“Willow…”
“No, I’m serious! Um…next question! What do you value most in a friendship?”
If they weren’t in the middle of the New Jersey Turnpike, Levi would be tempted to pull over and hug her. Because if anyone needed a hug, it was Willow. Since he couldn’t, he squeezed her hand again and said, “Honesty. I think honesty is the most important aspect of a friendship. Or any relationship, really.”
“Oh.” When she went to gently pull her hand away, he didn’t stop her.
But he hated to think that he’d hurt her feelings, so…
“And the ability to pack the perfect snacks for trips,” he added. “Especially if there’s chocolate involved.”
That did the trick.
“Then this is your lucky day,” she said cheerily. “Because I just happen to have my famous death by chocolate brownies. I’ve been told they are literally to die for.” Twisting in her seat, she turned to grab her cooler from the backseat.
“Well, I’d hate to die and miss out on the rest of this little adventure of ours, so…feed them to me with care.”
And when Willow held a piece of the brownie up to his lips, he knew death was definitely on the menu.
The death of him thinking that he was going to be able to pretend this wasn’t real.
5
“Oh! And if you ever need someone to do a quick alteration on your dress or anything, Levi is definitely your guy!”
Beside her, Willow heard Levi groan even as his sister laughed.
So this is what a normal family is like…
“I’m telling you, Willow, my brother is an absolute whiz with a needle and thread! Our nana taught him how to crochet too! Want to see the afghan he made for me last Christmas?”
“Nat! Geez!” Levi cried with exasperation. “What the hell?”
With a mischievous grin, Natalie stood. “I just think this is information your girlfriend should know.”
“Oh, uh…we’re not really boyfriend and girlfriend,” Willow explained for at least the tenth time in the last two hours. For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why Natalie wasn’t getting the fact that this wasn’t real.
Natalie–who looked a lot like Levi–waved her off and walked back to the kitchen. “Can I get you guys something more to drink? Soda? Water? Dinner will be ready in an hour or so.”
“I’m good, Nat!” Levi called out before he leaned forward and hung his head. “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
Scooting closer, Willow studied him. “Your sister is very nice, Levi. Very friendly.”
“And she’s got a big mouth.”
They sat in silence for several minutes before she blurted out, “So you can really sew?”
“Oh, God…”
“Why does that freak you out? It’s a great skill to have! I can do the basics like fixing a small hole in a shirt–and I usually stab myself in the finger several times until I bleed and then practically pass out–but I certainly can’t do any kind of alterations.”
“You should see what he was able to do with my old prom dress!” Natalie said when she breezed back into the living room. “It was like he deconstructed it and made me something I’d actually wear again! And I did!”
Levi muttered a curse while continuing to stare at the floor. Reaching over, Willow gave him a gentle pat on the knee before smiling up at Natalie. “I’m not good with things like that. I’m a bit of a klutz, so…”
Again, Natalie waved her off. “Well, as long as you’re dating my brother, you won’t have to worry!” She sat down in the large, oversized chair opposite the sofa where Willow and Levi were sitting. “And believe me, you have my sympathy on the klutzy thing. My younger daughter, Olivia, is the same way. I swear, my poor girl trips over her own shadow.”
Willow nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, me too.”
“And she struggles so much because her sister, Penny, is a dancer. I swear she came out of the womb dancing.”
Willow couldn’t help but smile. “She’s lucky. I took ballet when I was little, but…as you can imagine, it was a bit of a nightmare.”
“Olivia tried too, but…even she knew when to throw in the towel.” She shook her head. “Levi, remember when the girls were both in that Christmas recital two years ago? I sent you the video?”
“And Olivia knocked down half the set?” he said, shaking his head. “I still say you should take her for martial arts classes. I think she’d be awesome at that.”
“Oh, no! She knocked down the set?” Willow asked, shocked that they were making light of it. “Was she hurt?”
“Oh, no,” Natalie replied. “She did it on purpose because the teacher made her be a tree. One of her branches was particularly long, and she thought it would be funny to use it when the narrator mentioned a storm was brewing.” She laughed. “You’ve got to hand it to her, she’s clever!”
“I don’t doubt that,” Willow said. “But maybe she was sad because she was given a menial part. Was Penny in more of a lead role?”
Natalie nodded.
“It was her way of getting the attention on her,” Willow reasoned. “It’s got to be hard on her to have a sister who can do all the things that she can’t. And even if she doesn’t say it bothers her, her actions say otherwise.”
“Willow…,” Levi said quietly.
“No, no, no,” Natalie interrupted, holding a hand up to her brother. “One of Olivia’s teachers said the same thing, and I blew it off. But…it kind of makes sense.”
“Has she done anything else like it since?”
“Well…”
“You don’t have to answer that, Nat,” Levi said before turning to stare at Willow. “I thought you didn’t like psychology?”
She shrugged. “I don’t particularly want to do it as a profession, but with all those years of school studying, it kind of comes out once in
