Page 60 of Talk to Me

Theo eyed me warily. “There’s a statue?”

“Yup,” I said, driving towards the highway. “Right in the middle of town. It’s a cold day. Thanksgiving is tomorrow. It’s never busy, but it definitely won’t be today. If you want to stop before we get to my parents’ place.”

“Are you going to make fun of me?” he asked slowly.

I laughed. “A little. But I won’t go in on you too hard if you play snack wench and sing along to the Christmas tunes.”

He thought it over for only a moment. “Deal!”

With another “whoop,” I pulled onto the highway and hit my phone to start the Christmas songs once again.

Evie was lying in the yard when I pulled up in the driveway. Her arms and legs were flailing as she laid in the slushy layer of snow that was already threatening to melt away. Theo stared out the passenger window at my sister as I pulled up next to my dad’s pickup and parked. The beater ’77 Chevy Scottsdale had a new dent in the rear fender, but otherwise, it looked the same as it had for the entirety of my life. I shook my head and smiled as I gazed at it out of my window. Dad’s newer Super-Duty Ford was obviously put away in the barn, but the Chevy always endured the elements. If it could handle the cows and goats ramming against it during feeding time, the snow wouldn’t do it much more harm.

The white classic farmhouse and its wraparound porch loomed down on us as we sat there, the engine still idling. Our traditional red barn sat out further from us, about fifty yards from the house. Theo was looking around in wonder at the property. His eyes hit the house, the giant metal silo in the distance, the animal pens and enclosures near the barn, and then back to me. I couldn’t help but laugh at his expression.

“I told you it was a farm,” I said.

“I thought it was, like, just a thing Iowans say.”

“Nope.”

An ear-splitting squeal had Theo jumping in his seat. Rolling my eyes, I popped my door open and slid out of the car, a candy bar wrapper falling from my lap into the floorboard as I exited the vehicle. I’d barely cleared the car and closed my door before my ten-year-old sister was leaping on me like a spider monkey. Squeals pierced my eardrums as her arms latched around me and she hugged me for all she was worth.

Over the top of the car, Theo’s head appeared and he smiled nervously at the sight of my sister attacking me like a hellion. I hugged my sister back and planted kisses all over the top of her head as she talked nonstop. Apparently, so much had happened in the few months since I’d last seen her, and it was important that I found out about all of it immediately.

“…and then I told her that I didn’t even like her and she told Mrs. Baker that I said that and,” Evie’s motormouth rambled on as she pulled back to look me in the eyes. “And I got in trouble! Mrs. Baker didn’t even scream at her for being so mean to everyone and—”

“Evie,” I said, trying to calm her down.

She continued.

“—I don’t think it’s fair and I told Mom and Dad and they told me that—”

“Evelyn Mae Montag!” I said loudly with a laugh.

Evie stopped talking, looked confused for a moment, then smiled at me.

“What?” she asked innocently.

“Hi,” I said.

She grinned. “Hi.”

Then she was squeezing my neck again.

“We have several days to catch up,” I said, lowering her to stand on her own feet. “You can tell me all about Mrs. Baker and the injustices of the public school system later.”

“Okay,” Evie said cheerfully, grabbing my hand with both of hers. “But I have so much to tell you and I don’t know if we even have enough time! When are you going back to school because—”

I held Evie’s hand and listened to her squeal about her feelings as I retrieved my keys from the ignition and my phone from the driver’s door console, then shut the car again. She was still holding onto my hand as I moved to the trunk to get my bag. When we rounded the car and Theo joined us at the trunk, Evie immediately stopped talking and stared up at him, her mouth agape.

“Evie,” I said, laughing at her reaction, “this is my friend, Theo Hendrix. He’s staying with us for Thanksgiving. I think Mom told you, right?”

Evie just stared at him. Theo, grinning awkwardly, gave her a small wave.

“Hi, Evie,” he said.

“You’re famous.” Evie whispered and leaned forward, as if informing him of something he was of yet not aware.