His eyes widen and he asks, “Really?”

I giggle at his expression and reply, “Yes, really. I’d love to be your girlfriend.”

I don’t even have to ask this time as he pulls me close and kisses me, which only makes me want more of them.

I breathlessly murmur, “Let me go for a second.”

He releases me and I remove my arm from my sling. Smiling, I stand, hike up my skirt a little and climb into his lap facing him. Draping my arm across his shoulder, I pull him against me with my good hand and softly kiss him. A moment later, he deepens our kiss and pulls me a little tighter against him. Discarding any thought of controlling the situation, I melt against him and simply enjoy our kiss and the way he feels against me.

Don’t even ask me how long I sit in his lap as we make out, but at one point he breaks our kiss and murmurs, “Someone’s coming.”

Turning my head, I see an older couple ambling down the path hand in hand and smiling at us. Grinning, I wave at them and say, “Hello.”

The gentleman says, “Good afternoon,” while his wife says, “You two seem to be enjoying your day.”

I reply to her, “Definitely. He just asked me to be his girlfriend.”

They look at each other and chuckle for a moment. She looks back at me and says, “Congratulations.There must be something about that bench. My husband proposed to me while we were sitting there many years ago.”

Grinning, I reply, “I think it’s a bit soon for him to be proposing to me.”

She laughs, “Times were a little different when my first husband asked me to marry him. He was 16 and I was 14. We got married 6 months later.”

The older gentleman says, “Hazel, let’s leave them alone.” She nods. “Have a nice day.”

I reply, “You as well.” They continue to slowly ambling down the path and I lose sight of them as they turn the corner. Looking back to Dan, I see him smiling at me. “What?”

He chuckles and says, “Nothing, Andie, nothing at all.”

Rolling my eyes, I tell him, “Whatever, shut up and kiss me.”

I couldn’t even begin to tell you how long we make out and honestly, I don’t even care since I simply delighted in the feel of him against me and the way his kisses make me feel.

Eventually, he says, “Andie, as much as I’m enjoying this we need to go or you’ll be late. I don’t want your mom to distrust me.”

Nodding, I lean in for one final kiss and reluctantly, I get off his lap and stand. After I place my arm back in my sling, he takes my hand again and we slowly make our way back to his car.

As we walk, I think about everything that has happened since ‘Mom’ changed me and how happy I’ve been since then. I still find it amazing how much of a relief it is for me when I finally I accepted who and what I’ve always been. I truly enjoy being the person I am now. Having Alla as my best friend, the cheerleaders as my friends, being a cheerleader, everyone talking to me and smiling at me all the time, and finally, having Dan as my boyfriend has made me so happy that there are times I don’t even know what to do with myself.

Dan’s voice breaks me out of my introspection when he says, “Penny for your thoughts.”

Looking at him, I tell him, “It’s nothing much. I’m simply thinking about how happy I am. It’s not just about you being my boyfriend, it’s everything. Having friends for the first time in a very long time. Being a cheerleader. Before I decided to be more open, everyone always ignored me and pretended I didn’t exist and I really thought I was okay with that. I had my books and anime and believed I didn’t need anything else. It turns out that I wanted friends. I wanted people to see me.” I stop and he turns to face me. “I didn’t even know I wanted you to see me, but I’m so glad you do.”

He sighs, “Andie, do you always overthink things?” I give him a small smile and shrug. He reaches up and tucks my hair behind my ear and runs his thumb lightly along my cheek. “I told you that people can’t help but want to be near you. You’re a beautiful girl. The thing is, when you get past that and get to know more about you, you’re even more beautiful on the inside. That combination is what makes you so attractive to so many people. I’ve never met anyone like you before. You never look down on anyone and you are always nice to everyone. Hell, even after Chris hurt you, you tried to make him feel better. Most people wouldn’t ever think about doing something like that. Andie, is it any wonder that I want to be close to you?”

Of course, him telling me all this makes me blush furiously, but I refuse to look away from him. I squeeze his hand and murmur, “Thank you. I’m happy you like the way I am, but I’m not perfect. Everyone has their issues.”

He nods in agreement and we begin walking again. A few moments later, he says, “Andie, do me a favor. Don’t focus on that and try not to let your father’s issues affect you. Those are his, not yours. You didn’t do anything wrong, no matter what he said.”

Dan gets me back home around 5:30, walks me to the door and tells me, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Mhmm. You better. We have to tell everyone about us and you’re going to be there to help me do that.”

After he gives me the kiss I want, I head inside and call out, “I’m home!”

Mom’s voice comes from the kitchen as she replies, “Welcome home baby girl.”

It bothered me when she called me that right after my change, but now I don’t mind it at all, even when she does it with other people around. After all, she’s right, I am her baby girl and I always will be, so why should I get upset over something like that?

Walking into the kitchen, I give her a hug and say, “Hi Mom. Is Alla not back yet?”

“No, not yet. She should be home shortly.”

I sit down at the table and continue, “Mmkay. That smells great. What’s for dinner?”

“One of your favorites. Tonkatsu, miso, steamed white rice and steamed veggies.”

“Mmm~ Sounds great!”

Mom and I have always loved Japanese dishes but of course, we never could eat them whenever Dad was here. He hated anything ‘foreign.’ I always wondered just where he thought American cuisine came from since it’s composed of dishes from all around the world. I never understood his thinking in most things. Thankfully, we no longer have to worry about him and his idiotic biases.

My ruminations are interrupted when I hear the garage door open and a few moments later Alla comes in.

Smiling at my best friend, I say, “Hi. Did you have fun?”

