The Happiest Season (20 page)

“Do you even have to wonder which one he’d prefer?” John
asked, his eyes twinkling.  “He’s made it clear—he’s going to be a police
officer someday.”

Maggie smiled his way.  “Hey, I’m not sure how I feel about
either profession,” she said.  “Both are dangerous.”  She returned the toy
vehicles to the shelf, turned to the toys behind her, and selected a kiddy-sized
doctor’s bag.

John laughed.  “I still think he’d prefer the police car.”

“Oh, all right,” Maggie said with a mock, frustrated sigh,
as she returned the bag to the shelf.  She retrieved the police car.  “I’ll buy
him this.”

John took it from her.  “Let me.  But come and look at this.”

She followed him several aisles over to the ride-on toys. 
He pointed out a police car.  “He’d love this,” he said, his eyes glittering
with excitement.

“Yes,” Maggie acknowledged, as she checked out the price tag. 
“But I’m afraid I don’t love the price.”

John made a hopeful face.  “May I get it for him?”

Maggie sighed and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. 
“You’re sweet to want to, but I’m going to have to say ‘no.’  I know he’s still
little, but I want him to learn the value of a dollar, and that it’s important
to live within our means.”

“I understand,” he said.  

When he gave the car a final, longing look, Maggie
chuckled.  “Are you sure you don’t want to buy it for yourself?”

He laughed.  “I have the real thing, so I don’t need it.” 
He checked his watch.  “Are you hungry?  It’s lunchtime.”

“You know, I am,” she said.  “We’ve done a lot of walking
this morning.”

He took the items from her arms and together they walked to
the checkout.  “Did you find everything you were looking for?” he asked.

She nodded.  “I think so.  I’m just about done with my
shopping.  I still need to pick up a gift I ordered for Gloria.  Fortunately,
I’ve already mailed off gifts to my parents, and my in-laws.  How ‘bout you?”

“All done,” he said mock-smugly.  “Everybody is getting gift
cards.”

“That’s probably smart,” Maggie said, nodding her head. 
“Let them pick out what they want.”

They paid for their purchases and then walked out to John’s
car.  They stowed the gifts in the back of his sedan, and he opened her door
for her.  “Are you hungry for anything in particular?” he asked, as he came
around and dropped into the driver’s seat.

She grinned.  “A cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate
milkshake.”

He smiled.  “I know just the place.”

Soon, he pulled into a new, fifties, retro-themed diner that
Maggie had yet to visit.  “I’ve been wanting to come here,” she told him.

They entered the restaurant and were promptly seated by a
waitress dressed in a uniform reminiscent of those worn by wait staff sixty
years before.  The girl’s hair was piled high on her head, her pink cotton
dress sported a frilly white apron affixed to the front, and she wore black and
white saddle shoes.

“May I take your beverage order?” she asked.

“Two chocolate milkshakes,” John said.

She smiled and scurried off to retrieve their shakes.

Maggie glanced around the restaurant, admiring the space. 
It featured booth seating, gleaming silver-rimmed tables, and a black and white
checkerboard floor.  “Cute,” she observed.

“The burgers are great,” John told her.

The waitress reappeared with their shakes and took their
food order.  As they waited for the food, Maggie attempted to drink the thick,
frosty shake through a straw.  John grinned at her as he passed her a spoon.

Soon, their food was placed in front of them.  Maggie
savored the delicious burger and fries, which were a rare treat.  Typically, if
she craved either, she prepared them at home.  She couldn’t justify the
expenditure, when she knew she could cook six burgers at home, for the price of
one out.  But today was a special occasion, and when the waitress deposited
their check on the table, she quickly snatched it up. 

John watched in surprise as she laid it on the seat beside
her and began pulling bills from her purse.  “What are you doing?” he asked. 
“It’s my treat.”

She shook her head.  “Today, it’s my treat.”  She placed the
bill and payment on the edge of the table.  John stared at it, as if uncertain
what to do.  When he reached for it, she grabbed his hand and smiled into his
face.  “Don’t you dare.”

He shook his head, still seeming uncertain.  “I guess I’m
kind of old fashioned.  I feel as if the guy should always pay.”

“That’s very noble,” she told him.  “But it’s still my
treat.”

He stared into her eyes and realized she meant business. 
She wasn’t going to back down.

“Okay,” he said agreeably.  “But I’m getting it next time.”

“Fair enough,” she said.  “And thank you for bringing me
here.  I’ll have to bring Rickey back as a treat one day.  He’ll love it.”

“Well, where to now?” John inquired.

“I need to pick up Gloria’s gift from a store at the mall,
and then I’m done.  Well, except for…”  Her words trailed off.  The only person
she had yet to buy for was him.  And she wondered, would it be appropriate to
buy him a gift? 

She was pondering the question as she and John left the
restaurant and headed for his car.

“To the mall?” he clarified.

She nodded.  “If you could park at the north end, I can run
in really quick and pick up her gift.  It’s at a little boutique near the north
entrance.”

“Okay,” he said agreeably, and then his eyes narrowed.  “If
I remember right, isn’t there a candy store nearby?”

She furrowed her brow.  “I think you’re right.”

He smiled.  “I’m going to grab Rickey a pound of fudge.”

Maggie laughed.  “You’re going to spoil him.”

John watched her face briefly.  Was he?  Was he trying to
spoil the little guy?  All he knew was that he adored the little kid and wanted
to make him happy.  He wanted to make Maggie happy too.

She read the uncertainty on his face.  “It’s sweet of you to
want to buy him candy.  He’ll love it.  But let’s make it a quarter of a
pound.”

“Worried about cavities?” he asked with a wince.

She shook her head.  “Worried about your wallet.  Have you
seen the price of that candy?”

