Madison
I let James take Sammy back home with him after he pointed out that I’m in no state to parent tonight and would probably end up accidentally leaving my reptile-child at the bar.
It’s clear James was right as my sisters and I pretty much close down the place and stumble out to the parking lot. The boys all left a long time ago and so Annie offers to act as designated driver and get us all back to Emily’s house. Normally I wouldn’t think anything of it, but after what James mentioned I can’t help but find it suspicious.
We’re all tipsy (besides Annie) as we file into her powder-blue pickup truck. We stumble, taking twice as long as usual to climb in because we can’t stop laughing over the story Amelia told us of Noah getting laid out by security on tour. Apparently he had forgotten his badge and the security guard didn’t know he was Amelia’s husband as he opened her dressing room door.
I can’t tell if I’m more drunk on alcohol or laughter.
Annie gives her best attempt at a stern attitude as she corralsme and Amelia into the bed of the truck. “Keep your butts on the floor.” She points a menacing finger at us after slamming the gate shut.
“Yes, ma’am.” I give a serious salute, making Amelia lose it, laughing all over again.
Emily, our mother hen, gets prime seating in the front with Annie.
As we drive, Annie rolls down her windows and cranks the Chicks so Amelia and I can hear it too. It feels so good to be home surrounded by my sisters that I’m almost guilty about it. They don’t know why I’m back, not really. They don’t know that I wasn’t tough enough to hack it in the city. That for all my shouting about craving more than what Rome could give me, I couldn’t stand being away from here. The city was wrong for me in ways I never could have predicted.
And I don’t know what that says about me.
The wind whips through my hair and I tip my head back, eyes on the sky so I can finally see the sparkling stars I’ve been dreaming about since I left Rome. Except . . . they’re not there. I wait for my vision to adjust, but it must be too cloudy to spot them tonight.That’s fine.Not taking it as a bad sign or anything.
A little later we pull up to Emily and Jack’s house, filter out of the truck, and stumble up the porch stairs. The last time I was on this porch I was sobbing onto Emily’s shoulder and confessing I wanted to quit culinary school and come home. She’s the only one who knows I ever wavered in New York. And now that I have this job at the Huxley restaurant, I can’t decide if I’m grateful that she encouraged me to go back and finish my degree or if it was a mistake.
“Honey, we’re home!” Emily yells playfully once we walk through the door.
“We?” Jack says, coming around the corner holding their little cat, Ducky. He’s in a pair of athletic shorts, a vintage Dodgers sweatshirt, and the glasses Emily is literally obsessed with. When Ducky sees us she jumps from Jack’s arms and scurries down the hall to hide on their bed.
Jack doesn’t drink alcohol, so even though he does go with us to Hank’s occasionally, it’s not as often as Emily and the rest of us. According to her, he mostly uses these Friday nights at home alone to write whatever mystery book he’s currently working on. Jackson Bennett (as we learned last year) is also theNew York Timesbestselling author AJ Ranger. Thanks to his asshat of a dad who leaked Jack’s identity before he was ready, the secret is out. Emily says Jack has really made lemonade out of those sour lemons his dad gave him and embraced the spotlight. He’s been on morning talk shows, had an epic book tour, and still loves teaching in our small town.
But no matter how famous Jack is now, he continues to treat my sister with the love and affection of a man who knows he doesn’t deserve her.
And because my sisters and I live on the same wavelength, they know to jump in front of me like a wall as I crouch behind them. In the next minute they split theatrically and I pop out with jazz hands. If I had confetti, I’d throw it.
To his credit, Jack actually does look excited to see me, even though I know he probably doesn’t care all that much. I get a nice big hug and aGlad to have you home, Maddie.
“Aw, yay! Hugs are great.” Emily is physically pushing Jack toward the front door. “Okay now, out ya go.”
“But I live here.”
“Of course you do, big guy! But get out. The girls are spending the night.”
He breathes a laugh, used to Emily prioritizing us like we are her children. “Just a minute. Are you drunk?” He twists around, cradling her face in his hands, assessing her.
She melts and holds up her fingers to signify an inch. “A smidgen.”
Fun fact: Jack is the only person in this entire world I’ve ever seen Emily melt for. She’s still as feisty and hard-headed as ever, but I’ve also noticed something new in her since she found Jack. The two are soft with each other. She lets him help her in a way that she absolutely won’t let anyone else. Not even me, her favorite sister.
Just kidding.Well, sort of.
Emily doesn’t actually pick favorites, but we are closer on a friend level than she is with any of my other siblings. We share the kind of bond that Annie found in Amelia and Noah has with James.
Jack grins. “Give me a minute to pack a bag,” he says, kissing Emily’s forehead. “I assume I’m off to Noah’s?”
“Go to my house instead,” says Annie. “Otherwise Will is going to act like a sad, left-out puppy and show up here.”
“And Noah would much rather have alone time,” Amelia adds.
A few minutes later, after filling a big glass of water for Emily and making her promise to drink it, Jack is driving off. It’s only us sisters, reunited and happy and tipsy.
