The River and Me

Washington D.C. – 2021
Author Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Illustrator Olivia Duchess
Originally Published © 2021 American Girl
ISBN 9781683371854

Table of Contents

Essential

Beneath the maple tree in the front yard sits a sign the Peeters family made last year, “Thank You Essential Workers!”, painted with a monarch butterfly. The butterfly’s strength and endurance reminds Evette of the people who were on the front lines during the pandemic.

This year, Evette and Bud add to it. Bud draws an earthworm, since worms are essential to soil. Evette draws a heart for Mom, a pediatric cardiologist. Dad insists on a nail for himself, since he builds houses, waving off Bud’s suggestion of a sandcastle.

Tomorrow is the first day of seventh grade, after a sixth-grade year spent mostly learning through a screen. Evette’s best friend, Ashlyn, spent the summer in Maine with her dad. Though the two FaceTimed constantly, Evette can’t wait to see her in person again.

A different kind of hello arrives from Grandma Peeters: a silver necklace with a heart charm and a calligraphy note tucked inside. It promises that no matter how far apart they are, the two stay close in heart. Grandma Peeters taught Evette calligraphy years ago. The two have traded notes all through the pandemic, since Grandpa Peeters’ health problems have kept the Peeterses from visiting despite living nearby in D.C.

Gran E, Mom’s mother, joined the family’s pod once the pandemic sent Mom and Dad to essential jobs. Once virtual school ended, she filled the days with board games, fresh bread, and crafts, painting Matchbox cars and building bird feeders with Bud. Come spring, she taught Evette and Bud to garden.

Gran E’s closet is stuffed with old clothes she’s saving to upcycle, and she taught Evette to sew so she could do the same. For her first-day outfit, Evette embroidered a pair of jeans to go with a denim jacket. She plans to add platform shoes Gran E wore as a teenager. She snaps a photo and sends it as a DM to Makena, a girl she follows online, then texts Ashlyn, who teases back a mysterious “surprise” before the two agree to meet tomorrow at the yellow bench by the school door.

That night, Mom lingers at bedtime longer than usual, hugging and kissing Evette goodnight even though Evette insists she’s thirteen now.

The next morning, watching kids gather on the middle school lawn, Mom looks teary and fusses over whether Evette’s platform shoes are okay to walk in. Evette pats her hand and promises she’ll be fine, it’s not like she’s leaving for college.

As Evette makes her way through the crowd to the yellow bench, she recognizes faces from virtual school. Then she hears laughter and spots a cluster of people by the bench. One of them is Ashlyn, now with pink hair, one side long, the other shaved. This must be the surprise she was talking about.

Ashlyn’s friends look freaky, too. The girl’s hair is a flat black that looks fake, and she’s wearing heavy eyeliner. The boy’s pants hang so far down Evette can see his boxers. Ashlyn asks if Evette knows Gia and Ziggy, who were in her virtual homeroom last year. Evette wishes she’d been part of their virtual homeroom, too.

Ziggy mentions that he saw the woman who dropped Evette off. Evette nods and says it was her mom. He squints at Evette and asks her if she’s Black or White.

Evette bristles. She never asked about Ziggy’s race, so why is he asking about hers?

Evette simply responds that her mother’s side of the family is Black and her father’s is White, so she is both. She then asks to eat lunch with Ashlyn, hoping her friend will understand that she means the two of them eating alone. Ashlyn agrees, and the bell rings.

At lunch, Evette hurries to the cafeteria, eager to see Ashlyn, but finds her already eating with Ziggy and Gia, all three nearly done. Ashlyn apologizes, saying they were starving. Evette shrugs to hide her hurt feelings. It seems her friendship with Ashlyn may be over, since Ashlyn has made it clear being friends with Evette isn’t essential.

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