Page 25 of The Sitcom Star
ADRIAN:You have to promise not to freak out.
SYDNEY:It’s tough to get my brain to act normally when Sadie is teething.But I will try.
SYDNEY:My husband, on the other hand… I make no promises.
DEVON:Excited is my middle name.I will squee so much!I’m bouncing off the walls.
NOAH:hahaha
NOAH:You can barely manage a smile.
SYDNEY:He’s actually cracking a smile right now.Sort of.Let me take a picture.
SYDNEY:Sorry, he’s camera shy.He’s holding a pillow in front of his face.
NOAH:Adrian, don’t worry, I won’t freak out.Unless she brings Ethan Park.
Adrianhadconsiderednottelling his friends about Maddie in advance, then figured that would be a mistake.Maybe they’d act even weirder if they didn’t have a head’s up.
Unfortunately, Sydney and Devon’s babysitter had tested positive for COVID-19, and Devon wasn’t able to come out because he had to stay with Sadie (and would probably play Stardew Valley once she fell asleep).Currently, it was just Adrian, Sydney, and Noah sitting around the table with their beers.Maddie wasn’t here yet, but she should arrive any minute.
Adrian kept looking at his phone, half convinced she’d cancel and his friends would think he’d hallucinated all his encounters with Maddie…or invented them to make himself sound cool.Not that he had a history of doing such things, but still.
But then she appeared on the patio, wearing jeans and some kind of clingy red sleeveless shirt.It hugged her breasts, and he had to force himself not to stare.She took a seat at the table, between Adrian and Noah.
“Hi, I’m Maddie,” she said.
Perhaps, once upon a time, she would have shaken hands, but handshakes had mostly disappeared in Adrian’s world during the pandemic.
“I know,” Sydney said.
Adrian chuckled, possibly because he was nervous.
“What?”Sydney asked.“Was I supposed to pretend I didn’t know who she was?”
The server came around, and Maddie ordered some beer.
“Sorry, there are no beers from Frankie’s Brews on tap,” Noah said.
Adrian couldn’t help groaning.Was this what Maddie had expected of tonight?
“I’d love to find Frankie’s Ultimate Classic Kölsch,” Sydney said.“You could get a brewery to make it.You know how you can buy Puppers Golden Lager fromLetterkenny?”
“I’m sure Maddie doesn’t need advice,” Adrian said.
“Actually,” Maddie jumped in, “you’ll be able to get it at the LCBO soon.”
“Wait, are you serious?”Sydney said, loudly enough that it drew a few glances from other tables.“Is this secret news?Can I tell people?”
“There was a press release a few weeks ago.”
“Will the labels be the same?With frankfurters on them?”
“Of course.”
Maddie’s beer arrived, and she took a sip.
“I love the show, by the way,” Sydney said.“I couldn’t believe it when Adrian said he had a crush on you back in elementary school.”
