Free Project Renovatio by Allison Maruska

another guy wearing a Broncos T-shirt and denim shorts followed close behind.
    Levin knocked and waited on the porch, a formality he would normally skip. Dayla rushed to answer the door, smiling so widely her cheeks must have hurt.
    “Hey, Dayla. Did you have fun at camp?” Levin asked before entering the house.
    “Yeah. Is this Maggie?”
    He laughed. “Yes. Maggie, meet my little sister–”
    Dayla rushed through the door and wrapped her arms around Maggie, who laughed.
    After hugging Levin, Dayla grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, dragging the smiling trio indoors and stopping in front of Rana.
    Levin gestured to Rana but kept his eyes on Maggie. “This is my other sister, Rana.” The girls shook hands and exchanged ‘nice to meet you’s.
    Rana was struck by Maggie’s appearance: she wore green khaki capris and a simple white blouse, and her smooth, brown hair draped over her shoulders. Rana couldn’t help herself. She looked at her brother and said simply, “Nice job.”
    Maggie brought her hand to her mouth and laughed.
    Levin blushed. “Yeah. Thanks.” He gestured to the man standing on his other side. “This is Brent, one of my brothers from the meeting with Scott. I hope you don’t mind me inviting him; I thought you might like to meet one of your brothers.”
    “Oh, um, of course. Hi, Brent. It’s nice to meet you.” She shook his hand.
    “Nice to m…m…meet you, too.”
    Rana nervously eyed the group and pointed to the kitchen. “Mom and Walt are on the back porch. Walt’s working the barbecue grill, if you can believe that.”
    Levin’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure I can.”
    “Can I get anyone a drink?” Rana asked as they walked towards the kitchen. The three guests told Rana what they wanted and walked outside while Rana and Dayla stayed behind to fix the drinks.
    “What did Levin mean, ‘meet your brother’? Is he my brother too?” Dayla asked.
    Oh, right. They’d kept most of the Project Renovatio information from Dayla before now. “Not exactly. I’ll tell you about it later, okay? It’s a long story.”
    “Okay.” Dayla seemed satisfied. “I’m going to give Maggie her tea. Isn’t she pretty?” The girl wouldn’t stop smiling.
    “Yes. She’s lovely.” Rana gave her sister a slight shove on the back and followed holding the other drinks.
    The girls joined the group on the porch. Liz, Maggie, and Levin sat in a small circle of chairs, Brent stood behind them with his hands in the pockets of his shorts, and Walt manned the grill. Rana walked to the side of the house and fetched extra chairs.
    “Maggie, we are so excited to meet you. Please, tell us about yourself. We’re very interested to learn what caught Levin’s eye.” Liz glanced in Levin’s direction.
    “Thanks, Mom.” Levin shifted in his seat.
    Rana gave Brent a chair, unfolded one for herself, and sat outside the circle.
    Maggie took Levin’s hand. She sat at the front edge of her chair, as if she didn’t think they’d allow her to take up the whole thing. “It’s fine. Well, I’m a student. I’m working on my biology degree. I work at the campus library to make some extra money. I have an eighteen-year-old brother named Grayson. Um…” She glanced at Levin. “I guess that’s it.” She laughed nervously.
    “Biology. Strong choice. What do you plan to do with that?” Liz asked.
    “Ultimately, I hope to go to medical school and become a forensic pathologist.”
    “Wow. Impressive.”
    “Thank you. I’ve learned quite a bit. I’m anxious to take the next step.”
    “Wonderful.” Liz smiled at Maggie for a moment before turning her attention to Brent. “And I’m pleasantly surprised to meet you, Brent, as we all are, I’m sure. Are you a friend of Levin’s?”
    Rana froze. Her mother didn’t know about Levin’s meeting with his brothers. Rana braced herself for Brent’s response. Thankfully, Levin answered before Brent could.
    “He’s my brother, Mom.”
    “What?”