"Well, someone's happy," Mom said when Lincoln came down for dinner. All of his sisters, who were already seated at the table, turned to look at him.
"Beat a video game?" Lynn asked with a roll of her eyes. She thought video games were lame.
"Nope," Lincoln said, slipping into his spot between Lucy and Luna. A plate of goulash sat before him; even that couldn't sour his mood.
"Hear a good joke?" Luan asked.
"Nope," Lincoln said, picking up his fork.
"You bought knew shoes!" Leni said.
"Nope. I'm just happy." He dug in; when that first bite hit his tongue and the flavor filled his mouth, he didn't look very happy. He choked it down anyway.
"Well, that's nice," Mom said, "it's good to see positivity every once in a while." She looked pointedly at Lucy.
"You can't be positive if you don't have a heart."
Mom sighed. "You have a heart, Lucy. And you are very talented. You should put your mind to...happier subjects."
Lincoln was able to glean that Lucy wrote an especially dark poem in English class that day that the teacher deemed "unacceptable." Mom and Dad apparently agreed. "We believe in personal expression," Mom told Lucy, "but sometimes you take your...morbidity too far." Lincoln was vaguely interested in finding out just what this poem was about, but right now, he had more important matters to focus on, such as being happy over his secret admirer.
He wondered what she looked like. Was she tall? Short? Skinny? Did she have red hair? Blonde? What color were her eyes? What did it sound like when she laughed? Probably sweet and musical. Did she live in the neighborhood? How many times had he seen her and not noticed her looking at him, a dreamy light in her eyes? He wished he knew something more about her.
When he looked up from his plate, he saw Leni and Lori both looking at him strangely. "I've literally never seen someone eat through a smile," Lori said. "I bet it's a girl..."
Everyone looked at him, and his cheeks flushed. "N-No, I'm just..."
"Oh, Lincy has a girlfriend!" Leni said, clenching her fists in excitement.
"Way to go, Linc!" Lynn slapped him on the back.
"Nice, bro," Luna said.
"Does she have a sense of humor?" Luan asked.
"No, honest, it's –"
"Is she pretty?" Lola asked.
"Does she like frogs?" Lana leaned across the table, her teeth bared in a smile.
"It's not a girl! Leave me alone!"
"Whatever you say, baby brother," Lori said with half-lidded eyes, and then winked at him.
Lincoln slid down in his chair. Great. Now all of his sisters were involved just like he didn't want them to be. He sighed as he imagined all the unwanted advice that was sure to come as soon as dinner was done.
Even so, he was happy, and nothing could change that.
When he was finished, he went upstairs and waited for the inevitable Coming of the Sisters. Not ten minutes later, his door burst open and they flooded his room, all talking at once.
"Spill the beans, Lincoln," Lori said, sitting on his bed and drawing her legs under her.
"Yeah, tell us about your boo," Luan said, holding up Mr. Coconuts the ventriloquist dummy, who was covered with a white sheet.
"Alright," he said, holding up his hands. They quieted down, watching him with expectant expressions. "I-I don't know who it is."
Leni touched her chin with her pointer finger.
Lori's brow furrowed. "Uh...okay."
Lincoln sighed. He grabbed the cards off the nightstand and handed them to Lori. "They were in the mailbox," he said. "One yesterday and one today."
His sisters crowded around Lori to read over her shoulder, sighing a collective "Awww" that made Lincoln blush. When she was done with the first card, she passed it to Luna, who read it then passed it on to Luan. "She dotted the 'I' in 'Lincoln' with a heart," Lori said without looking up from the second card. "She means business." That brought a smile to Lincoln's lips.
"It's about time some girl fell in love with Linc," Luan said, "he's awesome."
Everyone voiced their agreement, which made Lincoln uncomfortable. "No I'm not."
"Yes you are," Lynn said, "even if you can be a dork sometimes."
"You're totes adorable," Leni said.
"You're also all of the things your girlfriend wrote in this card," Lori said, holding it up. Her expression was one of earnestness. "I'm happy for you, bro." She leaned over and handed it to him.
Girlfriend? Lincoln marveled at that thought, mentally tasting the word like fine wine. He'd never had a girlfriend before, and honestly, he didn't think he ever would. "Thanks," he said.
"You should let me give you a makeover," Leni said. "So you can really wow her."
