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‘Uncle Willie! You came!’ she shrieked, throwing herself into William’s – Uncle Willie’s – arms. Pepperoni lost his excitement and remembered that he was actually a little scared of strangers and backed into my legs. I put my hand on his head and gave him some scratches to calm him while I watched everything unfold in front of me.
Uncle Willie caught the little girl, impressively with only a small grunt, mid-air and she wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes and holding on tight. William was hugging her with more care, but it was still tight.
‘I missed you. I missed you,’ she whispered, her eyes still shut and her face hiding in his neck.
It was a good hug. It was the kind of hug I would’ve loved to give William too, so I understood her.
‘I can see that,’ William said, his voice hushed.
I smiled.
The girl opened her green eyes and straightened her head and focused on me.
‘Who are you?’ she asked, with a small frown lining her forehead.
William turned sideways so he could look at me too.
‘Hello,’ I said, giving her a small wave. ‘I’m your Uncle Willie’s work friend.’
She squinted her eyes at me, and I had to hold back my smile. She touched William’s cheek and forced his gaze back to her. ‘Is she the new Lindsey? We talked, you weren’t gonna bring Lindsey. You said no Lindsey.’
William sighed. ‘Ivy.’
‘Yes?’
‘She isn’t Lindsey.’
‘I can see that. I’m smart.’ She put her little hand on William’s cheek and my heart melted a little. ‘But is she the new Lindsey?’
‘Her name is Charlie, Ivy.’
‘Hi,’ I piped up again, lifting my hand in a wave, and their eyes turned to me. ‘I’m Charlie.’
‘I like your name, but I don’t know if I like you.’
‘Ivy, you can’t…’ William started, a frown materializing between his brows.
‘I can understand that,’ I cut in. ‘Maybe you can get to know me a little bit while I’m here and then make a decision? That’s fair, right?’
She seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then nodded. ‘Okay. Fair.’
I smiled at her.
William met my eyes and shook his head.
‘Who is that?’ she asked, pointing at Pepperoni, who had slowly but surely managed to hide behind me by then.
William gently put her back down. ‘That’s Pepperoni,’ he introduced.
‘Can I meet your dog while I’m making a decision about you? I like dogs.’
I tried to hide my smile and nodded. I crouched down and Pepperoni pushed his head under my arm, checking out Ivy and the new surroundings quietly. He wasn’t as timid as he had been when I first got him, but new people still made him a little anxious.
‘He would love to meet you,’ I said to Ivy, right as a gorgeous woman with black hair and eyes identical to William’s walked in and stopped next to William.
‘Finally, you’re here! Why didn’t you come last night?’ She gave him a big hug and kissed him on his cheek, brushing the lipstick smear with her fingers after. ‘Mom’s been asking for you.’
‘Mom, look, this is Pepperoni,’ Ivy piped up as she was reaching to pet him. Pepp gave her hand a quick sniff before lowering his head so Ivy could pet him.
I was caught in that awkward situation of trying to decide whether I should stand up or stay still, but she noticed me in front of her daughter before I could make my move.
‘Oh. Hello.’
I rose and looked between William and Ivy’s mom. ‘Hi. Sorry.’
‘Charlie, this is Beth, my sister. And…’
I offered my hand but the same moment Beth cut William off.
‘Charlie?’ She gave him a sideways look and then looked back to me. ‘You’re William’s Charlie?’
William’s Charlie?
William’s Charlie?!
I couldn’t help it, a snort escaped my lips. A small one, and hopefully a cute one, but it was a snort nonetheless. ‘I wish,’ I muttered, then realizing what I’d just uttered out loud, tried to take it back. ‘I mean, I’m just Charlie. Not William’s or anything. I’m the girl Charlie.’ Then I shut up.
Beth beamed.
I offered my hand. ‘Hi.’
She ignored it and gave me a quick hug, pretty much like the one she had given her brother. After my tiny word vomit I decided to ignore William’s presence completely.
‘Nice to meet you, the girl Charlie,’ Beth said, still smiling at me. I didn’t feel like she was making fun of me, but she was definitely entertained. She was a little shorter than me, and she was gorgeous. Just as gorgeous as Ivy. Just as gorgeous as the brother I was avoiding eye contact with.
I could feel the heat on my cheeks, so I looked straight into Beth’s eyes.
‘I’m sorry for showing up unannounced. I told William he should ask you first, but…’
She waved her hand in dismissal. ‘Why would he do that? You’re always welcome here.’
