Maple bit her lip, unsure what to say to that. Luckily, the sandwiches arrived right then so she didn’t have to say anything. She looked at Alton with concern before thanking the waitress (she was a very polite person). “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked. “You don’t have to though, if you don’t want to, then we can talk about something else.”
"It doesn't bother me. Ask away." Alton straightened.
Maple nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure,” she said. “Um, what happened? To your parents?” She took a bite of her sandwich.
"Well," Alton swept his hair out of his face. "My dad was first, in a car crash. The month after that, my mom went of drug overdose. Y'know, grief."
“I’m so sorry,” Maple said, feeling bad for always complaining about her family, who were all very much alive. “I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.” She took another bite of her sandwich.
"It wasn't too bad…I mean, it was, but it wasn't devastating. My dad was kind of abusive and my mom…it just wasn't the end of the world, y'know?" He tilted his head.
“Not really,” Maple replied. “My parents…they’re basically textbook parents. My family is more or less the Brady Bunch.”
"Ah. Nice." Alton sighed wistfully. "Some of the good things my family did for me was teach me science. When my dad wasn't driving his car around bars, he was listening to scientific records and then showing them to me. My mom was a musician, but I never learned much from her…she was trying to keep the whole family together, pretty much."
“Oh,” Maple said. “Maybe you could come over sometime and meet my family, if eveyone’s home. My parents aren’t always around, or if they are they’re busy with Sue or Beck or something.”
Harley facepalmed “I’m so stupid.”
Sam Looked at the ground "Yep" she teased.
She mock glared “so nice.” Then she laughed “let’s go!”
“Oh,” Maple said. “Maybe you could come over sometime and meet my family, if eveyone’s home. My parents aren’t always around, or if they are they’re busy with Sue or Beck or something.”
"If I can, I'd love to." Alton smiled genuinely, which was rare on a face already so creased with worry and sadness.
Maple smiled too. Alton’s smile was infectious. “That’d be awesome,” she replied.
“Good. Question two: What’s your favorite animal besides a squirrel?” Alton asked.
Maple thought for a moment, scrunching her face up in concentration. “That’s a hard one…” she replied. “Um, a mouse? What about you? And I mean besides a mouse, obviously, not a squirrel.”
Alton smiled at her answer. "A mouse, huh?" The smile widened into a grin. "Probably a parrot. They're so beautiful, and they can fly wherever they want…" He sighed wistfully.
“It would be cool to fly,” Maple agreed. “But for me, running up trees is close enough. Flying sounds kinda scary.” She chuckled.
"Mice can pretty much go anywhere except up." Alton chuckled too. "But they're so free, parrots are, they have no boundaries."
“It would be nice, to be that free,” Maple agreed. “But parrots are also super loud. Like, have you heard one squawk?”
Kaliyah walked inside the restaurant and was seated at a window seat. She received a menu and looked through