The Happiest Season (21 page)

Gloria clutched the gift Maggie had just given her.  “What
is it?” she asked delightedly.  

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise Christmas
morning.”  She forced a smile and attempted to sound upbeat, though she was
feeling anything but cheerful.

“As if I’m going to wait until Christmas morning to open
it,” Gloria teased.

“You’d better,” Maggie insisted, wagging a warning finger.

Gloria suddenly frowned, sensing something was amiss with
her friend.  “Is everything all right?  You seem a little glum.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she assured her.

“You don’t sound fine.  Come with me into the kitchen.  I’ll
brew us up a pot of coffee.”

“That sounds nice.”

A few minutes later, sitting at the small dinette table in
Gloria’s kitchen, Maggie confided in her friend about her encounter with John’s
wife at the mall earlier.

Gloria’s eyes widened in shock.  “I’m sorry, Maggie.  That
must have been awkward, to say the least.” 

“She definitely took me by surprise.”  Maggie made a
frightened face.

“She was kind of scary, huh?”

Maggie nodded.  “You could say that.”

Gloria gave her hand a sympathetic pat.  “I’m sorry that
woman had to come along and ruin your day, but didn’t John tell you he’s
divorced from her?”

“Yes, but he may have lied to me.”

Gloria looked skeptical.  “Or the scary woman lied.  I get a
good feeling about John,” she said.  “Has he been anything but decent and kind to
you?”

“Well, no, but men who lie about their marriage status tend
to be good at it.”

“Maggie, ask him outright if he’s being honest with you.”

“What’s to say he’s going to give an honest answer?” she
said reasonably, and suddenly remembered the woman telling her John had a son. 
She emitted a haggard sigh.

“What?” Gloria prompted, and appeared to brace herself for
what was coming.

“His wife—ex-wife—whatever—said he has a son.”

“Did he ever mention having a child?” Gloria asked,
surprised.

“No.  But his wife—I think her name is Kim—well, I would
think she would know.”

“Maggie, talk to the man.  Give him a chance to explain. 
Does John really strike you as a man who would neglect to mention having a
child?  He seems to like kids, and certainly gets along well with Rickey.”

“That’s true,” Maggie sighed.  “But, I don’t know, Gloria.  In
the bigger picture, I’ve been indecisive about … everything—even separate of
this new information.  Do I really need the drama of getting involved with a
relatively newly divorced man whose ex is apparently still in the picture?  I
have to think about Rickey and…”

“I understand your fears, Maggie,” she cut in.  “I also know
you’re afraid to give John—or anyone—a chance, because you’re afraid it’ll
somehow undermine the love you felt for Shane.  You’ll always love Shane, and
no one can change that.”  She paused briefly.  “And speaking of ‘change,’ you
have to realize that you can’t stop it.  Change is inevitable as time passes.”

“I’ve never been good with change,” Maggie admitted.  “And
embarking upon a relationship equates to big changes.”  She sighed.  “I like my
life, Gloria.  I have a wonderful son, a nice little home, a job that meets my
needs, and the best friend I could ask for.”

“Indeed, you’re blessed,” Gloria said cheekily, with a big
smile.  “But did you ever think God might be trying to tell you something?”

“Such as?”

“That’s it’s really time to move on, that He wants you to
have a loving man in your life again—a man who can love your son as his own. 
Men like that don’t come along every day, honey.  I should know.”

Maggie gave her a questioning look.

Gloria smiled.  “My oldest, Chad—Dan isn’t his father.  I
was married young, to a man who it turned out hadn’t a clue how to be a husband
and father.  He left me with a little boy to raise and no means of support. 
Thankfully, I had parents willing to help out.  They watched Chad so I could go
to school and ultimately, like you, I got a job with the State.  But about midway
through my schooling, I met Dan.”  She smiled.  “And the rest is history.”

Maggie couldn’t help smiling at the serene expression on
Gloria’s face. 

