Alexis and the Missing Ingredient by Coco Simon

make them better. The best friends in life make you your best self. Funnier, a better baker, smarter, more graceful—whatever it is.
    I turned to share this observation with Katie, but she had actually fallen asleep on the sofa, curledinto a little ball. It was okay. The person I really wanted to share this idea with was Emma, who was due back at her house in Maple Grove tomorrow morning. I couldn’t wait to see her back home and fill her in on everything we’d done. It wouldn’t all seem real until the retelling. I would be careful to tell her repeatedly how much we missed her and how it wasn’t the same without her and how we talked about her all the time. That was all true. But I wouldn’t tell her what I was just realizing, deep down inside: that it had been good for me to branch out, to spend time with Mia and Katie (and Ava, of course) and get some new experience with other friends. I could now see I’d been relying on Emma too much, and it wasn’t good for either of us. I needed to take the bull by the horns and make plans and put myself out there to enrich my life. It wouldn’t diminish Emma’s role at all; in fact, it might enhance it. Who knew?
    Mia came back upstairs and saw Katie sleeping and gestured that she was going to go lie down in her room, too. It seemed like a great idea all around. For a minute I almost considered taking a train back alone tonight, just to sleep in my own bed and, to be perfectly honest, to be already in Maple Grove to see Emma. But I knew it could wait another day.In fact, it should wait another day. I closed my eyes to rest them for just a minute, and I, of course, fell asleep too.

    I woke up about an hour later to hear Mr. Cruz and Mia talking quietly in the kitchen. Katie stirred too, and we laughed at ourselves for not being able to hack the NYC pace without a nap.
    Mia heard us, and she and her dad came in to chat and make a dinner plan.
    â€œDo you guys want to go out or order in tonight?” Mia offered.
    â€œWhat’s on the agenda?” I asked.
    â€œWell, we were planning to stay here until seven”—she and Katie exchanged a look that I didn’t understand—“but then we had been thinking of going out for pizza at this brick-oven place by the guy who started the Sullivan Street Bakery.”
    â€œI could do that,” I said, shrugging.
    â€œAlexis, is there anything on your agenda?” asked Mr. Cruz with a smile. “We’ve certainly heard a lot about Mia and Katie’s agenda this weekend.”
    I grinned. “Their agenda is my agenda. I am perfectly happy to leave all the planning to them. I organize us for business, they handle pleasure. But I’m learning, that’s for sure.”
    â€œO-kaaaaay . . . ,” said Mr. Cruz. “If you’re sure?”
    â€œI’m sure.”
    â€œIf we ordered in instead of going out, what would we get?” asked Katie.
    â€œOoh, you’ve asked the million-dollar question around here.” Mr. Cruz went to a cabinet and took out a big accordion folder. “There are many choices, my friends. Sometimes Mia and I are craving different things, so we order from different places. I’ll have Chinese and she’ll have a burrito. Or I’ll get lobster and she’ll have ribs. It just depends.”
    â€œWow.”
    He opened the folder and showed us dozens and dozens of take-out menus from all different kinds of places.
    â€œHow can you ever decide?” I asked.
    â€œSometimes I just toss a few in the air and grab whichever one comes down first,” he joked.
    â€œReally?” asked Mia.
    â€œNo,” he said, and he shook his head and laughed.
    â€œI can’t imagine living somewhere where you could get basically anything you can dream of delivered to your own front door. It’s kind of wild! Maybe we should just order in pizza?” I suggested, which was my first suggestion of