Chapter Two
Everly
There was nothing I couldn’t do. I held my up head and walked proudly across the stadium, smiling like a crazy person as the President of Northwest Culinary Institute handed me my certificate. The paper was thinner than I expected, considering how much it cost, but my heart soared to new heights. I was officially a chef. Or, at least I would be as soon as I got a job as a chef.
The sky was as dreary as ever as I left graduation, but that wasn’t going to ruin my incredibly happy mood. I deserved some happiness. I considered all the restaurants I was going to apply at, making a list in my head as I walked through the crowd of families who had attended the graduation. I had a mental list of five restaurants, possibly even that new one opening in two weeks, when I found my own family. More so, my niece found me as she attacked my legs.
“Everly!” She slammed into me so hard that I wobbled a bit and then lost my balance. Before I could right myself, my knees caved and I found the ground.
Belle stared at me with wide eyes and a curled-up bottom lip. I’d dragged her down with me and the both of us were struggling to get up.
“Belle!” My sister, Lacey, scolded her 3-year daughter as Belle leaned against me to get to her feet. Lacey grabbed her by the shoulders and heaved her up. “I’m sorry, Everly; she only gets this excited when she sees you.”
I cringed a little, wishing I could say the same. It wasn’t as if I hated her, but she had a way of annoying me, and for some reason, she took to me like a bee to a flower, but instead of bringing me honey, she more times than not stung the crap out of me.
“It’s okay,” I said, and smiled as my mom and Lacey helped me up.
“Say you’re sorry, Belle,” Lacey said, and the little girl apologized. Her hair was the same as the rest of the women in our family; dark red and silky, and she had a dusting of freckles that only I shared. Lacey’s red, curly hair was clearly in need of a deep shampoo and cut, and stood out in stiff waves in a ponytail. My mom had her red hair cut short, and all four of us shared green eyes, though I’d been told mine were always the brightest and biggest. Lacey had once told me how she’d always envied them and thought hers were the color of moss.
“Congrats,” Lacey said as she hugged me. “I’m so proud of you; I knew you could do it. Now you get to be the family’s personal chef.”
Our mother scoffed and pulled me into a tight hug. “You’re going to need a better job than that. If an MBA in finance wasn’t enough, you just had to get a useless culinary degree. Now you have to pay them both off.” Lacey rolled her eyes and mouthed an apology.
I winced, though I was not surprised at how quickly our mom spoiled the afternoon. For some reason, me pushing myself to take more credits in school than anyone else annoyed her. Having completed my bachelor’s in three years and my master’s in a year wasn’t celebrated, but rather had become a point of contention. It was almost as if she didn’t want me to push myself. Tough shit. I was who I was. And being a chef was something that came up after I’d gotten my master’s.
“I’ll treat all of us to lunch; come on. Lacey, you need to save your money for Belle’s gymnastics, and don’t get me started on how much money you have to save, Everly.” She clutched her handbag tight against her breasts and shook her head, as if to shake that very thought from her brain. Lacey and I followed our mother to her car, where Belle was showing me how she could strap herself into her own car seat. I faked a smile and pretended to listen, but all I could think about was my mother’s disappointment in me. Nothing I’d ever do would be good enough. Not many people were good enough in my mother’s eyes. She’d always been hard on us and tough as nails. She took that strong single mother role to a new level, but only when she was single. When she had a man, she ignored us, and oh, how I wished she had a man.
“Everly, couldn’t you at least try a little harder, and would you please answer, Belle?” Lacey gestured toward her daughter, who still hadn’t gotten her car seat buckled properly.
“She said she could do it herself,” I muttered under my breath as I reached over and clicked her in properly. Lacey rolled her eyes and squeezed Belle’s hand. It wasn’t my fault if I just didn’t feel the same level of attachment to Belle, and I wished Lacey would understand that. I didn’t want my own children, so what made her think I would want to deal with hers? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the little fiend, but I didn’t quite have the instincts or the interest to pick up Lacey’s slack all the time.
“Are you in the mood for sushi?” Mom asked. Lacey and I didn’t bother responding. It didn’t matter what we were in the mood for because our mother would have her way, as usual. “Good, let’s get some sushi.”
