The ride on the bus was again three of us together. This time, Marge was our third member. I explained to Edith and Marge how Olivia helped me, and Marge was thrilled of my progress.

Edith was preoccupied, so I asked her what was going on.

"Social studies was rough. We spoke about the importance of family. I mean, I get it, most kids need to hear that, but like, my family fell apart, and I now have a... what, loaned family?"

"Hey, the family we choose can be more important than the one we were born into"

But Edith scoffed at it. "It's easy for you to say that. You have Kylie and Steven as parents. Like, by default"

"So, I was lucky. But so were you, they picked you. They are stuck with me, but you are welcomed in our house because they like you. Hey might even love you. I know I do. You are my sister, for all intensive purposes"

Marge laughed.

"What's funny?"

"It's not intensive purposes, the expression is for all intents and purposes. Intent as in intentions, not as in intensive"

I look at her.

"Marge, thank you. It was a perfect comment, well said and respectful"

"Thank you", she said.

"But timing wise? It sucked. I am trying to pick up my sister who is bummed out"

"Right. Empathy. That's hard for me"

But Edith did feel better, and she even made a joke at my misunderstanding of the expression.

Now, if you think I feel bad for that mistake, you are wrong. I heard people in college making the exact same mistake. So no, I don't feel bad, I was just 12.

But if you think I felt shame about it on that bus bench? You would also be right. It's why I remember it. It's not easy to be a 12-year-old in 6th grade and hang out with 7 graders, one of which is 14 and the other 13.

I could accept that I wasn't developed yet. I was taking a pill for that. But even if my puberty arrived the next morning (it didn't), I would still be a year younger than Marge and two years younger than Edith.

Mindy was closer to me, but we were very different girls. Only Olivia was younger than I was. Maybe it's why I wanted to be friends so much with her?

No, it wasn't. It's only because in a way, Edith was Mindy's friend, and Marge was Edith's friend. Sure, Edith was in a way my sister, and Marge was starting to see me as a better friend than Edith for reasons that escaped me then, but I get now.

Olivia however, was my direct friend, and she was introverted like me.

Wait, I guess I should spoil why Marge likes me more than Edith? You don't know yet? It's simple, I get her more than Edith can. Edith, despite all of her progress, is struggling with internal turmoil. She is caught in her problems. Marge, needs someone to accept her how she is, and to be there for her while she realizes that she isn't neurotypical. Mindy isn't that someone, Edith neither. I am.

We made it home, and once again, after seeing a note on the table from my parents, we did our homework at the kitchen table. Marge and me nude, Edith fully dressed.

It was nice. Mostly silent, but Marge helped Edith and me on a few occasions. I wondered who usually helped Marge, but the reality is that Marge never needed help with homework or school. She was a pro at that.

Edith went to the door when it rang, as she was dressed, and Ellie arrived, a little nervous.

"So girls, I learned I was to chaperone you, maybe make sure you did your homework and that you can head, but since Marge is here, I don't think I have anything to say about homework, right?"

"No, we are almost done.", I said. "If you want to undress, you can do so in my parent's room. Girls, Nintendoland after this?"

"I would love to", says Marge.

"Me too"

"Would you like to play with us, mom?", says Marge.

Ellie smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

We weren't almost done after all. Each math or science problem takes a different amount of time to fix, and both Edith and Marge's science teacher and my math teacher kept the most complicated problem for the end.

When Ellie came back, nude, she sat with us at the table and read the note from my mother. It included snack instructions as well as food cooking ideas.

After consulting us, we voted for the beef roast that my mother left in the fridge, and Ellie went to put in the oven as it took a little over an hour to cook.

She also decided to peel and cut some carrots and make some celery sticks for us.

Once again, she was singing in a low volume, more like humming to herself, and once I was done with my homework, I went to help her. Not by cooking, but by taking away the cut pieces and setting them in the tray.

She smiled at me, but kept singing. I didn't know that song, but when she was done, she sang a sea shanty, and that one, I knew from the time at the resort.

"What will you with a drunken sailor" was the song, and while Ellie isn't a great singer, she is enthusiastic and unapologetic. She sings as if she didn't care what people thought about it, and that's a lesson I took when I later went to karaoke. I know, you cannot imagine me in a karaoke, but my ex loved to sing in such crappy bars with bad lighting and I joined them. I think they were fun dates, and I discovered that in low-pressure situation, I actually enjoy singing.

But not when I was 12! I did respond to her song, that's how sea shanties work, and it was nice, but soon enough we were done and with that, the song died.

Marge had completed her work, and Edith was putting the final touches, so Marge, Ellie and I began snaking on the cut vegetables.

Edith did grab a piece of celery, but she kept it in her mouth while working. Later, she would chew on pencils and pens while working, but that's a stress response that was only starting at that age.

It's easy to gain a bad habit.

Soon enough, the three of us were on the floor in front of the TV, and Ellie on the couch behind it, with a Wii remote in her hand.

Of course, we picked Zelda. It's starting to be my favorite, too.

