Hush

Later that night, after everyone is asleep, Evie sits alone in the living room watching the moon, remembering Lulu and Denver. She thinks about the letters the family receives once a month from Grandma, with a Texas postmark, but no real names, questions, or news, “just paragraphs and paragraphs of chatty news” (132). The family’s replies are equally devoid of details for their own safety, but the letters help them feel loved. Evie stretches the way Coach Leigh showed her in gym class, and remembers how the other girls welcomed her. After practice, as they said their goodbyes, Mira called her “Daddy Longlegs” and “Spider Woman,” which she liked.

Evie returns house on Thursday to find Shirley grinning and dancing around the house. Anna informs her that their mother has gotten a job, and Shirley shares her appointment letter. Shirley will be teaching the fifth grade, and she thanks Jehovah for rewarding her faith.

Jonathan continues to stare out the window. Evie remembers the pride he used to take in his wife’s accomplishments back in Denver and asks him to dance with Shirley. She herself begins to dance, but Jonathan remains silent and does not join in. After a while, Shirley stops, squeezes Evie’s hand, and goes into her room with a copy of Watchtower.

As Evie leaves school on Friday, Mira calls out and walks alongside her. She playfully teases Evie, calling her “Spider woman,” and asks if girls from California can run as fast as those from Antigua. The two break out into a spontaneous race, which Evie wins by a half second. As they reach the corner, they laugh together, and Evie thinks about how, when Mira called out her name, “for a minute, or maybe a hundred minutes—[Evie] was the most beautiful name in the world” (138).

Evie and Anna go out on a Saturday early in December, Shirley having given them money to watch a movie and eat lunch. Anna is being uncharacteristically friendly, and Evie wonders why. Anna asks Evie what she wants most in the world, besides being able to return to Denver; for Evie, it is to belong somewhere and feel connected.

Instead of the movies, Anna takes Evie to a coffee shop, intent on telling her something. She confides in Evie that the “far, far future” has arrived, for her, and shows her an acceptance letter from Simon’s Rock. Anna discovered that she didn’t even need to be 16 to attend; she only needed two years of high school and straight As. Desperate to leave, Anna applied, writing an essay explaining the family’s current situation (with names and identifying details changed). Evie worries about Officers Randall and Dennis finding out, but Anna doesn’t want to live in a limbo waiting for something bad to possibly happen.

Anna points out that Evie keeps track to herself, which startles the latter. The former confesses that Coach Leigh, who is also her geometry teacher, mentioned Evie having potential. Evie denies knowing anything about track, despite Anna assuring her that she has no reason to lie: “We’re on the same side of the fence” (145-46). Finally, Evie asserts that track is her thing, and that no one can take it away from her, even as Anna says no one is trying to.

Anna and Evie discuss Raymond Taylor, and how each of them still thinks about him; Anna even wrote about him in her essay. She’s begun to feel like everything is part of a “bigger plan” as per their mother’s religion. Anna shows Evie her scholarship letter—she has only been offered a two-thirds scholarship, but is eligible for the work-study program; she starts in mid-January. Evie doesn’t think their mother will let Anna go, though the latter believes otherwise. Shirley is a teacher, and Anna is certain she wants what’s best for her daughters. Anna asks Evie when her first track meet is; it is the following Saturday, and Anna winks at Evie, saying they have another “movie date” coming up.

Evie falls asleep at Kingdom Hall on Sunday morning, and an annoyed Shirley sends her for a walk afterward, unaware of how thrilled she is to be outside and running. She heads to the park, where she runs into Toswiah and her older sister, Sheila, walking their dog, Sheba. Evie stops and chats with them, and Toswiah tells her that she wants to see San Francisco someday. The former offers to tell her about the city before she visits, and Toswiah takes her up on this, before bidding her goodbye. Evie continues to run, beginning to feel like “I, Evie/Toswiah Thomas/Green…was winning” (156).

On Monday morning, Jonathan breaks his breakfast bowl and jams a shard of it into his wrist, claiming he is ready to die. Shirley manages to wrap a towel around his arm and hold him down until an ambulance arrives half an hour later. Anna and Evie watch the scene unfold, frozen in shock. After Jonathan and Shirley leave for the hospital, Anna moves to clean their father’s blood, while Evie feels disconnected from her surroundings: “My body is here but my mind isn’t. It left as the glass pierced my father’s skin” (158).