Gloria suddenly chuckled.  “Sometimes I think Dan likes Chad
better than the three we had together,” she whispered.  “They have so much in
common…”

Maggie joined her chuckling, but quickly sobered.  “John
does seem to care a lot about Rickey.”

“I agree.  It appears he adores him, and the admiration is
mutual.”

Maggie shook her head miserably.  “Gloria, but that’s my
fear—and has been from the beginning.  What will it do to Rickey if John isn’t
the man he seems to be?  What if he is fooling us?”

“You have to talk to him,” Gloria said succinctly.  “What
else can you do?”

“I can live my life,” she said with a shrug.  “I don’t need
a man in my life to be happy.”

Gloria pinned her with a look.  “You love him, don’t you?”

Maggie averted her eyes.  “It’s a little soon for that? 
Don’t you think?”

Gloria smiled sadly.  “Apparently not,” she said, still
eyeing her friend with a knowing look.

Maggie turned back to her and shook her head.  “I…”  She sat
quietly for a moment.  “I…”  She shook her head briskly and gave a frustrated
growl.

Gloria rose from the table and freshened their coffee.  When
she sat back down, Maggie wrapped her hands around the steaming cup.  “I guess it
wouldn’t do me any good to deny having feelings for John, my very astute
friend,” she said with a humorless laugh.  “But having them doesn’t mean I want
to.”

“But having them is
significant
,” Gloria pointed
out.  “You told me you haven’t felt anything for anyone, and that you didn’t
think you were even capable at this point.”

“I was so in love with Shane…”

“But maybe that very fact should make you receptive to
another relationship—specifically one with John, I mean.  You know how good it
can be to have a loving partner.  You had one before, and you recognize that
potential in John.”  She sighed.  “Can you imagine how difficult it must be for
folks who’ve been in a bad relationship to persevere and give love another
chance.  Like me,” she added with a wry smile.

“Like John…” Maggie muttered.  If John was telling her the
truth, that is.

“Hey,” Gloria said, “you don’t have to rush headlong into
anything.  Give John a chance to explain, though.  It’s only fair.”

“I guess…”  Maggie checked her watch.  “Hey, thanks so much
for the coffee—and the ear.  But I should go.  I need to pick Rickey up from
his friend’s house.”

“Tell him ‘hi’ for me,” Gloria said, rising from the chair. 
She followed Maggie to the front door.  “Oh, hold on a sec.  I have fudge for
Rickey.”

“Oh, how you spoil him,” she laughed.

“I have fudge for John too, but…”

Maggie inhaled deeply.  “I don’t know if I’ll be seeing
him,” she admitted.

“Well, I hope you do…”  Gloria passed her the fudge.

***

“Mama, can I have a kitten for Christmas?” Rickey asked.

“May I have a kitten?” Maggie corrected.

“Yeah, may I?”

“I’m afraid not,” she told him.  “I’m afraid I’m allergic to
cats.”

He wrinkled his nose.  “My friend at school is allergic to
peanuts so he can’t eat them, or even touch them.  Is it like that?”

“Yes.  I’m afraid I can’t eat cats,” she teased.

“Mama!  You wouldn’t eat a cat even if you weren’t
al-ler-gic,” he enunciated carefully.

“You’re probably right.  And I wish I wasn’t allergic to
them,” Maggie told him.  “I love cats.  Especially kittens.  They’re adorable,
but I’m afraid they make me sneeze and sometimes break out in an itchy rash.”

“Maybe we could get another dog,” Rickey suggested.

“I think we should probably be happy with the dog we already
have,” Maggie said.  “Pocomo is a pretty special dog.”

“That’s true,” Rickey acknowledged.  “He loves us a lot.”

“Yes, he does,” Maggie agreed, as they arrived home.  “And
we love him a lot too.”  She paused long enough in the driveway to press the
garage door opener, and then pulled into the garage.

Rickey scrambled out of the car.  “Is John coming over
later?” he asked eagerly, as Maggie climbed out of the car.

“No, honey.  I don’t think so.”

