Evie's Job

103: Evie

Last bit

“I’m serious about her,” Evie said. “More serious than you were, as it turns out.”

And Meredith just looked at her for a while, thinking.

“It’s true,” Evie said, after a moment.

“It isn’t. At least, it wasn’t always, which you ought to know very well. And you’re acting like a child, besides. I asked you to be polite.”

“I had been,” Evie said. “I was being polite. You started it, that time.”

Meredith sighed. “Yes,” she said. “I suppose I did.”

“And you didn’t have to leave Natalie quite as nastily,” Evie said, since she was saying things she felt needed to be said. “You hurt her by doing that.”

“You have no idea what the circumstances were.”

“Natalie’s talked about it.”

“Well Natalie barely does either.” Meredith stopped and took a breath, as if getting herself under control. “I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

“You started the talking.”

“Yes,” Meredith said. “I know. And now I’m starting to regret it. This hasn’t gone quite as I hoped…”

“Sometimes things don’t. For people. You probably aren’t used to that, I suppose.”

Meredith looked at Evie. It was an odd look. An irritated look. Meredith seemed annoyed, she was almost glaring, but she didn’t actually say anything. She was still keeping herself under control.

Evie waited for a moment, but Meredith stayed silent. “Well anyway,” Evie said. “I’m serious about Natalie, which is what you wanted to know.”

Meredith nodded.

“So what now?” Evie said. “Do we have a nice talk about how old I am or something?”

Meredith gave Evie another odd look. “Not precisely,” she said.

“Oh,” Evie said, pretending to be surprised. “Because that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? I mean, that’s why we’re talking? Because you want to make speeches at me about how wildly inappropriate it is that someone my age is with Natalie?”

Meredith sighed again. She was starting to seem more irritated, as if Evie was actually exasperating her. She still spoke calmly, though. “Not exactly,” she said.

“Oh really. You aren’t about to make a speech?”

“Not unless you want me to.”

“Not especially.” Evie thought for a moment. “Oh,” she said. “I see. You’re checking up on me instead. Whether I’m fucking Natalie around or something?”

“In a way.”

“Yeah,” Evie said. “Of course you are.” It was obvious once she’d thought of it.

“Not exactly in the way you think, I suspect,” Meredith said. “But I’m concerned you might be using Nat to get ahead, yes.”

“And?” Evie said. “What if I am?”

“Don’t.”

Evie was a little surprised. That was more direct than she’d expected.

“Don’t,” Meredith said. “Because I can hurt you. A lot, as it turns out.”