“Shit!” I roll off the bed and grab my jeans.
Maggie stands up and grabs hers. “What do I do?” she whispers. “Do you want me to hide somewhere?”
I rush to my closet door. “Yeah, hide in here.”
She makes her way to my closet without question. I can’t help but laugh. I grab her wrist right as she reaches the door. “I was kidding, Maggie.” I try to stifle my laughter, but she was really about to hide in the closet. “He already knows about you. Get dressed and come meet him.”
She stares at me a moment, then slaps me in the chest. “Ass.”
I’m still laughing as I grab my shirt from the floor.
“Dad?” Justice calls out.
“Coming!” I say.
When I’m dressed, I give Maggie a quick kiss and then leave her to finish dressing in the bedroom. Justice is standing in the kitchen with his friend Cody.
“What’s up?” I say, as casually as possible.
Justice turns around. “Not much, Dad. What’s up with you?”
I pause. He knows something. He’s smirking.
His friend Cody holds up Maggie’s shirt. “Whose shirt is this?”
They both start laughing. I grab the shirt and walk it back to my bedroom. I open the door and toss Maggie her shirt, then wait for her to put it on. “Thanks,” she says. “I was worried they would see it.”
I fail to tell her they did. She pulls it on and follows me out of the bedroom. When we walk into the kitchen, Cody’s jaw drops when he sees Maggie. He nudges Justice with his elbow.
“Dude,” Cody says to Justice. “Your new stepmom is hot.”
Justice rolls his eyes. “Not awkward at all.”
Maggie just laughs, thank God.
I introduce them. “Maggie, this is my son, Justice.” Justice waves at her. “And his best friend, Cody.”
Maggie smiles at them. “Hi. I’m…not anyone’s stepmom.”
“Even better,” Cody says. I glare at him, and he wipes the smirk off his face.
The microwave dings, and Justice pulls a bag of popcorn out of it. “Mom got called in. She told me to call first and make sure it was okay that I came over.”
“And why didn’t you call first?”
Justice smiles and says, “Because then you’d know I was coming.” Justice looks at Maggie. “Do you know who M. Night Shyamalan is?”
“The director? Of course.”
Justice shoots me a look of approval, and then looks back at Maggie. “What’s your favorite movie of his?”
She makes her way over to the bar and takes a seat. She seems comfortable. I’m glad. I didn’t want this to be weird, but I also wasn’t planning on introducing them so soon. But hiding her would have been even weirder. “Hard to say,” she says. “Signs, obviously, but The Sixth Sense will always hold a special place in my heart.”
“What’s your stance on The Happening?” Justice asks.
“I’ve never seen it.”
Cody opens the bag of popcorn and says, “Well, Maggie who is not a stepmom, tonight is your lucky night.”
Justice pours the popcorn into two bowls and hands one to Maggie. She pops a piece in her mouth as Justice and Cody make their way to the living room.
I blow out a breath, although I’m not sure why. They’re eleven years old. Not sure why all of that just made me nervous.
“I like him,” she says.
“I told you he was great.”
She stands up and puts a piece of popcorn in my mouth. “I might even like him more than I like you.” She walks past me, spinning to face me as she goes. “Nobody puts Maggie in a closet.”
I laugh. “Clever.” She walks away, into the living room. I follow her, because that’s what boyfriends do, right?
Justice and Cody have taken the main sofa directly in front of the TV. Maggie and I sit on the loveseat. She leans against me, positioning herself long-ways so she can see the TV better. She props her feet up on the arm of the couch.
Justice starts the movie, and I’m not even disappointed that I’ve seen it four times. I’m just happy this is how the night has ended up.
Tomorrow, that thought might scare me, knowing what I’m getting my heart into with this girl.
But right now, I just want to live in the moment.
I’ve been trying to get Bridgette to warm up to Maggie since Maggie moved into their complex several months ago. As it stands, Bridgette is still pretty cold.