After they exited the car, he took her hand as they entered
the mall.  Just inside the entrance, she gestured toward the boutique, where
she’d ordered Gloria’s gift.  “I’ll be just a minute.”

He nodded toward the candy store.  “I’ll see you in just a
bit then.”

Both walked off to their respective stores.  Maggie found
the boutique bustling with customers, and got in line to pick up her package. 
She heard a woman’s voice from behind her.  “Are you here with John?”

She turned around, wondering, was the question directed at
her?

Her eyes fixed on a woman behind her.  Tall, wispy and
beautiful, she watched her with barely concealed disdain.

“I’m sorry,” Maggie said.  “Are you … talking to me?”

She nodded.  “I just saw you—with John Dutch.”

Maggie nodded her head slowly, noting that the woman looked
furious.  She took an instinctive step back.

“He isn’t who you think he is,” she said, her voice filled
with venom.

“Who … are you?” Maggie asked uncertainly.

“I’m Kim.  His wife.”

Maggie felt as if she’d sustained a physical blow.  “His …
wife?” she repeated shakily.

The woman nodded.  “We’re going through a rough patch,” she
said haughtily, “but you need to understand, you’re wasting your time.  We’re
getting back together.”

“I…”  Maggie swallowed.  “I thought you two were…”

“Divorced?”  She gave a cruel, brittle laugh and lifted her
chin.  “He has a child, you know?”

Maggie felt as if she’d been struck.  “What?”

The woman nodded.  “A little boy.”

“You two have a child together?”  John had never mentioned
having a son.

The woman shook her head and spat, “No, not with me!”  She
gave Maggie a pitying stare.  “He’s not the man you think he is.”

Maggie turned when a salesgirl called her forward.  “Miss,
may I help you?”

“Uh, yes.”  She stepped forward, but glanced back at the
angry brunette.  She was gone.

Maggie received her purchase and left the store, determined
to hold herself together. 

John was still in line at the candy store, which gave her
time to gather her thoughts.  The encounter with the angry woman had shaken her
to an extent that she realized something startling.  Having this woman
characterize her own relationship with John had forced her to truly acknowledge
her own feelings for him.  She was falling in love with him.

But if he was still involved with this woman…  And he had a
child…

He’d never mentioned having a son.  How could he neglect to
mention having a child? He seemed to care so much about Rickey, but had nothing
to say about his own child?  Was he a con man?

And he said he was divorced.  This woman had suggested
otherwise.

This woman.  She was movie star gorgeous.  So poised and
elegant.  So put together.  Nothing like Maggie.  If this woman was John’s
type, he certainly had no business spending time with her.  She felt frumpy and
unkempt by comparison.

Maggie felt like a fool.  She’d let a man into her life—had
let her guard down for the first time since Shane’s death.  She hadn’t intended
to open her heart to him, but it had happened nonetheless.

No more.  She resolved to endure the ride home with John,
but to return to life as normal when he dropped her at her house.  Thank the
Lord she had discovered who he really was before she fell more deeply in love
with him—and before Rickey became so attached he wouldn’t be able to let go
without sustaining severe emotional trauma. 

Letting go. 

It was becoming a theme in her life.  And she resolved never
to put herself in the position of having to do it again.  It hurt too much.

***

John had just dropped Maggie off at her house.  She hadn’t
asked him in.  She’d even seemed reluctant to accept the candy he’d purchased
for Rickey.

What had happened between their arrival at the mall and the
intervening moments before their return to the car?

He racked his brain.  All had been well on the drive to the
mall, but when Maggie had met him outside the candy store, her entire demeanor
had changed.  It was as if she’d shut down.

He’d noticed it right away.  She’d become stiff, robotic,
with the exception of her hands.  He’d seen her fingers tremble.  When he’d
reached for her hand out of concern, she had pulled away.  When he’d implored
her to tell him what was wrong, she had insisted everything was fine.

Inside the car, she barely responded when he’d attempted to
talk to her, and back at her place, she’d practically bolted from the car.  

He felt unsettled and worried.  What had happened to change
everything between them?  They’d been getting along great.  He had enjoyed
spending time with her at the mall, and lunch had been relaxing and fun.

When he arrived back at his apartment, he immediately spied
the button on his answering machine blinking, alerting him to a message.

He crossed the room and looked down at the button.  He held
his finger poised above it and suddenly remembered the church service he’d
attended earlier.  The pastor had spoken about faith, and about God answering
prayer.  He hoped desperately that the good Lord was doing that right now. 

“Please be Maggie,” he prayed.

He pressed the button and to his horror, Kim spoke to him. 
Her voice held a triumphant note.  “I met your girlfriend today,” she said. 
“Pretty little thing.  I did manage to offer her some clarity where you’re
concerned.”  He heard her laugh then, a bitter, spiteful sound.  “You didn’t
tell her about me, did you?  And you
certainly
didn’t mention your
child!”

He heard his ex-wife take a deep, shoring breath and lower
her voice seductively.  “Baby, she’s not for you.  You know that.  You love
me.  You know you do.”  She sighed deeply, and gave a chuckle, reminding him of
tinkling ice.  “You know where to find me.  Don’t take too long.  I won’t wait
forever.”

John dropped into a chair and ran his hands through his
hair.  Who was that woman in the message?  Was she really the woman he’d
married several years before?  Had she changed?  Or had he been unwilling or
unable to recognize her for who she really was?

Unwilling to dwell on those questions, he picked up the
phone and dialed Maggie.  She didn’t answer.

Was she deliberately avoiding his call?  And why wouldn’t
she?  He could only imagine the lies Kim had told her.

He felt sick.  Had Kim cost him a chance at happiness with
Maggie and her son?