Evvie at Sixteen

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

  “I’ll help tomorrow,” Thea said. “I don’t have much homework. I’ll get it all done in the morning, and then you can order me around in the afternoon. That way you can get the piano sooner.”

  “Thank you,” Meg said. “I appreciate all your help. Sybil’s been especially helpful. I think she should be a restorer when she grows up, someone who cleans old paintings or rebuilds cathedrals.”

  “What do you think I should be?” Thea asked. They were almost at the kitchen, and she wasn’t sure she wanted Claire to hear Megs’s answer, but it was one of those opportunities that might never come up again. Did Megs think she should be a poet? Or the perfect homemaker, the way Megs was? Thea was never sure what she wanted her future to hold, and she liked the idea of having Megs tell her what to do.

  “I really don’t know,” Megs replied, which surprised Thea, who believed Megs knew everything. “Sometimes I think you should be a teacher, or have lots of children. You have such a capacity for loving and caring. But other times I want you to be an explorer, to chart unknown worlds. I guess I like the image of you in a pith helmet.”

  “An explorer?” Thea asked.

  “I’m never going to be an explorer,” Sybil called from the kitchen. “Explorers have to unpack all the time.”

  “They have servants and guides who do it for them,” Claire said. “It would be fun to be an explorer if you got to keep everything you found. Diamonds and emeralds.”

  “What do I get to be?” Nick asked, coming in from his office. “Assuming I bother to grow up?”

  “You get to be my husband,” Meg said, giving him a kiss. “A full-time job.”

  “I can’t think of a better one,” Nick said, and he returned Megs’s kiss. Thea was accustomed to the constant signs of love between her parents. She was taken aback at other people’s homes, where the parents didn’t hug and kiss and lose themselves in each other’s eyes.

  “The person we should be asking about careers is Evvie,” Meg said. “Have you thought about your major?”

  “I’ve thought about it endlessly,” Evvie replied. She walked over to the stove and started carrying the chicken curry to the table. “I haven’t decided yet. Sam’s majoring in journalism, but he’s always known he wants to be a reporter. Sam wants to tell people the truth about things, and he figures the best way to do that is by reporting.”

  “There’s no money in reporting,” Claire said.

  “Nobody’s asking you to be a reporter,” Thea said. She brought the homemade chutney to the table, as well as a dish of slivered almonds. “Who’d believe anything you wrote, anyway?”

  “What did you want to be, when you were a kid, Megs?” Sybil asked. “When you grew up?”

  “I never gave it much thought,” Meg replied. “We were all programmed then, to be debutantes and brides and young mothers. I guess I expected to wear white gloves and attend cotillions until the day I died.”

  “What about you, Nicky?” Thea asked. She sat down at the table, and poured herself some juice. “What did you want to be when you were a kid?”

  “I wanted to be out of there,” Nick said, glancing away for a moment. “I wanted to be all the things I wasn’t.”

  “You got what you wanted, then,” Evvie said.

  “I got all that and more,” Nick replied. “I never could have dreamed, when I was a boy, of a girl like Daisy.” Daisy was the private name he used for Megs. “And I certainly never could have pictured myself as a family man, proudly sitting in my kitchen, surrounded by four exquisite daughters. I knew I wanted money, when I was a kid, but it never occurred to me I could have love as well.”

  “What did you dream about?” Thea asked. Her father rarely talked about his childhood, and they all knew better than to ask. But this seemed to be one of those rare evenings when he might open up and tell them things they would never otherwise learn.

  Nicky laughed. “I had an image of a great marble palace,” he said. “I guess I must have seen it in a movie somewhere. And I was going to live there, the richest man in the world. If you’d told me then that I’d enjoy eating in the kitchen, I would have laughed in your face. We always ate in the kitchen, because we didn’t have a dining room. I thought, if I’m ever rich enough to have a dining room, I’ll never eat in a kitchen again. And here I am, in a house that I own, that definitely has a dining room, merrily eating in the kitchen.”

