What Little Worlds

Twenty-Two

One Month Later...

"I didn't want to leave my bed, Mags," Amelie said, although through a mouthful of salad it sounded more like ee wooden eve my beh.

Maggie burst out laughing and Amelie finished chewing so she could annunciate a full sentence.

"I didn't want to leave my bed. I had to be at work in thirty minutes! I never do that," she said.

"Seriously," Maggie said, "You're the most punctual person I know. It's honestly annoying to always know you'll be at least five minutes early."

Amelie broke off a piece of bread and tossed it at her friend, groaning. She had been having this argument with Maggie since they were nine.

"How have you put up with me all of these years?" Amelie joked, "With you always running five minutes late. We're a terrible match as friends."

"Opposites attract," Maggie said and winked.

Amelie took another bite of salad and started to speak, "Anyway—" but stopped herself. "Sorry," she mouthed and pointed to her full mouth.

"Don't worry. I speak Amel-ese at this point. Go on," Maggie said and waved her hands in front of her.

Amelie snorted. "Well anyway, Adrien stayed over again last night, like he usually does and I just never want to get out of bed when he's there with me. Is it terrible I'm whining about this? This is such a silly problem."

"No hun, it's not terrible! It's cute. You like him," Maggie said reassuringly.

Amelie blushed and smiled. "I do....Mags I think I love him."

"Already? Wow, that's so serious for only a month of dating, Am," Maggie said.

"I know...but it feels like I've known him my whole life," Amelie said.

Maggie looked at her friend skeptically.

"It does!" Amelie said, defensively.

Maggie looked down at her food.

"Looks Mags, I didn't tell you this before because it's kind of weird but....I sort of have known him my whole life," Amelie said, shrugging her shoulders.

Maggie looked up and cocked her head, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Amelie said, "He's kind of an old friend. We met when I was ten and hung out like once per year until I was fifteen. It's hard to explain because he didn't grow up near us, he went to a boarding school in Lancaster and hardly ever had time off so we met very infrequently. But, in some capacity, he has been in my life for over ten years."

Maggie gaped at her friend, "Why did I never hear about him? I knew you when you were ten through fifteen too." She tilted her head down and raised her eyebrows, "Did you guys like....do stuff when you were that young?"

"What? No, nothing like that," Amelie spluttered. "We kissed once at fifteen but that was it. He was a ... friend outside of school... I just never thought to mention it to you since I hardly ever saw him."

"Wow," Maggie said, nodding in a small circle. "Okay, that changes things." She put down her fork and scrunched up her face. "But I still don't understand why you didn't tell me weeks ago about knowing him from before."

Amelie froze. What to say to that? She should have just told Maggie a modified truth from the beginning, why hadn't she? Suddenly she remembered. "When we first met as kids I kind of kept him from you because I liked having a secret friend. I think some of that bled over to now. I just liked having my secret all to myself. You know?"