It Goes Like This by Miel Moreland

Author:Miel Moreland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

JULY 2021

EVA

“There’s stuff for tacos out if you want some, when you’re ready,” Ms. Miles says as they enter through the garage door and line up their shoes in the mudroom.

It’s like being thirteen again, before any of this happened, when they were still four of thousands of kids out there with castles in the clouds shaped like Hollywood stars.

It’s maybe, Eva thinks, what nineteen is supposed to look like: coming home from college over the summer, hanging out at your high school friends’ houses. Your high school friends’ parents’ houses, anyway. Dinner you cook yourself, or at least cooked by someone you’re not paying in anything other than gratitude. But Eva likes her nineteen all the same, despite everything, because of everything, and she suspects Celeste does too.

“Thanks, Mom,” says Steph. They lead the way into the kitchen.

A cursory glance at the two pots still warm on the stove reveals them to be half-full of beef and chicken, respectively. A dozen dishes on the center island contain every taco fixing and appropriate side dish a Midwesterner could want: salsa (not too hot), shredded cheese, sour cream, coleslaw … A lot of dairy that Celeste won’t eat with meat, but at least she’s always liked tomatoes.

“You didn’t have to do this for us,” Celeste says.

“It looks great,” Eva says.

“It smells great,” says Gina.

Ms. Miles waves this aside. “I’m used to cooking for a crowd. I’m going upstairs to talk with Meghan about some college things, but holler if you need me.”

Matt is sitting at the kitchen table, idly eating a few last salsa chips and doing something on his phone. He looks over as they start to fill their plates. Eva scoops chicken onto her tortilla, then hands the serving spoon off to Celeste. They’re so close together, Celeste’s hip presses against her own.

“Well?” Matt asks. “Am I living with pop stars or what?”

“Looks like,” Steph says. “Sorry.”

Matt shrugs and stands to clear his dishes.

Eva hands the sour cream spoon to Steph without offering it to Celeste. When she catches Celeste’s smile, she startles, wondering if Celeste’s habits have changed, but Celeste shakes her head. Eva knew that Celeste hadn’t kept strict kosher, the kind that required separate dish sets and sinks, not at home in middle school and not in the band. She’d still had to make an info sheet for their small squadron of PAs on tour, with notes like, If we send you out on a secret fast-food run, 1. Do not tell our nutritionist. 2. Do not get me a cheeseburger.

“You could do us a favor, though,” Steph says.

“Who, me?” Matt closes the dishwasher and straightens up.

“Yeah, you,” Steph says. “Want to drive us to and from rehearsal?”

“Uh, why?” He leans his elbows on the center island. “You can drive.”

“Because rehearsal is exhausting, and if one of us falls asleep at the wheel and crashes the car, the concert will be off,” Steph says.

“You think you’re going to fall asleep driving in the ten minutes it takes to get from downtown?” Matt sounds mostly skeptical, but also a little impressed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.