Maggie's Story

by Sheila O'Flanagan

  Flora smiled. She stood up and took a book off the shelf behind her. “Here,” she said. “This is the first one I wrote.”

  Maggie looked at it. It was called A Crazy Heart. The cover showed a very dark, rugged-looking man glaring at a fair-haired woman.

  “It’s very thick,” said Maggie. She turned it over. “What’s it about?”

  “What do you think?” Flora laughed. “It’s a romance, Maggie.”

  “I’ll bring it back next time,” promised Maggie.

  “Don’t be silly,” said Flora. “It’s a present. Look – I’ll sign it for you.” She picked up a pen and signed it “Tamara Brook”.

  Maggie stared at it. “Doesn’t it feel odd signing someone else’s name?”

  “Not to me,” said Flora. “When I’m writing romances I think of myself as Tamara Brook. I’m a completely different person.”

  “How are you different?” Maggie was curious.

  “When I’m Tamara, I am romantic,” explained Flora. “I go weak at the knees when I see tall, dark, handsome men! I think romantic thoughts. When I’m me, I’m worrying about the fact that I have a leak in the roof. And that my car is on its last legs.”

  Maggie laughed. “I wouldn’t mind being two people.”

  “It’s easy,” said Flora. “You just have to practise.”

  “I will,” said Maggie. She zipped the computer into its bag. “I’d better get going. I’ve stayed far too long.”

  “I didn’t mind,” confessed Flora. “I was looking for an excuse to take a break.”

  Maggie waved goodbye and went to her next house. It was a few doors down. The elderly lady there didn’t have time for a chat. She was going to her bridge class soon. So Maggie was finished much quicker.

  Chapter Three

  She started to read the book on the bus. The main character was a girl called Lisa. Lisa was tall and beautiful. She had perfect skin. She had a perfect figure. She also had a perfect boyfriend, Luke. They worked in the same company.

  Maggie sighed as she thought of Lisa. She touched her own brown hair which needed to be cut. Lisa wouldn’t step outside the house with her hair in a mess. Once, Maggie had been like that too. Now she hardly noticed how she looked.

  The bus pulled up at Maggie’s stop. She closed the book and jumped off.

  It was starting to rain. She walked as quickly as she could. But she was still very wet by the time she opened the front door.

  She made herself a cup of tea and looked at Flora’s book again. She really wanted to read some more. She was interested in Lisa and Luke. But the washing needed to be done. She couldn’t believe how much dirty laundry there was in the house. Of course, Dan’s job meant his clothes got dirty easily. Tom just threw things into the wash whenever he felt like it. And Diana! Maggie didn’t know how Diana managed to have so many tops to wash.

  She brought the laundry basket downstairs. She loaded the washing-machine with the forty-degree wash. There were still loads of clothes left. Tom had played soccer during the week and his kit was at the bottom of the basket. Maggie made a face as she looked at his white shorts. They were caked with mud. So were his socks. And his jersey was filthy.

  She switched on the machine. There was still the ironing to do. When she finished that, she’d read some more.

  She was on the last shirt when the front door opened. Diana walked into the living-room.

  “You’re home early,” said Maggie.

  “I didn’t feel well,” said Diana.

  Maggie looked at her. “What’s the matter?”

  “I’ve a headache.”

  “I hope it’s not a hangover.”

  “Mam!” But Diana hung her head.

  “You’re sixteen years old,” said Maggie. “Cop on to yourself, girl.”

  “I am copped on,” said Diana.

  “No you’re not.” Maggie switched off the iron. “All you think about is how you look. And boys. You don’t care about school or your exams.”

  “It’s boring,” said Diana. “I don’t need to know half of it.”

  “I know,” said Maggie. “But when you’re looking for a job –”

  Diana laughed. “I’m going to find myself a rich husband,” she told Maggie. “I won’t need a job.”

  “Yes you will,” Maggie said. “And –”

  “Oh, Mam, give me a break!”

  Diana walked out of the room and up to her bedroom, slammed her door behind her.

