Her mom had found a nice bistro between their two homes that Madeline had to admit, she'd never noticed there. It had a French, trendy feel to it, with bright colors on the wall and fun furniture.
"So, Thanksgiving," her mom began as soon as the server left with their drink order. "I've already promised the guest bedroom to my parents, and my sister and her family are staying in the den, so I was thinking about getting you a hotel room for the weekend. That way, when you get overwhelmed by all my family, you have a quiet place to go to."
"I was actually thinking I'd just sleep in Maddie's room with her," Elijah confessed, looking across the table at her mom as he tapped his knuckle against the plate in front of him. "I mean, if that's cool with everyone. Not sure if that breaks any house rules, but-"
Her dad let out a quiet laugh. "We've never been given an opportunity to make up that sort of house rule before. Madeline's only actual boyfriend was back in high school. Since then, she's just kept her head in the books. If there's been anyone else since Martin Martin, they've never been important enough to bring home."
A smile took over Elijah's face as his eyes moved to Madeline beside him. "Martin Martin?"
"The kid used to say that if they ever got married, he'd change his last name to hers, so his name could be Martin Martin," her dad told him. "They dated for two and a half years, and he was completely in love with her. Probably still is. I'm sure you'll meet him. If she's home on break, that poor schmuck shows up, apologizing for something I don't dare ask about, and talking about how when college is over, they should give it another try. Nice enough kid, but he's living in a fantasy world if he thinks I'm ever going to give him permission to marry my daughter."
"Marty's living in a fantasy world if he thinks he'll get my permission," Madeline chimed in. "He's never taken the breakup seriously. He assumed when I told him I was done, I just needed a breather. I feel bad about it, because we were really good friends before we started dating, and my entire circle of friends from high school are attached to him.
"But my dad's right. I'm guessing you'll meet him. He seems to think that because we dated for so long, and are on friendly enough terms again, he's part of the family, even though my parents never much cared for him."
Elijah placed his elbows on the table and dropped his chin down to his clasped hands. "Well, when he shows up, I'll handle it."
"By doing what, exactly?" Madeline asked.
A smile took over his face. "That'll depend on him, won't it?"
"Well, onto the original topic," her mom said. "Yes, you can absolutely share a room with Maddie. Seems only fair, since the two of you do that anyhow. I'm honestly amazed by all this. Twelve years have passed, and you two are still completely comfortable with one another. You had a bond as kids, but I thought it would take some time to find that stride as adults. You two are probably more comfortable around each other now than you were back then."
Elijah unclasped his hands to reach for her own, giving it a small squeeze as his smile turned into a closed-lipped one. He took his time looking at her, and Maddie couldn't stop herself from feeling small butterflies in her stomach. Then he looked away. "I've always loved her, and always cared for her more than anyone, but I get what you're saying. When I was waiting for her to get home, I expected this weird reunion, where we wouldn't really know what to say to one another, and there'd be all these uncomfortable silences. We're both so much older now, and I wasn't sure how much that bond stuck.
"Once I opened my eyes and looked up at her, everything just sort of fell into place. It felt right. We still need to get to know each other. I get that. So much has happened in my life, and hers that we've missed. But that familiarity and trust never left."
Madeline knew her skin must have been pink from the warm feeling cascading through her body, but this time she wore it with pride as she placed a soft kiss against his cheek. She had had little time to prepare for seeing him in her home, but she had time to think about it once she stepped into the church for his dad's funeral.
She'd thought about how tightly she'd held onto him in her mind, wondering if he'd done the same, or if he'd finally given up and let her go. When he didn't show, she assumed that was his way of saying he let her go. Her father's words after the funeral didn't help matters.
But if he'd had shown up, would they still look at each other the same? Feel the same? Converse the same? Would they have to work toward building a newfound friendship, or would everything fall into place?
"Well, I can't say I wasn't worried for Maddie," her dad admitted. "When we didn't see you at the funeral, a part of me was grateful you left that life behind you, but the bigger part of me couldn't bear to see what it would do to her. Maddie will be mad at me for saying this, but so be it. Her smile was always a bit dimmer after you left. Every milestone just sort of drifted under the radar, because nothing was quite as important to her without you there to celebrate with her.
"I don't blame you for leaving, Elijah, and I wouldn't have blamed you for staying gone if that's what was best for you. But you coming back gave me back my daughter, and I'll always be grateful to you for that. Seeing her smile like this... let's just say I never thought I'd see it again."
Madeline was already looking down when she watched Elijah's hand pick up her own, and her eyes followed their travel up toward his lips. He placed one small kiss on her knuckles, then set her hand right back where he'd found it. "It's a good smile," was all Elijah said to that.