Me, Him, Them, and It Page 23

  A much-larger Cecelia bounces out the front door and jumps directly into my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist. “You’re so little!” she says.

  I laugh. “You’re so big!”

  “There’s a surprise inside. I’m not supposed to tell you, though.”

  “Celie!” Tammy squeals, wrapping her arms around my skinny middle, putting her little fingers in my hair.

  I carry Celie into the kitchen, hand in hand with Tammy, hoping the surprise is a drawing or something that I can hang in my dorm room.

  But it’s him.

  Babbling in his mother’s arms. Pulling on her necklace. His father stands slightly behind them in the kitchen and Mom and Aunt Linda and Aunt Nora stare at me while Celie slips off my hip and my jaw drops to my chin and my tears fall on the floor. It’s him. And he’s smiling and drooling. And he’s okay.

  Green eyes meet mine and his hands stretch toward me. His hair is red.

  “It’s a closed adoption, but you needed to see him, just this once. Maria understood,” Aunt Linda says. I look at Maria. She’s short and plump with huge chubby cheeks creating parentheses for her smile.

  “Do you want to hold him?” She puts him in my arms and he immediately pulls my red hair and his is the same color but his eyes are green just like Todd’s and this is Bean and he’s okay.

  “Bean,” I say finally, through tears.

  His dad laughs. “We call him Brandon.”

  “Brandon-Bean,” I say. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

  “He’s great,” his dad says. “We love him so much.”

  But he’s looking at me like he loves me so much, and now I know he’s okay and I’m always going to be empty and I’m never going to be normal, but I’m going to college and Bean and I are going to be okay.

  Or, maybe, we’ll be happy.

  Acknowledgments

  Recently, I wake up every day riding a huge wave of joy. It first swept me away when I started writing this book, so I humbly offer abundant thanks:

  To Michelle Nagler, Caroline Abbey, and everyone at Bloomsbury for their brilliant insights and their much-needed support and enthusiasm.

  To Kate McKean, Always-Awesome Agent, for her editing prowess and for advocating for me and for Evelyn (and for Tammy).

  To The New School class of 2012, especially to Monday Group—Dhonielle Clayton, Corey Haydu, Sona Charaipotra, and Amy Ewing—for priceless help with early drafts … and for telling me to keep writing!

  To my teachers, especially Matt Benedict at Notre Dame and Hettie Jones and David Levithan at The New School—and especially-especially you, Patricia McCormick.

  To the alumni of Chicago Jesuit Academy. By being who you are you nourish my soul. Special thanks to the class of 2012 for your continued pestering: “Ms. Carter, where is your book already?”

  To my aunts, uncles, my slew of amazing cousins (Ali, Greg, Richie, Brittany, John, Bridget, Danny, Jamie, Kelly, Kelly, Dan, Sarah, Bill, Christopher—this means you!), and my new siblings (that’s you, Erin, Tommy, Eric, and Eileen!) for providing countless moments of support, encouragement, and, most importantly, fun.

  To my friends for your enthusiasm and excitement—this is really nerve-wracking but you’re making it fun—especially Linda, Nestor, Katie, Megan, Melissa, Chemagne, Caitlin, Molly, Betsy, Jenn, Katherine, Kristin, Anna … and oh so many more I wish I could name.

  To my brand-spankin’-new parents-in-law, Ronnie and Eric Larsson, for welcoming me with open arms and for saying you’re proud of me. That means more than you probably know.

  To my brilliant, hilarious, and bomb-diggity brother, Dan Carter, for always making me laugh and for being my best friend in toddler-hood. Much love to you, Fratre!

  And of course, to the love of my life, Greg Larsson. As this book went from idea to hard-covered, you went from friend to boyfriend to fiancé to husband. Thank you for your unwavering support at every step, and for treating my dream like it’s part of your own. I am so lucky.

  Finally, to my parents, Bill and Beth Carter. I always said I wanted to write a book. Thank you for never telling me it’s too hard. Thank you for always telling me to just do it. And thank you for the innumerable things I can’t write in this space. This world would be a better place if every kid (Evelyn, for example) had parents like you.

  Copyright © 2013 by Caela Carter

  First published in the United States of America in February 2013

  by Walker Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.

  E-book edition published in February 2013

  www.bloomsbury.com

  For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to

  Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

  All rights reserved

  This is a dpgroup exclusive.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

  Carter, Caela.

  Me, him, them, and it / by Caela Carter. —1st U.S. ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Playing the “bad girl” at school to get back at her feuding parents, sixteen-year-old

  Evelyn becomes pregnant and faces a difficult decision.

  [1. Pregnancy—Fiction. 2. Family problems—Fiction. 3. Emotional problems—Fiction.]

  I. Title.

  PZ7.C24273Me 2013 [Fic]—dc23 2012014331

  ISBN 978-1-6196-3009-3 (e-book)