  Maggie was stupid, Diana thought. She’d married Dan too soon. They’d been young and madly in love. Diana loved her father. But she thought Maggie should have played the field a bit before marrying him.

  Maggie folded the last shirt and put the ironing board away. She looked at her watch. It was nearly five o’clock. Soon, she’d start the dinner. But she’d read a bit of the book first.

  Things weren’t going well for Lisa. She’d just found out that Luke was two-timing her. He was seeing another girl in the company. Lisa was shocked and hurt when she found out.

  “I love both of you,” Luke told Lisa. “I can’t help it.”

  “You have to choose,” Lisa said. And Luke chose the other girl, Karen.

  Why? wondered Maggie. Lisa was a nice character. Even if she was too beautiful to be true.

  She glanced up at the clock. Half-past five! She closed the book quickly. It was time to make the dinner. Tom and Dan would be home soon. They weren’t the kind of men who liked waiting for their food.

  She slid the pork chops under the grill. Diana pushed open the kitchen door. She sat down at the table.

  “What’s for tea?” she asked.

  “I thought you were sick,” said Maggie.

  “I was,” Diana told her. “But I feel much better now.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  Maggie put the salt and pepper on the table. “Pork chops,” she said.

  Diana made a face. “I don’t like pork chops.”

  “Like it or lump it,” snapped Maggie.

  Diana sighed and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

  Maggie watched her daughter. Diana was a little bit like Lisa in the book, she thought. Blonde and beautiful, but wanting everything her own way. Maybe that was why Luke had dumped Lisa.

  She turned the chops over. The door opened and Tom came in.

  “What’s for tea?” he asked.

  “Pork chops,” said Diana.

  “I hope there’s loads,” said Tom. “I’m starving.”

  Maggie emptied a tin of beans into a pot and began to heat them up.

  Dan arrived home.

  “What’s for tea?” he asked.

  “Port chops,” said Tom and Diana together. They started to laugh.

  Maggie stirred the beans. No one had bothered to ask her about her day. They never bothered. They just expected her to do their washing and cook their meals. She was sick of them. She’d been married for twenty-two years. She was sick of washing and of cooking. And of looking after people who should be able to look after themselves.

  After tea she sat on the sofa and read her book.

  “What’s that?” asked Dan. He was playing soccer on the Sony Playstation. Tom had gone out. Diana was in her room. She said she was doing homework. But Maggie could smell nail varnish.

  “A book,” said Maggie.

  “What book?” asked Dan.

  She held it out to him.

  “A Crazy Heart,” he read. He laughed. “Sounds stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid,” said Maggie. “It’s good.”

  “What are you doing buying books?” asked Dan. “You don’t read books.”

  “I used to,” Maggie told him. “And I didn’t buy this. One of the people I interview gave it to me. She’s the author.”

  “Really?” Dan looked surprised. “Is she rich? Is she famous?”

  “I’ve heard of her,” said Maggie. “She lives in Fairview. It’s not a very big house. So she can’t be that rich.”

&
nbsp; “I thought they all made a fortune,” said Dan.

  Maggie shrugged. “I didn’t ask her.”

  “It’s a stupid name,” said Dan.

  “What?”

  “Tamara Brook.”

  “It’s her pen-name,” explained Maggie. “Her real name is Flora O’Brien.”

  Dan laughed. “I suppose she thinks Tamara Brook sounds better.”

  “It’s more romantic,” said Maggie.

  “Where are you going, with romance?” Dan laughed again. “After twenty-two years of being married! Romance is for kids.”

  “Is it?” asked Maggie.

  “Yes,” said Dan.

  Maggie returned to her book. Lisa left the company and got herself a new job. Maggie wasn’t surprised at that. The new company was bigger than the old one. Lisa worked hard. The boss liked her. Maggie hoped he wouldn’t make a pass at her! He was too old.

  “Are you listening to me?”

  Maggie looked up from the book.

  “It’s time for bed,” said Dan. “It’s eleven o’clock.”

