Evie's Job

43: Natalie

Evie seemed to have stopped talking, as if perhaps she’d laughed too much, or thought too hard, and run out of liveliness. She stayed in the bathroom for a while, quietly smoking, and Natalie lay on the bed and watched her. It was getting late, Natalie supposed. Evie might well be tired. Natalie was, a little, now she was lying down.

After a while, Evie squashed out her cigarette and put the end back into her packet. She stood up, and came back through to the bedroom, and sat on the bed beside Natalie. She seemed distracted. She glanced around, and was still holding her cigarettes.

Natalie watched, unsure what Evie wanted to do next. She wasn’t sure if they were finished and Evie wanted to go home, or if she was about to suggest having more sex. Natalie wondered, but didn’t want to be pushy and ask. She’d always felt odd about asking, because she felt like it made her seem too fussy. As if she couldn’t just relax and wait and see what happened. She didn’t want to ask, and she didn’t want Evie to think she was being told to leave either, so she sat and waited, silently.

Evie sat a little longer, but still seemed unsettled. In the end, she said, “Well, maybe I should get going.”

Natalie wasn’t especially surprised. “You don’t need to,” she said.

“It’s pretty late. What time to you get up?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Evie nodded. “All the same, I probably should go.”

“Of course. If you’re sure. But you don’t have to.”

Evie thought for a moment. “Why?” she said. “Do you want me to stay or something?”

“Only if you do.”

“Stay the night?”

Natalie shrugged. “If you want to, you can. If it’s easier for you. That’s all.”

“But you don’t actually want me to?”

Natalie wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t ready to take risks, to take the chance of making assumptions about what Evie expected, or looking silly. She didn’t even know whether Evie would even think it was late yet. She had a feeling Evie probably kept different hours to her.

“It’s really up to you,” Natalie said. “If you’d like to, then stay. But only if you want to.”

“It’s pretty late. And I’ll probably just go to sleep.”

“Me too.”

“Then probably it’s just a nuisance if I do,” Evie said. “I mean, for the morning. I’ll be in the way while you’re getting ready.”

Natalie nodded. Briefly, she considered saying she did want Evie to stay. She almost did, then hesitated. Evie didn’t seem like she wanted to. Evie sounded quite indifferent. Evie was probably right, Natalie thought. They’d just be in each other’s way in the morning. It was probably best not to.

“Okay,” Evie said, after a moment. “Well, I will another time.”

“All right.” Natalie hesitated. “I mean, I’d like that, if you did.”

Evie looked up. “Another time?”

“Or now. Whatever you like.”

Evie seemed uncertain. “It just seems a little soon for us to be cuddling all night, that’s all.”

“Evie, honestly, whatever you like.”

“I think I should go,” Evie said, and looked around for her clothes. She started dressing, then stopped. “Hey,” she said. “We are doing this again, yeah?”

“Of course. If you want to.”

“That’s what I’m asking. Do you want to? I mean, I kind of put you on the spot before…”

“You didn’t.”

“I really did. So now I’m asking, and you don’t have to be polite if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.”

Evie grinned. “You want to be polite?” she said.

Evie understood, Natalie thought, but couldn’t help teasing. “You know exactly what I mean,” Natalie said.

Evie nodded, still grinning. “Yeah, I do. I want to as well, okay?”

“I’m glad.”

Evie found her underwear, and pulled them on, and then did her bra by reaching up behind her back. Evie was elegant, Natalie thought. Elegant, even when not doing anything special, elegant in the everyday. She got dressed no differently to Natalie, and did things, like fastening her bra, that they both did day after day, but Evie seemed elegant, and Natalie wasn’t sure why.

Natalie sat there, thinking. There were things she wanted to say, things she was feeling that she ought to let out, which she hadn’t had a chance to yet, tonight.

“Evie,” Natalie said. “That was… I mean, I’m …”

Evie reached over and put her hand on Natalie’s mouth. It was still a little damp, and slightly cool. Natalie stopped talking, surprised.

“Don’t say it,” Evie said.

Natalie looked at her.

“Of course I know,” Evie said. “Of course you are. But don’t say it. Not yet.”

Evie took her hand away and Natalie said, “All right.”

“I’ll be back,” Evie said. “We’ll do this again. I’m just still thinking.”

“Thinking?”

“I guess I’m still a bit surprised you’re as old as my mum and you’re getting a crush on me.”

“I’m not…” Natalie said, then stopped. She didn’t want to lie, didn’t want to deny it, in case it mattered later.

“Yeah,” Evie said. “Exactly.” She smiled, and pulled on her shirt. “We have stuff we should probably talk about,” she said. “But just not yet.”

“Of course.”

“Soon, okay?”

“When you’re ready.”

“When you are too,” Evie said. “Just not too soon. Not so we spoil anything.”

Natalie nodded slowly. That almost made sense.

Evie stood up and pulled on her jeans.

“And tomorrow?” Natalie said. “Are we still having dinner?”

“Well yeah,” Evie said, seeming surprised. “Of course. Wasn’t that the point of this?”

“Was it?”

“Um, yeah,” Evie said, like it was obvious. “Wasn’t it? To get this part out the way, with all the pressure and everything, and then just enjoy having dinner and talking and stuff…”

“Oh,” Natalie said. “Yes.” For some reason she’d thought that was an excuse, and was a little surprised Evie had actually meant it. She was actually glad Evie had. It was wonderfully Evie, somehow.

Evie smiled, and went into the bathroom and tidy up her hair. Natalie sat on the bed and watched. Evie didn’t take long. She was quick, quicker than Natalie would have been. She came back into the bedroom and looked around. “Okay,” she said. “I think I’m done.”

“Tomorrow,” Natalie said again, making sure, keeping her voice steady, not desperate at all.

“Of course,” Evie said, and kissed her. Kissed for several minutes, far longer than Natalie had expected. Then Evie said, “Bye,” and went to the door, and down the hallway, and left, and Natalie stayed on the bed and watched her go.

She heard the front door close, and knew Evie was gone, and was strangely happy. Everything actually seemed to have gone quite well.