As I Am

Chapter Ten

Ten

          Evan’s cottage is smaller than the lighthouse one, but it’s also cozier. Once we walk through the back sliding door of the sky blue walls, we’re instantly greeted with the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Once my eyes adjust, I follow Evan down a hall and a turn to the right, where we locate the delicious scent.

            “Hi, Mom,” he says casually. He speed walks towards the oven, where his mother is taking a tray with oven mitt towards the counter.

            “Ah- don’t touch, Evan,” she says, trying to sweep the tray away from him as he reaches towards the cookies. “They’re hot.”

            “I brought a friend,” Evan replies. He doesn’t move his hand. “Her name is Bam. She lives in the lighthouse at the far end of Mermaid.”

            For the first time, Evan’s mother looks towards me. When she meets my eyes, she smiles, creating premature wrinkles around her mouth and along her face. Her blue eyes match Evan’s, but are a paler shade of blue, making her look tired. Her blonde hair, a contract to her son’s opposite, is tied in a loose ponytail.

            “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bam!”

            Evan takes his mother’s distraction as a gateway for a cookie snatch, and despite her fast reflexes, his mother lets him win.

            “Evan,” she sighs, but there’s a smile on her lips. When he’s shoving his mouth with the chocolate, he leans against the counter and hands one of his treasures to me.

            I shake my head. “I think I’ll wait until they’re cool.”

            Evan shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

            Evan’s mother sets the metal tray on the counter and starts removing the cookies with a spatula. She gets through three cookies before Evan takes another.

            “So what are you two up to?” she asks. She looks at Evan with scrutiny, as if she’s trying to tell if he’s doing things he shouldn’t be. “I didn’t expect you back so early.”

            “I saw Bam on the beach and decided to bring her back. It’s getting dark out already. I think there’s a storm coming.”

            “That’s what the news has been saying. You better not let poor Bam walk home in a thunderstorm, Evan.”

            Evan turns away, letting his hair create a shield from both his mother and I. “Yeah, I’ll take her home when she wants to.”

            Upstairs, Evan’s room is exactly across from his parents, making the entire second floor tiny. His bedroom is smaller than mine, and his walls are painted navy, making the space look tinier than it actually is. Most of the things in his room match the dark shade of the walls – the comforter, a small deck, the bedside table. Even with the small daylight streaming in through two windows, the room is very dark.