But then Everett opened the door, and seeing his confused face break into a smile forced all other thoughts from her head.
“Oh, man, am I glad to see you,” he said as she stepped inside. “You want something to drink?”
She shook her head as she sat down on the couch. “So . . . I brought something. It’s for the puppet.”
Everett’s eyebrows rose as he sat down beside her.
“I hope it’s not overstepping any boundaries, and if you don’t like it, I won’t be offended. It’s just something I put together. . . .”
“Let me see it,” Everett said.
Teddy pulled the dress out of the bag. “It’s a puppet dress. When you were telling me she didn’t have a personality, I started thinking about how I felt so much more like I had a personality when I started wearing what I wanted. So maybe you can kind of . . . build her personality from the outside in.”
Everett held the dress in his hands, not saying anything.
“It’s okay that you don’t like it,” Teddy said in a rush. “It was a silly idea, anyway. I don’t know anything about puppets or making one, and I don’t know why I—”
“Teddy,” Everett said, looking up at her, “this is amazing.”
Teddy paused. “It is?”
“Hold on.” Everett got up, went into his room, and came back holding the puppet. He pulled the dress on it and held it up. “Look at this! Look at how perfect she looks! Her name is Bernadette, right? She’s definitely a Bernadette.”
Teddy slumped with relief. “So . . . you like it?”
“I love it,” Everett said, leaning over and kissing her hard. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“Well, I learned to sew in class, and it’s been one of the things I really enjoy doing. . . .”
“Wait.” Everett looked at her. “Maybe this is it.”
“What do you mean, ‘it’?”
“Maybe this is your thing. Your passion.”
“Making dresses for puppets?” Teddy asked.
“No.” Everett smiled. “Design. You should work on the show! You could work on puppet design, set design . . . I mean, clearly this was such a good idea . . .”
He kept talking, but Teddy tuned out. Working with Everett? Being his employee?
“No,” she said suddenly.
Everett stopped in the middle of a sentence, his mouth open.
“I don’t want to work for you,” she said.
“It’s not really for me,” Everett explained. “I know my name is in the title, but we all work together. It’d be more like working for the show. . . .”
“No, Everett,” Teddy said again, more firmly, “I don’t want to do what you’re doing.”
Everett’s brows crinkled. “Why not?”
“Because I . . . I need my own thing!” Teddy said, exasperated. “I spent years being steamrolled by my boyfriend’s passion. Everything I did was in service of Richard and his big important job as a doctor. I didn’t do anything for me or find anything out about myself and I don’t want to do that again. The entire point of Teddy Time was to figure out who I am, not leap into my next boyfriend’s dream. Do you get it?”
“I’m sorry,” Everett said, putting Bernadette on the ground. “Did you say I was your boyfriend?”
“Shit,” Teddy muttered. “Didn’t mean to say that part out loud.”
“So am I, then?” Everett asked, leaning forward. “Your boyfriend?”
“I guess that depends,” Teddy said lightly.
“On what?” Everett asked, so close their lips were almost touching.
“On whether or not you’re asking me to be your girlfriend,” Teddy said.
Everett kissed her, holding her face in both his hands. “Teddy, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend and accepting all responsibilities contained therein, including but not limited to (a) spending time with me and (b) that’s pretty much it?”
“Where do I sign?” Teddy smiled and kissed Everett again. “Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.”
“Glad that’s settled,” Everett said. He kept one arm around her as he said, “It’s okay. You don’t want to work for the show. I get it.”
Teddy frowned. “Do you?”
Everett shrugged. “I think it would be great, but if you don’t want to do it, you don’t want to do it. I’m not going to be upset or try to convince you.”
Teddy smiled in relief, even if part of her wasn’t sure Everett completely understood what she was saying. “I didn’t even tell you, I might have actually figured out what I want to do with my life. Josie wants me to take over Colossal Toys. I could be a business owner!”
“Wow,” Everett said, eyes wide. “That’s a big deal. Do you want to run the store?”
Teddy shifted uncomfortably. “Well, I don’t know. Honestly, owning a business doesn’t sound like much fun, but jobs aren’t always fun, are they? I mean, you’re following your dream and it still involves a lot of work, right?”
“Well.” Everett nodded. “Yeah. No job is enjoyable all of the time.”
“Exactly,” Teddy said, reassured. “I don’t even know if I want to do it yet. But this might be my thing! My passion!”
Everett leaned forward and kissed her again. “Then I’m happy for you. Congratulations.”
Teddy smiled. “Thanks, boyfriend.”
“You’re very welcome, girlfriend.”
“Well, since we now have this official designation, it seems only right that we celebrate,” Teddy said.
Everett tucked her hair behind her ear. “Oh, yeah? And how would we do that?”
Teddy smiled. “Oh, I can think of a few ways.”
* * *
—
WHEN TEDDY WAS about to leave, she finally asked Everett the question she was dreading. “Oh, um . . . wouldyoumaybewanttogotodinneratmymom’shouse?”
Everett paused. “Were those . . . words?”
Teddy took a deep breath. “Would you like to go to dinner at my mom’s house tomorrow? With me?”
Everett smiled. “Would be kinda strange if I went without you.”
“Just answer the question,” Teddy said with a straight face.