She nodded again. “A lot more.”
“Good for you!” I was proud she stood up for herself.
“I said no.”
My eyes went wide. Evie had hated that job since the first day. Instead of treating her like a manager, they had turned Evie into a glorified personal assistant. No matter how much she tried to convince me, I thought she should quit. Out of the two of us, she was the responsible one. She wouldn’t rock the boat until it was time to capsize it.
“So… what now?”
She shrugged before a long exhale. Evie picked up the picture of Mimi smiling at it. “It’s an adventure, I guess.” That was the sister I loved growing up. “How would you feel about pizza tonight?”
“You’re making pizza?”
She laughed. “If by making, you mean going to the grocery store, buying one, and putting it in the oven, then yes. I’m cooking us a feast.”
Another board had been put in place. I could almost see the other side of our ravine. The uncertainty in my chest calmed as hope set in. We had time to fix our relationship. It had taken decades, but right now, I needed a big sister in my life.
“What about you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What about me?”
Evie hopped off the bed. “Jonny, I can’t be the only one living.”
“Hey, I’m living!” I protested, but as soon as the wordscame out, I heard the lack of conviction. I sounded like a kid brother pretending to be a grown-up. “Okay, maybe I’m just existing, too.” Admitting it lessened the weight, but it didn't eliminate it. Not yet.
She tossed the photo onto my stomach. “If I can take a risk, so can you. The question is…” Her eyebrows danced up and down.
“Ugh. Firefly has gotten to you.” I sat up, staring at the photo. Mimi would have lectured me about existing. We’re not put on this earth to exist. I thought she meant getting out more. With every box, I found her making life happen.
“I’ll talk to him.”
“Oh, him? Yeah. Sure. You could use a little beefcake in your life. Spare me the details.” Evie moved to the door. Leaning against the doorway, she smirked—a genuine, evil sister smirk. “I saw the sketchpad in your backpack. Whatever happened to radical love?”
She held her hand up, dropping an invisible microphone. Without another word, she vanished. My sister, with a single statement, had thrown down the gauntlet. I wanted to argue, but she had a point. Sitting in Rita’s coffee shop and capturing her on the page, I found myself… happy. I’d have to dwell on this more. Was I not happy? No, not really. Discontent maybe.
Dammit, Evie. I forgot the downside of having a wiser, older sister.
Though… as I thought about the drawing, I imagined the next one capturing an extremely handsome, burly bear. Maybe there was a way to overlap the two interests. I wanted to dive into this idea of love and wrap it around me like a warm blanket. A smile broke out as I thought about sketching Tyler. It needed to happen.
“Take risks, Jonny,” she shouted from downstairs.
I grabbed my phone.
Jon: Hey… interested in being a model for me?
MY SEXY LIBRARIAN
“Draw me like one of your?—”
“Nope! Don’t even think about saying it. I refuse to live in a cliché.”
“Says the man, staring at me from behind a notebook.”
“Sketchbook, thank you very much.”
“Can I see?”
“No.”
