it again His fingers moved so quickly I lost track of the steps Over and over he folded the paper this way that way Next thing I knew he was handing me something that looked a lot like the hydrangeas Mom had in her garden the ones I used to call flower pom-poms If I hadn’t just watched him make it I’d never have believed that you could turn a sheet of paper into a beautiful flower Whoa I said examining it more closely So many tiny folds That’s whoa This is really cool Can you show me how to do it He grinned at me his sort of crooked teeth all on display I’m Sam by the way I liked the way his eyes crinkled at the corners and smiled back I’m Evie Well it’s Evelyn but you can call me Evie that’s what I like best Some people like teachers and my parents when they’re mad call me Evelyn but I prefer Evie Just Evie I said And then because I was worried I was being too bossy I added Please and thank you So let me get this straight You’re saying I should call you Evelyn the boy Sam replied That’s what you’re telling me I laughed Exactly What about you Is your full name Samuel Or is it Samson like in the Torah It is Samson he said surprised But most people just assume it’s Samuel so good on you
And just like that our friendship began All because of paper flowers It sounds like a dad joke to say our friendship bloomed But that’s how it happened Unfortunately later that summer I learned that just like flowers friendships can wither away That’s when I decided I was done with having friends
One I am not obsessed with death But it’s a bit hard to avoid thinking about death when your family owns a funeral home and everyone works there Including me My part-time job at the Walman Memorial Chapel my family’s last name is Walman includes cleaning and stocking the bathroom with paper towels and toilet paper I am also in charge of making sure there are always plenty of tissues for the mourners Dad calls me Purveyor of Paper Products I call him His Royal Highness of Dad Jokes But right now I was thinking about a totally different kind of paper I had just loaded up on craft supplies at my favorite stationery store I can’t wait to get started on my projects I said to Suzanna the owner as she slid all my purchases into a bag I bounced from one foot to the other I was pretty excited about the vellum I had found It was so delicate 5
almost see-through I’d also gotten some heavy card stock with pretty deckled edges and some fancy handmade papyrus I guess you could say I am obsessed with paper This was all because of Sam showing me how to quill last summer I couldn’t help but think how much he would have liked what I’d bought today He’d especially liked the delicate papers like vellum which was maybe why I’d bought it even though it could be incredibly hard to quill with I’m looking forward to seeing them when you’re done Suzanna said with a smile handing me the bag You’re getting so good I love sharing my quilling projects with Suzanna because she is always so enthusiastic And she was right I really was getting good Can you let me know when that foil comes in I asked I have an idea for Just then the big church bells outside bonged announcing that it was two o’clock Shoot I was supposed to be home by two The bells hadn’t even stopped bonging when I got a text from Mom Where r u Uh-oh My parents had wanted to send me back to summer camp like usual They are always so busy at the funeral home and they worried that once school was out I’d be bored and get in the way But I’d told them I didn’t want to go this year I had my reasons One of them was Sam though they don’t know anything about that 6 JOANNE LEVY