She’s sitting on Maggie’s bed while I help Maggie pick out an outfit for tonight, so we’re making progress. She hasn’t been over here since Maggie moved in, other than one time when Maggie had to stay a few nights in the hospital for an illness. Bridgette came to get some clothes for her, but only because Warren made her.
“I think the black shirt would look better with these,” Maggie says. “I’m gonna try it on.” She grabs the shirt I brought over and takes it to her bathroom, closing the door behind her. I look at Bridgette. She’s on her back, staring up at the ceiling, yawning. I pull out my phone and text her because I don’t want Maggie hearing our conversation.
Sydney: You’re making this uncomfortable.
Bridgette reads her text and then looks at me, holding up a frustrated hand.
Bridgette: What?! I’m just being me.
Sydney: Yeah, no offense, but that’s the issue. Sometimes people have to make an effort NOT to be themselves in order to make situations around them a little more tolerable. You haven’t said a word to her. Make an effort. Ask her questions.
Bridgette: I AM making an effort. I’m here. Besides, I don’t have any questions for her. What would I even say? I don’t know how to do fake.
Sydney: Ask her about her graduation. Ask her about when we went bungee jumping. Ask her how she and Jake are doing. Lots of potential conversation starters if you just try.
Maggie walks out of the bathroom just as Bridgette drops her phone onto the bed and rolls her eyes.
“I like that shirt on you,” I say to Maggie. She’s turning back and forth in the mirror.
I look at Bridgette and make a face. Bridgette sits up dramatically, slapping her palms against the bed. She clears her throat.
“So…Maggie. How are…you and Jake doing? Well? I hope?” She forces a smile, but sounds like a stiff robot.
Maybe this was a bad idea. I glance over at Maggie, and she’s just standing there, staring at Bridgette with her head tilted.
I glance back at Bridgette and shake my head. “Wow. You really don’t
know how to talk to people.”
Bridgette throws her hands up and says, “I told you!”
Maggie looks at me. “Did you make her ask me that?”
I shrug. “I’m just trying to teach her how to interact with humans in a normal way.”
Looking back at Bridgette, Maggie says, “It doesn’t suit you.”
“See?” Bridgette falls back on the bed. “I should just be me. I’m good at being me.”
“Fine. I’m sorry I tried.” I give my attention back to Maggie. “But how are you and Jake doing?”
Bridgette sits up on the bed again and throws a hand out toward me. “Why does it sound so normal when you say it?”
Maggie and I both laugh. She looks in the mirror and fingers her hair. “We’re good,” she says, smiling into the mirror. “It’s all been so easy with him. He’s just…simple. He likes to have fun, doesn’t take anything too seriously. Until he needs to.”
“But is he good in bed?” Bridgette asks.
I see a pattern here. The only conversations that come naturally to Bridgette always have to do with sex. Does Ridge moan during sex? Is Jake good in bed?
“He’s very good,” Maggie says without hesitation.
“Who is better?” Bridgette asks her. “Ridge or Jake? Or Warren? Wow, you’ve slept with all three of our boyfriends.”
I slap a hand to my forehead. She’s a lost cause.
Luckily, Maggie just laughs it off. “Yeah, Bridgette, let’s just not do the whole conversation thing, okay?”
Bridgette pouts. “But I actually want to know the answer to this question. I bet it was Warren.”
Maggie looks at me and scrunches up her nose while shaking her head. “It wasn’t,” she mouths.
Bridgette mutters something about wanting a snack, so she heads to the kitchen. I hand Maggie a purple button-up shirt. “Try this one on. I think you’ll like it better than the black one.”
“What’s it even matter? Jake is on call all weekend, so he won’t even be there.” Maggie goes back to the bathroom just as Bridgette walks back into the bedroom, crunching on chips. She looks at herself in the mirror, turning so she can see her ass. She holds up a Pringle and positions it so that it covers her but in the mirror.