The Best Lines

by Nicole Pyland

“Yes, please. Good morning.” Ember sat on the bench seat and Gabby poured her a cup of coffee. The sugar, cream, and coffee pot were all on the table. “How are you this morning?” Ember asked her and then fixed her coffee.

  “Well, my youngest daughter is getting married, and I am happy for many reasons.”

  “I bet.”

  “One is because I want her to be happy and she loves that John. The other is because I cannot wait to get her out of this house.”

  Ember nearly choked.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I love all my children, but Anna wasn’t exactly planned.”

  “Right,” Ember drew out the word.

  “She knows she was an accident. A happy accident, but an accident. Hank and I are more than ready to be empty nesters and to have all these weddings behind us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Her brothers are done. Anna’s done today.”

  Ember put her cup down.

  “What about Eva?”

  “Oh, Eva,” Gabby said as if she just remembered she had another daughter. “Of course. I don’t know about Eva. You probably know her better than I do. Is she seeing anyone?”

  “You’d have to ask her that.”

  Gabby squinted at her. Ember could see a little of Eva in that squint.

  “Well, if that girl ever does get married, she won’t want it to be here, and she wouldn’t want her father and me involved in the planning. Knowing her, she wouldn’t even let us pay for it, like we’re supposed to.”

  “Tradition?” Ember added.

  “We’ve had money saved for all of our children’s weddings. I doubt Eva would want it. She’s always been so stubborn. She had to get off the farm, she had to go to school and then keep going to school because she had to become a Doctor of Literature. She could have been a real doctor, if she wanted to just be a doctor of something.”

  “She is a real doctor,” Ember said defensively. “She’s a Ph. D. That’s amazing. It’s incredibly difficult to do that.”

  “Are you also a Ph. D?” Gabby asked.

  Ember laughed.

  “No, I run a restaurant.”

  “I thought you two met at a bar.”

  “We did. My parents own a restaurant, but the bar is my brother’s. That’s where we met officially.”

  “I see.” Gabby took a sip. “And she’s doing well?”

  “Eva?”

  “Yes, she’s good at her work?” Gabby asked, and Ember wondered if she should be the one answering these questions.

  “She’s amazing.” Ember settled on a generic compliment. “She cares about her students. She has this curiosity and this thirst for knowledge, and she’s a genuinely nice person. She’s amazing.”

  And there was that squint again.

  “You and my daughter, you’re really just friends?”

  “I should probably go get Eva.” Ember moved to stand.

  “Nope. You stay right there and answer my question, November. If I knew your middle name-”

  “Celeste. It’s Celeste.”

  “Well, November Celeste, what are you not telling me?”

  “Mom, leave her alone.” Eva entered the kitchen. “Anna needs you. I told her I wouldn’t take in her dress because it fits fine. She’s freaking out and, apparently, her big sister can’t fix the problem, so instead of harassing Ember, go upstairs and take care of her.”

  “Eva Rose!” Gabby stared down her daughter. “I didn’t raise-”

  “Me to yell at my mom, I know.”

  Gabby stood and appeared to accept defeat.

  “I’ll talk to her. She’s just got a case of cold feet. Perfectly normal.” She paused. “And I’ll deal with you two later.” She pointed between the two of them and then left the kitchen.

  Ember followed Gabby with her eyes until she knew she was out of earshot.

  “Your mother is slightly terrifying.”

  Eva laughed and sat down next to her. She grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself a cup.

  “Sorry, I’ll talk to her later.”

  “She used my middle name.”

  “You gave it to her. I heard all those compliments you gave me.” Her face softened. “Thank you. You didn’t have to say all that.”

  “It’s true.” They looked at one another for a moment. “So, what’s on the agenda for the day? Are we going to milk any cows?” Ember asked.

  “That’s already been taken care of. My dad’s out there.”

  “So, I don’t get the whole farm experience. You may have oversold this trip, Scout.”

  “You’d rather do farm chores than kiss me? I seem to recall that happening on this trip.”

  “Undersold. I meant undersold.”

  “Much better.” Eva leaned in and kissed her cheek again. “I have to do a bunch of wedding stuff. I didn’t realize they’d have me do so much. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay. I have stuff I can do to keep me occupied.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, I brought stuff.”

  “Math podcasts?” Eva asked.

  “Among other things, yes.”

  “Did you eat?”

  “Not yet,” Ember said.

  “I can make us some eggs and then go deal with the bridezilla upstairs.”

  “That sounds good.”

  ◆◆◆

  “I thought I’d find you in here,” Eva stated as she made her way into the tree house. “What are you doing?” She stood and looked around the space and noticed a few piles of books she recognized in front of Ember in the bean bag chair.

  “Reading,” Ember explained.

  “Are these my books?” Eva knelt down to examine the books closer.

  “I hope you don’t mind. I was going to put them back when I was done.”

  “You’ve read all these?”

  “Most of them. I’ve been re-reading the ones I really like before moving onto the next one,” Ember said and felt a little embarrassed.

  “Why?”

  “Because you like them,” Ember answered her.

