Page 2 of Real Forever
“Thank you,” Lauren said, still holding her sister close. “What would I do without you?”
“Probably drop dead immediately. I mean, what would be the point of living without me, honestly?” Madison joked.
Chuckling softly, Lauren gave her sister one last squeeze before turning back to her dishes.
Madison poured herself another cup of coffee and headed back downstairs to her room, where she could stew in her sister’s revelation. It was shocking, after all. Lauren was the good one, the perfect sister. Married her high school sweetheart, had a gorgeous baby girl, and bought an Instagram-worthy dream home she helped pay for with her uber-successful business.
She sank down into the large, pillow covered sectional and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her flannel sweatpants. She set her mug down on the coffee table so she could wipe a smudge from the screen with the bottom of her shirt, a vintage 1992 Blue Jays World Series T-shirt which had belonged to her father. Satisfied with her smudge removal, she opened up Instagram and scrolled. Then Twitter. Then Facebook. Then back to Instagram. Before she knew it, forty-five minutes had passed, and the last sip of her coffee sat cold in the bottom of her mug.
After a groan and a stretch, she peeled herself off the couch and into the shower. It surprised her to feel as good as she did this morning, considering how late she was out last night. Mallory had a few people over for drinks in her hot tub after the bar closed, and when Madison walked home, hair dripping and cold, it was three-thirty in the morning.
Once she had showered and brushed her teeth, Madison grabbed a pair of wrinkled jeans from the hook on the back of her bedroom door, and threw them on with a white T-shirt that read “Be the Change” in colorful floral lettering. She grabbed a long, mustard yellow cable knit cardigan from her closet and ran upstairs in her bare feet.
“Auntie Maddie!” Lauren’s four-year-old daughter Maisie came running down the hall, throwing herself into Madison’s outstretched arms. Maisie was as cute as they come—a mess of wild, curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, with impossibly long lashes, and a mile-wide smile. Definitely an Avery girl.
“Maisie, my love, good morning,” Madison exclaimed, scooping her up and covering the girl with tiny kisses all over her forehead, cheeks, and neck.
Maisie giggled. “Stop it, Auntie.”
“I can’t. I’m a kiss monster.”
Madison bombarded Maisie with smooches until she erupted into laughter. Satisfied, she set Maisie down and grinned at her.
“It smells like your mom made fresh cinnamon buns this morning. Did you save any for me?”
“Of course, Auntie. Mommy only had one, and she made a whole pan full, which is twelve. Twelve is also a dozen. Did you know that? If Mommy made twelve and ate one, that means there would still be eleven left over. Do you really think a little four-year-old girl could eat up a whole eleven cinnamon buns all by herself in one morning?”
Madison took a plate from the cupboard and pulled the plastic wrap off the pan of cinnamon buns. Good Lord, it was the best smell in the world. Her sister was an incredible baker, but her cinnamon buns were Madison’s favorite. She placed one on the plate and popped it in the microwave.
“Auntie, do you want me to get the butter out of the fridge for you? You can have extra butter. I like mine with extra butter.”
“Yes, please. Thank you so much, Maisie. What a good helper you are.”
Maisie smiled and marched to the fridge with her shoulders back and chin held high.
Madison ran her fingers through her still damp hair while she waited for the microwave. “So, Maisie-Bo-Baisie, do you still have time in your busy schedule to hang out with Auntie today?”
Maisie giggled. “Yeah.”
“Wonderful. Well, what should we do?”
“Can we go to the park? Pretty please?”
“The park?” Madison rolled her eyes and gagged. “I was thinking we might stay here and do some chores. And then, if you’re extra, extra good, I’ll make you a big plate full of broccoli for a treat.”
Maisie side-eyed her aunt suspiciously, then looked to her mother for guidance. Lauren only shrugged innocently, giving nothing away.
She narrowed her eyes at Madison. “Auntie, are you tricking me?”
“Yes, Maisie-Bo-Baisie,” Madison grinned. “Of course I am tricking you. I would love to go to the park with you. Why don’t you get some warm clothes on and we’ll head out as soon as Auntie is done with her breakfast?”
“Okay.” Maisie ran off to her bedroom and Lauren smiled at Madison.
“You’re the best auntie in the world. You know that, right?
“Of course I do. I’m also the best sister, among my many, many other illustrious achievements.” Madison tossed her hair off her shoulder.
Lauren laughed and gave her sister a playful shove, while Madison pulled off a chunk of cinnamon bun and popped it into her mouth.
