It was noon when Maggie finally woke up, not feeling refreshed and energized enough after a ten hours long sleep. Her chronic tiredness was taking its toll, and she was praying for the day when her mother is released from the hospital, and all the bills are settled to come as soon as possible.
After the fastest shower ever, she took the two dresses and fixed everything that needed fixing. She was satisfied with her work on them. One was in vibrant blue color, knee-length with a halter neckline, and the other was floor-length, a baby pink dress made of tulle. Maybe she should offer to do the makeup and hair for the girls too... she thought. It's not like she had no experience at it since it was something she used to do with her friends when, once upon a time, they were getting ready for their own proms and parties.
Not long after, she heard a car horn, so she grabbed her bag and keys and hurried outside. Her neighbor, Mrs. Johnson was visiting her husband at the hospital almost every day, so every time that Maggie was off her work, she would ask this dear old lady for a ride. Johnson's were her first door neighbors, and she loved them very much since she was just a little girl, they were like grandparents to her, that's why she was so sad when Mr. Johnson's had his heart attack.
"Good afternoon Mrs. Johnson," Maggie greeted her upon entering the car.
"Good afternoon to you too, dear. How are you today?" Mrs. Johnson asked while starting the car.
"Good, thank you. How is Mr. Johnson?"
"He's recovering pretty well. The doctor said he will be released this week."
"That's good news. I'm glad he is better now." Maggie was happy to hear some good news today.
"How about your mother? How is she?" Mrs. Johnson asked.
"She's better now. She's responding to the therapy well. I hope to have her home by the end of the year." Maggie informed her neighbor, and she sighed. She will have to buy some new furniture by then since she had to sell everything she could have last month to pay for the installment. She was lucky that the hospital agreed to split the bill into installments, if not, she could never afford to pay it.
"Do you need me to wait for you to take you home?" Mrs. Johnson asked.
"Thank you for the offer, but I have to do some grocery shopping later. Say hi to Mr. Johnson for me and have a nice day." she bid her goodbye and half-ran towards the hospital room where her mother was located. On her way there, she greeted the staff who were by now familiar with her.
Maggie peeked into the room to find her mother half sitting on the bed, reading a book, but the second she sensed her beloved daughter being near, she raised her head to look for her. Once their eyes met, Maggie forgot everything about being tired and broke. Getting her mother healthy again was the only important thing in the world. She smiled widely and ran right into her mother's waiting embrace.
"Hi, mom. It's so good to see you," she released herself from her mother's arms to take a seat on the edge of the bed, their hands still connected.
"Oh, honey," Rebecca said with tears in her eyes, eyes that never missed a single detail about her daughter now scanned Maggie like x-rays "You silly girl, you look worse than I do!" she criticized worried about Maggie.
"No, mom, not again with that story! You'll make me angry!" Maggie knew how to make her mother stop the questioning.
"But I am afraid you will overwork yourself," Rebecca said while her heart tugged a little. It wasn't right that their roles were turned like this, she was supposed to be the one taking care of Maggie.
"Mom, enough! I told you a thousand times before, we just need to get you healthy again, and then everything will be back to normal. What did the doctor say?" she decided to change the subject.
"He says that I'm doing good. My body's recovering nicely, and he's hopeful that the next control will show that I'm cancer-free." Rebecca said with a smile and happy tears in her eye, and Maggie felt like a huge weight was removed from her shoulders. It was the news she waited to hear for so long, so once she heard them, she broke down in tears. She felt her mother's arms envelope around her again, and now they both were crying. But for the first time in a while, their tears were not bitter.
"I live for the day when I will take you out of this place!" Maggie exclaimed.
"Oh, honey, me too. Me too."
After some more complaints about her looking tired and worn out, and some promises that she will take better care of herself from now on, which she had no intention of keeping, Maggie said goodbye.
Once again, she caught a bus and stopped by a grocery store before she went home. Her fridge was empty, and she needed some cleaning supplies as well as a detergent for her washing machine. She had just enough time to load one machine of laundry and to vacuum the floors and clean them properly before the girls showed up to get their dresses. They tried them once again and were satisfied with how they turned out, paid for them, and went on their way.
Maggie put the money in her wallet and continued with her house chores. She was always the one to appreciate a clean and neat house, and there were moments in the last couple of months when she felt almost disgusted by how her home looked. Since she barely had time to sleep and eat, she vowed to herself to use the free days to make the place somewhat decent. It's not like she had anything better to do anyway. Her friends from college had their own lives, and her friends from work... well, it's not like she didn't like them or didn't like to spend time with them, it's just she was seeing them every day at work, and no matter how much she cared for them, she just needed some time alone.
In the middle of doing the dishes after loading another washing machine with towels and bedsheets, Maggie heard the doorbell ring. She rinsed her hands and hurried to open the door, thinking that it was one of the girls. Maybe they noticed something that needs fixing on the dresses again.
