“What job do you have?” Margie asked after a few minutes of silence.
“I’m a massage therapist,” Anna answered. “I massage people’s muscles and make their bodies feel better.”
“So, you help people?” she asked.
Anna nodded her head. “Yes, I love to help people,” she said. I couldn’t help the smile that was forming on my lips. The amount of questions Margie was asking Anna told me that she was starting to trust her. I didn’t blame her; Anna had something about her that made people feel comfortable. I remembered how nervous I was to get my first massage from her, but she made me feel relaxed and comfortable right away.
“Why do you like to spend time with my daddy?” Margie asked next, and I hoped Anna didn’t get scared off by her asking so many questions.
“Your daddy is a great guy,” she said. Those six words seemed to please Margie.
“Do you want to see my favorite Barbie dolls?” Margie asked next.
“Of course, I do,” Anna said. And then Margie was gone, racing toward her room to get her special Barbie dolls to show Anna.
Over the next twenty minutes, they talked about everything Barbie. Anna told Margie about the collection she had growing up and that she would even let her see some of the ones she still had. That made Margie more excited than she had been in a while. It was amazing to watch them together. They got along great, and they even were laughing a lot, which was a big thing for Margie. I could tell she was already smitten with Anna, and I had to admit that I felt the same way.
“I’m going to start dinner. Do you want to help?” I asked Margie.
“Not unless Anna wants to help too,” she said in protest.
Anna looked at Margie. “Let’s do it,” she said. The excitement in her voice made Margie’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree.
“Thank you,” I whispered as we followed Margie into the kitchen.
“You’re welcome. She is absolutely adorable. Thank you for introducing me to her,” she said. Then to Margie, she asked in a louder voice, “What are we making?”
“Spaghetti with homemade meatballs,” she announced proudly.
“I hope that’s alright,” I said to her.
“It is,” she assured me.
We spent the next hour making the meatballs out of raw hamburger meat and my special seasoning mix. We cooked them, then the noodles and the sauce. The kitchen was messy very quickly, but it was okay. We were all laughing and really enjoying ourselves.
When the food was done, Anna offered to set the table for us, and I reluctantly let her. We sat down to eat, and I couldn’t help but feel at peace. It felt wonderful to have the three of us together like this.
The conversation at dinner was lively. Margie asked Anna a million more questions.
“Do you like spaghetti?” she asked.
“It’s my favorite. Especially this spaghetti,” Anna said.
“My dad makes the best food,” Margie said and took a big bite of a meatball.
Anna smiled endearingly at Margie. Then she smiled at me and said, “He really does.”
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without your help, though. Both of you.” I watched a smile appear on Anna’s face, one that I knew was mirrored on my face as well.
I loved how perfect this moment felt. Having dinner with both Margie and Anna felt right. It was comfortable and fun, exactly the way it should be.
“Will you eat here a lot?” Margie asked.
Anna laughed and looked at me.
“We would love to have you over more often if you wanted to do that,” I said.
“I would love to eat dinner with you guys again.”