Fat Chance

Chapter 3

Evie woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. Immediately, she recognized that it was the ringtone that she’d custom set for her mother.

“Hi, Mom,” Evie answered, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Hi, sweetie. You are coming to brunch with your sister and me this morning, right?” she asked, “I need to call Betty and make sure she knows.”

Evie looked at her clock. It was 10:23 and they normally went to brunch at eleven.

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Evie said, trying her best to sound calm while jumping out of bed and rushing to find appropriate clothes to wear.

“Okay, good. Your sister and I will be over to get you in thirty minutes. Please be ready this time, pumpkin,” her mother reminded her.

“I will, I will. I love you. Bye,” she rushed her mom off the phone. Normally she didn’t mind talking to her mother on the phone; enjoyed it, even. But she was in a rush, and didn’t need another lecture about being ready and everyone having to wait on her to finish up.

She didn’t mind driving to brunch. It was in the historic downtown of one of the surrounding cities. It was small, quaint, and they’d been going since Evie was thirteen. She may have been a big city girl, but there would always be a small part of her that longed for the quiet, quaint, and comfortable.

Evie managed to find a nice, short sleeved mint blouse that she paired with straight-leg jeans, and her cute sandals she’d bought back in May. She put on her makeup, and was out the door before her mother and sister even showed up.

Evie laughed to herself, imagining the shock on their faces when they saw she was ready before they even arrived.

When they arrived out front, Evie spotted her younger sister, Christiana, in the front seat. She smirked at Evie, knowing she’d have to sit in the back seat. No matter how old Evie got, she was always taken back to when she was younger, and the girls would fight over who got the front seat. Somehow, Christiana usually managed to win that fight.

“Hi, sweetie!” Her mom greeted her, happily. She’d just seen Evie the night before, but she always loved spending time with her.

“Hi mom,” Evie replied, giving her mom a kiss on the cheek before she buckled her seat belt.

“Hi, Evangeline!” Christiana greeted her, more annoyed at the idea that she’d been ignored, or forgotten than actually wanting to say hi.

“Hi, Chrissy,” Evie replied, if not a tiny bit sarcastically.

They got to the restaurant, and Evie was pleased with its sameness. It never changed, and that was one of the things she loved most about it. Time stood still there. Sure, they rearranged the displays in the shop at the front every now and then, but for the most part, everything else stayed the same.

The tea room they always went to was in the back of a cute little shop. The creaky wood floors and open ceiling reminded Evie of a time long ago when shops such as this were common. Every once in a while, she caught herself longing to live in a time and place like this. Only, not necessarily in the Texas heat. Sure, she loved Texas. It was the only place she’d ever been happy, but she so desperately wanted to be in London or Paris or even Greece.

Evie was shaken from her daydreams when she heard the unmistakably happy voice of Betty, the tea room owner greeting them. She was always so happy to see them, and that alone could put Evie in a good mood. She chatted with them for awhile before hurrying off to get their usual drinks.

When Betty left, Evie’s mom grabbed her hand.

“I’m so glad we got to do this today. I missed spending time with my girls,” she said looking at Evie, then Chrissy adoringly.