Maggie Langston couldn't remember a time when she actually fit in. She was the girl whose mother died. She was the girl whose father worked too hard. She was the girl who was basically raised by her aunt and uncle. She didn't mind the latter of the three, but when she was called an 'orphan' by kids she thought where her friends, that's when she started to take it personally. Her entire family told her not to take it personally, to show everyone who called her names that their name calling didn't effect her, so she tried as hard as possible to be just like those kids, going out to parties and doing normal teenage things. That night, it was one of the biggest parties of her senior year and she had every intention of getting wasted like never before and she did. She couldn't remember being driven home by one of the designated drivers, she couldn't remember telling them to take her to Lucille and Henry's, and she definitely couldn't remember unlocking the door and walking into their hallway. All she could remember was her uncle Henry walking down the stairs, and realizing who had just walked into the house.
"Maggie?" he asked. He was prepared for an intruder, a thief, but it was only his niece. "What are you doing?"
"Uncle Henry!" Maggie said and she ran up to her uncle and jumped into his arms happily. That's when the smell of booze filled Henry's nose and he realized Maggie was drunk.
"Lets get you upstairs, Mags," he said as he set Maggie down on her feet and helped her up the stairs.
"What?" Maggie said, slurring her words. "I can go upstairs?" she asked.
"You can always go upstairs, honey," Henry replied. He tried holding back his laughter. He had never seen Maggie so wasted.
"Really?" Maggie slurred.
"You're really drunk, let's get you upstairs," Henry said, still trying to hold back his laughter. He let Maggie lean her weight on him as he helped her up the stairs. As silence fell upon the two while they made their way upstairs, the amount of alcohol Maggie drank really started to make her feel sick. When they cleared the stairs, instead of going into the guest bedroom like she normally did, she walked right into the master bedroom and climbed into bed with Lucille, who had also woken up to the sound of the front door unlocking and sat up against the headboard of her bed. The first thing she smelled was the smell of booze from Maggie and then realized that her niece was drunk.
"How'd you get home?" was the first thing she asked, the maternal instinct in her coming out.
"Jimmy drove me," Maggie replied. "I don't feel good, Auntie Lucille," she added. Maggie never called Lucille 'auntie' anymore. The only time she ever did it was when she was sick, or in this instance, when she was drunk.
"You drank too much, didn't you, sweetie?" Lucille replied as she covered her niece with the comforter, trying to get her comfortable for the long night of sobering up and getting her first big hangover. "Can you get her a bowl, Henry?" she asked her husband who was watching aunt and niece interact. Henry nodded his head and did as his wife asked, coming back a few minutes later with the bowl she had asked for. He handed it to her and watched as she placed it in between her and Maggie.
"I'm going to sleep in the guest bedroom so you two can sleep comfortably," he said softly. Lucille looked up at Henry and smiled her approval.
"Okay," Lucille replied. "I love you," she added and then looked back down at her niece.
"I love you too, Uncle Henry," Maggie replied, who was still slurring her words. Henry laughed.
"I love you too, Mags. Get a good night of sleep," he said. He knew how bad her hangover was going to be the next day and knowing his wife, who Maggie reminded him of, he figured she would be just as grumpy as Lucille when she was hung over the next day. Maggie smiled at her uncle and comfortably scooted closer to her aunt. Her stomach felt like it was going to turn itself inside out.
"I don't feel good," Maggie repeated. She pulled the bowl onto her lap and leaned against her aunt's body. Lucille wrapped her arm around Maggie's shoulders. Maggie scooted even closer to Lucille and rested her head against the older woman's shoulders.
"I know, sweetie," Lucille replied as she planted a loving kiss on Maggie's head. "Give it a couple of hours and you won't feel as bad," she added. She knew that wasn't entirely true, but she knew that the sickness Maggie was feeling would wear off the more sober she got and then the hangover would kick in. Maggie closed her eyes and stayed quiet for a few minutes.
"I'm really drunk, Auntie Lucille," Maggie said suddenly. Lucille looked down at her niece and laughed.
"I know you are, honey," she said as she rubbed Maggie's back. Even though Maggie was eighteen, she looked a lot younger than that. Lucille wasn't sure if it was because of the way the alcohol made her feel or if she was blessed with good genes, but at that moment, she looked really innocent. Maggie kept her eyes closed and as her breathing started to slow down, she started to relax in Lucille's embrace. Maggie had gotten the Langston drinking gene. She could hold her liquor really well. Lucille kissed Maggie's head again and the two of them fell asleep.
The next morning, Lucille woke up when she felt Maggie rustle around the bed, having just woken up. She groaned when she moved her head. She had a headache like she had never had before. When she noticed her aunt had woken up, she smiled embarrassedly.
"What time did I come here?" she asked. She couldn't remember a thing. Lucille had noticed that Henry had brought up a glass of water and some ibuprofen for his niece and placed it on her side of the bed.
"About two," Lucille replied as she picked up the ibuprofen and water from her bedside table and gave it to Maggie. "Take these, it'll help the headache," she added.
"Thank you," Maggie said softly as she took the ibuprofen, put it in her mouth and drank some water. "Are you going to tell Dad?" Maggie asked as she rested against the headboard like her aunt had and looked down at her hands shamefully. Lucille had thought that over the night before while she was trying to fall back asleep. She had been in her niece's position during high school and the person she went to ended up telling her parents. Her parents hadn't taken the news very well and punished her, which only made her party even harder to spite them. She also knew that Maggie wasn't like her and that she had learned the night before how much alcohol was too much.
"I won't tell him, sweetie," she replied. Maggie looked up from her hands and over at her aunt in surprise.
"Why not?" she asked. She was surprised that her aunt wasn't going to rat her out. She knew that she could trust Lucille with anything, but when it came to drinking, she didn't realize Lucille wouldn't tell her father.
"Come here," Lucille said as she pulled her niece close to her. "I once got really drunk when I was your age and the person I went to told my parents and it only made me want to drink more," she added as Maggie comfortably moved lower so she was resting her head in the crook of Lucille's arm. "And I know you learned your lesson last night about knowing your limit," she added. Maggie nodded in agreement to that part. This hangover was a killer one. That's when Henry came into the room with the phone up to his ear. He was talking to his brother. Fred was worried when Maggie hadn't come home the night before. But Henry reassured him that Maggie was okay and that she had spent the night with them. Henry hung up the phone and just smiled at his wife and niece in the bed.
"How's the hangover?" he asked Maggie.
"Awful," Maggie replied and both parent figures laughed.
"Did you take the ibuprofen I left?" he asked. Maggie nodded her head and smiled at Henry. She could always rely on both her father and uncle to look after her and she loved having two father figures because when she couldn't go to one about something, she could go to the other.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"You're welcome, sweetie," Henry replied. "I'm going to make breakfast. Do you two have any requests?" he added. Both women told Henry what they wanted and stayed in bed while Henry cooked breakfast for his two favorite women.