It was nearly seven. Dinner had been great. I had to say that Diana was a wonderful cook.

Isaac, Tay, and Zac had been put on dish duty, and Lynn, Evie, and I took pity on them and offered to help.

Isaac ran the water and Evie and Tay gathered up the dishes. Zac went around collecting silverware, and Lynn sought out cups and glasses. Figuring everything was under control on the kitchen front, I scooted into the boys’ bedroom and quickly maneuvered over to my suitcase. A minute later, I was back went back to the kitchen.

“Where’d you go?” Evie asked as I walked into the room.

I grinned and brought the small radio out from behind my back. “To get some music,” I replied simply. Evie smiled as I flipped on the radio and began twisting the dial. After a moment of searching, I found a station with a good song. It was “3 am” by Matchbox20.

“Hey,” Isaac called, nearly elbow-deep in soapy water, “I thought you volunteered to help with the dishes.”

I shrugged. “Haven’t you ever heard of moral support?” I asked. Before he could answer, I began dancing around in a circle, chanting, “Ooh, ah! Wash them dishes! Ooh, ah!” Isaac tossed his head back and laughed.

I stopped dancing just as “3 am” ended. There were a few distinctive opening chords on the piano and violin, and I immediately knew what song was on. “Hope you guys don’t mind listening to yourself,” I said as Taylor’s singing voice began the first lines of “I Will Come to You”.

Zac, Tay, and Isaac showed no signs of disagreement, so I smiled and began swaying slowly around the kitchen. I closed my eyes for a split second - but that was long enough to slam into Evie. I opened my eyes and we smiled at each other. A moment later, we took one another by the hands and began dancing a mock-tango across the floor. After crossing the floor twice, I took Evie by the hand and spun her out. She spun back in and I spun her out once more. That done, we began our little tango once more.

Isaac, Taylor, Zac, and Lynn were all laughing. I couldn’t say that I blamed them. Evie and I probably looked like morons dancing across the room together. We danced and spun around until the end of song, and then bowed to each other.

Everyone clapped. Evie and I bowed at our audience and laughed.

I looked up at Isaac, who was shaking his head slowly, and smacked him in the arm softly. “Do the dishes,” I said to him. He gave a short laugh and turned back to the sink.

Just then, Mackie walked into the kitchen. He gave a sweet smile and toddled over to Tay. When he was at his brother’s feet, he held his arms out.

With a small sigh, Taylor picked up his baby brother and straddled him on his left hip. Mackie wrapped his arms around Tay’s neck and rested his head against his brother’s chest, keeping his eyes on me, Evie, Lynnie, and Zac. I smiled. Mackenzie was a cutie. He actually resembled Zac slightly.

Bored, I picked up a dish towel and began drying the dishes Isaac had already washed. By the time I’d dried three, Zac began picking them up and putting them into various cupboards. Within five minutes, all the dishes were done. I looked around from face to face and gave a small shrug.

“Now what?” Tay asked, repositioning Mackie on his hip.

Zac looked at a clock on the wall. “We should probably practice. We haven’t all day,” he pointed out. Tay and Ike both nodded. Zac grinned and pointed. “To the garage!” he cried, running to the door. His brothers followed him, Taylor still carrying Mackie

Lynn, Evie, and I all looked with passive interest as they all filed outside. The door closed and we all looked at one another and shrugged. A moment later, the door opened and Zac stuck his head in. “Aren’t you coming?” he asked.

I smiled. “Okay,” I agreed. “You sold me.” With that, I hurried for the door, Evie and Lynn close behind. We all walked through the back yard, past the half-pipe skating ramp I hadn’t paid much attention to before. Still not paying much attention, I hurried after Zac into the garage.

I yawned, pulling my nightshirt over my head. “That was fun,” I said to Evie, who was searching through he bag for her pajamas.

“I know I packed them,” she muttered. Then, looking up at me, she added, “Yeah. It was fun.”

Just then, the guys’ bedroom door opened. Expecting Lynn, who had gone to the bathroom, I was shocked to see Isaac ducking over to a dresser. He opened a drawer and started rummaging through it. From behind me, Evie tugged my shirt down. I batted at her hand. She batted back at mine. I turned around and hit her hand once more. She slapped mine in return just as Isaac cleared his throat.

“Sorry. I just had to come in and get some stuff,” he said, motioning to the wad of clothes he held in his right hand. With that, he exited the room.

Evie giggled. I shot her a “look”, but utterly failed and began giggling as well. A few moments later, Lynnie walked in. She looked from me to Evie and back to me. Shaking her head slowly, she decided, “I’m not gonna ask.”

Evie and I just smiled. I pushed past Eve and put my hand into her bag. “Here’s your pajamas,” I told her.

She took the soft clothes from my hand. “I told you I packed them,” she muttered, changing.

Yawning, Lynn came the rest of the way into the room and collapsed on the bottom bunk. She lazily pulled the blankets over her body and buried her head in the pillow. Evie poked my shoulder. When I turned to her, she put her finger to her lips and then leaned her head on her hands. I nodded.

We were silent for about five minutes. The two of us both knew that if Lynn didn’t get to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, she wouldn’t get to sleep at all. And if she couldn’t sleep, we wouldn’t either.

Finally, I whispered, “Lynnie? You awake?” There was no response. I gave a relieved sigh and made my way onto the top bunk.

Evie followed me.

When I got up top, I turned to her. “There’s no one down there tonight. What are you doing?” I asked.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” she whispered.

I smiled. “Okay. About what?” Often, Eve and I would just sit around for hours on end talking about things. Anything. Whether it be big or small, something we noticed, something we said, something we heard. The two of us had been known to turn just about anything into a theological discussion. It was fun.

Evie shot me a sly smile, blue eyes flashing. “What did you and Isaac do all day? You were gone most the time and -”

“Evie!” I cried, being careful to keep my voice down. “You’re so nosy!”

She grinned. “I know. It’s one of my better qualities. Now tell me!”

I leaned back and rested my head on the pillows behind me. “What’dya wanna know?” I asked, extending my leg upward and resting my foot on the ceiling.

Evie shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, what did you do?”

I stared at my big toe. “We went to one of the creeks in the back yard and then to McDonald’s. And . . . Well, that’s about it,” I told her succinctly.

Evie eyed me suspiciously. “Are you sure?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow. “You were gone an awfully long time and -”

I sighed, tracing my foot with my pointer finger. “We talked. I mean, what do you want me to say? We actually didn’t spend that much time without everyone else,” I told her seriously.

Shrugging, Evie said, “Fine, don’t tell me.”

I sat up half way and pulled the pillow out from under my head. I whacked my friend in the arm with it and then returned it to its original place. “Don’t tell you what? I told you what happened.”

“Well,” Evie started slowly. “Did you . . .”

I looked at her. “Did we what?” I asked.

She looked at the ceiling. “Did you . . . You know . . .” She looked down at me and puckered her lips.

“Evette!” I cried, keeping my voice as low as possible.

“What?” she demanded. “It’s a legitimate question.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, Evie. The answer is no. Now, if you’re done with your ridiculous questions, I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.”

Evie grinned and started off the top bunk. “ ’Night, Jaye.”

I turned the sheets down on the bed and wiggled under the covers. Laying my head on a pillow, I smiled. It had been a great day.

Back to the "A Single Wish" Index