  “We don’t have any dining room furniture,” Claire pointed out. “It’s either the floor there, or the table here. Please pass the raisins.”

  Thea did, cursing Claire silently for breaking the mood. “When we get dining room furniture, we can eat there all the time,” she said. “What else did you dream about, Nicky, when you were a boy?”

  “Nothing important,” he said, and Thea could see his mood had changed. “Besides, dreams don’t count unless you do something with them.”

  “That’s what I intend to do this year,” Thea said. “I want to turn my dreams into reality.”

  Claire snorted. Even Evvie looked amused.

  “Well, I do,” Thea said. “I’m just not sure which dreams.”

  “I have an idea, if you’re interested,” Nick said. “I was talking to Ed Chambers this morning. He owns some radio stations in the area. Nice fellow.”

  Thea didn’t bother to wonder how Nicky could have met someone like that in the week and a half they’d been living in Briarton. It was Nicky’s way to meet important people. They always liked Nicky, and soon investment possibilities were being discussed, and Nicky was putting big deals together, and everybody made profits. That was what Nicky did for a living, that was the way he operated.

  “What did Mr. Chambers say?” Meg asked.

  “He’s head of the fund-raising committee for the hospital,” Nick replied. “I mentioned that I’d done a bit of fund-raising back in Harrison, and naturally we talked about different techniques.”

  “Oh, Nicky,” Meg said. “I can’t have a fund-raising party here. Not when we don’t have furniture.”

  “I’m not asking you to,” Nick replied. “Ed’s wife heads the volunteers at the hospital. Apparently, they can never get enough people for all the work that has to be done.”

  “They’re going to have to get by without me for a while, too,” Meg declared. “This house is my first priority, Nicky. Once we’re settled in, then I’ll put in a few hours a week at the hospital.”

  “But in the meantime, why can’t Thea do some work there?” Nick asked. “They’re delighted when teenagers come in to help. And Ed and his wife are two people in this town it pays to make happy.”

  “What would I have to do?” Thea asked.

  “Nothing you can’t handle,” Nick assured her. “Probably just bringing newspapers and magazines around. Plumping pillows. Smiling and making patients feel better.”

  Thea looked at her father. Plumping pillows hadn’t been her idea of how to make her dreams come true, but clearly Nicky felt it would help him with his. “If I hate it, can I quit?” she asked. It never hurt to know the ground rules.

  “With my blessing,” Nick replied.

  “All right, then,” Thea said. “I guess I’m a volunteer.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Oh, good,” Nick said to Thea the following Thursday. “I see you’re home from school.”

  “I just got in,” she replied. “Where is everyone?”

  “Daisy’s out shopping,” Nick said. “Evvie’s upstairs pretending to pack. And Claire and Sybil both have after-school activities. It’ll give us a chance to talk.”

  “About what?” Thea asked. She put her books down on the living room sofa and wondered what was going on.

  “I ran into Ed Chambers this morning,” Nick replied. “He said his wife was still waiting to hear from you.”

  “Who’s Ed Chambers?” Thea asked. “Oh. His wife. The hospital, right?”

  “Right,” Nick said. “You promised on Saturday you’d see her about doing volunteer work.”

&n
bsp; “Nicky, I forgot all about it,” Thea declared. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to get the swing of the new school, all those new people to meet and everything, and I flat-out forgot.”

  “I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place if I hadn’t thought it was important,” Nick said. “I try never to ask things of my daughters unless there’s a real reason to. And in this case, there’s a reason. We want to make a good impression in Briarton, Thea. Your cooperation is vital in helping our family out, especially now that Evvie is leaving for college.”

  Thea nodded. She could count on one hand the number of times Nicky had scolded her. It occurred to her that she had always been good because she hated the consequences of being bad. “I wish you’d reminded me,” she said. “It isn’t that I don’t want to do the volunteer work.”

  “You’re sixteen years old,” Nick said. “I had assumed I could trust you to remember. I see I was wrong. Would you like me to dial the number for you?”

  “What number?” Evvie asked, walking down the stairs. Thea was never so happy to see her sister in her life. “Hi, Thea. I thought I heard your voice.”

