Lila looked up at me, a question in her eyes. I nodded briefly, wanting to give her permission to call our relationship whatever she wanted.
“Yes, I’m his girlfriend,” Lila said.
Margot didn’t say anything further, but her eyes dimmed. It wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine the number of revolving men in her mother’s life.
Mia grabbed the package from the table, presenting it to Margot. “This is for you.”
Margot stared at it like she wasn’t sure what to do.
“You can open it now or later, whatever you want,” Mia added quickly. “I just thought—well, your dad said you like art, and I love art too, so I picked something out for you.”
Margot took the package carefully, like it might break. “Thank you.”
“Why don’t we all sit down to eat?” Lila suggested. “The food’s getting cold. Margot, you can open your present at the table.”
We settled around the small table—me at one end, Lila at the other, Mia and Margot across from each other. Margot held the wrapped package close to her chest.
“Go ahead and open it,” Mia said. “I can’t wait to see what you think.”
Margot carefully untied the ribbon, peeling back the paper with precise movements. Inside was a wooden box with a hinged lid. She opened it, her eyes widening slightly.
It was a complete watercolor set. Professional grade, from what I could tell. Tubes of paint in every color imaginable. Three different sizes of brushes. A small palette. And underneath, a thick spiral-bound watercolor pad.
“Mom helped me pick it out,” Mia said. “She’s an interior designer so she knows a lot about art and colors and stuff. I figured you probably already have supplies, but these are supposed to be really good.”
Margot traced one of the paint tubes with her finger. “These are … nice.”
“Do you like them?” Mia asked anxiously. “Because we can take it back and get something else.”
“I like them.” Margot looked up, meeting Mia’s gaze. “Thank you. I’ve never had art supplies this nice before. My mom doesn’t like the mess.”
“Well, now you do.” Mia beamed. “Maybe sometime we could paint together? I mostly do pencil and charcoal, but I’ve always wanted to try watercolor. We have a terrace. That’s where I draw sometimes. We wouldn’t have to worry about paint spilling because we could just wash it off.”
“Okay,” Margot said softly.
“Awesome.” Mia settled back in her chair. “So, do you like Thai food? Mom got pad thai and spring rolls and some curry stuff. We weren’t sure what you liked.”
“I don’t know,” Margot admitted. “I’ve never had it.”
“Never?” Mia’s eyes went wide. “Oh, I hope you like it as much as I do. We told them no spice, just in case you didn’t like spicy food.”
“Do you like spicy food?” Margot asked Mia.
“A little spice but not so much that I can’t taste the rest of the food,” Mia said.
Lila started serving food, putting small portions on Margot’s plate. “Just try a little bit of everything. If you don’t like something, that’s okay.”
Margot picked up her fork tentatively, taking a small bite of pad thai. She chewed slowly. “It’s good.”
“Right?” Mia said. “It’s my favorite. Well, tied with pizza. And tacos. I adore food.”
Despite herself, Margot’s lips twitched. Almost a smile.
Mia caught it and grinned. “So, what grade are you going into? Fourth?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. That was a good year for me. Mrs. Patterson’s class is the best, if you get her. She lets you do art projects for extra credit. Are you worried? About school?” Mia took a bite of her spring roll.
