I nodded.
She smiled again and went back to drawing. “Okay. Bye.”
Katie laughed and walked me out of the room, whispering, “I think you two are going to be really good friends.”
She showed me to my room next, where Daddy was putting my bags. My eyes widened at how big the space was—and it was all for me. “Wow…” I took a deep breath. “This is mine?”
“This is yours.”
Wow.
“I know you two must be tired from the long drive, so I’ll let you get Maggie ready for bed.” Katie smiled at Daddy and kissed his cheek.
As Daddy pulled out my pajamas, I asked, “Can Katie maybe tuck me in?”
She didn’t argue.
As she did, I smiled at her, and she smiled at me. A lot of smiling happened and a lot of talking, too. “You know, I’ve always wanted another daughter,” she said, brushing my hair.
I didn’t say it, but I had always wanted a mama, too.
“We’re going to have so much fun together, Maggie. You, Cheryl, and me. We can get our nails done, and go sit down by the pool, and drink lemonade, and flip through magazines. We can do everything guys hate doing.”
She hugged me goodnight, then she left and shut off the light.
I didn’t sleep at all.
I tossed, turned, and whimpered for a long time, but Daddy couldn’t hear me because he was all the way on the first floor, sleeping in his bedroom with Katie. Even if I wanted to go find him, I couldn’t, because the hallway was dark, and I hated dark places more than anything. I sniffled a bit, trying my best to count sheep in my head, but nothing was working.
“What’s the matter with you?” a shadowy figure standing in my doorway said.
I gasped and sat up straight, hugging my pillow.
The shadow moved closer, and I let out a small sigh when I saw it was Brooks. His hair was wild and standing up on his head, and he had sleep wrinkles on his cheek. “You gotta stop crying. You keep waking me up.”
I sniffled. “Sorry.”
“What’s the matter, anyway? You homesick or somethin’?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
I lowered my head, embarrassed. “I’m scared of the dark.”
“Oh.” He narrowed his eyes for a second before leaving the room.
I kept hugging my pillow, and I was even more surprised when Brooks came back. He had something in his hand and walked over to the wall to plug it in. “Calvin doesn’t need a nightlight. His mom just put it in his room.” He arched an eyebrow. “Is that better?”
I nodded. Better.
He yawned. “Okay, well, night…er…what’s your name again?”
“Maggie.”
“Night, Maggie. You don’t really gotta worry ’bout nothing here in our town, either. It’s always safe. You’re safe here. And if that ain’t better, I’m sure you can come sleep on Calvin’s floor. He won’t mind.” He left, scratching his messy hair and still yawning.
My eyes fell to the nightlight shaped like a rocket ship just before they started to close. I felt tired. I felt safe. I felt protected by a rocket ship given to me by a boy I’d just met.
Before, I wasn’t sure, but this time I knew.
Daddy was right.
“Forever,” I whispered to myself, falling deeper and deeper into my dreams. “This time is forever.”
Part I
1
Maggie
July 25th, 2008
Ten Years Old
A note to the boy who’s in love with me
By: Maggie May Riley
Dear Brooks Tyler,
I spent a lot of time upset with you the other day after you called me a name and pushed me into a puddle. You ruined my favorite dress and my pink and yellow sandals. I was so made mad at you for pushing me.
Your brother Jamie told me you’re mean to me because you love me. You call me names because that’s what boys do when they are in love. You pushed me only because you wanted to be close to me. I think that’s stiupid stupid, but I also know that my mama says all men are stupid, so it’s not your fault. It’s in your DNA.
So, I accept your love, Brooks. I allow you to love me forever and ever and ever.
I started planning the wedding.
It’s in a few days, in the woods, where you boys always go fishing. I always wanted to get married by the water like my mama and daddy.
You better wear a tie and not that ugly mud-colored one you wore to church last Sunday. Get some of your dad’s cologne, too. I know you’re a boy, but you don’t have to smell like one.
I love you, Brooks Tyler Griffin.
Forever and ever and ever.
Your soon-to-be wife,
Maggie May
P.S. I accept your apology that you never gave me. Jamie said you were sorry, so you don’t have to worry about me being mad.
A note to the girl who is crazy
By: Brooks Tyler Griffin
Maggie May,
I. Don’t. Like. You! Go away forever and ever and ever.
Your NOT soon-to-be husband,
Brooks Tyler
A note to the boy who is funny
By: Maggie May Riley
My Brooks Tyler,
You make me laugh. Jamie said you’d reply like that.
What do you think about the colors purple and pink for the ceremony? We should probably move in together, but I’m too young to have a mortgage. Maybe we can stay with your parents until you get a steddy steady job to support me and our pets.
We’ll have a dog named Skippy and a cat named Jam.
-Your Maggie May
A note to the girl who is still crazy
By: Brooks Tyler Griffin
Maggie,
We are not getting married. We are not having pets. We aren’t even friends. I HATE YOU, MAGGIE MAY! If your brother wasn’t my best friend, I’d never talk to you EVER! I think you’re crazy.
