Page 197 of Falling Backwards
“I know,” she says, then points at me.“And I didn’t know Emma yet ’cause I met her in third grade, so I didn’t have anyone to tell the others to shut up and leave me alone.”She giggles.“I mean, I think the teacher eventually stepped in, but you knowshedidn’t tell any seven-year-olds to shut up.”
“She should’ve,” I say teasingly.“Bunch of little assholes!”
My mom and Maggie reprimand me even as they laugh.I assure them I’m kidding because of course no child needs to be told to shut up by an adult…but I do really think they were some assholes to be mean to a fellow classmate.
“Now, Emma is one of your friends that you live with, right?”my mom asks as she starts flipping through the album again.
“Yes, ma’am,” Maggie says.
“And you met her in the third grade?What about your other one?”
“We met Joy when we were in sixth grade.”
“Wow, you’ve all been friends a long time!You said you wished Emma had been there to help with those mean kids when you were seven?Is she a protective kind of friend?”
Maggie and I say, “Yep!”at the same time and laugh at the same time.She meets my eyes and is once again so wildly pretty with this brightness about her and I just…mmm.
I bide my time.Through more easy talk between her and my mom, then through them adoringly looking at pictures of my various childhood Halloween costumes while I try to remember how each Halloween went.I know the Yoshi year took a turn because that costume was clunky and I tripped stepping onto a sidewalk from the street and scraped up my hands when I caught my fall.
After I recall that memory aloud, my mom freshly bemoans that I’d gotten hurt.Then she excuses herself to the restroom and my moment arrives: the second we’re alone in the dining room, I get to my feet and reach for Maggie’s closest hand, then pull her to stand with me.My other hand takes her jaw with gentle purpose, and I sneak a kiss from her.
She kisses me back, stepping closer to me while her hand holds mine.I somehow both hate for the sweet exchange to end and enjoy that it ends because she’s smiling.
“Poor you when you were little,” she says.She drops her head from mine so she can take both of my hands and look at my palms like they’re still all scraped up.“I’m sure that hurt.”After a pause: “Remember when you scraped them ’cause you fell in my parking lot?”
I’d just begun to think about that, actually.“Yep.Looks like I’m not very good at walking.”
She tsks, nods, rubs her thumbs over my palms.“Yeah, I’m sorry to say that’s what falling down a couple times in your life means.”
I chuckle and so does she.She tugs me closer and I wrap her in a hug.
Against her hair, I murmur, “I’m sorry you got called Stupid Bear.Dig around in your memory for names so I can look them up and message some people.‘Hey, I just learned you hurt my girlfriend’s feelings almost twenty years ago.It’s time for you to tell her you’re sorry.’”
Maggie snorts lightly into a giggle that warms my shoulder and makes me smile.
“You’re the best, Luke,” she says against that spot.
“You are.”I start shifting my weight from one foot to the other, swaying us lightly while we hug.“My mom likes you.”
“Really?But you haven’t gotten to ask her, have you?”
“I haven’t, but I can tell.”
She snuggles into my embrace the only little bit more that she can with us being so close.“I’m so glad you think so.I like her too.She’s so warm.”
I hum my agreement.“Yeah, she is.”
“And the turkey she made was amazing.I can see why Thanksgiving food is some of your favorite.”
I groan, happy that I ate that turkey just a little while ago and already looking forward to leftovers.“Yum.God, I miss it already.”
“Leftovers will help with that later.”After a moment’s thought, she adds, “What a blessing it is to be able to be full of food.We need to get around to doing our donating.”
I nod as big as I can while hugging her.“Yes and yes.In fact, I know we originally landed on the homeless shelter for that, but now I’m thinking we should also include the food bank.”
Her nod is as big as she can make it too.“Let’s start that tomorrow before we both go to work.”She starts slipping out of my hug.“And hey, let’s clean up this stuff on the table that we’re done with.”
I’m normally the one who cleans up after this meal, so I was going to get around to it in a little while, but I don’t try to put it off now.It’s really nice that Maggie apparently wants to see to it as much as I always do—not that I’d really expect anything less from her, but still.
