Late Night Talking | An Original

4

Milo

"Hey, are you at the store?" I ask my sister, Maeve. I called her to see if she needs anything from the grocery store, but I didn't know if she was at home or at the bookstore she owns.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm running to Jewel-Osco if you need anything."

"I'm good. Thanks though."

"Do you want me to bring lunch or anything?"

"Sure, if you don't mind."

"Okay. I'll probably be there within the next hour or so."

"Cool," Maeve says. "Thanks, kiddo."

"No problem. See ya soon."

-

"How was your date last night?" Maeve asks, dipping a tortilla chip into her chipotle bowl and eating it.

"It was really fun. Sabrina and I had a great time."

"Good," she says. "You two really seem to like each other."

"We have another date tomorrow night, but I don't know what our plans are yet. Maybe a Cubs game, or a backyard movie date."

"Ooh. That sounds romantic," Maeve says. "You really have the perfect backyard for that."

I smile. "I know. I kind of did that on purpose. I wanted my place to be a cozy place for myself and whoever comes over."

"Your outdoor movie projector reminds me of the one mom and dad had when we were little. Do you remember that?"

"Barely. I've seen pictures of it though. Dad helped me build it."

"Mom said that sometimes she'd sit out there with me if I wouldn't fall asleep, and I'd be out in ten minutes if she put a movie on. But it didn't work in the living room."

"Sounds like you. You've always been more relaxed outside."

"True," Maeve says. "Reminds me, can I come over one of these days and have a pool day?"

"Of course," I say. "You know you don't have to ask. Just let me know ahead of time."

"You're the best," she says. "Maybe I'll see if Maren can come, and we can have a sibling day."

"Okay. I'd love that. Maybe we can snag Maren on a Sunday or something," I say. Our sister competes in gymnastics, and she has a very busy training schedule. She usually has two sessions a day during the week, and one in the mornings on Saturdays and Sundays unless there's a competition.

"Do you wanna go next door and get a pastry?" Maeve asks. The building next to her store is a café and bakery, and the lady who owns it has been so supportive of Maeve's business since it opened a few months ago.

"Sure," I say.

I'm so proud of my sister. She created this bookstore from the ground up, and she's already made great progress with the amount of books she's sold. I think people have enjoyed the small business aspect of her store, especially since they get to correspond with the owner herself. Maeve is an expert on book recommendations, (she has a double bachelor's degree in literature and business), and the store itself is a cozy place to visit. You can grab coffee next door and bring it over while you read the book you just bought. It's the perfect spot for a bookstore, being next to a coffee shop.

Maeve and I each get a coffee and a chocolate croissant, and we take it back to the book store. There's a table by the front window we can eat at, so we sit there.

"So, do you think you and Sabrina will keep dating?" Maeve asks.

"I think so. We have a lot in common, and we seem to think very similarly. She's really smart, and fun to hang out with. I feel so comfortable around her. As if I've known her for much longer than I actually have."

"That's a good feeling to have about someone."

"Do you feel that way about Landon?"

"Of course I'm comfortable around him. I've known him for three years now. Sometimes he can be a little overbearing, but it's only because he cares about me."

"What do you mean by overbearing?" I ask.

"Well, you know how he doesn't always feel like hanging out with our family. Or he wants to skip family dinner some weeks. Or he'll want to hang out alone when we're on a family vacation. Stuff like that. Of course I wanna be with family. They've been around much longer than he has. Of course I want to catch up with the cousins and aunts and uncles every week. He just doesn't understand why our family is so close."

"Yeah, I've gotten that vibe from him. He seems kind of unsupportive sometimes."

"Yeah," Maeve says. "I always felt lucky that we get to have dinner with our whole family every week, but his mentality is that we have to. As if he thinks it's a chore. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm choosing between sides, you know?"

"Right," I say. "Maybe he'll shape up soon. Or maybe his family just has unresolved issues and he doesn't know what it's like to be part of a family like ours."

"Yeah," Maeve says. "His parents are divorced, and he has siblings that barely speak. I can't imagine going even two days without talking to you or Maren. My heart would break."

"Mine too," I say. "People always ask me if I wish I had any brothers, but I really don't. I wouldn't want anything different than the two best sisters I could've ever asked for. Plus Reese. She's pretty cool too, and would probably strangle me if I didn't say something about her in this conversation."

Maeve laughs. "You two are pretty much twins anyway, what's the difference?"

"Nothing. She's as close as I could get to a twin."

"Thanks for hanging out with me today, and bringing lunch. You're the best. I might close up a little bit early, since it's already almost 5."

There's only been a few customers today, and Maeve's employee Sara has helped them out. While we visited. She gets paid by the hour, and the store was slow today. We made her shift worth it by bringing her coffee and a pastry as well.

"Why don't we see if we can pick Maren up from practice, and then we can just have a mini pool party tonight?" I ask. "You guys could stay over, and we could have a sibling movie night."

"Sounds great," Maeve says. "Landon's on a trip with his brother anyway, so it's not like I have plans. My friends are all busy this week."

"Cool," I say. "I'm gonna go to the grocery store if there's anything you want, and then I can pick you up from your place. Then we can go get her when she gets done at 7."

"Perfect," Maeve says. "Thanks, Miles."

"Of course," I say, heading out of the store and to the parking lot.

I really am so happy that my sisters and I have such a close bond. I wouldn't trade them for the world.