Skippy and Jam? That’s stupid. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Besides, everyone knows Jif is the best peanut butter.
NOT YOURS,
Brooks
A note to the boy who has bad taste
By: Maggie May Riley
Brooks Tyler,
Mama always says that a great relationship is about two main things: loving the similariaties simliariates silimiaiities, stuff the couple has in common and then also respecting the different things.
I love that we both like peanut butter, and I respect your opinion about Jif.
Even if your opinion is wrong.
Always,
Maggie May
P.S. Did you find a tie?
A note to the girl who is still, STILL crazy
By: Brooks Tyler Griffin
Maggie May,
I don’t need a tie, because we’re never getting married.
And it’s spelled ‘similarities’, you idiot.
-Brooks
A note to the boy who made me cry
By: Maggie May Riley
Brooks,
That was mean.
-Maggie
A note to the girl who is still, STILL crazy, but shouldn’t ever cry
By: Brooks Tyler Griffin
Maggie May,
I’m sorry. I can be a real jerk.
-Brooks
A note to the boy who made me smile
By: Maggie May Riley
Brooks Tyler Griffin,
I forgive you.
Go with the mud-colored tie if you want to. No matter how bad you dress, I’ll still love becoming your wife.
See you next weekend at five between the two twisty trees.
Forever and ever and ever,
-Maggie May Riley
2
Brooks
I hated Maggie May.
I wished there were a bigger word to describe my feelings for the annoying, loud-mouthed girl who had been following me around lately, but hate seemed to be the only thing that came to mind whenev
er she stood near me. I should’ve never given her that nightlight all those years ago. I should’ve just pretended she didn’t exist.
“Why is she coming?” I groaned, packing fishing line, floats, sinkers, and hooks into my tackle box. For the past two years I’d been on fishing trips with my dad, my older brother, Jamie, Calvin, and his new dad, Eric—or Mr. Riley as I called him. We’d go up to Harper Creek, ’bout a fifteen-minute walk away, and sit on Mr. Riley’s boat, laughing and joking with one another. The lake was so huge that if you looked across it, you could hardly see the other side where the town’s shops were located. Calvin and I often tried to point out the buildings, like the library, the grocery store, and the mall. Then, we’d try our best to catch some fish. It was a dudes’ day where we ate too much junk food and didn’t care if our guts were close to bursting. It was our tradition, and it was currently being ruined by a stupid ten-year-old who always sang and never stopped dancing in circles. Maggie May was the definition of annoying. That was the truth, too. I looked up her name in the dictionary once and the meaning was: ‘Calvin’s annoying stepsister.’
I might’ve added the definition myself and gotten yelled at by my mom for writing in a book, but still, it was true.
“My parents said she had to come,” Calvin explained, lifting his rod. “Mom is taking Cheryl to the doctor, so there ain’t nobody to watch her for the next few hours.”
“Can’t she just be locked in the house? Your parents could leave her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a juice box or something.”
Calvin smirked. “I wish. It’s so stupid.”
“She’s so stupid!” I exclaimed. “She has this idea that she’s gonna marry me in the woods. She’s crazy.”
Jamie snickered. “You’re just sayin’ that because you secretly love her.”
“I do not!” I shouted. “That’s disgusting. Maggie May makes me sick. The thought of her gives me nightmares.”
“You say that because you love her,” Jamie mocked.
“You better shut your mouth before I shut it for you, jerk. She said you were the one who spread the rumor about me liking her! You’re the reason she thinks we’re getting married.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
“Why would you do that?”
Jamie slugged me in the shoulder. “’Cause I’m your big brother, and big brothers are supposed to make their younger brothers’ lives terrible. It’s in the sibling contract.”
“I never signed a contract.”
“You were underage, so Mom signed it for you, duh.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. All I know is Maggie is going to ruin today. She has a way of ruining everything. Besides, she doesn’t even know how to fish!”
“I do, too!” Maggie yapped, barging out of their house wearing a dress, yellow sandals, and holding a Barbie fishing rod.
Ugh! Who goes fishing in a dress, and with a Barbie fishing rod?
She combed her fingers through her stringy blond hair and flared her gigantic nose. “I bet I catch more fish than both Calvin and Brooks could ever catch! Not you, Jamie. I bet you’re good at fishing.” She gave him a smile that made me gag. She had the ugliest smile.
Jamie grinned back. “I bet you ain’t so bad, either, Maggie.”
Insert eye roll here. Jamie always did that—made super nice with Maggie because he knew it annoyed me. I knew there was no way he liked her at all, because she was so unlikeable.
“Are you boys gonna sit here all day, or are we going to get walking down to the creek?” Mr. Riley asked, coming out of the house carrying his tackle box and fishing rod. “Let’s get a move on.”
We all started walking down the road—well, the guys walked. Maggie skipped, and twirled, and sang more pop songs than anyone should’ve had to hear. I swear, if I had to watch her do the Macarena one more time, I’d go crazy. Once we reached the woods, I imagined us dudes climbing onto Mr. Riley’s boat, and Maggie somehow getting left behind.
