Evvie at Sixteen by Susan Beth Pfeffer Read Free Book Online Page B

said.
    Evvie shrugged. “There isn’t much point,” she said. “You look at my parents and see heartbreak. I look at them and see love. You see insecurity, I see adventure. You think she’s alienated from you, and I know how much she still loves you and worries about you. And Sybil doesn’t look anything like a potato.”
    â€œA turnip then,” Aunt Grace said. “Tell me something, Evvie. Is the life your mother has the one you want for yourself?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Evvie said. “I don’t know yet what I want. It’s what Thea wants, I know that.”
    â€œWhat books did you bring to read this summer?” Aunt Grace asked.
    â€œ Jane Eyre, ” Evvie replied. “ Vanity Fair. And the complete works of Jane Austen.”
    â€œI like murder mysteries,” Grace said. “I was hoping you’d brought some murder mysteries I hadn’t read yet.”
    â€œSorry,” Evvie said. “There was something nineteenth century about this trip, so I only took nineteenth century books with me.”
    â€œI was born in the nineteenth century,” Aunt Grace declared. “I still remember New Year’s Eve, 1899. My mother let me stay up until midnight to see the new century come in. I was a very little girl, and I was so excited. I took a nap that afternoon, so I wouldn’t be sleepy, and I had supper in the nursery with my older brother Alden. Marcus, my baby brother, was still an infant. I was terrified of falling asleep. Alden told me if I wasn’t awake at midnight, I’d sleep through the entire twentieth century. Alden was a nasty boy, but there are times I wish his prophecy had been true.”
    Evvie smiled. “Did you manage to stay up?” she asked.
    â€œOf course I did,” Grace said. “My parents gave a ball … the ladies were so lovely, and the band played waltzes, and at midnight all the church bells of Boston rang. It woke Marcus up, and he started crying. Nanny was very cross. She blamed it on the Irish, those church bells waking up Marcus.”
    â€œMy grandfather wasn’t born yet,” Evvie said.
    â€œNo, he came later,” Grace replied. “After Marcus there was a little girl, Amelia, and she died when she was two. Then five years later, Reggie was born. Alden died in the First World War.”
    â€œI remember Marcus though,” Evvie said. “From when I was little. He was a big man, and he had a wife and children and grandchildren, and they all frightened me.”
    â€œMarcus enjoyed making noise,” Grace agreed. “He also enjoyed making shrewd investments. Thanks to him, we weathered the Depression. I suppose Margaret should have gone to live with his family when Reggie and Clarissa died, but Marcus and Anne already had six children of their own, and Margaret was such a quiet girl. So I took her in. It was my duty, and I didn’t regret it. Of course, I’d always been quite fond of Reggie. He was the baby in the family, spoiled, and charming. Is Sybil like that?”
    Evvie shook her head. “Sybil’s too levelheaded,” she replied. “She isn’t the sort of person you spoil just because she’s youngest.”
    â€œLucky for her,” Grace said. “Very well. You’ve done your good deed for the day, listening to an old woman’s reminiscences.”
    â€œI enjoyed it,” Evvie said. It was better than listening to Grace attacking Nicky.
    â€œNonetheless, you must be hungry,” Grace said. “And eager to explore your new surroundings. Bring the tray down to the kitchen, I’ve eaten all I care to, and ask Mrs. Baker to send up another cup of coffee for me. Then have your breakfast, and go into town.”
    â€œNo, I’ll stay here and keep you company a while longer,” Evvie said.
    â€œWhen I want you to keep me company, I’ll tell you so,” Aunt Grace declared. “Now I want