Lie Again! Chapter 44

<Chapter 44. On the fence (4)> 

 

“What?”

 

After the storm had passed and the kitchen had finally quieted down, a voice filled with despair rang out.

 

Ruth, squeezing into the cluttered table scattered with food remnants, looked at his friend with a sorrowful gaze during their tea time. 

 

“So it’s not just about attending the classes?”

 

Jin muttered as if she had just heard something unbelievable.

 

“If not, then why would Mr. Parker be so desperate?”

 

“I thought he was doing it to save me…”

 

At Ruth’s shrugged remark, Jin squeezed her eyes shut.

 

Everything looked bleak. She was barely keeping up with the swimming lessons now, and they expected her to swim 100 meters nonstop? And take a test on it? If she didn’t pass, she’d have to retake the class next year?

 

Today was the fourth week of November, and the test was just two weeks away. And Jin had only just barely gotten past the point of sinking in the water.

 

Jin groaned in the future that seemed hopeless.

 

“Jin, at least you still float in the water.”

 

“If I try to swim 100 meters like that, one day won’t be enough. Mr. Parker will have to work overtime for three days because of my test.”

 

“I’ll help you.”

 

“You’ll help me?”

 

“You know I’m on the swim team, right? If I take a few days to practice, I can definitely finish well within three minutes.”

 

Ruth said this as he went to check on the turkey in the oven. Hearing his words, the exam schedule she had drawn up flashed through her mind.

 

Her Spanish was okay enough, so she could cut back on study time for that, but she couldn’t slack on world history. She had to do well on this exam no matter what. Where on earth could she find the time? She should have studied more during this break.

 

She desperately missed the week she had let slip by while thinking about Evan.

 

Ruth, who had just returned after pouring water into the pan where the turkey was browning, gently patted Jin’s shoulder, who looked deep in thought.

 

Ding-dong.

 

At 6 o’clock, as the sun that had warmly shone throughout the day was setting beyond the horizon, the doorbell rang long and clear in the kitchen where people were busily carrying food to the table.

 

Ivy, who had been eagerly waiting for her ‘handsome’ friend, put down the Freckle she was holding and excitedly ran toward the front door.

 

Jin and Ruth followed behind her, curious about Ivy’s little friend. No matter how many times they asked Riley and Ivy, the two would only give vague answers, simply repeating that he was handsome.

 

“….”

 

When the door opened and Jin finally saw the face of the handsome friend, she blinked in surprise.

 

“Welcome, Evan!”

 

“Hello, Ivy. Thank you for inviting me.”

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Evan entered the front door and calmly greeted them, handing the pecan pie he was carrying into Ivy’s arms.

 

Caught off guard by the unexpected guest, Jin stood there speechless for a moment, until Ruth spoke up first.

 

“Hi. I didn’t get to properly greet you last time, but—well, you probably know this already, but just in case—I’m Evan Ruth. We were on the swim team together in seventh grade.”

 

“I know.”

 

The response to Ruth’s long introduction was very brief. “Uh, yeah. I know.” Ruth mumbled awkwardly as he sheepishly lowered the hand he had hesitantly extended.

 

Evan quickly passed over Ruth and turned his gaze to Jin, smiling beautifully.

 

“Hello, Jin. It’s been a while.”

 

“It’s been a while? For just about a week, that’s a pretty fresh way to say hello,” Jin narrowed her eyes at the greeting. 

 

“That’s right, it’s been a while, Butterfield.”

 

Evan smiled brightly at Jin’s stiff greeting. Noticing the slight raise of his eyebrows, Jin caught his irritation and added,

 

“There are two Evans here. If I just call you ‘Evan,’ it gets confusing who I’m talking to.”

 

“Ah, that’s right.”

 

At Jin’s words, Ivy wore a serious expression as if she hadn’t even considered that problem. She looked back and forth between the two of them, then slightly spread the gap between her thumb and index finger.

 

“What should we do? Should we call them Big Evan and Little Evan? Big Evan is just a little bit bigger…”

 

“…Just call me Ruth, Ivy.”

 

Little Evan smiled sadly at the elementary school student’s innocent naming. He wanted to protest since he was over six feet tall, but since he was indeed shorter than Evan Butterfield, he had nothing to say.

 

When would I ever be called Evan…? Of course, as long as he attended the same school as Butterfield, Ruth’s chance of reclaiming his own name seemed far away.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

Once the nicknames were settled, Evan raised one eyebrow as if to say, “Problem solved,” and looked at Jin. Jin, shooting him a sulky glare, spun around and headed to the kitchen, with Ruth trailing behind him with heavy steps.

 

And behind the two of them walking away, Ivy, who was on tiptoe, whispered something in Evan’s ear. 

 

* * *

 

The evening grew livelier than usual with the addition of the two big men.

 

On the table, centered around a crispy, glossy-skinned roasted turkey, were mashed potatoes, simmered cranberry sauce and gravy, green bean casserole, candied yams, creamed corn, and pumpkin pie. Each dish was crafted by Ruth’s hands at least once.

 

The food was delicious enough to fully enjoy dinner. The turkey went without saying, and although the cranberry sauce was a bit sweet, the candied yams had a slightly burnt taste, and the green beans in the casserole seemed a little undercooked, these minor flaws didn’t stop everyone from having a satisfying meal.

 

Especially Ivy’s reaction was explosive, having grown up eating only Riley’s cooking her whole life.

 

“This is the best Thanksgiving meal I’ve had in ten years.”

 

Riley glared at her as she exclaimed with every bite.

 

Most of the conversation around the table was dominated by the outgoing Ruth and Riley, while Evan smiled lazily and chimed in now and then.

 

Instead of paying attention to the adults’ conversation she wasn’t interested in, Ivy focused on the food, while Jin either burst out laughing or smiled softly as she looked at the people around her.

 

However, she didn’t pay attention to one person, Evan.

 

“My mother said that in England, Thanksgiving is a day when churches give out free food to the homeless, so if you want to enjoy Thanksgiving, you should go out and set up a free food pantry.”

 

Tuk.

 

Jin stopped eating the turkey while listening to Ruth’s words as she felt something kick under the table.

 

Jin thought she knew who the owner of the rude leg kicking others’ feet during the meal was, so she deliberately avoided looking at it and continued moving her hand.

 

Tuk, tuk.

 

But the troublemaker persisted relentlessly, continuing to poke Jin’s foot. Even Jin, who stubbornly ignored it to see who would give in first, couldn’t tolerate it any longer when the table started to shake slightly—“Isn’t this shaking a bit?” Riley asked, looking at the table with a puzzled expression—and finally glared at Evan.

 

‘Why.’

 

Jin whispered with her lips. Evan, finally meeting her dark eyes, smiled with a dimple and parted his lips.

 

‘Just because.’

 

Then she turned her head away toward Riley, who was saying something.

 

Huh.

 

Jin, who had been sitting there dumbfounded, closed her mouth. This time, she stretched her legs under the table and kicked Evan’s feet. But just like Jin had done before, Evan ignored her with a smile on his face.

 

After a few kicks were all ignored, Jin narrowed her eyes and aimed for her shin with the force of her foot.

 

Ignore this too.

 

“Ah!”

 

Instead of Evan, a scream came from the little Evan next to him.