  “Can I share that with you?” Eva nodded toward the chair.

  “Sure.” Ember moved over and opened the blankets, so that Eva could slide under.

  “Yesterday, when we were up here, you said you attended more classes.”

  “I thought you’d forgotten about that.” Ember leaned back and relaxed against the chair.

  “I didn’t know if I should bring it up. I know you don’t like to talk about this stuff.”

  “Talking to you about it got me to thinking that maybe I could give it a try. I thought I’d audit a few classes, hate them, but I could say that I tried. But I liked them, and then you and I went to that seminar. I liked that too.” She exhaled. “I don’t know if I could do that for the next four years and that’s just for an undergraduate degree.”

  “You were bored?”

  “Yes, it was just like when I was younger. I like learning about it, but I can’t go that slow. I’ll stop showing up, stop caring, and I’ll be wasting my money.”

  “There are special programs for people like you.”

  “You’re saying I need special education?” Ember asked incredulously.

  Eva lifted her arm out of the blanket and placed it around Ember’s shoulder. Ember felt herself melt into Eva’s body as she rested her head on her shoulder and placed an arm over Eva’s stomach under the blanket.

  “I’m saying there are advanced programs. College isn’t like high school. It’s more adaptive. You’d likely test out of all your pre-requisites. That’s about two years right there. You could get into a customizable program at the right university, find a mentor like I did when I was in school, and you could be working on a Ph. D in a few years. Maybe even less. I don’t really understand how smart you are.”

  “Probably my fault since I don’t talk about it.”

  “It’s not even that. I can’t understand it because I’m not that kind of smart. You read a book on car repair and figu
red out what was wrong in under five minutes. You knew this tree house was structurally sound just by looking at it. You can sit in those seminars and understand everything the speakers are talking about. You’re a genius, Ember.” She took a breath and Ember felt the movement of her chest. “If you don’t want to do anything with that, that’s fine, but I think you’d be wasting your potential. More than that though, I don’t think you’ll be happy until you try. I know your parents ignored it, but they’re crazy because you are amazing.”

  ◆◆◆

  Eva dressed for her sister’s wedding in her room while Ember dressed in the guest room. She still wasn’t sure what they were to one another because they’d yet to discuss it, but she at least knew she wouldn’t have to deal with that tonight. At the wedding, they’d just be friends regardless of what had been going on between them.

  “Hello?”

  “Dr. Dash, it’s Michelle Kerry from NDSU.”

  “Oh, Dr. Kerry, hello.” She moved the phone from one ear to the other.

  “I know it’s the weekend, but I promised I would let you know when I knew. I had a departmental function this morning with the faculty. I was able to chat with a few of them about your credentials and our interview. I wanted to tell you that we’d love to have you onboard with us for the fall semester.”

  “Really?” Eva sat on the edge of the bed.

  “I know you need to think about things since this would require that you relocate and, based on our conversation, I know you have those summer classes lined up. We don’t want you to have to change those plans or anything. I’d like to put together the offer paperwork and email you everything. You can review it and get back to us.”

  “That would be great. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Kerry.”

  “Of course. We can give you until the end of the month to make up your mind before we have to move onto other candidates.”

  “I understand. I’ll have an answer for you before then.”

  “Great. If you have any questions, let me know.”

  “Thanks again, Dr. Kerry.”

  “We’d be thrilled to have you join us, Dr. Dash.”

  “Hey, you ready? Your sister’s about to get hitched.” Ember was standing in the doorway.

  “Wow!” Eva stared at her.

  Ember was wearing a dress that was almost floor length and the shade of evergreen with patterned white flowers. It bunched at her hips and had short sleeves with a scoop neck.

  “What?”

  “What? What do you mean what? You look…” She stood up. “You look beautiful.”

  “You too. That bridesmaid dress looks even better on you today. How is that possible?”

  “Maybe because I’m actually wearing the whole ensemble today. Dress, shoes, make-up, and the earrings might have something to do with it.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Ladies, we’re heading over there. We’ll see you in a bit.” Gabby stood in the doorway behind Ember. “You especially.” She pointed at Eva. “Ten minutes late and I’m sending a search party.”

  “Yes, mom.” Eva laughed. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  Gabby disappeared. Ember walked further into the room.

  “You ready?” Ember asked.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “Let’s go, bridesmaid.”

  ◆◆◆

  The ceremony itself was short and simple. Anna and John exchanged their vows and kissed, Eva followed them down the aisle, and they quickly took photos inside the house and outside on the property in the cold, because none of the women could stand to be outside for long in those short dresses. When Eva returned, the rows of chairs were gone. The tables were full of guests engaging in conversation while a band played softly in the background. She saw Ember speaking with Denise, Anna’s best friend and maid of honor, and wanted to walk over to her, but her mother caught her before she could.

  “Alright, wedding’s over.” Gabby pointed out. “You wanna tell me what’s going on with you and little Miss Ember over there?”

  “Mom!”

