Maggie had always seen Lucille and Henry as second parents. True, she had her own father, but he was always so enthralled with his work that he was hardly ever around and she was always at her aunt and uncle's house, so it seemed like they where her parents more than her own father was. She loved her father more than anything in the world and she knew how important his job was, but she couldn't help but see Lucille and Henry as her second parents.
That day Fred had dropped Maggie off at Lucille and Henry's house early in the morning. He had been picking up early shifts so he could spend more time with his daughter, but he still always managed to stay late and take on double shifts so he didn't have to face his daughter, who looked exactly like her mother. She reminded him so much of Barbra and it killed him inside. He still missed her so much and he knew he could always rely on his brother to take care of Maggie for him.
Fred watched as Maggie walked up to the house she spent so much time at, still in her pajamas, and waited until Lucille opened the door and waved at him before leaving.
Lucille, who was also still in her pajamas, closed the door behind Maggie and ran her hand against the young girl's head, who still had sleep in her eyes.
"Hi, sweetheart," she said softly. Maggie looked up at Lucille and smiled sleepily.
"Hi, Auntie Lucille," Maggie replied and she placed her bag with her clothes down in the hallway. She made her way over to the couch and sat down, resting comfortably into the back of it. Lucille walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping her arm around Maggie's shoulder and pulling the younger girl into her body. Maggie rested her head in the crook of Lucille's shoulder. Lucille pulled her niece closer as she moved around on the couch so she was sitting comfortably with Maggie still cuddling closely. The eleven-year-old fell asleep quickly from the heat radiating from her aunt. Lucille kissed Maggie's head and rested hers against the young girl's head, falling asleep soon after.
An hour later, Henry woke up with Lucille's side of the bed empty. He grabbed his eyeglasses and looked at the clock, which read 7:30. He was still in a sleepy haze and confused why his wife wasn't sleeping with him. He forgot that Maggie was going to spend the day with them and Fred was going to drop her off super early. A few seconds later it all came back to him and he got out of bed. He pulled his robe off the chair in front of his wife's mirror and wrapped it around his body before walking downstairs. When he turned the corner into the living room, he noticed his wife and niece sleeping. He walked over to them, pulled the blanket out from behind them and rested it over their sleeping bodies. He leaned over and kissed his wife's head lovingly before doing the same thing to Maggie. He stood up straight and just watched them sleep, a loving smile coming across his face. After a minute of silence, he walked into the kitchen to start making breakfast. He decided to make a big breakfast for them. He started scrambling eggs and put a few pieces of toast in the toaster before the smell woke Lucille up. She looked around and then down at Maggie, who was still out. She smiled to herself before she wiggled out from under Maggie and moved her so she was lying down on the couch. She walked into the kitchen and just watched Henry make breakfast for his family. When Henry caught her in his peripheral view, he stopped and looked at her.
"Hey," Lucille said as she smiled at her husband. "What're you doing?" she asked.
"Making breakfast," Henry replied simply, smiling back at his wife. Lucille walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his body, giving him an early morning hug.
"Hi, honey," she said when she pulled back and stood on her tippy toes to kiss her husband on the lips.
"Hey," Henry replied softly and kissed her back. That was when they both heard the groan of disgust from their niece. Lucille pulled away from the loving embrace she was sharing with her husband and turned around to look at Maggie. Maggie had woken up when Lucille had gotten up from the couch, wrapped the blanket around her body and walked over to the kitchen, where she witnessed the affection embrace between husband and wife. Both of them laughed and smiled at her.
"Good morning, Mags," Henry said to Maggie. She walked over to him and gave him a hello and good morning hug.
"Morning, Uncle Henry," she said when Henry hugged her back.
"You hungry?" he asked as he looked at the breakfast he had started and that Lucille now took over.
"A little," she replied. "It all smells good," she added as she looked around at the food that was being made. That's when she went over to the table and sat down. Henry followed her and sat down next to her, both of them watching Lucille finish making breakfast in a flurry silence. She put food on three plates, brought two over with eating utensils on top of both, set them down for Henry and Maggie and then went back for her own. She heard both of them mumble their thanks before they started shoveling food down their throats. She just rolled her eyes and sat down when she got her plate of food.
"You would never know you two weren't father and daughter," Lucille said teasingly as she watched the two of them practically choke themselves from eating too quickly. Both of them looked at Lucille and just smiled, their cheeks stuffed with food like chipmunks. Both of them finished their breakfasts and watched as Lucille slowly ate hers before they moved into the living room, bored with waiting for her to finish breakfast, and turned on the TV. The rest of the morning the Langston parents took turns watching the morning Sunday cartoons with their niece while the other got ready for the day.