I'd enjoy to set up camp

In the place between dreamland and reality

Indie's hair was tied up in two knotty buns. Her hands and overalls were covered with splotches of rainbow-colored paint. She giddily ran into Argyle's Florals, determined to find her father and give him the biggest hug.

Lewis felt Indie latch onto his leg and smiled, picking her up immediately. "Indie-bug!" He exclaimed as he set his young daughter down on the counter next to the cash register. "How was school, daisy?"

"Great! We did finger paints, see?" She eagerly held out her tiny hands.

Lewis laughed, noticing Mae standing by the door. She smiled and waved at her husband, who blew her a kiss before examining Indie's hands. "Wow, you sure did get messy."

"I know," Indie snickered. "I couldn't wait to come see you, daddy!"

"Well, I'm glad you visited, sunshine!" Lewis booped her on the nose. He leaned closer to Indie and whispered in her ear. "Want to make a bouquet for mommy?"

Indie nodded, smiling from ear to ear. She hopped off the counter (with a little help from her dad) and ran to the flower display.

Lewis smiled and greeted his wife with a kiss.

"This is a pleasant surprise," Lewis told Mae, pulling her into an embrace.

"It was Indie's idea. She's daddy's girl at heart." Mae smiled, watching as Indie pulled flowers of every color from the display. "How's business today?"

"Oh, same ol', same ol'... except we had a frantic bride-to-be stop in today and preorder dozens of white roses, so that certainly broke up the day." Lewis laughed to himself. He paused, pushing a piece of loose ginger hair behind Mae's ear. "You're so beautiful."

Mae blushed immediately. "Lewis..." she gushed, giving him a second kiss. "People are gonna wonder why there's a high schooler trapped in your 38 year old body."

Lewis shrugged, adjusting his circular glasses. "I guess I just never grew up... nor did I grow out of loving the woman of my dreams... or the girl of my dreams." He winked.

"That's good to hear," Mae whispered.

All of a sudden, Mae felt a tiny tap on her leg. She looked down and nearly stuffed her face in the bouquet that Indie held up. Mae gasped excitedly. "Indie, is this for me?"

"Uh-huh!" She said triumphantly. "I got one of every flower!"

Lewis scratched the back of his neck. "Of course you did..." He said under his breath.

Mae smiled, shaking her head. "You shouldn't have left her unattended, Mr. Florist."

"Oh well. It is the most beautiful bouquet I've ever seen, so I'll let it slide." Lewis winked at Indie.

Indie looked up at her father and held her hands in the air. Lewis picked her up again and held her close. "Would you and your mama like to go out for coffee when I get off?"

Indie nodded. Mae gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, taking her off of Lewis's hands.

"We'll meet you at the Ivy." Mae smiled. "Say bye-bye to daddy, sweetheart!"

Indie waved. "Bye-bye," she said sadly.

As Mae walked toward the car with Indie in her arms, she pulled her closer. "Don't worry, lovey. We're gonna see him soon. We get to go on a date with him later."

"I love dates," Indie replied. "But... Why does my heart feel sad?"

"Because you love your daddy very much. And I love him too. Saying goodbye is always sad, but you have to remind yourself that you'll see the person again soon." Mae explained as she buckled Indie into her car seat.

"We'll see daddy again soon?" Indie asked.

"Don't worry, sunshine. We'll see him soon." Mae promised.

Mae slammed the car door shut.

That's when Indie woke up.

She wiped away the tears that had formed around her eyes, trying to dispel the haunting flashback from her mind. She could only remember bits and pieces of the real day, but her brain didn't cease to remind her of the life she had before her father's accident.

Indie looked at her calendar, cringing habitually. What would've been her dad's 50th birthday was in a few short weeks, and Indie's subconscious knew it; and it certainly wasn't going to let her forget.

Will's 18th birthday was also in a few short weeks, just days after Lewis's.

Indie shook her head as she angrily made her bed. "Why do the bad things always overshadow the good things?" She mumbled, fluffing her pillow with disdain. "Also, why did Will have to be born in October?"

