Zoey hadn’t told the Maddoxes about her girlfriend, though she had told Poppy more about her. Somewhere during one of their phone conversations, Poppy had commented on how eager she was to meet the Casey that Zoey kept talking about. That was how they’d ended up making the date to meet at a coffee place near the bus stop.
Poppy offered more than once to go to the girls, but Zoey was nervous about meeting anywhere too close to her mom’s in case anyone saw them together. Zoey and Casey were friends, Val and the other Maddoxes knew that. At first, Poppy hadn’t understood why them meeting would raise any red flags, though it didn’t take her long to figure out that, yes, it would be a little odd for Poppy to have a date with Zoey and her friend without including other Maddoxes or meeting at the family home.
She was worried about Zoey and Casey getting the bus into the city themselves and had texted through most of the journey. So when she rounded the corner to stride into the coffee shop, Poppy wasn’t surprised to see them at a table in the corner.
Wearing a wide smile, Poppy went over to the pair. They mumbled to each other for a second before Zoey leaped to her feet. Casey was a cute little thing, about the same build as Zoey, her hair was a light brown and she wore glasses over her big blue eyes.
“Hey, honey,” Poppy said, opening her arms to hug Zoey tight.
The teen might have been the slowest to warm up to her, but she had become a valued friend.
When she relaxed, Poppy kissed her cheek and turned a smile to Casey. Zoey twisted around to look down at her companion. “Casey, this is Poppy… Poppy, this is Casey… my girlfriend.”
The seated teen exhaled after Zoey said the word.
Poppy had never been more proud of anyone in her life. “Hello, Casey, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Casey said, glancing at Zoey. “Zoey talks about you all the time.”
“All good, I hope,” Poppy said, taking off her jacket. “What would you like to drink? We should get cake too, this is a celebration.”
After coaxing their orders out of them, Poppy went to the counter to get everything, and returned to the table with it. The place wasn’t busy, so she didn’t have to wait long. The girls were whispering to each other when she took a seat opposite them.
“How are things going with Charley?” Zoey asked as Poppy passed out the cups and plates.
She laughed. “Your sister is… a lot of personality to live with.”
Zoey handed out the forks and napkins. “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me. I’ve lived with her my whole life. Mom says there’s a chance Turner might move out of his own building.”
Poppy grinned, sampling some of her cake. “He can’t move out until he finishes our apartment.”
“Is it true Charley wants him to bust down a wall?”
“Uh, yeah,” Poppy said, swallowing her cake and picking up her coffee. “That might have been mentioned.”
“We should take bets on how long it will take him to throttle her.” Zoey glanced at Casey. “I’m sorry.”
Poppy frowned when she noticed how hunched Casey was. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s worried about Turner. She’s scared of him.”
“Well, yeah,” Casey said, quick to jump to her own defense. “Because he’s always mad or in a bad mood when you talk about him.”
Sipping her coffee, Poppy observed the couple for a second. “You don’t have to worry about Turner and you definitely don’t have to be afraid of him,” she said. Breaking the pair’s eye contact, she attracted their attention. “Turner will just adopt you as another sister. He has enough of them, he probably loses track of how many people he’s supporting all the time. One more won’t make a big difference.”
“He’s just busy,” Zoey said. “He’s always busy… He won’t have time to be stressed about this.”
“So why haven’t we told them?” Casey asked. “What are we waiting for?”
“We haven’t told your family either.”
“I know, but…” Casey paused, glancing at Poppy, seeming to remember then that they weren’t alone. “My family are difficult.”
“My family are the same,” Poppy said. “I know this is important to both of you, it should be important. You’re worried how it will change your relationships with the people closest to you. I wish I could say I understood everything you’re going through, but I’ve never had to do