  “Just let me finish this chapter,” said Maggie.

  “You haven’t taken your nose out of it all night,” said Dan. “Give it a break, Maggie.”

  “I’ll be up soon,” she told him. “You go ahead.”

  Lisa was sent to work in New York by the new company. While she was there she met a man. Rob Harris. He asked her out. He sounded gorgeous. He had black hair and blue eyes. He wore expensive suits. Lisa liked him, but she was still unhappy about breaking up with Luke. She couldn’t get Luke out of her mind.

  “Forget him,” said Maggie again. But this time she said it out loud.

  Dan opened the living-room door.

  “It’s nearly one o’clock,” he said. “I can’t sleep without you beside me, Maggie. And I’m tired. So come to bed.”

  “Oh, OK.” She sighed and closed the book. She’d try to finish it tomorrow.

  Chapter Four

  It was raining hard the next day. Maggie hoped the bus would be along quickly. Her feet were getting wet. The computer was heavy. She didn’t feel like doing any interviews.

  The man on River Road offered her a cup of tea. His name was Chris Casey. He was a manager at a nearby factory and worked different shifts. He’d just finished one.

  “You’re lucky,” he told her. “Another ten minutes and I would have been asleep.”

  “I don’t want to keep you up,” she said. “Forget the tea.”

  “Ah, no.” He filled the kettle. “I like having someone to talk to. Someone different.”

  The first time she’d interviewed him, Maggie had asked details about his life. She knew that he was forty-six. His wife had left him on his fortieth birthday. The children lived with her.

  “I’m used to it now,” he’d told her. “But it was a killer at first. I get to see the younger kids once a week. The older ones call around sometimes. It’s not too bad.”

  Maggie felt very sorry for him.

  She stirred her tea. “How are things?” she asked.

  “Oh, not bad.” He smiled at her. He had a nice smile. “Well, what do you want to ask me about today?”

  She asked the usual questions and keyed in his answers.

  “See you in three months,” she said.

  “Take care, Maggie.” He smiled at her again. “I like seeing you.”

  She blushed.

  “I do!” He grinned. “You’re a fine-looking woman.”

  “Chris!”

  “If you weren’t married, I’d be keen on you myself.”

  “Chris!”

  He laughed. “I like it when you blush,” he told her. “It makes you look very young.”

  She couldn’t help thinking about him on the way home. A man had paid her a compliment. And Chris was a decent man. A nice man.

  She went into the bedroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t help comparing herself to Lisa in the book. Lisa was the kind of girl that men really wanted. Young and beautiful. Maggie just looked tired.

  Dan had once told her she was beautiful. When she’d first gone out with him. He’d always been so nice to her then. But now she was just part of the furniture.

  She picked up a brush and ran it through her hair. Maybe if she got it cut, Dan would think she was good-looking again. But Chris Casey thought she was good-looking anyway. The thought made her smile.

  She did the rest of the day’s housework. Then she sat down with the book.

  Lisa had been promoted again. She was doing really well. Loads of blokes fancied her and asked her out. Rob Harris sent her flowers every week. But she wasn’t interested in men any more. Her career was more important to her now.

  I wish I’d had a career, thought Maggie. I wish I’d done something more exciting with my life than marrying Dan. I wish I had something to show for it all. She began to read chapter thirty.

  Lisa’s new company was going to buy her old one. And Lisa was now the personnel manager. She was going to make decisions about who was to stay and who was to go. She’d be in a position to fire Luke. The bastard who’d dumped her.

  Go for it, Lisa, thought Maggie. “Show him who’s boss!” she said out loud, just as the front door opened.

  Diana walked in.

  “What are you doing?” she asked Maggie.

  “What does it look like?”

  “Reading a book,” said Diana.

  “Exactly,” said Maggie.

  “But why aren’t you making the tea?”

  “There’s plenty of time,” said Maggie. “You’re only just in.”

  “No, there’s not,” said Diana. “It’s nearly six. I stayed in Carol’s for a while after school.”