  “Well, what did you expect, Eva Rose? You only visit when you have to, you never bring anyone home and then you spring this Ember on us and tell me you’re just friends. You two look like you’re a lot more than just friends.”

  “Mom, did Anna say something to you?”

  “No, what does she have to do with any of this?”

  “Nothing.” Eva glanced and saw that Ember had moved onto a different table and had encountered her brood of nieces and nephews and her sisters-in-law. She was smiling and laughing at something her young niece had said. “We met about a month ago, mom. We were friends when I invited her, and up until yesterday, that’s all we were. I wouldn’t do anything tonight to ruin Anna’s wedding. Ember knows we’re just friends here.”

  Gabby turned her head to the side.

  “Eva, that’s not what I meant.” She pulled on Eva’s arm and they made their way off toward the back of the barn to have more privacy. “I think I’ve messed this up. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you had to hide who you are.” She exhaled. “I know I haven’t always understood this part of you, but I haven’t exactly had the chance to try either. You’re never here. The only times I hear about the women you’re with is on the phone. I’ve never even seen you with a girlfriend in person. It’s still a little hard for me to understand how it all works, I guess.” She paused. “Originally, I didn’t want you to bring a girlfriend here because we hadn’t told everyone about you. I knew if you showed up with someone it would be a distraction for the people around here. I didn’t want that for Anna. That’s all true, but we should have told everyone sooner, so it wouldn’t have been a big deal. I should have welcomed you more so you felt that it would be okay to bring a woman home.”

  “Mom…”

  “We’re trying, honey,” Gabby told her. “Your dad and I are trying. We want you to be happy. We know you weren’t happy here. You were never supposed to be a farm girl.”

  “I was happy here, mom.”

  “Not like your brothers and Anna. I think we’ve made you feel like that’s not okay, but it is, Eva. It’s okay that you’ve found a place to belong and people who support you and care about you. I wish we could be involved more, but we just don’t fit into that world. You know, your grandma and I used to joke that you had to have been switched at birth because you were so different than your father and me. The last thing I read was a Reader’s Digest. Your dad can’t even stand the daily paper, but you were always buried in a book or scribbling in a diary.” She looked around the barn. “That woman cares about you. I don’t know what you are to one another, but I can tell that. There’s the way she looks at you like you’re the only thing in the room. That is something very important, Eva. When someone looks at you like you’re the only one there, that’s not something to turn away from. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Yes, mom.” Eva smiled at her mother.

  “Don’t just agree with me because you think that’s what I want to hear.”

  “I’m not.” Eva laughed. “I understand what you’re saying.”

  “You two are more than just friends now? Since yesterday? What happened yesterday, Eva Rose? Was it under my roof?”

  Eva thought about how to answer that question. Technically, it was in the tree house and then in the barn and then on the porch. Crap. The porch had a roof over it.

  “We’ve kissed, mom. That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” She glared.

  “Mom, that’s all. I swear.”

  “Alright, I believe you.” She looked in Ember’s direction. “Oh no, little Daisy has her. You’re not likely to get her back for the rest of the night.” Gabby pointed to her exuberant seven-year-old granddaughter.

  “She’s tough. She can handle it.”

  “Your father said she helped fix the car. She’s a mechanic, runs a bar and a restaurant?”

  “She has many talents.”

  “Well, if you
can get her away from Daisy and you want to dance with her later, you should.”

  “What?”

  “I talked to Anna.”

  “I asked you if she’d said something about us this morning.”

  “What happened this morning?” The glare returned.

  “Nothing, mom. God! I swear, I come back here and it’s like I’m sixteen again.” She looked at her sister who was mingling with her new husband. “She saw Ember and me…”

  “You better say holding hands, Eva Rose.”

  “We slept in the same bed, mom. Nothing sexual. She just couldn’t sleep, and that was all we did. Anna came in without knocking.” She watched her mother raise her eyebrows. “We were fully clothed. Nothing happened.”

  “And tonight? What’s going to happen tonight?”

  “Nothing, mom.”

  Gabby seemed to be considering possibly putting some kind of special lock on the doors to keep the two of them apart, which Eva found kind of hilarious.

  “I talked to your sister earlier. She said that if you and Miss November over there were more than friends and you wanted to be that at the wedding tonight, she wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

  “She did?”

  “You can talk to her if you don’t believe me.”

  “Of course, I believe you.”

  “Good. Well, I have to go mingle with all these people and help keep this thing running smoothly.” She looked at the ground and then took her daughter’s hand.

  “Come back more often, Eva Rose. It’s not that far of a drive.”

  “I will, mom.”

  “Your father and I can maybe visit. We’ve never been to Chicago, and you’ve been there for a long time.”

  “We’ll talk about it on the phone next week, okay?”

  Gabby dropped Eva’s hand and pulled her in for a hug. She walked off. Eva headed first for Ember before seeing Anna and instead pulled her off to the side.

  “Congratulations, baby sis!” She hugged her sister for the tenth time that day. “I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Did mom talk to you about Ember and me?”

  “I didn’t say anything about seeing you guys this morning, I swear.”

  “She said you gave an okay for Ember and-”