Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 37: A Long-Awaited Date

"Hey Nino, want to hang out?" Mia asked Nathan over the phone.

"Nino is a new one. Sorry I can't," he said. Mia could hear him rushing around over the phone, papers rustling, and a drawer closing.

"Is something wrong?"

"Evan got himself into big trouble on the other side of town. I need to rush over there and help him so he doesn't get himself killed. But Mom's at work and Mrs. White is visiting her daughter in a different state. I can't leave Ash alone and there's no way I'm bringing her to that side of town. Damn it where did she put the babysitting number?"

Mia contemplated it for a split second. "I can watch her," she offered.

She heard Nathan pause over the phone. "Wait are you serious?"

Mia shrugged even though he couldn't see it over the phone. "Yeah, I'm great with kids. They love me. Besides, I love Ash. She's my favorite Caldwell, remember?"

"You are a lifesaver. I'm going to drop her off and then if Evan isn't dead, I'm going to kill him myself." He hung up and Mia skipped downstairs to wait for them to arrive. For ten minutes, she scrolled through her phone before the doorbell rang. Opening it with a smile, she saw Nathan standing behind Ash, who was wearing a pink backpack.

"Mia!" she exclaimed before hugging her.

"Hi, Ash! We are going to have so much fun."

Nathan crouched down so he was on her level. "Be good for Mia. You have snacks in your backpack." He hugged her before standing up. "I love you bye," he pointed at Ashley. In his rush, he made eye contact with Mia and said "Love you," before running to his car. He peeled out of the driveway and was off to rescue his best friend.

"Love you too I guess?" Mia laughed before leading Ash inside. In the kitchen, her Mom looked at her daughter holding a child's hand with an open jaw and raised eyebrows. "Mom, you always talk about how you want grandchildren. So, congrats!"

"Emilia please tell me you didn't kidnap a random child off the street."

"Mom this is Ashley, Nathan's younger sister. I'm watching over her while he does something important. Ashley, this is my Mom. She makes the best cheesecake I've ever had."

Ashley walked up to her Mom and held out a hand. "Hi, Mrs. Mia's Mom. My name is Ash."

Her mother took her hand and shook it gently. "It's lovely to meet you. You can call me Anna if you want. Mia, there's food in the fridge if you two get hungry. I need to quickly meet with an important client. Call me if you need anything."

"Bye Mom. So," Mia turned to Ash. "What do you want to do first? We could eat, play games, or watch a movie."

"Can we play a game?" Together the girls selected Candyland from the broad selection of board games in the living room. Ash loved the cute graphics and Mia found it easy to play. After playing that and coloring for some time, they decided to eat. Mia helped Ash onto the barstool and opened up the lunchbox Nathan had packed for her. It consisted of apple slices, goldfish, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Now what would you say if I made us some dinosaur chicken nuggets and bagel bites?" Mia probed.

Ash nodded enthusiastically. "I would like that."

"It's settled then," she placed the frozen food onto a baking tray and preheated the oven. While they waited for that food to heat up they ate the apple slices and goldfish. Ashley called it the appetizer before the main meal, which Mia laughed at and agreed to. As they sat next to each other and ate, Ash was telling her about the time Nathan had gotten into big trouble with their Mom for bringing a stray kitten home.