by Ali Parker
“It’s a surprise.” I stepped back and let Maggie take my place near the door to help Lydia with the straps. “But I guarantee you’re going to love it.”
“He wouldn’t tell me either,” Della pouted, but the corners of her lips were fighting to rise. She succumbed into a ball of giggles a second later. “But if Unkie says it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be fun.”
“It’s going to be fun,” I repeated the promise I’d made to Jordan, Maggie, and Della when I’d called to ask about today.
Maggie tested the straps on the car seat once she’d buckled Lydia in, nodded, and shut the door. Leaning in to kiss Gayle on the cheek, she whispered something to her mom. Gayle nodded but rolled her eyes before practically shoving her toward the car.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from asking what was going on. Gayle’s shoulders were shaking with quiet laughter as Maggie and I climbed into the car.
Just before I closed my door, I heard the first peal of sound escape her. She clapped her hand over her mouth and waved us goodbye with the other.
Maggie scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. I eased us out of the driveway and onto the street, then reached out to turn up the volume on the kiddies’ songs I had playing in my car.
The scowl immediately warped into a look of surprise shot my way. “You have this stuff in your car?”
I shrugged and darted my eyes to the rearview mirror. “Della gets rides with me often. I’m prepared with not only the car seat and the music, but snacks, wipes, and even first-aid supplies.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. I help out with Della a lot, and we love spending time together. Only seems reasonable that I keep everything I need for her around.”
Expression softening, she nodded. “Yeah. I guess that makes sense.”
After shooting another glance at the girls in the back and seeing that they were dancing in their seats, singing along and chatting, I leaned a little closer to Maggie. “Okay, my turn to ask a question. What’s going on?”
“Why do people keep asking me that?” She jerked her head so she was looking out the window instead of at me. “Nothing.”
“If people keep asking you, it’s clearly not nothing. I thought we were still following the honesty policy. So talk to me, Mags. What’s wrong?”
She huffed out a breath, muttering, “Stupid fucking policy. I can’t believe I’m being kept to something I agreed to before I even needed a bra.”
I chuckled, reaching out to touch her thigh for the briefest second. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I’m just worried about you. I’ve still got a good read on you, you know? You’re freaked out about something. Might as well tell me what. Maybe I can help.”
She twisted toward me so fast, I was half worried she’d snap her spine. “Actually, you can help.”
Her jaw was set, her throat moving as she swallowed heavily. I looked into her eyes, inclining my head. “What can I do?”
“You can tell me the truth.”
I frowned, confusion making my brain feel like it was swimming. “I thought we’d established that I’d always tell you the truth. It was my idea to invoke our promise, remember?”
Maggie inhaled a deep breath, shut her eyes tightly, and then blurted out, “Are you going to propose to me?”
“What the—what?” I stuttered, my eyes opening wide as I pulled my sunglasses off to let her see my face properly. “What are you talking about?”
“Just answer the question, Noah,” she demanded.
With her arms crossed as tightly as they were under her breasts, I’d have struggled not to stare if not for the question she’d just asked me. “No. What? Where did that come from?”
She didn’t relax, her eyes narrowing. “You’re really not?”
“No, I’m really not.” I dragged a hand through my hair before pressing it to my racing heart. “What the hell, Mags?”
Only then did she relax, the tension melting from her shoulders and her lips surrendering that firm line. “Thank God. Sorry, it was just something that Angie said to me that kind of snowballed in my head.”
“Is that why your mom was laughing at you?”
“Yes.” Her eyes crinkled on a smile. “Pretty crazy, huh?”
“Pretty crazy?” I chuckled as the absurdity of it really hit me. “Full-on crazy town, catch a bus to an asylum crazy. Takes a lot of the pressure off what I actually want to ask you. What did Angie say to you that made you think I was going to do that?”
“I’ll tell you later,” she said.
The music was in that brief pause between songs, and obviously, neither of us wanted the girls to overhear what we were saying. The rest of the drive passed in silence, but it only took us a few more minutes to arrive at our destination.
Maggie’s eyes widened when we parked. “Isn’t this the biggest arcade in Spokane?”
I nodded, then watched as her gaze traveled around the abandoned parking lot. When she swung it back to me, there was suspicion written all over her expression. “Why is yours the only car here? It’s a Friday morning. The place should be packed.”
“I rented it out for the day,” I admitted right before I opened the door and jumped out of the car. Maggie stared at me across the roof when she followed me out.
I shot her a wink, then bent to open Della’s door and get her out of her seat. Maggie did the same for Lydia. I took Della’s hand, as I always did when we were out in public. She took Lydia’s hand, who was holding Maggie’s hand.
A small part of my heart did this weird melting thing when I realized that we probably looked like a family. Maggie was way off on the proposing thing, but for the first time in a really long time, I actually thought that I wouldn’t have minded if they were my family.
An attendant waited for us outside the main doors. He was wearing a very loud orange, pink, and red shirt and a clown bowtie. Dropping into a sweeping bow as we approached, he grinned at the girls. “Welcome, young ladies. We hope you enjoy today. All of the Castle is all yours.”
