“You should go ask him about baby seeds,” Nadia suggested.
Her sister nodded, her smile wide. “Oh yeah. You really should.”
“Okay.”
They headed inside. Emily went to wash her hands and heard Reggie say, “What? Why are you two looking at me like that? Why are you smiling?”
Emily thought he had the best family. He had sisters and a dad, but his mommy had died. That’s what Lisa told her. When Emily asked if she was still sad, Lisa had nodded, but she claimed it was a nice sad. Not so hurtful because her mom had died so long ago and now she only had good memories.
Emily didn’t know. She loved Mag-Mom. Her mommy. If Mag-Mom left, Emily would be so alone and sad. All the time. She had no brother or sister to smile and tell jokes with.
Which made her more determined than ever to find out about the seeds.
She rejoined everyone in the kitchen. They were getting plates of food, like at a buffet restaurant, and Mag-Mom got Emily a plate with eggs, bacon, and some good-smelling peach cobbler.
They all sat and ate, talking about how great the food was.
Emily decided to ask the most important question of the day. “Mr. Harry?”
“Yes?”
“Nadia and Lisa said you make a lot of things grow.”
“I do.” He smiled at her.
She studied him. “You look a lot like Reggie.”
“Or you could say he looks like me.”
“Yeah.” She frowned. “So did you plant a seed for him to grow? Or did his mom get a baby pill? Because I want a little brother, and maybe some sisters, and I think Reggie would be super nice if he’d plant a few in my mom’s belly.”
Reggie choked.
Mag-Mom gaped, her face turning red.
Lisa and Nadia coughed and laughed and coughed some more.
Mr. Harry bit his lip. “Well, now, this has got to be one of the best conversations over brunch we’ve ever had.”
Emily grinned. “I’m smart.”
“You are indeed.” Harry laughed. And kept laughing.
Chapter Eleven
Reggie didn’t understand why his family took so much fun in torturing him.
After everyone but he and Maggie died laughing, he quickly changed the subject to Maggie’s teaching career. She and Nadia discussed the effort it took to teach children and seemed to be getting along rather well.
Lisa chimed in here and there, while his father spoke in a hushed voice with Emily, who kept nodding, looking at Reggie, then nodding again.
Reggie didn’t even want to know what the pair were discussing.
Seeds. He rubbed his eyes, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
He knew he’d never hear the end of this. But at least Maggie no longer looked so mortified.
They wrapped up brunch with some funny stories from his father’s growing years, which never failed to amuse Reggie and his sisters.