"No, no," Lori said, holding up a hand. "Obviously she likes Lincoln for who he is. Let's not ruin that."
"Oh," Leni said, bowing her head in disappointment. Lincoln felt bad for her. She loved giving makeovers.
"Just keep doing what you're doing, Linc," Lori said, getting up, "and we won't meddle this time. Promise."
After they were gone, Lincoln leaned back against his pillow and rested his hands on his stomach, his mind a whirl of thoughts, and his heart a tempest of emotions. His sisters thought he was awesome and smart and caring just like his admirer, and that made him happy. Though they drove him batshit crazy sometimes, he loved them, and knowing that they thought so highly of him made him feel good. Maybe he did have something to offer this girl after all.
His thoughts turned back to her: The girl who liked him and pined for him. He really, really wanted to meet her. They could go out to a movie or to a restaurant (hell, why not both?) and get to know each other better. That appealed to him very much: Just talking to her and learning who she was and what she liked and thought and held dear. He wanted to hear her thoughts and her beliefs and her voice...oh, he wanted to hear her voice very badly. He also wanted to look into her eyes. Were they blue? Green? Brown?
He sighed contentedly. He would find out soon enough, he supposed, but soon enough couldn't come soon enough. He wished he had a way to contact her, to tell her how badly he wanted to meet her.
An idea occurred to him, and he got up, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote down a little message. Tomorrow, on his way to school, he would tape it to the mailbox.
The next day passed at an insufferable crawl: Every time Lincoln looked at the clock, sure that a half an hour or more had passed, he saw that it had only been fifteen minutes since his last time check...if that. By the time lunch rolled around, he could barely sit still. By the time the final bell rang, he was jittery and had a headache.
He ran most of the way home, stopping only when the burning stitch in his side became too much and he had to catch his breath; standing there on the sidewalk, bent at the waist with his hands clasped to his knees, he wished he were more athletic like Lynn. He speed-walked the rest of the way. At the mailbox, he opened the door and grabbed the mail. Bills. Junk. A large manila envelope from . His heart clenched. No card? He went through the stack three times, then reached into the mailbox again.
She didn't leave him a card.
He sighed sadly. He should have known it was too good to last.
Feeling gutted, Lincoln shuffled into the house, left the mail (including the envelope from ) on the table, and dragged himself upstairs. In his room, he belly flopped onto his bed and drew a deep breath. She must have come to her senses and realized what a loser he was. He couldn't blame her. He was a loser, no matter what his sisters said; they were probably just trying to spare his feelings anyway.
He reached up to grab his pillow so he could cry into it, and his hand brushed something. With a furrowing brow, he looked up, and saw a pink envelope sitting in the middle of his pillow. His breath caught. Was that...?
Sitting up, he snatched the envelope up and looked at it. His name was written on it in a familiar purple flourish. The 'I' in his name was dotted with a heart, and little hearts and smiley faces surrounded it.
One of his sisters must have checked the mail, saw it, and brought it up. He felt a hot flush of anger (he almost cried!), but his joy was greater. He ripped the envelope open and pulled out the card. On the cover was a cartoon guitar with googly eyes. YOU ROCK MY WORLD was written underneath. Inside was the handwriting Lincoln had come to love, yes, love, again in purple pen: Lincoln...you make my heart beat fast and my stomach feel like it has butterflies in it. You are very special to me. Sweet. Thoughtful. Handsome. Amazing. Awesome. And totally not a dork. Xoxoxoxo – A girl with a crush.
Lincoln was smiling ear-to-ear when he looked up from the card. A surge of emotions flooded him, and all he could do was let them run their course. He was so happy that he had completely forgotten about the message he had taped to the mailbox door: I want to meet you followed by a heart and his name. Later, when he did remember it, his breath caught in his throat. What would she say? Would she go for it? His heart rate sped up and he started to sweat; the prospect of actually meeting her was somehow both terrible and wonderful at the same time.
He hoped she would want to meet soon. He didn't know how much longer he could stand not holding her hand and looking into her eyes. He didn't care what she looked like, because she was beautiful where it counted, and that's all that mattered to him.
How'd I get so lucky? He asked himself that night as he drifted on the edge of sleep, his hands behind his head and the blanket pulled up to his chest. His eyes fluttered closed, and he slept with a smile at the corner of his lips.