Ellie was surprising, she was a lot less active than us, making a lot fewer movements, but her accuracy was so much better. It's like my dad later showed me when playing Borderlands games. Make every bullet hit.

We were well immersed when the timer rang.

"Supper should be ready", says Ellie.

We paused the game, and Ellie asked for an apron to take the roast out of the oven. She had thought of the mittens, but the oven was too warm for her nude skin.

"I'll take it out. I often did so at my parent's house, and I am dressed", said Edith.

I know that Ellie had a complex thought process in her mind. Probably something like, if she drops it, she will be destroyed, or It's my responsibility, not hers. Or something else, but she ended up giving the mittens to Edith.

She didn't drop it. She picked the pan, put it on top of the oven, and closed the door.

She was proud of herself, and Ellie thanked her.

We all helped with setting the table and serving the food.

"Mom?", said Marge in the middle of it all.

"Yes, Marge?"

"What will dad and Charlie eat?"

"I left them with instruction to order a pizza"

Marge laughed.

"What's funny?"

"Mom sometimes say that if she doesn't actually tell them to order a pizza, they will both starve to death"

"Marge, that was some private comment"

"But it's true, they are both useless"

"Your father isn't useless. His job is taking a toll on his health, and he isn't getting younger"

But I noticed that she isn't defending her son...

Ellie's cell phone rang while we were eating and talking about why so many students were called in the principal's office today. Ellie wouldn't comment, but after some pressure, she explained that there is a new budget to help students with learning disabilities or in a sports program, but not enough to help everyone.

It took her some time to pick up the phone, as she didn't remember where she put it, but not long enough to miss the call.

"This is she"

And a pause.

"Well, that would be wonderful. At what time?"

There was a pause.

"All day? But she has classes tomorrow"

Another pause.

"No, It's ok. I'll take the day off."

Another pause.

"Surely, I should be with her?"

Another pause.

"Are you 100% certain?"

Another pause.

"Well, thank you, you are a lifesaver. When do you open in the morning?"

A pause.

"Ok, we'll be there"

When she hangs up, Marge asks.

"What is happening?"

"You will have your autism evaluation tomorrow! And you will get the results the same day. Tonight, Marge, is the last night of your life wondering is you have on the autism spectrum. Tomorrow, you will know for sure"

"And you won't be there?"

"I can't be there. I might influence the test. But I will drop you off, and pick you up. It's all day"

Marge seems paralyzed, so I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

"No. I won't be until tomorrow evening"

"Do you want to talk about it?", I ask her.

"No"

"Do you want to go home?"

"No"

"Do you want to get dressed?"

"No. I don't want anything. Can... Can I be excused and take a nap in Julie's bed? I need some time alone"

"You can, take your time"

"Julie? "Wake me up if I oversleep. It's your bed, not mine, and I want to sleep in my bed"

"Sure"

"And don't come in until it's late. I really need some time alone"

"Sure, Marge. Take your time."

But she didn't nap. Even with the door closed, we could hear her crying. Sometimes loudly. It almost felt like she was wailing. It wasn't just a girl being sad. I had comforted Edith recently after her father was arrested. This wasn't it. This was worse.

That wasn't Marge being sad.

This felt more like years of repressed emotions to hide behind her mark being released all at once.

A little like when you flip the switch on an pressured instant pot. It managed to keep the pressure in while cooking, and now, all that pressure needs to go.

To her credit, it didn't last all evening. Barely an hour. We had returned to Nintendoland, first only Edith and me, as Ellie wanted to clean the kitchen... alone. I guess she was stuck in her thoughts, and the kitchen is further away from my room than the living room.

But Ellie joined us in some of the competitive games Marge avoids, and again, wasn't that bad. She wasn't in the same league as my dad, but she held her own without wiping us out like he can.

Eventually, Marge joined us. She came silently, as if she was testing the water.

I said nothing to her, I just gave her a Wii remote.

We switched to Zelda without saying a word.

In the middle of the second game, Marge put her head on my shoulder. I smiled, it's like she was trying to tell me that she trusted me. More than she even trusted Edith.

It didn't last. The level ended, and she lifted her head to sit up straight.

When my parents arrived, there was no trace we ate, no traces of Marge's breakdown and as such, they were oblivious.

Ellie came to talk to them. She thanked them for the roast, but they thanked her for taking care of Edith and me.

She laughed. "Your girls are never any trouble. Julie is a proper lady, and Edith is a gem. Call me anytime you need to work late"

My parents didn't have an opportunity to undress before Ellie decided to collect her daughter so they could get dressed and go home.

As soon as they left, with Marge hugging both Edith and me, I filled in my parents on the appointment and my tutoring with Olivia.

They were happy that I was getting help, and that Marge would get a diagnostic.

My father made sure to get news from Edith at school, and reviewed her homework.

It's only later that I understood why. Edith was used to a father not caring about her, and a mother over-caring in a toxic way. So, My parents decided that all mandatory parental duties would fall on my father, so Edith could learn that present paternal figure feels like, and what a caring but hand-off maternal figure feels like.

It worked. Granted, the social worker helped with the plan, but when I learned of this, I gained even more respect for my parents.

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