Just Us

I look up from the small piece of paper in my hand, glancing at the numbers on the houses. My eyes alight on the middle one. The address matched the one in my hand. I take a deep breath, this is it. Living in the house should be a woman and her daughter. I met the woman last night at a book signing. We talked for hours, really clicked. As the book store was closing, she gave me her number and address, telling me to stop by. As I walk up to the door, I wonder if I am going a little fast. Maybe I should have given it a few days? Maybe a week? I shake my head, throwing the thoughts aside. This is not the time to worry now. I am already here, might as well follow through!

I walked up the steps to the door. I take one more breath and push the doorbell. Somewhere inside I can hear a pretty tinkling. A moment later the door opens. I can feel my heart pounding as the doorknob turns and the door clicks open. I am momentarily confused when I see no one at the door. But, my logic kicks in half a second later and I glance down. A miniature version of the woman I met peers out at me. I feel a sense of relief. At least she didn’t give me a fake address. I open my mouth to greet her but a strong voice filters out from inside the house.

“Who is it, honey?” The same melodic voice that drew me to her the night before reaches my ears.

“Some guy!” The young girl calls back to her mom. Suddenly the door opens wider and there she is.

“Maggie, hi!” I manage to get out with an awkward wave.

“Dan! I was hoping to see you today,” Another internal sigh of relief on my part.

“Come on in. This is my daughter Sadie,” Maggie introduces her daughter. Sadie smiles shyly.

“I am going to go play with Holly now, okay?” Sadie looks at her mom.

“Of course, darling,” Maggie nods and Sadie runs off. I follow Maggie into her house. I glance around, taking everything in. I can’t help but stop and stare at what I see. From the outside, the house looks like an average two bedroom house. The inside, though, is an entirely different space. The place is an open plan house, and a very nice one. Wood floors, beautiful kitchen with a bar separating it from the living room and dining room. The place even has stairs on either side leading up to a loft. I can see Sadie up there playing with another little girl who must be Holly. Maggie gives me the grand tour, ending with her backyard. It is big, for living in town; full of bright green grass and several trees. Connected to her back door was a patio with a table and a grill.

“Cook out often?” I ask her.

“As much as possible,” Maggie replies, “It is very quiet back here. Almost like the sound from the street is muted.”

“That sounds wonderful! My apartment lets in all the sound. I would love a place so peaceful like this.” I tell her. I hear laughter from inside the house. I turn my head towards the slider door as it bangs open and the two girls rush passed.

“Slow down please!” Maggie cries at the girls, “Sorry about that, she can be a bit excitable at times.”

“No problem! I say let kids be kids,” I smile at her, trying to put her at ease. Maggie’s face lights up.

“Lets do dinner! I have hot dogs we can grill, wait here,” she motions for me to stay put. As she walks in, her daughter runs up to me.

“Holly says she likes you. Are you staying?” Sadie asks.

“I am staying for dinner, if that’s what you mean,” I explain to her, “Is Holly staying too?”

“Oh yes, she always has dinner with me,” Sadie smiles and the two friends run inside, weaving around Maggie.

“Here, let me help you,” I say as a grab the ketchup slipping from her hands. Maggie smiles gratefully and dumps her armload onto the table.

“I saw you talking to Sadie. Did she introduce Holly?” Maggie wondered as she cut open the package of hot dogs.

“She did. They seem quite the pair.”

“That girl comes up with the craziest ideas. But she is a sweetheart,” her mom smiled at the thought of her daughter.

“Moooom! Holly pushed me,” Sadie cried out.

“Well you tell Holly to play nice!” Maggie hollered back.

“How long have they been friends?” I inquire.

“Since we moved in about six months ago,” Maggie laughed, “It’s almost like she came with the house!

“Hot dogs are nearly done. Sadie! Come set the table,” Maggie yelled into the house. I can hear as the two girls race each other through the house. Sadie speeds past us, grabbing plates and silverware without even stopping. I gather the dogs onto a plate as Maggie brings out potato salad, baked beans, and hot dog buns.

“Can’t forget a spot for Holly!” Sadie sings almost to herself and she sets up the table. I put the hot dogs onto the table and sit down.

“Sadie will you say grace?” Maggie requests of her daughter. They both bow their heads and Sadie begins. I follow suit, but peak just a little. Holly has not yet joined and most people I know who say grace wait until everyone has sat down at the table. I shrug a little to myself. I know next to nothing about this family, I have no room to judge.

“Thank you God for my mommy and for Holly and for my mommies new friend, Dan! We like him very much and we hope he stays forever. Thank you for the hot dogs and for Benny! Amen.” Sadie finishes. I open my eyes and start a bit as Holly is suddenly at the table. I recover quickly. She must have been in washing her hands.

“Benny?” I wonder out loud, as we dig into the food.

“Our neighbors cat,” Maggie explains, “He likes to hang around our yard because Sadie likes to feed him treats.” I nod my understanding as I take a rather large bite of my dinner. Everything goes well. Maggie laughs at my awful jokes and I even manage to get Sadie to laugh. It wasn’t long before her and Holly were up and playing again. I watched as Sadie swung on the swing screaming for Holly to push her higher. The sky was a deep purple when I finally say goodbye. Maggie walks me to the door and we stand there for a moment, not quite wanting to part.

“Those two girls seem like quite the handful,” I say offhandedly. Maggie giggled.

“For an imaginary friend, Holly seems to be more of a handful that Sadie!”

“Wait, imaginary friend?” I stammer. I could feel the blood slowly draining from my face.

“You didn’t think she was real did you?” Maggie looked at me with slight concern, “Are you okay? You look pale.”

“Who was the other little girl playing with Sadie all day then?” I demand.

“There was no other girl, Dan. It was just the three of us.”