What a perfect daydream.
“We’re gonna need some bait,” Mr. Riley said, pulling out a small digging shovel and his metal pail. “Whose turn is it?”
“Brooks,” Calvin said, pointing toward me. Each time we went fishing, one person was in charge of going digging through the dirt in the woods to collect some worms. I grabbed the shovel and pail and didn’t complain. Truth was, digging for the worms was one of my favorite parts of fishing.
“I think Maggie should go with him.” Jamie smirked, winking at Maggie. Her face lit up with hope, and I was seconds away from knocking my brother over the head.
“No. I’m good. I can do it myself.”
“I can go, though.” Maggie grinned ear to ear.
Such an ugly smile!
“Daddy, can I go with Brooks?”
My eyes darted to Mr. Riley, and I knew I was doomed, because Mr. Riley suffered heavily from DS—daughter syndrome. I’d never once seen him say no to Maggie, and I doubted he had any plans to start that afternoon.
“Sure, darling. You two have fun.” He smiled. “We’re gonna get the boat set up, and once you’re both back, we’ll get out on the water.”
Before we headed out into the woods, I made sure to give Jamie a hard slug in the arm. He slugged me harder, making Maggie laugh. As she and I headed into the woods, I put in the earbuds attached to my MP3 player and hurried my pace, hoping to lose her, but her skips and twirls were surprisingly fast.
“So, have you found a tie yet?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes. Even with my music playing, I could still hear her loud mouth. “I’m not marrying you.”
She giggled. “We’re getting married in two days, Brooks. Don’t be silly. I’m guessing Calvin is your best man, or will it be Jamie? Cheryl is going to be my maid of honor. Hey, you think I can listen to some of your music? Calvin said you have some of the best music ever, and I think I should know what kind of music you listen to if we’re getting married.”
“We aren’t, and you’re never gonna touch my MP3 player.”
She giggled as if I had told a funny joke.
I started digging around in the dirt, and she swung on tree branches. “Are you going to help me dig or what?”
“I’m not touching a worm.”
“Then why did you even come out here?”
“So we could finish planning together, duh. Plus, I was hoping we could go look at the cabin not far from here. It could be our house, if you wanted it to. We could fix it up for us, Skippy, and Jam. Ain’t nobody living there, anyway. It’s big enough for our family.”
This girl was a lunatic.
As I kept digging, she kept talking. The quicker I dug, the faster she spoke about girly crap I didn’t care about—shoes, makeup, first dances, wedding cakes, decorations. She even talked about how the abandoned cabin could be used to put the food inside for a reception. The list went on and on. I considered ditching the shovel and pail and running for my life—it was pretty clear that Maggie was out to kill me. When she mentioned the naming of our first child, I knew things had gone too far.
“Listen!” I shouted, knocking over the pail with the few worms I had found. They wiggled around, trying to find their way back into the dirt, and I didn’t even care. I puffed out my chest and shuffled my feet in her direction. My fists thrust in the air, and I screamed straight into her face. “We are not getting married! Not today, not tomorrow, not ever! You disgust me, and I was only nice to you in the last letter because Jamie said if I wrote you any meaner letters, he’d tell my parents and I’d get in trouble. Okay? So just shut up already with all this wedding talk.”
Our faces were inches apart. Her fingers were clasped behind her back, and I saw the small tremble in her bottom lip. Maggie narrowed her eyes, studying me, as if trying to decipher the clear-as-day words I had just delivered to her. For a second she frowned, but then she found that ugly smile again. Before I could roll my eyes, she leaned in toward me, grabbed my cheeks with both of her hands, and pulled me cl
oser to her.
“What are you doing?” I asked with smooshed cheeks.
“I’m going to kiss you, Brooks, because we have to work on our first kiss before doing it in front of our family and friends.”
“You definitely aren’t going to kiss—” I paused and my heart thudded. Maggie placed her lips against mine and pulled me in closer to her. Without hesitation, I yanked away from her. I wanted to say something, but speaking seemed hard, so I stared, awkwardly and uncomfortably.
“We should try again,” she said, nodding to herself.
“No! Do not kiss—” Again, she kissed me. I felt my whole body heating up, with…anger? Or maybe confusion? No. Anger. Definitely anger. Or maybe…
“Will you stop that?” I hollered, ripping myself away again and stepping backward. “You can’t go around kissin’ people who don’t want to be kissed!”
Her eyes grew heavy and her cheeks reddened. “You don’t want to kiss me?”
“No! I don’t. I don’t want nothin’ to do with you, Maggie May Riley! I don’t want to be your neighbor anymore. I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t want to marry you, and I most certainly don’t want to kiss—” I was cut off again, but this time by myself. Somehow, during my rant, I had stepped closer and closer to her, and my lips stole her next breath. I placed my hands against her cheeks and smooshed them together, kissing her hard for a whole ten seconds. I counted each second, too. When we pulled away, we both stood still.
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