you can't help but become the sun / julien baker

chapter thirty-five

Maggie's Pov:
---------------------------

"Auntie Maggie!" Fallon yelled, rushing to get up. She ran over to me, I picked her up and gave her a spinny hug.

"Hello, little one! I missed you so much!" My smile was wide, my brother also greeted me at the door so I gave him a side hug since my arms were occupied with his daughter. "Hi Dad, Mom."

"Hi Maggie," my dad smiled while my mom stayed silent.

"Where's Auntie Julien? I miss her," she asked, twirling my dark brown hair around her little finger.

"I miss her too, honey. She's in Tennessee at home with her doggie," I carry her over to an open seat over by the window. My parents were sitting on one couch and Josiah and Noah took the other couch.

She gasped, "Beans! Beans the doggie!" Julien, Noah, and I had done joint facetime calls so Fallon had become very familiar with the dog.

"Yeah! She's with Beans!"

"You're still dating a girl?" My mom asked, rolling her eyes.

"I am, we've been together for nine months. It's going really well," I awkwardly smiled, looking over at Noah and Josiah for help.

"I love Auntie Julien! She's pretty!" Fallon giggled, making my smile turn genuine. I'm glad that my brother is raising my niece to love people regardless.

"She is pretty, I agree," I wrap my arms around Fallon, kissing the top of her head.

"I just don't get what's so special about this girl," my mom commented, making Josiah sigh.

"Kira, let's not start this," my dad attempted to shut the conversation down before it continued.

"No, I wanna know. Why is she so special? Why can't you just go back and date Brady again? He was a nice boy!" She persisted, wanting an answer from me.

"Brady was not a nice boy, he's seven years older than her! Julien treats her with respect," my brother stood up for me.

"Thanks, Jos but I can handle this," I thought about my words carefully before I continued. "Julien is like if the sun was a person. Her smile alone shows that, along with her infectious laughter that constantly makes her fall out of chairs. Though her songs are sad and serious she's dorky and crazy intelligent. I truly love her and that's why I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

"You can't marry someone we've never met! That's ridiculous! You aren't allowed to marry that person!" My mother was enraged by just the thought of me being happy with someone I truly love.

"I'm Twenty-Five years old! She's Twenty-Seven! We're adults and we're allowed to make our own adult decisions. Frankly, I don't want you guys to meet her. You guys aren't exactly welcoming people." I knew Julien was a strong girl, but I didn't want to expose her to unnecessary hate.

"She has a point, why do you think I waited so long for you guys to meet Noah and Fallon? Mom, you aren't making a very good first impression," Josiah grabbed Noah's hand. I was glad that Fallon was still young, unable to fully understand what was going on.

"Well, I'm sorry that both my children can't seem to have good, traditional relationships!" As soon as she started speaking, I put my hands over Fallon's ears. The little girl thankfully giggled, thinking it was some type of game.

"Who cares if it's traditional? Our kids are happy, Kira. That's all a parent wants, at this point, I don't see an issue with Josiah being with Noah or Magnolia being with Julien," my father spoke up, I chewed on my bottom lip until a metallic taste filled my mouth.

My mother and father continued to argue with each other, Fallon turned to me, "When can I see Auntie Julien?"

"We could call her, would that be okay?" I asked her, pulling out my phone. Fallon nodded. She smiled when she saw my lockscreen, it was a photo of Julien and I kissing at the Taylor Swift concert.

"Everyone shh! We're calling Auntie Julien!" Fallon yelled as I pressed the Facetime button.

I wasn't sure if this was a good idea but it would make my niece happy so I complied. Julien answered the call, she was sitting on her bed with her guitar that was covered in stickers on her lap.

"Hi, Auntie Julien!" Fallon exclaimed, waving vigorously at the phone.

Julien's face lit up, "Hi Fallon! Oh my gosh! I miss you!" her beautiful smile lit up my phone screen.

Fallon giggled, I let her take the phone from my hand. "I miss you too!"

"Hi honey, hi Noah and Josiah!" Julien made sure to greet the people she knew. My brother and sister-in-law reciprocated from where they sat on the couch.

"Hi baby, Fallon wanted to call and say hi. Are you working on a song?" I asked, shooting a small glance at my parents who had stopped arguing.

"It's nothing I've written, just relearning a song I learned a few years ago. I think I've gotten it down," she smiled. Fallon had become very interested in Julien's instruments after she'd sung 'You Are My Sunshine' accompanied by her guitar over the phone one night.

"Wanna do music like you, Auntie Julien!" She proclaimed, I could see Julien's heart melt over the phone.

"I'll teach you how to play whatever you want when you're a little bit older, deal? Your hands are a bit too small for the guitar right now."

"Deal!" Fallon beamed, handing the phone back to me.

"I'll call you later tonight, baby. I'll let you get back to your playing," I smiled, not wanting to take any more of her time.

"Sounds good! Goodbye, I love you!"

"I love you too, darling!" Once the phone call ended, I looked up at my parent's faces. My dad had a soft smile while my mom still had a scowl.

"She seems nice! She's good with kids, that's a good quality" My dad smiled. "I think she's good for you, I approve of her."

My expression softened, truly I felt like I could cry. "Thanks, Dad, I appreciate it." I took deep breaths to keep a hold of my breathing, not letting it get out of control.

"I'm sorry, I have to ask you to leave. I will not have that in my house," my mom apparently met her wit's end and decided to kick me out.

"It's not the first time I've been kicked out," I stood up, picking the little girl up. "Auntie Maggie has to go now, I love you so much, Fallon."

"I love you too," she hugged me before I sat her down on the floor.

"Maggie, don't leave," my dad tried to stop me from leaving. "You don't have to leave."

"No, it's okay. I'll go, goodbye everyone. Noah, we'll call sometime later," I sighed as I made my way to the front door and walked out.