After finding out that the wait for Mom’s favorite sushi place was two hours long, we settled for a burger joint. We took our seats, me grimacing as Belle demanded to sit next to me but refused a booster seat. I picked up the menu and scanned it.
“They have a wonderful lettuce burger here,” Mom said. I glanced at her.
“I eat my burgers with buns,” I said. Belle and I exchanged a glance, wrinkling our noses at the thought of bunless burgers.
“I’m just saying you could use a little moderation,” she said, and Lacey groaned. My mother had always been on the two of us about our figures, even though we were not unhealthy.
The waitress took our order, and I ordered a burger with a double order of fries just to see the grimace on mom’s face. She pursed her lips as our food arrived.
“So, what about that new guy you’ve been seeing?” Mom asked Lacey. She wrinkled her nose.
“Oh, Fred? No, our third date was a disaster. I haven’t called him since,” she said. “Plus, he freaked when he found out about Belle anyways. I don’t need that kind of man in my life.”
“You can’t blame him,” I said. “You didn’t tell him you had a kid until the third date.” Mom glared at me and gestured toward Belle. “Oh, come off it. She doesn’t know what I’m saying.”
Belle and I dipped our fries into her milkshake and munched on them as Lacey and Mom discussed their future plans for Belle.
“I can’t believe I have to start considering where to take her to preschool next year,” Lacey said. I glanced at the younger version of all of us. She was growing up fast, and soon enough she’d be a young woman. I remembered being her age, back when I had a better outlook on children and families. I had wanted to grow up and marry a rich prince and live in his huge castle and have lots of children so I could have a big playground on the castle grounds. I’d even dreamt of a moat, only I’d wanted to make it into a giant ball pit. Looking back, I was an unusual child.
I watched as Belle tried to sit taller so her elbows reached the table, and she could almost do it. She gave up and took to her knees, leaning over her milkshake where she dipped a fry to the bottom. “She’s getting so big,” I said.
“Forget about Belle’s future; what about yours?” Mom asked me. “What are your plans now?”
Lacey sat her burger on her tray and looked at me. I wondered if she was losing her appetite. Mom had a way with that too.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Does it matter? Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen regardless of whether it’s planned or not. You know I like to experience life without fussing over unnecessary things. There’s no point in thinking about the future.”
Mom scoffed. “Whatever’s going happen is going to happen? Really? Que será, será? I don’t know what kind of fantasy world you’re living in, sweetheart, but take it from me, that Doris Day was full of crap.” Mother sipped her drink and Belle giggled.
“Everly, why don’t you live with us for a bit?” Lacey offered as she finished a bite. I stole a fry from Belle’s plate, who frowned. “I have a friend who could get you a job at one of the restaurants near the pier.”
“Oh, the one with the fish tacos?” I asked. “I love their fish tacos. They’re some of the best around.”
“Yeah, Pier’s Fishes. It’s a beginner’s job, but at least it’s something. And Belle and I would love the extra company.” Lacey added, and I felt a stab of pity. Lacey’s bastard ex-husband, Frank, left both her and Belle completely alone two and a half years ago.
I considered the offer for a moment longer than I’d like to admit. It wasn’t that I didn’t love them both, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to impose on them. Lacey had already done so much to help me over the years.
“Thanks, but I can probably find a cheap apartment. I’m not the greatest roommate, and it’s been 12 years since we’ve shared a house together. I don’t want to depend on you for more than I already have,” I said.
Mom paid the check and regarded me with a scowl. “You’re going to rent an apartment?” She shook her head. “No, you’re moving in with me until you find a job that can pay off both of your degrees and we’ll figure out where to go from there. You need to start planning and preparing for the real world, Everly. This sort of attitude is exactly why there are homeless people living across the street from this very diner. Do you want to be homeless?”
My mother’s rant made up my mind, as it usually did. Having lived in the dorms for the last few years, I was used to roommates, and my sister and her kiddo would be a welcome distraction from life.
I looked back at Lacey and Belle. “Do you still need a third roommate?”
Belle clapped her hands and cheered, then knocked over her milkshake. The lost fry floated through the creamy mess and found its way to my blouse.
What the hell had I signed up for?