Page 34 of The Sitcom Star
“If she wants to.”
Ryder frowned and closed one eye as he considered this.Then he said, “Gigi has to pee.”
He struggled with the zipper on his knapsack, and Adrian helped him with it.Ryder took out his stuffed giraffe—the aforementioned Gigi—and headed toward the TV.
This was not how Adrian had envisioned today going.He’d imagined eating lunch with Maddie and doing a little more kissing at some point.He hadn’t imagined taking a picture of her with a fan, then watching a giraffe pee on his TV, because apparently that’s where giraffes peed.
Oh, dear.Why was Gigi being stabbed now?
This certainly wasn’t what Maddie had anticipated when she’d put on her new sundress.She’d felt almost guilty when she’d bought it—it wasn’t the sort of thing she’d wear forChu Restaurant–related appearances.It was casual, but not cheap, and spending money on casual clothes felt weird.Though she didn’t make as much as her parents assumed (ha!) she could afford to buy such things on occasion now, yet it was a struggle to get used to it.
While this wasn’t what she’d anticipated, she was still spending time with Adrian…and his nephew.And her heart warmed at seeing Adrian and Ryder together.
In the past several years, Maddie had been around few small children.Her sister didn’t have kids, much to the disappointment of their parents, who made not-so-subtle hints about grandchildren.Back in high school, Maddie had babysat, but her regulars had all been older than Ryder.He was a whirlwind of motion and moved on to a new activity every five minutes.He’d been here for barely half an hour, and already tons of things had happened.
For starters, Gigi had relieved herself on the TV before being stabbed repeatedly with a red crayon.Maddie hadn’t understood Ryder’s explanation, but apparently the stabbing was actually Gigi getting a vaccine—Adrian seemed to have no trouble understanding his nephew, and it was clear they’d spent a fair bit of time together.
After getting vaccinated by a crayon, Ryder had started crying because the giraffe had a red mark on her.Ryder had assumed it was blood and he’d hurt his giraffe.Adrian had washed off the crayon—apparently, there were washable crayons now—and then Ryder had snuggled the giraffe to make her feel better, before insisting that Adrian put a Band-Aid on Gigi.Ryder had been upset that Adrian didn’t have dinosaur bandages, but grudgingly accepted a plain Band-Aid for his plushie friend.It appeared that snuggles and vaccines made giraffes pee, because Gigi had to pee again, this time on the couch.There were even sound effects.After this, Gigi needed to stay home from daycare because she was sick, and Ryder asked Adrian to read a book, pulling two picture books out of his Peppa Pig knapsack.
That all took a mere half an hour.Maddie was used to busy days, but this looked exhausting even to her.
It was also highly entertaining.Adrian was calm and unflappable with Ryder, in a way that Maddie didn’t remember her own parents being with her.She spoke to Ryder, too, but he was clearly more comfortable around Uncle Adrian.
Adrian’s phone buzzed and he looked down.“Maddie, could you do me a favor and grab the food from downstairs?I’ve already tipped the delivery person on the app.”
“Sure thing.”
Maddie gave the delivery woman an extra cash tip, then brought the food upstairs.She opened up the containers on the small dining room table as Adrian finished reading the book to Ryder.
“Let’s wash your hands before lunch, okay?”Adrian said.
Ryder ran to the washroom—he rarely seemed to walk anywhere—and out of the corner of her eye, Maddie could see Adrian lift his nephew up and turn on the water.It caused a pang in her chest.
It wasn’t her maternal instincts kicking in.She just liked seeing families who clearly loved each other and could express it.
In the interviews she’d done aboutChu’s Restaurant, she’d never mentioned that certain aspects of the show were wish fulfillment.Parents who loved all their children equally, more or less—even if one of them had abandoned them for the big city, refusing to visit her hometown for years.A family that, while not perfect, ultimately cared for each other.
It wasn’t like Maddie’s parents were terrible, but she couldn’t say she was close to them, and she and Kathryn had never been close, either.
Yes, her life had become more exciting and glamorous in the past couple of years.(Okay, the process wasn’t always glamorous, but seeing your show on Netflix?People recognizing you in public?Famous people wanting to talk to you?) But there was much to be said for ordinary moments, like a man reading to his nephew or helping him wash his hands.
Maddie still used her lists, but not quite as obsessively as before.The only item on her list for the day—other than laundry, which she’d finished before she’d left home—had been to see Adrian.She hadn’t set a timeline on that.
At six o’clock, she was reading a book to Ryder for the second time.He’d decided that she was “better at the voices” than Adrian, and he giggled in delight every other page.
“Did you know,” Adrian said, after the book ended, “that Maddie is an actor?That’s why she’s so good at all the different voices.She’s on TV.”
“Like Peppa Pig?”Ryder asked, eyes wide.
“Yes, a bit like Peppa Pig.Isn’t that cool?”
Adam’s phone buzzed, and he checked his messages.“Your mom’s going to be busy for a few more hours,” he said to Ryder.“You’ll have to eat dinner here, okay?”Then he turned to Maddie and pointed to a text on his phone.
OMG I realized why your friend looked familiar.That was Maddie Ng, right?Can’t believe I didn’t recognize her right away!!
“I was still wearing my mask,” Maddie said.
“Yeah, but you’re pretty unmistakable.”Adrian winked.