  “Evvie, Thea and I are having a private discussion,” Nick said. “Concerning family cooperation.”

  “My favorite topic,” Evvie replied. “Wait while I get an apple.”

  And there was something about Evvie that made Nicky and Thea wait until she came back from the kitchen, apple in hand. “All right,” Evvie said. “You can resume your private discussion.”

  Nicky shook his head. “Evvie, you’re incorrigible,” he declared.

  “I know,” she replied, taking a bite out of the apple.

  “It was my fault,” Thea said. “I was supposed to call the hospital about being a volunteer and I forgot.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Evvie said. “Do you really want to be a volunteer, Thea?”

  “No,” Thea replied. With Evvie there, she decided on being honest. “It doesn’t sound like any fun. I’d rather help Megs with the house.”

  “You can do both,” Nick said. “Nobody’s asking you to work at the hospital seven days a week.”

  “Thea doesn’t want to work there any days a week,” Evvie declared. “I don’t see why she has to.”

  “For starters, because I told Ed Chambers she would,” Nick said. “And how can I expect men like Ed Chambers to trust me if I prove untrustworthy about such small things.”

  “You shouldn’t volunteer people without asking them first, then,” Evvie said, and punctuated her remark with another bite of apple. Watching her chew reminded Thea of how hungry she was. Still, she knew this was no moment to break away and get something to eat.

  “This really isn’t any of your concern, Evvie,” Nick said. “Thea agreed to call and I expect her to live up to her word. A couple of hours a day a couple of days a week isn’t going to kill her. And not only will it help them at the hospital, but it will help us as well. We’re a unit, this family, and we should always be willing to help each other out.”

  “Thea’s no traitor,” Evvie said. “She forgot to do something because she didn’t want to do it in the first place. It’s no big deal.”

  “It’s a big deal to me,” Nick replied. “And it should be a big deal to Thea.”

  “It is,” Thea said. “I mean, I’ll do it. I’ll call Mrs. Chambers right now and make an appointment, and I’ll do the volunteer work. I am sorry, Nicky. It was dumb of me to forget.”

  “Fine,” Nick said. “The name and number are right by the phone in the kitchen.”

  “It is not fine,” Evvie said. “Thea, if you don’t want to do it, don’t. You have no right to bully her this way, Nicky.”

  “I am not bullying her,” Nick said, and Thea could see how angry he was. Thea hated the idea of Nicky being angry, and she especially hated the idea that she was responsible.

  “Of course you are, Nicky,” Evvie said. “You should hear yourself. Family responsibilities. Family unity. You sound as though, if Thea doesn’t come through, your entire empire will collapse.”

  “My empire, as you call it, is sending you to Harvard in a few days,” Nick declared. “My empire has sheltered you and clothed you and given you advantages you take for granted. I’ve never seen you turn down any of the good things family unity and responsibility and empire have offered you.”

  “No?” Evvie said. “Well, maybe I should have. If the price for going to college is letting you have your own way about everything, then maybe it’s too high a price.”

  “And how have I had my way as far as you’re concerned?” Nick asked. “What dreadful things have I forced you into?”

  “Spending that summer at Aunt Grace’s for one,” Evvie said. “I was just like you, Thea. Better to agree than to upset poor Nicky.”

  “That summer turned out really badly for you, too,” Nick said. “A summer at Eastgate where you fell in love. You must regret every minute you spent there.”

  “There were a few that weren’t so great,” Evvie said. “But the point is you never really gave me the chance to say no. Just the way you’re refusing to listen to Thea now.”

  “There’s a tone in your voice I haven’t liked for a while now,” Nick said. “You came back with it after that summer, Evvie. I’ve always assumed it has something to do with Sam, some attitude of his you’ve picked up.”

  “It has nothing to do with Sam,” Evvie said. “I went away from home—you sent me away—and while I was gone, I had a chance to see your empire from a different perspective. That’s all.”

  “There’s more to it than that,” Nick said. “There’s a hostility, a lack of respect.”