When he straightened, he shook my hand. “Let us know if you need anything, Mr. Sims. There are safety attendants all over, as per your request, and operators for every game that needs one. The concession stand is open. If there’s anything else though, I’ll be in the office behind concessions.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Kyle. I really appreciate it.”
Maggie and I ushered the girls inside when Kyle opened the doors. I heard them shut behind us, but I was too busy drinking in Lydia and Della’s reactions to concentrate on anything else.
Both girls squealed and clapped their hands over their mouths, turning around, then running a few feet forward and repeating the whole process. Even Maggie looked a little dazed.
“I’ve never seen a place like this so empty before,” she whispered as though she was too overwhelmed to find her voice. Wide green eyes meeting mine, she reached out and gave my hand a quick squeeze. “This is incredible, Noah. Thank you for inviting us.”
“No problem.” I grinned and watched as the girls dove into the nearest ball pit. “Actually, I had to invite you. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been wanting to do this for Della for ages. Jordan wouldn’t let me rent out the whole place, though. Said it was too pretentious.”
“Why’d he let you do it now, then?” She cocked her head, eyes never leaving mine. “Did you rent it out to butter us up for something?”
I gave her a sheepish smile. “I need a favor from you, actually.”
“One that’s worth renting out an entire arcade?” She sounded doubtful that there could be anything worth that. “Well, this had better be good. What is it, Noah?”
“It’s not your hand in marriage.” I winked.
Maggie blew out a breath, but her lips quirked up at the corners. “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Absolutely not.” I smirked, then reached out to touch her hand just briefly.
I
didn’t squeeze it the way she had mine, but I didn’t need to. I’d been brushing my hand against hers like this since forever, whenever I just needed to let her know I was there or feel her there for myself.
She smiled. “Fire away then, I’m listening.”
“I’m going away to an event tomorrow, and I need a date to come with me.” I kept my eyes on hers. “Everyone has told me that I need to look more stable for this particular set of clients.”
“I can’t leave Lydia here with my mother to go away with you, Noah.” There was genuine disappointment in her eyes, but also determination.
“It’ll only be for two nights.” I was being serious when I’d told her I’d get down on my knees and beg if that was what she wanted. “Please?”
Maggie released a quiet sigh. “I’ll have to think about it, Noah. Two nights away from Lydia is two nights longer than I’ve ever been away from her.”
“Okay, but don’t think about it for too long. We’d have to leave in the morning.” I should have asked her earlier. “You’re the last hope I have.”
Her eyebrows arched. “Last?”
“I mean first.” I touched her hand again, just the faintest brush of skin to skin. “Only. I haven’t asked anyone else. I didn’t want to. If I’m going to have someone by my side for this event, I want it to be you.”
She held my gaze, hers darting from one of my eyes to the other. “I can’t say yes before I talk to my mom. I’ll talk to her when we get home this afternoon and call you, okay?”
“You’re too good to me.”
She rolled her eyes and turned toward the ball pit, where the girls were giggling and shouting, but I still heard what she said. “Yeah, but I think you’re good to me too.”
Chapter 20
Maggie
“Hi, Mom,” I called out after Noah dropped us off from the arcade. “We’re home.”
The scent of lemon, garlic, and thyme floated to my nostrils, cluing me in as to my mother’s whereabouts just before she replied. “I’m in the kitchen, girls.”
She turned when we walked in, smiling before she went back to seasoning the chicken casserole she was cooking for dinner. “Did you have fun?”
“It was so much fun, Meemaw,” Lydia gushed, running in to give my mom a quick hug before she lifted her up to sit in her usual place on the counter. “Noah rented out everything just for us. It was so cool. There were no lines, not even to get ice cream.”
“He rented out everything, huh?” She shut the lid on the salt and arched an eyebrow at Lydia. “What everything?”
“The biggest kids’ arcade in the city,” I said. “Lydia’s not even exaggerating. He really rented out the entire space. Like, not even just a section. Everything.”
She whistled under her breath. “I knew the boy was doing well. I just didn’t know he was doing that well.”
“Yeah, neither did I.” Though his house had been a pretty good clue.
Angie had suggested at some point that I look him up on the internet, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to find out everything there was to know about him from him.
“So, I’m assuming there’s nothing new on the finger on your left hand?” Mom grinned as she snuck a glance. “Yup, just as I thought.”
I rolled my eyes, chuckling. I went to grab a frilly pink apron from her drawer for myself, and I tied it on to help. “I might have been a little ways off the mark.”
Hiding my cringe behind my hair, I bent over to grab a pot to start on some rice. Honestly, now that the moment had passed and I was no longer in the wild frenzy I’d spent the night whipping myself into, I couldn’t believe I’d thought he was going to propose.
Before Noah arrived this morning, I’d further perpetuated my giant mistake by blurting my suspicions out to my mother. She’d thought I was joking, thankfully.
“You know,” she said as she ground some black pepper over the oven dish. “I’ve been wondering why you would even joke about something like that. Don’t get me wrong. I’d be thrilled if you and Noah did finally manage to get together, but you’ve only been back a month. Don’t you think it’d be a little fast for him to pop the question?”
