Summer

Chapter 39

"What are you doing home so early, Mags?" Noah asks his baby sister. Besides the hair color, she pretty much has the same features as Noah — same blue eyes, same diamond face shape.

"Mrs. Porter had to take Julia to tennis practice, so she dropped me home on the way." She looks at me and then back to Noah. "Now I know why you didn't want me home," she smirks. "Am I interrupting something?"

"You're cute when you're funny. And, no, actually," Noah playfully teases as he brings me over to Maggie. I hold onto Noah's hand with the tips of my fingers and smile as we meet Maggie's stance. "Mags, this is my...," Noah pauses, "...girlfriend. Sophia."

"It's nice to meet you, Maggie," I excitedly say, bending my knees slightly to meet her 5-foot frame.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sophia," she says; the smile on her face still in place.

She surpasses my expectations when she greets me with a warm and welcoming expression. For some reason, I assumed that she'd be hesitant to meet me, considering Noah's all she's got, but instead, her approach is kind and loving. Something tells me her personality is like that, too.

"Call me Fee," I smile.

"Fee? Okay. I like that!" she says. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Fee?"

"Uh, I don't think Fee wants to stay for dinner," Noah chuckles as he anxiously scratches his head. "Unless, of course, you want to," he turns to me and says.

"I'd love to."

"Yayyyy!" Maggie cheerfully exclaims as she reaches for my hand and leads me into the kitchen.

Noah follows us with a wide grin on his face. "I guess I'll leave you girls to it then," he says.

"So, I'm really craving mac and cheese. Plus, it's Noah's favorite," Maggie says as she begins to scrummage through the cabinets. "Shells or elbows, Fee?"

"Huh?" I laugh.

"Shells or elbows?" she repeats, this time pulling out two types of pasta and holding them in front of me.

"Ah! Shells," I say, pointing to the cardboard box that's in her right hand.

"That's what I was thinking!"

Maggie grabs an aluminum pot from the hanging rack and fills it with water before bringing it to the stove. "So, girlfriend, huh?"

"I guess so," I smile.

"Noah's never had a girlfriend before. Not even a friend that's a girl." She pauses for a few seconds, then smiles at me. "I like it."

"Yeah?" I ask, watching her set everything up. She grabs a purple apron that's embroidered with her name on it from the hook by the fridge and pulls it over her head.

"Yeah. It's nice to not be the only girl in the house."

I immediately reflect back to what Cassie said about Noah's mom — when she's not working, she's out dating the wrong guys.

"Me too. I have 2 brothers and no sisters, so I always wondered what it would be like."

"Same!" Maggie smiles and I return the gesture. Her vibrant energy is contagious.

We leave the water to boil and Maggie walks over to the round acorn table. She reaches for her pink backpack that's hanging on the wooden chair before taking a seat.

"Can I ask you something?" she says, scooting her chair in.

"You can ask me anything," I say, making my way over to the table.