Piper
Growing up, I had a cousin with Down Syndrome named Hazel. We had been incredibly close as kids and I cried for days when her family moved to Boston. Hazel had been about five years older than me but we were the same size. She loved to play with dolls and pretend we ran a restaurant. So when Alonso said he had a sister with Down Syndrome, I lit up like a Christmas tree. I was practically giddy Sunday morning as I waited for Alonso to pick me up at my parents’ house.
“You’re going on a date with the boy who ruined your project?” My mother just didn’t understand what I was doing.
“No, Mom, it’s not a date. At all. He has a sister with DS who is a fan of mine and I said I would go see her. You know how close Hazel and I were.” Even now, years later, I could feel the tears threaten as I thought about Hazel.
About five years ago Hazel had died in a car accident. I mourned for weeks. Before her passing, we talked on the phone often and we followed each other on social media. Yes, she had social media. She was quite tech-savvy, my Hazel.
“Well, regardless, I’m glad you’re finally over that stupid prank he pulled.” Mom stood in front of me and tried to fluff my hair. I had to wave her away.
Alonso’s car pulled into the driveway and I debated running out before my mom could grill him like she would have when I was fifteen, or seeing if he could play the gentleman and come up to the door. Before either of those happened, my dad appeared from the garage and walked up to the blue sedan. From behind the curtain, I watched Alonso get out of the car and shake my father’s hand.
Dad was imposingly tall, but his overly friendly demeanor made it hard for anybody to fear him. Growing up most of my friends were a little afraid of him for his size, but they quickly learned he was a teddy bear - it was my mother who was the imposing force in my life.
Hands were shaken and my father laughed. I bit my lip as Alonso laughed in return. My stomach did flip-flops. I had to remind it that this was not a date. Why did my mother and my stomach think this was a date?
Dad walked Alonso up to the front door and they chatted. When the door swung open I slid down into the couch and grabbed a magazine from the table. Of course it was all about men’s prostates. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.
“Piper, honey, your friend is here.” They came in behind me and I stuffed the magazine into the couch cushion.
“Already?” I sounded out of breath. I hoped they didn’t notice.
Of course, my mother came back into the room right then. “What already? You’ve been staring out the window for twenty minutes, Piper Marie.”
Kill me now.
“Alonso, this is my mother Mary. And you met my father, Tim.” I could feel the heat on my cheeks as Alonso smiled at me.
“Yes. Mrs. Campbell, it’s a pleasure.” He extended a hand for my mother who took it for a dainty handshake. Alonso looked like he didn’t know how to handle her delicate fingers. He looked back at me. “Shall we?”
Jumping to my feet, I was eager to get away from my well-meaning parents. “Yes! See you later, Dad. Mom.” I stuffed my wallet and phone into the pockets of my jeans and hurried to the door. Alonso followed me out.
In the car he looked at me before starting the engine. “You were staring out the window for twenty minutes?”
Rolling my eyes away from him, I scoffed. “My mother likes to exaggerate. I had just glanced outside because it was about time for you to arrive.” There was no way I was telling him I had been looking out for him for about ten minutes. Purely because I prefer people to run early, not late.
In no time we were at the facility where Maggie lived. Alonso had told me she was mostly independent but there was a small staff on hand to help when needed. He had wanted his sister to live with him, but with his schedule he wasn’t as available as he would have liked to be for her. It had been Maggie’s idea to move into the residential home with other adults who were mostly on their own but needed occasional assistance.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by a building that presented as a regular apartment complex. There was a small lobby and desk with a cheerful woman behind it. She wore a staff shirt, not scrubs. Her attention elsewhere, she merely waved to us in greeting. I had thought maybe we would need to sign in. But perhaps she was used to seeing Alonso. We took the elevator up to the third floor and I followed him to the second door on the right.
“She’s excited to meet you.” Three knocks sounded and it was just a second before the door jerked open.
“Alonso!” The siblings didn’t hesitate to quickly wrap each other into a bear hug.
Once they broke apart, I got a good look at the pretty young woman before me. Her long hair hung around her shoulders in soft waves and she wore light make-up. Maggie only came up to my armpit in height, but I could tell immediately she possessed a large personality.
“Piper!” Before I knew it, I was wrapped in a bear hug of my own. Tiny arms wrapped around my waist and squeezed.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the display of affection. “It’s so nice to meet you, Maggie. Your brother has told me all about you.”
She stepped back and led us inside. “Well, he’s been telling me about you for weeks.”
I side-eyed Alonso. “Weeks? That’s a lot longer than my twenty minutes.”