Indie's stomach ached at the thought of having to switch from one extreme to the next—mourning with her mom at her dad's gravesite one day, then celebrating with the love of her life a few days later.

Indie sat down on her bed, feeling slightly defeated. She couldn't even confide in Will about her dad because she'd lied about it, but, despite that fact, she silently decided that it was better this way. She just couldn't bear to have that conversation yet—all the huge feelings she felt when she was a 12 year old girl would come flooding back to her; alone, afraid, questioning the meaning of life. Not to mention that revealing the truth would again force her brain to accept that this was her reality, and there was no way to alter it.

Indie tiredly set up her laptop to get her schoolwork done and over with for the day. As she waited impatiently for it to boot up, Indie pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent Will a text message.

~ * ~

Alice tossed a pillow at Will's face, hitting him square in the nose and startling him awake.

"We're gonna be late, you idiot!" Alice urged, crossing her arms.

Will scrunched up his eyebrows and checked his phone. He saw a text from Indie waiting for him to open, but he'd have to come back to it. "Oh, cheese and crackers!"

"Gosh, your room is a dump," Alice frowned as she briefly surveyed the room. The carpeted floor was covered with papers upon papers; some written or scribbled on, some crumpled, and some still intact somehow. Little Women was laying upside down on Will's pillow. He was nearly finished reading it already.

"And what is that smell?" Alice added, holding her nose.

"Who knows," Will frantically threw on a pair of jeans and a Styx sweatshirt. "How do I look?"

"Like a nightmare," Alice deadpanned. "C'mon, Odette said she had some really important tea to spill!"

Will groaned as he shoved his glasses on his face. "Oh, spare me. Nothing that occurs at that high school is worth me hurrying for."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Just because you don't have friends you enjoy talking to and hanging out with doesn't give you the right to take me away from mine."

"Hey, my friends are fine." Will stuffed Little Women in his backpack and threw it over one shoulder. "We're the Unorthodox Underdogs!"

"So why do you avoid them like the plague everywhere that isn't school?" Alice questioned.

Will huffed. "I plead the fifth, now get your impatient rear end in the car."

Alice reluctantly complied to her brother's orders, buckling her seatbelt and unzipping her makeup bag almost immediately. She grabbed her lip gloss and created a makeshift vanity for herself using the mirror on the sun visor.

"So, are we gonna talk about it?" Alice asked in between her makeup routine.

"Talk about what?"

"The elephant in the car."

Will tapped his thumb mindlessly on the steering wheel. "What elephant?"

"You. You're the elephant." Alice replied, as if that piece of information was common knowledge.

"Do explain, dear sister." Will raised a brow.

"You've been acting... different lately." Alice pointed out. "You seem less uptight and snotty."

"Gee, thanks." Will blinked.

"Oh, no offense." Alice shrugged, whipping out her mascara wand. "When are you gonna bring Indie up to the house?"

Will pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "I don't really know."

"You aren't gonna show her around our place?"

"I just..." Will exhaled. "I don't want dad to say or do anything stupid around her, you know?" He asked. Alice sat in silence next to him. "She shouldn't have to deal with his ever-present beer breath and cigar smoke and ridiculous comments."

Alice sucked in a breath. "I hadn't even thought of that." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Did you tell her that?"

Will shook his head.

"And why not?"

"Because, Alice. Gee, you're awfully question-y today."

"You're awfully snippy today."

Will rolled his eyes. "I don't want her to worry about me and my home life." He admitted. "She shouldn't have to. I'm sure she has her own set of problems to deal with."

Alice furrowed her brows. "So... you guys aren't telling each other everything?"

"Goodness gracious..." Will pulled into his parking spot.

"I'm just wondering," Alice mumbled. "I'm surprised mom hasn't questioned you like this yet."

Will put his car in park, not bothering to turn it off. "If dad ever decides to change his awful as hell attitude and personality, then I might consider bringing her over. But, until God performs that miracle, I don't want to subject her to that immense amount of torture all at once."