“What question, Meemaw?” Lydia frowned.
Mom smiled at her. “You’ll find out one day.”
“Is it one of those grown-up things I can’t know about yet?” she asked, folding her thin arms.
Mom just kept right on smiling. “Yes, baby. It’d be boring for you now. It’s one of those grown-up things.”
“Like saying fuck,” Lydia said thoughtfully.
I choked on nothing but spit, and Mom’s eyes nearly bugged out. Hands flying to my hips, I turned to face her. “Where did you hear that?”
“Della said Noah and her Dad told her it’s a word only grownups are allowed to say.”
“It is.” My head bobbed up and down so hard. “You’re not allowed to say it again until you’re twenty-one.”
“Oh please.” Mom laughed, winking at me. “She’ll be saying it regularly by the time she turns sixteen.” She wagged a finger in Lydia’s face. “But don’t let me hear you repeating it again until then, okay?”
“Okay.” Lydia grinned. “I won’t, Meemaw. I promise.”
“Tell me about your day at the arcade,” Mom said to Lydia. “What did you do?”
Lydia perked up and explained every detail to Mom with so much excitement shining in her eyes I thought she might faint.
Mom grinned all the way through, only commenting when the story ended. “I love that you guys had so much fun today.”
When Lydia was finally done, the casserole was too. We carried the food to the table that I’d set while Lydia had been telling Mom about our day and sat down at the scuffed wooden table where I served us all.
Life at Mom’s had quickly fallen into a routine, and I had to admit that I was enjoying being home much more than I’d anticipated.
It wasn’t just because of Noah, Angie, Mom, or home. It was more a combination of them all.
Being home had exceeded my expectations so far, despite the few bumps in the road. Fall had always been my favorite season in Spokane, but this one was reaffirming my belief that it truly was magical here this time of year.
“So,” Mom said after taking her first few bites. “What was it that Noah wanted to ask you, if not that other thing?”
“He’s going to an event this weekend, and he wants me to go with him.” I glanced at Lydia, but she was too busy arranging her food into some kind of picture to be listening to me. “I told him I’d have to talk to you first.”
“I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.” Mom hadn’t taken so much as one second to think. “You deserve a proper break, and I don’t have anything planned for this weekend.”
“I’ll be gone for two nights, Mom.” My voice was quiet, not for fear of Lydia overhearing but because I couldn’t quite believe I was really considering going away from her for that long. “I’ve never done that.”
Understanding filled her eyes. She reached over to pat my hand and let hers hover there. “I know, sweetie. That’s why I think you need to do it. You’re leaving her here at home with me, not in some place that she’s never been before with someone she doesn’t know.”
“Yeah, but like you said, I’ve only been back a month. Isn’t that a little too soon to be going away anyway?” I didn’t specifically mention Noah’s name, but the knowing gleam in Mom’s eyes told me that she knew what I was really asking.
“It’s not like you’re running off with a stranger, honey. I’ve known Noah only three years less than I’ve known you, and you’re my child.” She pulled her hand away from mine, cut herself another bite, and pointed it at me. “You two both deserve to have some fun, and going to an event together certainly sounds like it will be fun.”
She winked, which made me groan under my breath. Oh, crap. She’s going to go fetch some fruit. Please don’t let her fetch any fruit.
Thankfully, she didn’t get up from the
table. Instead, she fixed me with a meaningful look. “I might not know everything that’s been happening in Noah’s life since you graduated high school, but what I do know is that you’ve both been through a lot.”
“I guess.”
She shook her head firmly, chewing and swallowing the bite she’d just taken. “No, you don’t guess. Did you know that Jordan’s wife, Hillary—” Checking to see that Lydia’s little face was still scrunched up in concentration with arranging her food, Mom mouthed died. “Just about six months after Ryan. She was part of Noah’s life for a long time too, you know?”
My heart thumped. “I didn’t realize it was that soon. I know she was part of their family for years, though. She started dating Jordan in, what, sophomore year?”
“Somewhere around there,” Mom agreed, letting out a sad sigh.
Shit. No wonder he said he’d gone through a rough patch for a while there. No wonder he put his walls up around himself so high that he came off like a total asshole. After facing that amount of hurt in such a short period of time, who wouldn’t?
“Hey, Lydia.” I shifted so I was facing her. It took another try before she realized I was talking to her, but then her eyes snapped up and met mine. “Do you think it’ll be okay with you if Mommy went somewhere with Noah this weekend?”
She shrugged, but then her eyes lit up again. “Sure. Noah’s cool. He took us to the arcade.”
Pursing my lips, I decided I’d have a talk to her about how bad bribery was when we got back. Noah’s plan to butter her up had definitely worked, though.
After we finished dinner and cleaned up, Lydia was exhausted. She’d had a long, exciting day, so she was out much earlier than usual.
I said goodnight to Mom, who was going out to meet some friends. Twenty-five years older than me and she was headed out while I was yawning in my pajamas. I giggled when I considered how the roles had reversed, then grabbed my phone before I climbed into bed.