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She was moving around Katie’s kitchen like she belonged there, making cookies, moving a lasagna she’d made out of the way, and, then, when Katie thought she might sob, looking up and giving Katie the warmest, best smile she’d ever seen.
“You’re here,” Katie said, hearing how her voice wavered as her eyes filled with tears.
Maggie’s smile faltered and she tilted her head, moving to take the festive red apron with ruffled trim off. “Oh, you look exhausted.”
Katie nodded. She knew she was being silly, but it felt like the whole world was bearing down on her, and all she’d really needed was Maggie. And Maggie was, inexplicably, here.
It wasn’t the first time Katie had come home to find Maggie here, but, at that moment, it felt like it was. Like nothing had ever been so wonderful, or made so much sense, as walking in the front door, defeated and premenstrual, and finding the one person in the world who made everything okay.
Maggie came towards her, enveloping her in a hug, and, even if Katie felt like she was the walking dead, everything felt right in the world.
“Are you okay?” Maggie asked after a moment. She made no move to pull away from Katie, which Katie appreciated. She needed just another minute longer.
“I’m fine,” she said, even though it sounded like she was crying. “My period’s due tomorrow, so it’s…”
“Taking you for a ride?”
“Mm,” Katie agreed, nodding into Maggie’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry.” She held Katie a little bit tighter and Katie no longer needed the wall-to-wall crowd of the train to hold her up, she had Maggie, and that was all she was ever going to need.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” She nuzzled Maggie’s shoulder, breathing in her scent and letting it fill her mind.
She’d always liked the way Maggie smelled—soft and warm and comforting. With the way she was feeling, she wanted to wrap herself in that smell and live in it forever—wrap herself up in Maggie and live there forever.
Maggie’s hand ran over her hair, and Katie felt the tears even though her eyes were pressed shut. Maybe she’d be embarrassed in a couple of days when this was behind her, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be anything but completely overwhelmed and grateful that Maggie was here and that she’d shown up to look after Katie before Katie had even hinted at asking. She was the best person Katie had ever known.
She squeezed Maggie tighter. She was the only thing keeping Katie grounded and Katie didn’t want to step away and lose that.
“It’s been a rough few days, huh?” Maggie asked softly.
“Not really,” Katie admitted, knowing as she did that she should be embarrassed by how she was acting. There had been bad days. Maggie had seen them. They both knew what bad days looked like when you were a doctor. But this wasn’t that. This was just hormones, exhaustion, and missing her best friend. “Just a lot of work, no sleep, and PMS. Plus, I missed you.”
Maggie sucked in a breath. “I missed you too.”
Katie hummed. Maybe it was okay that she was falling apart if Maggie had missed her too. Was it weird to be glad somebody had missed you? Either way, Katie was glad.
“We can do something else tomorrow, if you want?” Maggie offered, rubbing Katie’s back gently. “Going to pick out a tree seems like it might not be what you need right now.”
“No, no. I’ll be good. I just need some decent sleep, probably some food, and I’ll be fine once my period kicks in and I take some painkillers.”
It was true. The lead-up was often worse than the thing itself for Katie. Of course, if she had debilitating cramps, she’d have been in the right line of work to get someone to look at it. As it was, there wasn’t anything she could really do for being hormonal and a little overworked.
Besides, every year, they went to pick out trees together. And every year, they decorated them together. And, every year, Maggie liked doing Katie’s more because she had more space in her apartment than Maggie did, so they got to pick a bigger tree—and Maggie loved Christmas trees. Katie wasn’t letting an annoying little period get in the way of that.
Maggie breathed a laugh that tickled down Katie’s neck and made them both shudder.
“Well, the good news is that I made dinner,” she said, “and loads of cookies. And I can make you a hot water bottle and a warm drink while you take your shower?”
Katie nodded. She couldn’t imagine anything better. “You’re the best ever, you know that?”
Maggie giggled. “You’re just saying that because I made you cookies and I’m about to serve you dinner on the couch.”
“You’d be the best either way, but that definitely doesn’t hurt.”
She took a breath, drinking in the scent of Maggie one more time before she finally stepped back. Maggie had always been one of those people who waited for the other person to end the hug. It was a quiet kind of gift, one people didn’t really think to do—didn’t really think of in the first place. But, when you knew the person you were hugging would stay there as long as you needed, never getting bored or frustrated, it felt like a tiny piece of your soul was clicking back into place after being lost for too long.
Maggie smiled at her and, not for the first time, Katie thought about how coming home to her really was the best thing ever. She didn’t mind living alone. She liked her space, even. But being around Maggie was something better than being in her own company, and there weren’t many people Katie could say that for every second of every day, no matter how she was feeling.
