THE RECORD SHOP ⋆ 𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗹

forty

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON. FEBRUARY 25, 1993. 

"BREAKFAST IS SERVED," John says, placing the omelette down in front of Evie at the dining table. She puts the book she was reading down beside her and thanks her dad as he sits down beside her.

"How are you feeling Eves?" He asks.

"Alright," she nods, taking a bite of her food.

Dave has been away for over a month now touring the pacific. He'll be back next week, but if Evie's honest, she's not sure how their reunion is going to be. While he's been away they've spoken a grand total of three times on the phone, each time ending in one of them getting frustrated at the other. It seems that the distance has finally taken its toll. Last time they spoke was a week ago and Evie told him that he hasn't made effort to call home, to which Dave told Evie she doesn't have any respect for the fact that he is busy.

"Well, you could make time to call me," Evie said.

"I do!"

"What, two fucking times?" Evie scoffed.

"I can't do this. I'll talk to you when I'm home," he said before hanging up.

It's been radio silence since, and Evie has been working herself up over it, hence John's question about how she's doing. She's been spending a fair amount of time in Olympia with her Dad and Mia. Ollie has been home quite a bit to, largely due to the fact that he and Ruby have been seeing each other. It was something that Evie didn't expect to happen, but seeing her brother and her best friend so happy together has made it remarkably easy to accept.

"When is he home?" John asks.

"In four days," Evie says.

"Right before your birthday then," John says.

"Don't remind me," Evie smiles. Turning 22 just doesn't sound all that appealing. She's always struggled a bit with the passing of time and getting older. To celebrate she's just having a small get together at the Kelly family home with friends and family.

"It's a blessing to get older," John says.

"Yeah, I suppose," Evie nods.

"Hey, did you get a chance to talk to Dave about New York?" John asks, and Evie breathes deeply.

"No, not yet," she says, feeling disappointed in herself.

Rolling Stone have asked her to sign on full time with them, which of course is the opportunity of a lifetime, but it would also involve Evie uprooting herself and moving to New York. Henry has also just accepted the same offer, and the two have spoken about finding an apartment together.

As much as Evie wants this for herself, she knows it's going to be a hard conversation with Dave. And also, she doesn't feel completely comfortable leaving her Dad back in Olympia while he's still sick, though John will not stop trying to convince her she has to go.

"It's a conversation that has to be had in person I think," Evie says.

"Okay, well you know what you're doing," John nods.

They fall into silence before John says, "Looking forward to coming into the shop today."

He hasn't been at work as much since starting chemo, but while Evie is home, he suggested that he comes in with her on some of her shifts. A taste of normality. Evie thought it was a great idea.