“We’ll go out after—another hour won’t kill him. What about matzo ball soup? We still have some leftovers from the weekend.”
“All right.”
Eva made her way to the kitchen, adding a generous helping of soup to a pan on the stove. Her phone rang while she waited for it to boil, and she smiled at the name flashing across her screen. “Hey, stranger.”
“Hi, Eva.” Kate’s voice was familiar in her ear. “It’s been a while. How you doing? Bored of small-town life yet?”
“I was bored of small-town life the day I moved here.” Eva stirred the soup with a wooden spoon. She’d always been more of a city person, had loved spending her weekends exploring museums or finding the best local spots to eat. Chicago was nearby, but she didn’t like being too far away from her mother. Especially after a day like today. “I miss D.C.”
“D.C. misses you, too. And by D.C., I mean me.”
“Naturally. How are things over there?”
“Same as ever. You know nothing exciting happens here. What about you? Got anything fun planned for the rest of the day?”
Eva glanced toward the hall, where she’d left the pile of papers she had to grade.
“Grading AP biology homework.”
“Exciting.”
“Oh it’s thrilling.”
Kate chuckled. “We can swap if you want. I’m currently sitting in my office with a stack of essays on nanoparticles, and a thesis to read through before the end of the week.”
“Unfortunately that’s outside of my range of expertise.”
“Are you telling me there’s something the great Eva Thomas doesn’t know?”
“Fuck off,” Eva said, but she was smiling. Kate was the one person she’d tolerate teasing from. “And stop telling me about your office. My office is my bedroom. I have a delightful view of my elderly neighbor’s hot tub.”
“Aren’t you lucky? I have a view of campus. It looks lovely in the sunset.”
“I hate you.”
“Well, that’s rude. I’m not going to come and visit you.”
Eva paused, cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she reached for two bowls. “What?”
“It’s why I called. There’s a conference in Chicago next month, and yours truly is one of the guest speakers. I thought we could meet up while I’m in the area.”
“I’d like that.” She’d seen Kate on a visit to Georgetown with the school before summer, but Eva would never turn down the chance to reconnect with a part of her old life. It would have the bonus of getting her mother off her back for having no social life, too.
“Great. I’ll call you closer to the time and we can set something out. I’d better get back to my own grading or I’m going to have fifty angry kids writing me complaints.”
That was one thing Eva didn’t miss. She might teach more classes now, but the assignments were much less time-consuming to grade, and the deadlines weren’t as tight. “I’ll see you soon. Bye, Kate.”
Eva had a spring in her step as she returned to her mother’s bedroom, carefully carrying both bowls and making sure not to spill a drop. She was exactly where Eva had left her, and Eva put the bowls down to help her mother sit up before curling up beside her.
“Thank you,” her mother said, sipping delicately at her soup. “But you don’t have to join me. I know not eating at the table offends you.”
Eva swallowed her bite of matzo ball. “I’ll make an exception for you. Do you want me to come home early tomorrow?” Thursdays were usually spent squirreled away in her classroom until night fell, her mother busy with Angela, but Eva wouldn’t hesitate to change her plans if she was needed.
“No, it’s okay. Angela’s still coming over. We can watch Netflix in here if I’m not up to moving. And you know she’ll make sure I eat.”
“True.” Angela was almost as protective of her mother as Eva was, for which she was endlessly grateful. “But promise you’ll call me if you need me?”
“I promise.”
