean to do that,” she said. He laughed nervously, with one narrow strip of his voice, and Evvie felt so sharply the distance that had opened that there was a stinging in her eyes and her throat got slightly tight and, just, no. She coughed instead. “Dean’s going to teach me how to pitch.”
“Oh, really?” Andy laughed. “It seems like you guys are having fun.”
She knew it was an opening; the right time to talk about the go sign and the dishes. But those things, for now, were her only secret that faced forward instead of backward. If she told, it would shatter the slight mischief of it, like drinking bourbon from a coffee mug. Besides, she couldn’t think of a single thing he could say in response—go for it, be careful, tell me everything—that she’d know how to answer. So she said, “You were right; it’s nice to have the company. It keeps me from sitting around by myself.”
“Just don’t try to fix him. I know how you are.”
“How am I?”
“You’re very…caring. Literally. You took care of your dad, you took care of Tim, you took care of me when Lori left. I just don’t want you to take in strays for the rest of your life. You’re the kind of person who winds up with a two-legged dog that you pull around in a cart.”
“That’s not a kind of person.”
“It’s absolutely a kind of person. It’s a person who ends up running a doll hospital and putting tiny little toothpick splints on birds with broken legs.”
“Well, I promise I will not open a doll hospital.”
“What do you think you do want to do?”
She put a strand of hair behind her ear. “Work. Or maybe school. I don’t know. I’m thinking about it. Nona’s been sending me messages; she’s got a new book. You know how much I love to work with her.”
“That would be fantastic,” Andy said, sitting up. “I just