Returning my smile, she replies, “I did and I didn’t. It was tense over there, but I enjoyed being with Brian.”

“Is something going on with Brian?”

She nods. “Remember he told me that he’d make more time for me?”

“Mhmm.”

“Well, he told his parents that he wasn’t going to be working at the company anymore and there was a huge fight about it. He stood his ground though and refused to back off of his decision, so they are mad at him since they have to hire someone to take his place.”

I quip, “Good for him! He’s their son, not free labor.”

“True, for that matter they could have his older sister work there instead of him. The thing is they would have to pay her and I think that’s what they are mad about. Oh, I mentioned next weekend to him as well and he wants to come as well.”

Mom asks, “What’s next weekend?”

I reply, “Mom, remember, I asked you about us going to the Orlando Megacon?”

“Right. Sorry, it slipped my mind.”

“Did you remember to reserve a hotel room for us?”

I did and I paid for it as well. It’s across from the convention center at the Hyatt Regency.”

“Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it.”

She turns to look at me and states, “You’re welcome, but just be sure if you do something that you take precautions.”

When I look confused, Mom and Alla laugh. Then it dawns on me what she means. Blushing furiously, I adamantly exclaim, “Oh my God, Mom! There’s no way that’s happening! Dan just asked me to be his girlfriend today!”

Which of course, captures both of their attention and Alla asks, “What did you tell him?”

“I told him yes.”

Alla squeals excitedly and hugs me. “I’m so happy for you!”

Hugging her back, I murmur, “Thank you.”

Right then, the doorbell rings. Alla lets me go and heads off to answer it. She comes back followed by Nadia. Everyone exchanges greetings with her and she takes a seat across the table from me. Alla sets the table as she catches up Nadia on what has been going on while Mom finishes up dinner.

A few minutes later, Alla helps Mom set the serving dishes on the table. We say grace and serve ourselves. After we eat, Alla and Mom put everything away and clean up. That done, Mom and Alla come into the living room and take a seat. Mom picks up the remote and mutes the TV.

Then, she looks at Nadia and says, “I know things have been rough for you since they cut back your hours at work and I have an idea that could help. How about you sell your house and you two move in here with us?”

Nadia’s eyes widen and she asks, “Are you serious?”

“Of course. We have two extra bedrooms here, so why not? I’d say it’s far better than losing your house and having to live in an apartment. What do you say?”

I glance at Alla, who’s looking at Nadia with an almost pleading expression.

“How much?”

Mom shrugs. “Half of the bills. The house is paid for, so there’s no mortgage to pay.”

Alla jumps in and says, “Please, Mom. Andie still needs my help. Plus, Andie is like a sister to me as well as my best friend.”

Nadia looks at Mom and asks, “Are you sure it’s not a problem?”

“Look, as Alla said, they are like sisters and we’re friends, so I’d much rather you two live with us that in some apartment. I know Andie would hate it if you two had to move away.”

I nod in agreement. I would hate it. I like how close Alla and I are and I damn sure wasn’t looking forward to her having to go home when I finally got to where I could do things for myself. It’s like Mom said, she’s like having a really close sister and I love that we get to hang out so much.

Nadia looks back at Alla, who vehemently states, “I want to live here, Mom.”

Looking back at Mom, she says, “I was worried about how I was going to pay the mortgage on our house this month. Thank you, we’ll take you up on your offer.”

Alla hugs me tightly enough that I groan. The she excitedly states, “I always wanted a sister!”

　◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

[Monday, May 6th]

Apparently, I forgot to set my alarm last night because Alla wakes me up when she knocks on the door and comes in. I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising since we binge watch an anime series on Netflix last night, which meant we stayed up later than normal.

I sit up, stretch and tell her, “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

Getting out of bed, we make our way into the bathroom, where we shower, blow dry and brush out our hair. Back into the bedroom, Alla helps me dress, puts my sling around me and slips my arm in it. She then dresses herself and we head downstairs to eat breakfast.

As usual, we tell Mom, “Good morning,” as we enter the dining room. I take a seat and Alla heads into the kitchen to make us a cup of coffee. After we eat, Mom puts our hair up for us. You might be wondering why Mom always puts our hair up for us everyday. It’s nothing more than she enjoys doing it and if she likes doing this for us, then we aren’t going to complain.

We gather up our school bags and my purse and we load up to drive to school. We arrive 40 minutes later and I grin as I see Dan walk over to us with a smile. Opening my door, he unbuckles me and helps me out.

“Good morning, Dan.”

He tells me, “Morning.” I melt into him as he pulls me against him and gives me a short, but sweet kiss. I sigh contentedly and rest my head against his shoulder as I relax within his arms.

A few moments later, he asks, “Are you ready to do this?”

Stepping back, I look up at him. “I suppose so, but I’d much rather cuddle some more.”

“Me too, but we have things to do this morning.”

“You’re right. Okay, let’s go.”

He reaches down and picks up our school bags, takes my hand and the three of us make our way into the quad where Mia and the rest are talking.

The moment Mia sees us, she quirks an eyebrow and grins at me. “Well now, what’s this, Andie?”

I shrug. “Dan took me for a walk yesterday and asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes.”

Once I say that, everyone gathers around us and congratulates us. Mia steps up to me, hugs me and murmurs, “You’ll have to tell us all about it at lunch.”

I whisper back, “Of course.”

This might not be a big deal to a lot of people, but it is to the former wallflower that is me. After Mia releases me, I take Dan’s hand again and happily lean against him as we girls chat until the warning bell rings.