Evie turned the corner. She checked the clock to see if they had time to stop for a soda or ice cream. Terri needed comfort foods in a big way, and they didn’t have anything back at the house. She searched for some advice. “Journaling helps me clear my mind. Usually, when I write things down, the answer becomes clear. But I’m not even sure where you’d start writing in this situation. Feelings aren’t exactly black and white; they’re more of a Skittles bag full of colors that don’t mix.”
“Oh, they mix, all right. And they make mud. Which is what I’m in right now. Even now, I know I love him. I look at the man he’s become, and I ask how I could love a loser like that—and there isn’t an answer.”
Maybe instead of focusing on the problem, Terri needed a break. “I know this is a bad time to ask, but how are you at English?”
Terri’s head rolled to the side as she took Evie’s measure. “Like the language or what?”
“Like homework?”
“Terrible.”
Shoot. Okay, plan B. “How are you at making cookies?” She’d planned to have a snack for the girls, but Terri’s visit had taken longer than she’d anticipated.
“Cookies I can do. My grandma had a recipe that’s pretty great.”
Evie’s heart soared with hope. She had this feeling that Terri needed to be needed. “Do you have it with you?”
“I memorized it years ago.”
“Perfect.” She changed lanes and took the exit that would take them to the church. “I have a couple girls who are down on their luck who could really use some cookie therapy while they work on their homework.”
Terri shifted in her seat. “I wouldn’t mind baking. Grams used to say it’s good for the soul. Heaven knows I could use it.”
Evie patted her knee.
It didn’t take long for them to bounce through the pockmarked parking lot. Tosha and Cassidy were sitting on the curb, their knees pulled up to their chests. They hopped up when Evie killed the engine.
“Hello!” Evie waved energetically.
They responded with a quarter of the same enthusiasm. She tried not to take it personally; after all, this was a tutoring session, not a party. And there weren’t boys involved. Maybe one day there would be—once she finally got her act together and could take on more than the emergency case.
“You guys remember Terri? She’s going to cook something while we work.”
“Hey.” Tosha waved lightly.
“Why the long faces?” Evie motioned for them to head toward the church. There were ingredients in the kitchen and a large counter where they could all set up.
Cassidy gave a gusty sigh. “I got asked to prom, but my mom says I can’t go unless my grades are up.”
“That’s exciting!” Evie thrust the door open and held it while they trooped in. Terri came last, her face as long as the girls’. Evie shored herself up to be the perky one for the afternoon.
“It would be if I could actually pass this class. The teacher is impossible. She gives us essay on top of essay, and if we fall behind, there’s no mercy.”
“On top of that,” added Tosha, “I have to do a semester online to blank out the F from last term.” She threw her backpack on the floor.
“Welcome to life,” Terri muttered as she went to the sink to wash her hands.
Evie reached for inspiration. “We can only do the best we can do; then we ask for help. That’s what we’re here for. I’ll feed your brains; Terri will feed your stomachs. Hopefully, between the two of us, we’ll be able to move you along.”
The girls set up their school-issued Chromebooks and logged into the classroom. The assignments for the day weren’t big, but they took a while. The program was set up so that you had to get five right answers in a row. If you missed one, it bumped you back to the beginning with a new set of questions. Evie didn’t get the right answers all the time either. English grammar was a minefield.
“So, for who and whom, you just need to think of he and him.” She waited to make sure both girls were looking up from their screens before she continued. “If you can substitute him, then you use whom.”
They nodded together.
Suddenly, the kitchen filled with a delicious smell of chocolate chips warming in the oven. The three of them followed their noses to see Terri pulling a cookie sheet out of the oven. She’d been quiet, perhaps lost in her own troubles while baking, but finding three sets of eyes on her had her grinning. “Hungry?”
They nodded.