Alice grabbed her backpack. "I guess that makes sense." She replied quietly. "Dad has kinda sucked lately."

Will finally turned off his car. "Yeah. Tell me about it."

He slammed his car door and walked away without looking back.

~ * ~

Just before Lit began, Will checked the message he'd gotten from Indie earlier that day.

Indie: Hey, Will! I was wondering if you'd want to hang out later today? I miss you.

Suddenly, all of Will's previous grievances melted off his shoulders and a smile crept up his face. He carefully crafted a response.

Will: I want nothing more, Indie dear.

Indie: Your house or mine?

Will bit his lip as he tried to conjure up something clever.

Will: Neither. I'll pick you up at 6 for a surprise. Does that work?

Indie: Alright, Mr. Secretive. See you then :)

Will mentally celebrated as he shut off his phone and tucked it back in his pocket. As the bell rang, signifying the official start of class, Will pulled Little Women out of his binder and continued reading. He was nearly through with the entire thing, and he was not-so-patiently waiting to see how it ended.

Will was a quick reader; to an outsider, it looked as though he was merely skimming each page rather than reading and comprehending.

Ten minutes went by in the blink of an eye. By the end of their reading time, Will found himself reading the final line of the book.

"Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!"

Will closed the book slowly, scratching the back of his neck and scrunching up his eyebrows. The book was an incredible, inspiring piece of fiction; but he couldn't believe it. That was the end? That was it?

Will couldn't stand it anymore. He knew he had to write down a short synopsis of what he read in his notebook, but he had to discuss his feelings aloud with Mrs. Boho. He made his way up to her desk, Little Women in hand.

Mrs. Boho held up a hand before Will could even speak, signifying for him to wait. Will bit his lip impatiently.

Mrs. Boho reluctantly turned to face Will. "If I had a nickel for every one of your interruptions, I could retire tomorrow." She sighed, tapping her long, painted fingernails on her desk. "Shouldn't you be writing your summary right now?"

Will cringed. "Sorry..." The tips of his ears began to turn pink as he fiddled with the book in his hands. "It's just... this book's ending..."

"How did I know you'd have a bone to pick with this one?" Mrs. Boho chuckled. "What upset you this time, critic of the century?"

"Alright, I'll try to make it quick." Will sucked in a breath. "Jo and Laurie didn't end up together!" He said, a little louder than he intended.

Mrs. Boho sighed, a tiny smirk rising on her face. "Well, Jo didn't really... deserve Laurie, in a sense." She shrugged. "Jo was a very stubborn woman. She and Laurie were more like siblings than lovers."

Will frowned. "But- Laurie ends up marrying Amy? Couldn't he have found someone else to chase? I can't imagine how awkward family reunions would be after that."

Mrs. Boho couldn't help but laugh. "Will, you should know better than anyone that sometimes you have to break the reader's heart to make them truly feel your piece. And, to be honest, that's exactly what life does to us as people. It's not always that fairytale ending we desire. There are going to be hiccups in the road, but most times, those hiccups are what lead us to something even greater." Mrs. Boho folded her hands, her face returning to its original sternness. "Now would you please stop making me waste my greatest wisdom on you and go write your summary?"

Will clutched the book tightly in his hands. "Fine..." he mumbled. He knew that Mrs. Boho was correct; without some sort of conflict, the emotion would be lost. It wouldn't be as relatable. He understood all of that from a writer's standpoint; but as a reader, he wished that everything had a happily ever after. He truly was a hopeless romantic. It made him think back to all of his encounters with Alice, poking fun at her taste in fiction. He wished to rescind his former notions—there were times when a fluffy romance was the answer, and he knew that full well now.

Mrs. Boho gestured for Will to go back to his seat, and he reluctantly complied, sitting down with an entirely new outlook on his age-old hobby.

He had to get his hands on that pink and gold copy of Little Women for Indie and read it to her as soon as possible.