Evie's Job

114: Evie

Evie sat on the couch, holding Natalie, looking out at the view. She watched dusk fall over the harbour, and the lights of ferries on the water, and wondered how it had all happened that she’d ended up here.

“So the other thing we weren’t talking about,” Natalie said suddenly.

“What other thing?” Evie said.

“From a moment ago,” Natalie said. “Whether we were talking about jobs or something else…”

“Oh that,” Evie said.

“Well, we’re done with jobs, so let’s talk about the something else.”

“Um,” Evie said. “Okay.”

“I have a thought,” Natalie said.

“I imagine you do.”

“An idea, that’s all. Just while everything’s becoming organized, and we’re kind of settling down…”

“Oh no,” Evie said.

“What?”

“This sounds like something big.”

“It is,” Natalie said. “But not something bad.”

“It better not be,” Evie said.

Natalie smiled. “Move in here,” she said. “Move in properly. All your things. Move completely, and stop paying rent on your flat.”

Evie sat there for a moment, thinking. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for a while,” Natalie said. “But I promised myself I’d wait until you found a job.”

“Um, I haven’t yet…”

“If not this one, then the next…?”

“Oh,” Evie said. “Yeah.”

“What I mean is,” Natalie said. “We’ve settled something about jobs tonight, so now feels like the time. If feels close enough to you finding a job that now we should.”

“You’re impatient,” Evie said.

“Probably.”

“You really want to do this?”

“Of course I do. You’re here most of the time anyway, and we seem to be able to stand each other, so why not? We seem to have got through some quite tricky times, like your exams…”

“And Meredith turning up,” Evie said.

Natalie looked a bit surprised, and then grinned. “Well, yes, that too.”

Evie thought for a moment. Natalie seemed quite serious. It wasn’t the most romantic way to say it, but Evie understood what she meant.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Natalie said. “I have been a lot. It seems like a good idea to do this now, that’s all.”

“Did you practice that?” Evie said. “Because you sound like you’re in court…”

“A little,” Natalie said, and grinned.

Evie sat there for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. “I can’t afford half the rent,” she said. “There’s that.”

“What rent?” Natalie said.

“The rent I’d have to pay. I couldn’t afford half of it here. Not even close to half of it.”

“There’s no rent,” Natalie said. “I own the apartment.”

“Yeah, but if I’m living here I need to pay rent.”

“The mortgage is paid off. There isn’t anything to pay…”

“That isn’t how it works. I still need to pay.”

Natalie sighed. She sighed as if she’d expected Evie to say something like that. “There’s no rent, there’s no mortgage,” she said. “But you can pay half the water bill if you absolutely insist. How about that?”

Evie looked at her, thinking. “Why the water? Why not the power?”

“No reason,” Natalie said, but she seemed slightly guilty. She seemed as if she had actually said water on purpose. Evie thought for a moment, and decided she probably had. Evie had seen the power bills lying around, and they weren’t small.

“Oh,” Evie said. “Because the power’s a lot more.”

“Um, no,” Natalie said.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Evie said.

Natalie shrugged, and seemed almost embarrassed. “Fine,” she said. “That isn’t the point. Pay the power or the water, whatever you like.”

“I can’t afford either,” Evie said. “So it is kind of the point. I can’t pay a thing if I don’t have a job. Which I don’t have yet.”

“I know, but…” Natalie stopped, and thought. “You don’t have to pay anything,” she said. “I don’t want you to, so please don’t.”

“I have to pay something. We’ve talked about this. It sometimes seems like all we ever do is talk about this…”

“All right,” Natalie said quickly. “So pay half of something else. Pick something and pay that, whatever you like.”

“The phone?” Evie said. “That’s about all I could afford.”

“That’s fine.”

“Or the tea?” Evie said. “Maybe I could pay for that.”

Natalie grinned. “If you like.”

“You’re serious,” Evie said. “I should live here and buy tea to contribute?”

“Of course I’m serious.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Fine,” Natalie said. “Then don’t pay anything. It’s quite nice tea, anyway. It’s expensive. You probably couldn’t afford it.”

Evie sighed.

“This is your idea, remember,” Natalie said. “I don’t want you to pay anything. Not a thing until you can. It’s fine.”

Evie didn’t know what to say. She wanted to move in, she actually did, and Natalie was right that it wouldn’t really change very much about their lives. Evie wasn’t sure about not paying, though. That just didn’t seemed right. She was so not sure about it that she was close to refusing.

“Look at it this way,” Natalie said, after a moment. “A lot of things I have to pay anyway, just for me. Like the power and the water. And actually, the tea. I’d be using all of it anyway, even if you weren’t here, so what extra you use doesn’t really make a difference.”

Evie wondered if that was true. The heating and lights, she decided, it probably was, but not the water. Not hot water. She had to use more hot water just by showering. She was about to point that out.

“Don’t argue,” Natalie said. “Please. The money’s fine. Those are just details, they don’t really matter.”

“They matter.”

“Not right now. Just leave them for a second. Tell me whether you actually want to move in or not.”

Evie didn’t answer. She kept looking at Natalie.

“Please?” Natalie said. “Just tell me if you want to. We’ll work the rest out somehow.”

“I do,” Evie said. “Of course I do.

“Really?”

“I want to,” Evie said. “I promise. I just don’t know if I should.”