He held up his hands as if in surrender. “Listen, she asks about you. That’s all.”
There went those stomach flips again. They needed to learn to go away. I turned back to Maggie and let her show me around her apartment.
Lemonade and cookies waited for us at her small table. It took Alonso seconds to sniff out the baked goods. “This looks great, Mags. You know I love lemonade.”
“That’s why I made it. Piper, do you like lemonade? I have bottled water, too.” Maggie was a great hostess.
“Lemonade sounds perfect.” We sat down and chatted while we ate cookies and drank lemonade.
I was grilled on everything related to the news station. Then Maggie grilled her brother about his relationship with me.
“We’re just co-workers, Mags. She wanted to meet you after I told her about you.” Alonso cast a fleeting glance my way and I saw a slight smirk cross his face before he looked away.
“Well, are you dating anyone?” This question was aimed at me. This girl was definitely direct.
I cleared my throat. “Oh, no. I’m not seeing anyone. But I just got out of a relationship. I’m certainly not looking.” Parched, I took several gulps from the lemonade and refilled my glass from the pitcher. “More?”
Without waiting for any reply, I topped off both the other glasses. Alonso quickly grabbed his and took a long drink.
We chatted for almost two hours, Maggie showing me childhood photos of her and Alonso with their grandparents. We talked about her favorite shows, what music we all enjoyed, and joked about some of the silly stories we had been assigned over the years. The time passed faster than I had expected and my cheeks hurt from so much smiling.
“It’s getting late, we should be going.” Alonso set his glass down firmly, as if he was finalizing an edict. “Maggie, I’ll be back Wednesday and we’ll go shopping, okay?”
She crinkled her eyes as she smiled. “I love shopping day.”
“I know. You love it—me not as much.” He mussed his sister’s hair and got a playful smack in return.
I giggled at their interaction. My sister and I weren’t close anymore and I missed the interaction. “What kind of shopping?”
Maggie beamed. “We go to Target and we get lunch.” She clapped her hands with excitement.
“Oh, I love Target. It’s my favorite place.”
Alonso laid his hands on his sister’s shoulders. “Well, Wednesday we need to do some special shopping. Night to Shine is coming up and you need a dress.”
Night to Shine is a sort of prom set up specifically for adults with special needs. I had covered it for the station in Richmond and had loved the whole concept. Events were held all across the country. It warmed my heart to think that Maggie got to enjoy such a special night.
“Oh, yes! I do need a new dress. Can I give my old one to Emily?”
Alonso’s eyes crinkled much like how Maggie’s did. “That’s really sweet of you. Of course you can. I’m sure Emily would appreciate it.”
Turning to me, a sly smile crossed Maggie’s face. “Do you want to come prom shopping with me, Piper?”
Of course I did. But if that was a special time between Alonso and his sister, I didn’t want to interfere.
Reading my hesitation, Alonso echoed his sister. “You have to come now. I am so lost when it comes to fancy dresses.”
Lucky for him, I happened to be a fancy dress expert. Most recently I had been doing wedding dress shopping. Thankfully, no purchases had been made before I discovered Henry’s deception.
Eager for a happy occasion, I readily agreed. “I would love to join you. Thank you for inviting me, Maggie.”
She beamed, clearly pleased with the outcome of the day. We said our goodbyes and got back into Alonso’s car.
Alonso took a deep sigh and looked my way. “If you can’t make it Wednesday, it’s fine. I know that was kind of putting you on the spot.”
“Are you kidding? Women love dress shopping for any reason and I am no exception.” I was already picturing what colors would look best on Maggie’s gorgeous skin. But then I thought maybe Alonso didn’t want me to be a third wheel. “Unless, that is, you don’t want me to come with you. I understand that it’s a special time for you and your sister. I can easily bow out if you prefer.”
Truth be told, in the five minutes since I had accepted the invitation, I was already looking forward to the shopping trip. Maggie was fun and easy to talk to. And as much as I hated to admit it, my loathing for Alonso Ortiz was changing rapidly into something completely different.
His response was subdued as he looked at me and scratched his chin. “No, no, I would love for you to come with us. Maggie clearly loved you. And...” He paused, shook his head, and brightened his smile. “And, um, I could use the help with all that girly stuff. So yeah, come with us.”
A lump lodged in my throat and I couldn’t figure out why. Was it his more serious tone? The way he looked at me? Was it how I thought he was going to say he wanted my company? All I could do was nod in agreement. I looked out the window and sat silently until he dropped me off at home.
“Thank you for taking me to meet your sister, Alonso.”
“Of course.” And he drove away, flying down the street as if his tailpipe was on fire.