Maggie opened the door wide, but instead of someone she knew, in front of her stood an unknown man, and if she has to guess his age, she would say he was in his early thirties.
"Hi. Can I help you?" she asked, raising her brows.
"Hello. Are you Margaret Colt?" the unknown man asked, and now that she had a chance to look at him longer, she felt like she had seen him before.
"Yes?" her answer sounded more like a question.
"My name is Jackson Peters, and I am your husband." stretching out his hand and offering her a manila folder.
A week after Maggie came back to Chicago, her parents organized a modest wedding with only a dozen people present, including themselves and the minister. Maggie was ecstatic for them. How many grown-up women had a chance to attend their parents' wedding… She loved them so much and wanted nothing but happiness for them. A small reception was held in their manor, and the present guests enjoyed the celebration with discreet music, food, drinks, and a lot of laughter. That day, Maggie met one of her uncles and his wife, one of Wade's brothers. He was a nice man, and he was genuinely glad to meet her. His wife seemed decent too. The rest of the family she was yet to meet, and Denis had plans for family dinner so that everyone could gather and get to know what a wonderful daughter he has. Why did he wait for so long? Simply, he didn't want to overwhelm Maggie before she accepted him as her father. And it looked like she did. She would come by his house every so often for dinner, a
"Hi." Jack's voice trembled while he was taking in the sight in front of him.Maggie was standing there in the middle of the kitchen, holding Eric on her hip, supporting him with one arm and mashing the carrots with the other.Maggie raised her gaze from the bowl and looked at him. Their eyes met, and they told what they needed to tell, a story of love and anticipation, need and desire."Hi," Maggie said back quietly.Jack made a few steps towards them, but he didn't get close enough to touch her, afraid that he had finally crossed the line of missing her, and he was hallucinating at full speed. And if that was the case… if he touched her, and she disappeared again… burst like the soap bubble… no, he better not risk it. He needed her here, even as a wraith, she was here…When his eyes slipped from her face, the face he loved so much, he saw his son clinging to Maggie like she was his lifebelt. He didn't even raise his he
It's been a crazy few months in Jack's life since Maggie left. He did his best to not let it affect him much, but he couldn't help it. Her leaving him reflected on every single aspect of his life. It was easy for him to get irritated and to snap at anyone in close vicinity, so much that his subordinates started to avoid him.It didn't help that Eric was much more irritable than ever, he cried more and smiled less. He missed her, it was obvious. Just like Jack did. It was his fault, it was all his fault… if he didn't have that stupid idea that he needed her, that he wanted her… maybe if he had stuck to his original plan and paid her off to sign the divorce papers when he first met her… maybe, just maybe, he and his son wouldn't be brokenhearted now.On the other hand, he got to know love and the feeling of belonging to a family, something his own always busy and overachieving parents failed to give him even when he was a child.Jack tri
It's been a whole month since Maggie left Chicago and returned to her home town. That day, when she took off, she managed to get a ticket for a midnight flight, and she was back home before the sun was up. For a couple of days, she didn't even leave the house except for the short trip to the nearest supermarket to stock up on food and other necessities. She also started ordering in food, something she never did before here in Charleston, but now she had no desire to cook at all.At first, Maggie spent her days crying and missing Jack like crazy, so much that she contemplated with herself to go back to him and beg him to never manipulate her like that again and to promise her to always be like he was for the last 6 months, but she managed to hold herself back and stay where she was.She needed to try, she needed to give herself a chance to live without him, to try to move on and go back to her life… or to get over what he had done and forgive him.Maggie wasn't
"I've been meaning to tell you…" Jack came into the living room to see Maggie sitting in an armchair with papers spread in front of her.As he saw her, Jack broke into a cold sweat. He knew exactly what she was looking at. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He forgot that he left the folder right on the desk when he called her earlier to get the one he needed and sent for. He should have destroyed them long ago, but nooo, he was too stupid for something like that. He enjoyed torturing himself with those…"Tell me what?" her voice was cold like he never heard it before. She was capable of sounding like this?"Everything.""Everything... like why there are dates from July on the divorce forms or those for full custody? From before we even met..." Maggie finally rose her head looked at him."Yes." Jack didn't move from where he was standing, at the entrance to the living room."So, you want to explain how I ended up here, with you, instead of you giving
"You know, when we first met Denis Wade at that Gala, I thought he was scary. But now I think he's actually quite decent." Emma commented while standing in Maggie's new kitchen. Maggie came in to get some refreshments for the guests, and Emma followed.Jack and Maggie moved into their new home a week ago, and on the first following Saturday, they organized a small party to celebrate the event with their closest friends and family. Robert and Emma came with Aurora, and now both babies were sleeping upstairs in Eric's nursery, while their parents were downstairs catching up.Mary came to congratulate them, happy about how things turned out between the two of them, but she almost had a stroke when they told her about everything that happened since the last time she visited.Jack's friends from college and their better halves were invited too. Maggie met them at Evans' couple of months ago, right after she came to Chicago, and she actually liked them. She felt like