Page 38 of Hot Four Teacher
“It’s alright. Better now that I have a night off.”
Ronnie walks over, and they do some weird secret handshake the two of them made up. Ronnie and Eve have always been close and had a great bond. There have even been times where I’ve been jealous of their connection.
Last year, Eve lied to me about going to a party to hang out with a boy I despised. When he tried pushing her into something she wasn’t ready for, she ended up at Ronnie’s house instead of just coming home.
Although it about killed me, I’m grateful Eve felt comfortable enough to go to Ronnie instead of doing something that would get her into more trouble.
“So, what are you doing here, Aunt Ronnie?” Eve asks.
Without even thinking about it, Ronnie replies, “I just had to come over and borrow something from your mom.”
“What did you need to borrow?”
That knocks Ronnie off kilter a bit. “Uh…I need to borrow something to wear.”
Eve’s face scrunches up at what her aunt just said. “You,the one who has the wardrobe that women everywhere would kill for, came over to borrow something to wear fromMom?”
I mean, she has a point.
“Yeah,” Ronnie stammers. “I needed some…socks.”
Not wanting to answer any more questions, she says, “Alright well, I have to go. I’ll see you lovely ladies later.”
And she’s out the door before either of us can utter another syllable.
Once she’s gone, Eve looks at me. “Well, that was weird. Do I want to know what that was about?”
“Probably not.”
“Didn’t think so.” She tosses her bag on the ground and walks over, collapsing in the overstuffed armchair. “Can we order something good for dinner? I need some junk in my life.”
“We can order whatever you want,” I tell her, sensing that there’s something going on under the surface with her. “Why don’t you go take a shower, and I’ll get something ordered?”
It takes a minute for her to drag herself off the chair, but she finally does and heads to the bathroom.
***
Half an hour later, a knock on the door tells me our food has arrived. I ordered a couple of different things to try to help with whatever is going on in that teenage brain of hers. While I don’t always condone eating your feelings, once in a while, it’s okay. I understand the feeling of wanting to eat something good when I’ve had a shitty day.
Plus, I’m hoping the food will make her chatty because weneedto talk about whatever is going on with her.
When Eve comes back out, I have all of our food set out on the kitchen counter.
“Oh, wow. What all did you get?” She asks.
“Chinese food and a pizza. And cheesecake for dessert.”
“Looks amazing.”
Each of us fill up a plate before heading into the living room. We almost exclusively eat in there since our small kitchen table is almost always buried in clutter.
When we are settled, I turn on a movie that we’ve seen a million times.
“No true crime?” Eve asks.
“Nah. Just wanted something more chill. All the true crime I’ve been watching has led to some pretty horrifying dreams.”
She nods. “I get that.”
