Hattie: I GET THAT PEOPLE DIE ALL THE TIME, BUT YOU’RE TOO YOUNG NOT TO HAVE YOUR MOM.
For some unfathomable reason, a single chuckle rises through me like a soap bubble.
Me: I think so too. Though I thought 26 would feel younger.
Hattie: YOU’RE 26??
I narrow my eyes, wondering why the double question marks. Did she think I was younger? How old is she? Too young?
Me: Yep. What about you?
The dots bounce, disappear, and then bounce again.
Hattie: I’M 23.
I sigh in relief. Yeah, she’s younger, and she sees the world differently from most twenty-three-year-olds, but, again, it wasn’t wrong of me to notice her.
It isn’t wrong of me to be talking to her. And I do want to know more.
Me: Do you always write in all caps?
I press send and then wonder if asking about it is a bad idea. But her response is almost immediate.
Hattie: NO. ONLY WHEN I AM FREE TO.
The corner of my smile lifts. I like that she feels free right now.
Me: When aren’t you free to? At work? At school? What do you do?
The dots take a long time.
Hattie: ARE YOU ASKING IF I HAVE A JOB? BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE A JOB. I DO HAVE WORK THAT I HAVE TO DO AND WORK THAT I WANT TO DO. I DON’T PHYSICALLY GO TO SCHOOL BUT I AM IN COLLEGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE. I TAKE ONLINE CLASSES. I ONLY TAKE THREE CLASSES A SEMESTER BECAUSE SCHOOL IS VERY BORING AND STEALS MY WILL TO LIVE. DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE?
I have so many questions. I don’t know where to start.
Me: I did go to college. I went to UL. I studied agribusiness, but I didn’t graduate. When my mom got really sick, I attended part-time so I could work more on the farm, and then after she died, I dropped out to farm full-time.
Me: Tell me, what is the work that you “have to do” and what is the kind that you “want to do?”
Hattie: WORK I HAVE TO DO:
WATCH CLASS SLIDE PRESENTATIONS
RESPOND TO THEM
RESPOND TO TWO OTHER STUDENTS’ RESPONSES
GO TO CHURCH
STAY FOR FELLOWSHIP
BE SOCIABLE
HAVE SUNDAY DINNER AND WEDNESDAY LUNCH WITH GRANDMA ELOISE
WAKE UP EARLY
EXERCISE