Evvie Drake Starts Over(12)

“It’s not surprising they don’t give a damn about me.”

She grinned. “Believe me, they know all about you. It’s a different gossip economy. They’re worrying about the Claws and the sorry state of the soccer field at the high school, and the fate of the Maine lobster, and whether the tourists are going to come. I’m sure that’s why Andy thought it would be a good place to take a break. They’re just…”

“Not petty?”

   “Oh, no,” she said as she peeled back the corner of the label on the bottle. “They are very petty. But they’re petty about insiders more than outsiders. They only violate your privacy if they’ve known you since you were a child.”

“They’ve known you since you were a child.” He looked over at her.

“They have,” she said slowly. She hadn’t been listening to the refrigerator, but it clicked off, and suddenly she was very much listening to it not running. “Anyway. What are you going to do while you’re here? I assume you’re not looking to get into the lobster business.”

“Your local signs certainly make it seem like an option, especially since apparently I’m not going to get in at the shoe factory like I was hoping.”

“Oh, the lobster thing is real. It’s what my dad did. He bought his own boat when I was little, and he had it until a couple years ago, when he retired.”

“Is he still with your mom?”

“No. She’s been in Florida since I was eight. She’s remarried to a real estate guy, and she makes jewelry and sells it to tourists. Last I checked, she was doing something with sea glass and old dimes. Don’t ask me what aesthetic that is.”

“Maybe she’s inspired by those guys at the beach with metal detectors. I saw a lot of that in Miami.”

“I’ll bet. Anyway, tell me your plans.”

“Read Vonnegut,” he said. “Write poetry. I play the ukulele a little. I make driftwood sculptures.”

She suddenly realized her brows were knitted together and she popped them apart. “Oh. Oh.”

“That’s a joke.”

Evvie rolled her eyes. “Mm-hmm, hilarious.”

He laughed. “I’m not sure. Not baseball. Just…Maine, I guess. Probably hang out with Andy. I’m sort of on vacation from everything.”

“Honestly, I would have thought New York would be a good place for that, for blending into the background.”

   “For most people,” he said, then briefly tilted his head to indicate how much there was that they weren’t talking about.

She stood up. “Right, fair enough. Okay, I should go and do work for a little bit.”

“Oh, right. Andy said you work with journalists.”

“I do,” she said. “I’m transcribing an interview one of my clients did with an extremely famous musician whose name rhymes with…Baylor Biffed. And Baylor has got some tales to tell.”

“Baylor’s got nothing on you,” he said as he went back to unpacking a couple of boxes. “You tell a good story.”

She smiled. “If that’s true, it’s all the years of hearing other people do it.”

“I appreciate all this,” he said as she paused at the door.

“Appreciate what?”

“Just, you know, place to stay. Cereal-box story.”

“Ah. Well. You’re very welcome. If you ever want to see the Claws play, let me know; they’ll be starting up again in the spring if you’re still here.” She paused. “Is that weird? To take you to the game?”

“Because I’m a head case?”

She put her hand up. “Never mind. I’m asking about baseball.” She paused, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you around.”





IT WAS A PRETTY DAY for a tree-planting ceremony, Evvie had to admit.

Assertively crisp, she’d call it, though that only made her want a glass of wine more than she already did. Andy met her in the parking lot, and they made their way across the lawn to the stone bench. There was Dr. Schramm. There was Tim’s friend Nate, and there was Tim’s favorite nurse, with whom Evvie knew he had flirted incessantly. There were a few other people she didn’t recognize, maybe from Camden or Portland, wearing fall jackets and sad expressions. And there was a hole with the wrapped ball of a tree in it. All that was left now was to put back the dirt they’d disturbed, like they’d done a year ago on a similar day, in similar company, when they’d buried him.

Evvie found Tim’s mom and dad among the subdued faces. Lila was wrapped in a navy blue car coat, with her mostly gray hair twisted into a bun. Pete had his arm around her, and the two of them were looking at what seemed to be the same spot on the ground in front of them. Evvie went over to them, forcing every step like she was sinking into the grass, even though she knew she couldn’t be. When she came near, Lila stood up and embraced her. “Hello, sweetheart,” she said, hanging on tight. She smelled like roses, as always, even now. Lila had spritzed Evvie with this scent on the night of the senior prom, and on the day of her wedding.

   “It’s good to see you. I’m so glad we’re doing this,” Evvie said. Lila deserved for this to be true, and in the moment when Evvie felt Lila rub her back, it was.