“But…  It’s Sunday.  Is he coming tomorrow instead?”

“No.”

“But he has to work the rest of the week.  When will we see
him?”

Maggie shrugged.  “Honey, he’s really busy with work, and
the holiday coming up.  We may not see him for awhile.”  If ever, she silently
added.

“Oh, he’ll call!” Rickey said with certainty.  “He’ll
probably ask us to meet him for dinner or something.”  He spun around and ran
into the house. 

When Maggie stepped inside, he was already opening the
sliding door to allow Pocomo outside.

“Good boy,” she praised him.

“Me or Pocomo?” he inquired, his brows furrowed.

Maggie laughed.  “Both of you.”

“Oh.  Hey, Mama, did I see fudge in that package from Gloria?”
he asked nonchalantly.

Maggie chuckled.  “Yes, and you may have one piece.”  She
remembered the fudge John had bought for him.  It was tucked in her purse. 
“Oh, honey, would you like to try this fudge?  John … uh …well, he bought it
for you, at the mall today.”

“Okay,” he said eagerly.  She passed him the baggie and he
pulled out a piece and took a bite.  “It’s good!” he declared.  “But Gloria’s
fudge is better.”

“You’ll have to be sure to tell her so.”

“Can I…   I mean, ‘may’ I call her now?”

“Sure.  That’s a great idea.”

She dialed the phone for him and he placed a quick call to
Gloria.  “Thank you for the fudge, Gloria!  I had some from the mall, but yours
is way better.”  He paused for a moment, listening.  “Okay, yeah, that would be
great.  Okay, I’ll see you soon.  Come over!”

He hung up and dashed to Maggie, who was now unloading the
dishwasher.  “Gloria is going to teach me how to make her special recipe
fudge!  Isn’t that great?”

“It is great.” 

He turned toward the back slider when he heard Pocomo
barking.  “Maybe another animal stopped by,” he said hopefully. 

He started for the door but stopped and spun back around when
the phone rang.  He hurried to snatch it up.

“Rickey, don’t…!”

Too late. 

“Oh, hi, John!  Yeah, Mama’s here.  Are you coming over?” 
He cocked his head, listening.  “Yeah, Mama gave me the fudge.  Thank you a lot. 
It was good.”

Maggie couldn’t help smiling.  Rickey had been very
diplomatic in answering John.  She knew he preferred Gloria’s homemade fudge,
but he was still appreciative of the candy from the store.

“Yeah, she’s right here,” he said, and thrust the phone at
his mother.

Maggie reluctantly accepted it.  “Hello.”

“Maggie, uh, hey…”  John sighed.  “Look, I know…”  He
paused, as if searching for the right words.

“Yes?”

“Maggie, I know you had a run-in with my ex-wife today,” he
said in a rush.

“Uh, well, yes.”

“I want to apologize for anything she may have said to you
that may have been upsetting to you—or that may have misled you.  Is there any
… chance I could stop by—so we can talk?”

“I’m afraid tonight isn’t good for me.  I have a lot to do
to get ready for tomorrow—with work and school…”  She let the words hang in the
air.

“I understand.  Maybe we could meet for dinner sometime
during the week?”

“Maybe so,” she said noncommittally. 

He didn’t immediately respond, and she heard his defeated sigh
at the end of the phone line.  “Maggie, please…”

Her heart lurched at his pleading tone.  But…  She did have
a busy week ahead, so it wasn’t a lie.  And the truth was, she needed time to
think. 

She hated to hurt him, but her heart was at stake too—and
Rickey’s.  She couldn’t risk any more pain.  And she certainly didn’t need the
complication of an embittered ex wife to contend with.  The woman seemed
vicious, and who knew what she was capable of?  She had Rickey’s safety to
think about first and foremost. 

“You’ll call?” John prompted again.

“I’ll try.”  She hung up the phone and entered the family
room.  She sat down on the sofa and leaned her head back. 

“Mama, are you all right?” Rickey asked, as he sat down
beside her and leaned his head against her shoulder.