Holding On

Chapter 17- The Small Reunion

"Maggie!" Lizzie called from her room. She was looking for her daughter but couldn't seem to find her anywhere.

"Your father took her out." Jo yelled from the living room. Lizzie stormed in to question her mother.

"Why?!" She asked. Jo looked taken aback.

"He thought it would be nice if you had time alone with Miranda and Gordo without Maggie." She said. Lizzie sighed and sat down heavily on the couch. She had thought that Maggie had left on her own and was starting to worry.

"I mean why does he do this? Take Maggie out all the time." She asked. Her mother sat down next to her.

"He misses you. You as a little girl. I think he's trying to relive those years he had with you." She said. "It's a bit sad, really. But it's good. He's happy. She gets to spend time with her grandfather, and you get a break from watching Maggie day and night. And enjoy it because they'll be gone all day." She smiled.

"But I don't want a break." Lizzie whined. "Every time she's out of my sight I worry constantly until we're together again."

"I think your father can handle her." Jo said, as the doorbell rang. "He was able to handle Matt, and after him anything is easy." Lizzie jumped off the couch and answered the door. It was Miranda. They both squealed like schoolgirls and then proceeded to the living room.

"Did you talk to Gordo yet?" Miranda asked. Lizzie squirmed in her chair.

"Yeah." She said. Uncomfortable with the subject, Lizzie brought up another topic. "Did you get a letter about a high school reunion?" she asked. Miranda nodded.

"It came a few days ago, you probably got one too." She said. "It's next week. Are you going?"

"Don't know. Are you?" Lizzie wanted to go, but she didn't think she would go if Miranda wasn't planning to.

"I guess." She sighed. "But I don't have anyone to bring." She groaned.

"That's OK." Lizzie said encouragingly. "Neither do I." She wanted to go with Gordo, but she didn't know if it would work. After all, she felt she had treated him pretty badly and she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want to go with her.

"You have Gordo." Miranda pointed out.

"Maybe." Lizzie said skeptically. "Just ask the first guy you see, no matter who he is." As if on cue, Matt came in the front door, banged his head on the wall, and groaned. The two women laughed.

"He's the first guy I see." Miranda said giggling. "Matt." She called out. He turned to face her.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You want to go to a high school reunion with me?" She asked. He looked from Miranda to Lizzie curiously.

"Me?" As eager as he was to accept, he wasn't sure if they were playing a trick on him, or if her offer was genuine.

"Yeah" Miranda said. "I'm desperate." She whined. And she was desperate, at least enough to ask her best friend's little brother to accompany her.

"Thanks." Matt said, pretending to be hurt. He recovered and answered. "But I'll go."

"It's next Saturday. Are you free?" She asked, half-hoping he wouldn't be. He laughed hollowly.

"I'm always free." He said rather darkly and turned as the doorbell rang. "Ah, Gordo." Matt grinned evilly as he whisked away Miranda, leaving Lizzie and Gordo alone.

Gordo looked at the ground as Lizzie gave him a death stare. It was all she could do because she didn't know what to say. So he decided to speak first. "Lizzie, Matt said you guys were talking about our high school reunion next Saturday and-"

"I'd love to." She cut him off. He smiled at her. He was happy she was eager to go with him, but a little surprised. Before, he hadn't been sure that she would even talk to him, and when she had called and asked if he wanted to come over, he had leapt for joy. Now, he felt like rejoicing again, but refrained.

"Really?" He was still shocked she agreed. She nodded.

"I can't keep avoiding you forever." She reasoned. "Even if I wanted to." Lizzie smiled at him signaling that she had decided they had a chance of working things out.

"Lizzie, we have a lot of things to work out, and talk about." Gordo told her. He was thrilled she wanted to give him another chance, but thought they should start patching things up sooner rather than later.

"I know," She said gently. "But not today. We can discuss everything some other time, today is just a day to have fun, like we used to when we were kids." He nodded in agreement. They walked into the kitchen to find Matt and Miranda discussing Matt's day at Hillridge Jr. High when he confused everyone by pretending to have skipped three grades.

"I see you two already have this reunion started." Gordo commented. They laughed, creating a warm atmosphere. Matt exited, leaving the three childhood friends alone. They stared at each other for a moment until Miranda couldn't contain herself anymore and asked about what was going on between Lizzie and Gordo. "Hey, whatever happened to privacy?" Gordo joked.

"There is none with me around." She informed him.

"Wonderful." He said sarcastically. But he didn't mind telling Miranda about his personal life. She was his close friend, and always had been. He hoped she always would be. As he watched Lizzie pull Miranda away to fill her in, he was reminded of the careless Jr. High and High School years. He wished for those years now more than ever, back when everything had seemed so simple. But seeing the three of them together now together, he had hope that he and Lizzie could work things out.