  Maggie gasped and looked at the clock.

  “Dad and Tom will be mad if they don’t get any tea,” said Diana.

  “I know,” said Maggie.

  “You’d better get a move on,” said Diana.

  Maggie closed the book.

  “They should do it themselves,” she said.

  Diana laughed. “Can you see them?”

  “No.” Maggie stood up. “At least, I can see them making a mess of it. Same way as you’d make a mess of it.” She glanced at Diana.

  “I’m hopeless at cooking,” said Diana. “It’s not my fault.”

  “You’re lazy about it,” said Maggie. “You know how, you just don’t bother. You’re as bad as them. You expect me to wait on you hand and foot.”

  “No I don’t.” Diana shook her head. “I make my own snacks, don’t I?”

  “Big deal,” said Maggie. “A toasted cheese sandwich.”

  “It’s better than nothing at all.”

  Diana followed her into the kitchen.

  “What’s for tea?” she asked.

  “Burgers and chips,” said Maggie. “It’s too late for anything else.”

  “You were really stuck into that book.” Diana filled the kettle. “What’s it about?”

  “It’s called A Crazy Heart,” Maggie told her. “And I know the author.”

  “Do you?” Diana looked surprised.

  “She lives in Fairview,” said Maggie. “She signed it for me.”

  “Is it any good?” asked Diana.

  “It’s interesting,” said Maggie. “It’s about a girl who gets dumped by her boyfriend. But then she’s in a position where she can fire him from his job.”

  Diana grinned. “I like that! That sounds good.”

  Maggie smiled. “I know. And she is a lovely looking girl too.”

  “Why did the boyfriend dump her?” asked Diana.

  “He started going out with someone else,” Maggie told her. “He didn’t want to be tied down to one person. So he started going out with someone else in the office.”

  “The shit,” said Diana.

  “Mind your language,” said Maggie.

  “Sorry,” said Diana.

  “Anyway, I’m dying to see whether she’ll fire him or not.”

&nb
sp; “Do you think she will?”

  “I don’t know,” said Maggie. “She’s trying to be tough. But she’s a softie at heart. She might let him walk all over her.”

  She shook oven chips onto a baking tray.

  “Would you have liked a job?” asked Diana.

  “I have a job,” said Maggie. “Looking after you. And the CSO!”

  “A real job. Nine to five. Every day.”

  “I only have time for the CSO,” Maggie told her.

  “But if you didn’t have to look after us,” said Diana. “Do you ever wish you hadn’t married Dad? Done something else instead?”

  “I wish lots of things,” said Maggie. “But I never wish I hadn’t had my children.”

  And that was true. No matter what. She loved the children. Even if they drove her mad sometimes.

  Chapter Five

  Dan was just getting out of the car as Tom arrived into the driveway.

  “Hi, Dad,” said Tom. “How are things?”

  “Not bad.” Dan opened the boot and took out his tools. “How about you?”

  “I hate that bloody place,” said Tom. “The manager is a complete pain. He’s as thick as a plank too. I could do the job better myself.”

  “At least it brings in the money,” said Dan.

  “I know.” Tom opened the hall door. “And with the overtime and everything it’s not bad. It’s just that I’d prefer to be doing something else.”

  “Like what?” asked Dan.

  “I’m not sure.” Tom sighed. “I like the selling part. I like when people ask me about stuff. I can always give the right answer. Or help them out. I’d like a place of my own. One day.”

  “With luck.” Dan pushed open the kitchen door. “Hi, Maggie.”

  She turned around. “It’ll be ready in a minute.”

  Dan looked at the clock.

  “I was late starting,” she added.

  “She was reading a book,” said Diana who was sitting at the kitchen table.

  “Not that bloody book again! For God’s sake woman, I’m bloody starving. And you’ve been sitting around reading!”

  Maggie shrugged. “I’m nearly finished it.”

  “You could have written it, it’s taking you so long to read it,” snapped Dan.

  “It’s a big book,” said Diana.