  “If you mean that I won’t be bulldozed anymore, you’re right,” Evvie declared. “No matter how charming you can be.”

  “Will the two of you stop it!” Thea said. “Evvie, thank you for defending me, but it isn’t necessary. He’s right. I told him I’d do the volunteer work and I will. Nicky, Evvie’s going to college in three days. You don’t want to be angry at her, and Evvie, you don’t want to be angry at him, either. There’s no reason for anybody to be angry at anybody else. I said I was going to call and I’ll do it right now. I hate it when people are mad at each other in this family. I don’t even like it when I’m mad at Claire, and she drives me crazy. Please. We’re different from other families because we do love each other, and it’s stupid when we fight, and I won’t have you fighting because of me. So just stop it.”

  “Fine,” Evvie said. “I never meant to upset you, Thea.”

  “You’re right, Thea,” Nick said. “I must have sounded petty to you, and to Evvie. Will you just make that call?”

  “Right now,” Thea said, and she ran to the kitchen phone, and dialed the number. She asked for Mrs. Chambers and was put right through. It was hard to remember what she had to say, when she was still shaky from the scene in the living room, but she managed to introduce herself and apologize for having taken so long to call.

  “Nonsense,” Mrs. Chambers said. “I’ve been impatient only because I was so excited that you plan to volunteer. Your father speaks of you so glowingly, I know you must be a remarkable young girl, dedicated to helping others less fortunate than yourself.”

  “I don’t know how remarkable I am,” Thea said. “Or dedicated. But I would like to try.”

  “Do you have any preferences as to where you’d like to work?” Mrs. Chambers asked. “We can use a good volunteer anywhere, so if there’s one place in particular, I’m sure we can place you there.”

  Thea tried to think what place in a hospital she’d dislike least. The gift shop occurred to her, but she wasn’t sure the hospital had one, and besides, it sounded like a cowardly and materialistic refuge. “I don’t know,” she said. “I like children. And I do have a couple of younger sisters.”

  “Then we’ll put you in pediatrics,” Mrs. Chambers said. “Oh, I have a wonderful idea, if you think you’re up to it.”

  “What’s that?” Thea asked. Pediatri
cs sounded okay to her. Bunches of basically healthy kids getting over asthma attacks and broken legs. She could play with them, read out loud to them. Megs had mentioned teaching as a possible career for her. Volunteer work in a pediatrics ward might be a good start.

  “This could be very difficult,” Mrs. Chambers said. “So you don’t have to give me an answer right away. I’m sure your instinctive response will be to say yes, because the kind of girl who volunteers to work in a hospital and who loves children will be thinking of them first and not of herself. So even if you agree right now, I won’t hold you to it. You can think about it over the weekend, and come in on Monday to talk to me and see if you still want to do it.”

  “Do what?” Thea asked. Mrs. Chambers could give Nicky a few lessons in bulldozing.

  “The hospital has a special program for its children with cancer,” Mrs. Chambers said. “We’re very fortunate to be one of the best cancer-care facilities in the area, and we have children from a hundred-mile radius who stay in the hospital while undergoing treatment for their illnesses. What we like to have is a one-on-one relationship between a volunteer and one of our childhood cancer patients. Naturally there are never enough volunteers, and the work can be emotionally very draining. Have you had any experience with cancer, Thea?”

  “Not personally,” Thea said. “I’ve never been sick with anything much in my life.”

  Mrs. Chambers laughed. She sounded like Glinda the Good. “I meant, have you known anyone with cancer?” she said. “Sometimes I get so excited, the words come out all wrong.”

  “Oh,” Thea said. “Well, no one in my family.” She thought about it for a moment, and realized one of the true advantages of having attended seven different schools was that she’d run into at least one of everything. There had been Betsy in third grade. She’d worn a stocking cap because her hair had fallen out. And Rob in sixth grade. And last year, what’s-her-name, Michelle, who was still undergoing treatments when the school year had ended. “Yes,” she said. “I have known a few kids with cancer in different schools I’ve gone to.”