Before You Go | A Prequel

2.6 | The Visit

"SOMETIMES, WHEN MY MOMMY IS SLEEPING, but I still wanna talk to her, my big brother, Nico lets me write notes for her, or draw pictures, for her to look at later, and then he lets me slide it under her door, so that she can read them later and— ooh! And can I get this?"

Charlie looked at the Summertime Fun Barbie doll the girl was holding, "Yeah, toss it in the cart."

"Thank you!" The doll clattered into the red shopping buggy, landing in the pile along with the others. One Lifeguard Barbie, one Mermaid Barbie (because they needed to live in harmony), one pretend cooking set, one X-Large tub of pink Play-Doh (because it was her favorite), and one X-large tub of white Play-Doh (because it was the rarest) and two variety sets of all the colors in the rainbow, (one for mixing, and one for not-mixing).

Charlie had objected at first, reminding the child of Nico's instructions to only get 'One thing,' to which she was quick to point out that was what she was doing. One of each was still one, and he couldn't argue with that logic.

"Does your Mommy sleep a lot?" he inquired as the shopping cart crept down the toy aisle behind the girl.

"Mhm! My big brother Nico said, it's 'cause she's sick, and when people are sick, they have to sleep a lot, so they can get better. Oh yeah! And that reminds me! My twin brother, Gus, he's sick too, so we have to get him some medicine!"

"Okay, well why don't we go there now, and you can show me what kind of medicine he needs?"

"Okay!"

Charlie exhaled a sigh of graciousness when the little girl skipped back to the cart.

"I know where it is! It's this way!"

"Awesome, lead the way." he said, thankful to finally just be getting out of the toy aisle.

"Charlie, I like you. You're nice!"

"Aw, I'm glad you think so," he smiled. Although he couldn't help but be amused at the way the child almost looked like a miniature version of Nico in pigtails and barrettes— an image he couldn't necessarily say he hated. "I like you too, though!"

"Are you and my big brother, Nico, like best friends?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. You could say that," he shrugged after some consideration, "Yeah, I'd say Nico's my best friend."

"My twin brother, Gus, he's my best friend. We do everything together! Did you used to do everything with Nico too?"

Charlie laughed, "Well, not everything," he said. Anymore. As he thought about it though, he realized they really did spend a lot of time together at school.

In the mornings, Nico would wait until after his 9:30 class to meet back up with Charlie before his own 11 am lecture, and they would eat breakfast together in the cafe on campus. It was just their routine, and on the days when they had opposite schedules, Charlie would wait for Nico, and they'd have their first meal around noon. They'd go to the gym together, attend assemblies and other activities as a pair, and oftentimes they would meet up with the rest of their friends for dinner, but even when the others had different plans, or they ate with different friends on different nights, it was without fail that they would find time to sit down together for the last meal, before retreating to their dorm to share every mundane, or not-so mundane detail of the day, sometimes laughing long into the night as time escaped them.

Charlie missed those days. It wasn't until they'd come home for breaks— winter and now Summer, that he realized just how much he'd come to depend on their routine. How much he missed the company. Several houses up the street wasn't nearly the same as the twin bed three-feet away. He knew Nico had been unsure if he'd even be coming back to Harveston for sophomore year. With everything he had on his plate already, it wasn't likely. For his friend's sake, he hoped for the best— he'd commute, or take courses online. Charlie knew it wouldn't be the same, and there was a part of him which was selfishly bitter.

A variety of random syrups, boxes, and bags spilled into the cart, snapping Charlie from his thoughts.

"Woah, woah," he said, "I don't think we need all of this. What is all of this, huh?"

"It's medicine!" said Ellie, "For Gus!"

"Well. You know, different medicine does different things, so we have to make sure we get the right kind, okay? For example, if Gus has a cold...," he reached into the cart, "then we need cold medicine. But we need the kind that's for kids. He's not gonna need...," he paused to read the label on the stout white bottle, "...Miralax. That's a different kind of medicine."

"What's that do?"

"Uh, it's for... upset stomachs. Kind of," he chuckled as he put the bottle back on the shelf, "See if you can find cold medicine for kids. It's probably gonna look something like this," he held up the Extra-strength Robitussin she'd dropped in the cart, "But it's gonna say it's for kids. Can you do that?"

"Okay! I can do that!"

Eager to help, the girl skipped back to the shelves and began scanning each one, hunting meticulously for this elusive Kid's Medicine which Charlie spoke of. He sighed as he started cleaning out the rest of the unnecessary items from the basket. He paused, stifling a laugh at the box of Magnums which had found their way into the buggy.

-"Hey, can I get these?"

Charlie turned at the voice behind him. The tall stack of books, Inkheart, Inkdeath, and Inkspell, and what looked like the entirety of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, nearly hid the face of the other girl, whom he was surprised even managed to carry them all.

"Sure," he said with a smile, chuckling as he started to help her unload the books from her arms and into the cart, careful as to not smush the rest of their groceries, "You really like to read, huh?"

"I guess, yeah," Leena shrugged, "It's fun. It's like... being somewhere else, without actually having to go anywhere."

Charlie laughed, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to read a lot when I was younger. If you count, you know... the comic books like Justice League, and Spider-man. I really liked those."

The look on the little girl's face made it clear she was judging him for his tastes, but she nodded anyway, "Yeah, those are cool."

Charlie stifled another chortle, smiling. So unfailingly polite, just like Nico.

"I found the kid's medicine!" Ellie said, "See! Look!" She held up a colorful two-pack of children's Dayquil and Nyquil syrup, along with two boxes of cherry and bubblegum flavored lozenges. Way more than he was sure they needed, but having extras on hand never hurt anybody. Besides, anything to make life a little easier for his friend and his family.

"Awesome! You can put them in the cart."

The items spilled over the climbing pile of toys, books, and groceries.

"Alright. I think that's everything?" Charlie said as he squinted from the list to the basket and then to the girls, "Do you guys need anything else?"

"Are you gonna stay and make mac and cheese with us tonight?" asked Ellie as she balanced on the other end of the cart.

"You guys are making mac and cheese tonight?"

"Mhm! My big brother, Nico is gonna cook!"

"Oh," Charlie said a bit unsurely. He glanced at his watch. Evening was sneaking up fast, and he had seen the state of the Floyd's house earlier. Charlie knew his friend, and there was no way he was cooking up a whole three-course meal in the time-span left, especially if the ingredients wouldn't be getting there until Charlie and the girl's made it back.

"Hey, what do you think goes good with mac and cheese?" he asked Leena as he pulled out his cellphone.

"Um... I don't know," she shrugged, "Lamb chops?"

Charlie snorted, "You eat lamb chops?" he asked as he raised the phone to his ear.

"I love lamb chops."

He hissed a chuckle as he waited, until finally a concerned, "Hello? Charlie?" buzzed from the other line.

"Hey Mom! Oh no, no, I'm fine. Oh yeah," he flashed the girls a smile before asking, "But hey, do we have any lamb chops?"