After Anna(36)

‘Great, thanks.’ Anna smiled. ‘I love my new sheets.’

‘They’re pretty, even on the couch.’ Maggie sat down on the chair catty-corner to Anna.

‘You don’t think the canopy is too little-girl, do you?’ Anna bit her fingernails.

‘Not at all. It’s feminine.’

‘Do you think I’ll start school Monday?’

‘I doubt it, but I’ll email tomorrow. I’m sure we can get a meeting on Monday or maybe it’s a shadow day.’

‘I got their calendar online. They’re just coming back from Spring Break. I already figured out my classes.’

‘Wow,’ Maggie said, impressed at her initiative. ‘Can I see?’

‘Sure.’ Maggie looked over as Anna hit a button and a spreadsheet came on the page, with a course load of AP Gov, AP Spanish, Honors Algebra 2, AP Language/Comp, Honors Environmental Science, Honors Psych. ‘Yikes, that looks hard. Maybe you should take it easy in the beginning?’

‘I can’t for college.’ Anna bit her nail. ‘It’s the same courses that I took at Congreve, roughly. Some of the textbooks are different, but I can deal with that. I made a new Facebook profile, too. I just posted. Wanna see?’

‘Sure.’ Maggie watched as Anna hit another button and a Facebook profile came on. The first picture was the four of them on the couch in the furniture store, with the caption:

Here I am with my family – my mom Maggie, my stepfather Noah, and my adorable little stepbrother Caleb. Missing from the photo is Wreck-It Ralph, our cat. Because they wouldn’t let him in the store . . .



‘That’s so cute!’ Maggie felt pleased. Somehow seeing it on Facebook made them a real family, a thought even she realized was ridiculous.

‘I posted some other pics of us. It’s fun.’ Anna scrolled down, showing a photo of Ralph looking out the kitchen window. ‘He always looks thoughtful.’

‘Really he’s just wishing treats would jump into his mouth.’

‘I know, I gave him some. Caleb showed me where you keep them.’

Maggie burst into laughter, thinking of the two kids in cahoots. ‘I really appreciate how nice you’re being to Caleb. You couldn’t have been interested in trains at dinner.’

‘I was! It was cute.’

Maggie sighed, happily. ‘Well, I’m beat. You’re going to go to bed sometime, aren’t you?’

‘Soon. I’m just doing some research. I’m trying to learn as much as I can about my class. You know, scope out some friends.’

‘That’s a good idea.’

‘And you know what? I don’t really have any clothes for school. Remember, we had a uniform at Congreve, and the only things I have are weekend clothes.’ Anna made a sad-emoji face. ‘Do you think we can go shopping?’

‘Of course.’ Maggie remembered her own school days, out of nowhere. It was funny how having Anna around was bringing back a lot of memories. ‘I used to have a new outfit every first day of school. My mom and I went shopping for it every year.’

‘Aw, you sure you don’t mind? I know you have work and everything.’

‘Not at all. I’m taking the week off to get you situated. I missed years of going clothes-shopping with you and I’m happy to make up the time.’

‘Great.’ Anna’s gaze returned to her laptop. ‘I’m starting a new Insta and Snapchat, and I was looking on Facebook, and you can see the clubs at school that have Facebook pages.’

Maggie looked over as Anna clicked to the Poetry Club page, which showed a group of long-haired girls and boys with man buns relaxing on the lawn behind the school. ‘They look nice. That would be perfect for you.’

‘I know. The poetry magazine is called Phrases. They also have clubs for the literary magazine, the newspaper, and the yearbook. They have tons of clubs.’ Anna clicked through a bunch of Facebook windows, all of which had been open. ‘There’s the musical theater club, choir, select chorale, then there’s all the girls’ sports. Since it’s spring, it’s tennis, lacrosse, and track.’

‘Do you play any sports?’

‘No, I’m an indoor cat.’ Anna wrinkled her nose. ‘What about you?’

‘I walk, but Noah works out religiously.’ Maggie smiled. ‘I’m the one with the Dad Bod.’

Anna smiled back. ‘You guys are so much fun. I mean, you’re really happy together, right?’

‘Right.’

‘It’s cool, there’s three last names and four people in this house. But I like that your last name is my middle name. Anna Ippoliti Desroches.’

‘I like it too.’ Maggie had insisted on it, way back when. ‘And don’t worry about school. You’ll make friends.’

‘I didn’t at Congreve.’ Anna shot her a skeptical look.

‘You will here. People are more open.’ Maggie kept her voice gentle, so Anna didn’t feel criticized, just encouraged.

‘Still. These girls are pretty, and pretty girls are the same everywhere.’ Anna opened a Facebook page from Phrases magazine, which showed a group of artsy Goth girls. ‘This is my tribe.’

‘You are pretty, and you’re not Goth.’