4: Welcome
Oblivious to the two toys behind the bush, Mom, holding Molly by the hand, and followed by Andy, came to greet the neighbors. Mom held a plate of oatmeal cream pies and Andy carried a pitcher of green Kool-aide with Dixie cups under his arm.
Mom set the cookies down on the SUV. "Welcome to the neighborhood!" She said warmly to the new woman. "My name is…" Suddenly, the woman dropped the box she was holding. "Oh dear," Mom bent down and picked it up. "Let me help you with that!" The other grasped the opposite side and the two women walked towards the house.
Andy held Woody by the hand, letting the cowboy dangle. "Uh," He said awkwardly. "I'm Andy."
"My name's Maxine," Said the girl. "But everyone calls me Maxie."
Buzz beamed. "See, it isn't Emily!"
"Yeah," Jessie pushed aside a branch. "Now that's we're closer, I can see her face is heart shaped while Em's was always kinda round, but she still could pass for her twin!"
Woody was still swinging from Andy's hand, and now his eyes rested on the bushes. His usual grin disappeared as he spotted Jessie.
She let go of the branch. "Oopsie."
Andy's eyes shifted towards the sky and back to the ground as he tried to think of something to talk about. Mom had told him to be nice to the new kids, but what could he possibly say to a girl?
Finally, he said, "I like your bear."
Maxie smiled and hugged him to her chest. "His name is Nanook. He was the last thing my dad gave to me."
Andy held up the cowboy. "This is Woody. He was the last thing my dad gave to me too."
"Your parents are divorced too?"
Andy shook his head. "Uh-uh. My dad died."
"Oh. Sorry." Maxie took the pitcher from Andy. "Wanna play inside? We don't got AC yet."
Andy shrugged. "Ok." The two kids turned and went into the house with little Molly toddling behind.
As the last three humans disappeared, Buzz sat down on his bottom. "Woody's not going to be thrilled that we went outside during the day."
"So let him not be thrilled." Said Jessie.
A few seconds of silence passed between them. "So," Said Buzz. "Do you feel better?"
"Well, I don't feel crazy, if that's what you mean." Said Jessie. "But I still don't get why she looks like Emily."
"I think she's a relative," Said Buzz. "Maybe she's a cousin or a niece or something."
Jessie shook her head. "The only way she'd look that much like Emily is if she were her…" The cowgirl froze.
"Her daughter?" Buzz finished. Jessie jumped up and dashed towards the house.
"Jessie!" Called Buzz. "Wait!"