by Marcia Ware
“Darla,” he asked.
She was willing to bet her next paycheck that this handsome guy standing in front of her was the source of Maggie’s distraction. “Yeah,” she said with a smile. “You’re Joe, aren’t you?”
Joe was afraid of any negative conversation that might have concerned him. “Yeah,” he said sheepishly.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, all I know is good stuff about you,” Darla said with a wink.
Joe blushed.
“And there’s no need to worry. Girlfriend’s had her poker face on for the most part all day,” she said. “But I’m not gonna lie; she’s been a bit diverted. Said something about having the best and worst night of her life last night?” Her intonation of the end of the phrase bent upwards, as if she was hoping to glean some information from him.
Joe smiled and said, “Well, I don’t, um…date…and tell.” He punctuated his sentence with a wink of his own.
“You’re a stinker. I like that in a man.”
Joe laughed at the flirtatious moxie of the petite blonde. “I know you’re taking Maggie to the airport today, but I was wondering if I could talk to you about surprising her at the airport when she gets back.”
Darla was touched. Particularly in light of the slight despair she’d seen in Maggie’s eyes. “I think she’d love that,” she said with genuine graciousness. “I’ll not say a word.”
Just then, a muffled round of cheers could be heard from within the control room. The door opened, and various ones exited, with Charles saying, “Girl, you are the Queen of the one-take! Good Job, honey.”
“Guess they’re done,” said Joe.
“She’s got a few minutes before we have to head out,” said Darla. She handed him a slip of paper. “Here’s her return flight info. Go talk to her. I know she’d love to see you.”
“Thanks Darla. It was nice to meet you.”
“You too, sugar.” As he walked away, she looked at the woman standing next to her with whom she’d been chatting. Both of them offered low whistles of appreciation.
Joe waded through a sea of individuals to make his way back to Maggie. He stopped at the doorway and saw her chatting amiably with a tall, handsome African-American man. Joe couldn’t tell what they were saying, but if he went only by body language, it would seem that they had a very familiar level of comfort with one another. The young man grasped her hand and she responded by covering her remaining hand over his.
As Maggie and Joe locked eyes, he felt his own initial fears and ambivalence return. He managed a smile and strode across the room with manufactured confidence. “You were amazing, Mags,” he said as he reached her.
Maggie felt a rush of excitement shoot through every corner of her body as she reached out to take his hand. “Joe, I want you to meet Jared Fox,” she said. “Jared, this is Joe Buchanan.”
From his waist-length, immaculately styled locs to his ripped jeans, threadbare pashmina and faded bomber jacket, Jared Fox looked every inch the quintessential artist. As Joe extended his hand, he inwardly chuckled at the idea that this was someone Grace would have found fascinating on sight. He could hear Grace go on and on about how she ‘dug his rock star vibe,’ and how he’d be perfect for Maggie.
In that moment, Joe was reluctantly inclined to agree.
Jared’s smile immediately illuminated the features on his boyish brown face. “Very nice to meet you,” he said with a strong baritone. “Maggie, I’ll talk to you later. Are we still on for dinner when you get back?”
“Absolutely. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas. To both of you,” he said as he answered his ringing cell phone.
Joe gave Jared a polite nod.
After saying goodbye to Charles and acknowledging the compliments of the other musicians as they passed by, Joe and Maggie made their way out to Darla’s car.
“I wonder where she is,” said Maggie, looking around. “Oh well, she knows what time we have to leave. Did you enjoy yourself today? How much of it did you see?”
Joe hair was instantly flipped away from his face as he stood in the direction of the wind. He was no longer able to hide the mounting disappointment he was feeling and his expression began to darken. “I caught the last song, and that deal you did at the end. Like I said, you were absolutely awesome.”
Maggie noticed the shift. “Thanks,” she said tentatively. “What’s wrong?”
Joe stared down at the ground and transferred his weight from foot to foot, partly due to the chill that the wind had brought, and partly from nervous apprehension.
“Maggie,” he began.
Maggie’s heart began to sink. It was an all too familiar tone: A tone that for her had always preceded a supreme letdown.
It was the tone a 13 year old boy in her science class used just before he discouraged her in his gauche teenage way from having a crush on him because he thought she was fat and ugly.
It was the tone that three different gospel labels had right before they told her how great she sounded, but felt that she didn’t have the image to promote a successful singing career.
It was the tone Charles had used when she told him she still had dreams of branching out on her own.
Bracing herself once again, she immediately noticed how much more adept she was at handling the moment the older she became. Perhaps by this point, she was simply numb. She looked him squarely in the eye.
“Yes, Joe?” she said without an ounce of weakness.
Joe felt himself losing ground, and struggled to rally. He said her name again. “Maggie…”
Maggie folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, daring him to go on. His cowardice won…for the moment.
“I just wanted to say, thank you for this,” he said, showing her that he was wearing her gift.
She softened briefly. “That goes both ways. I loved what you gave me. I didn’t think it was appropriate to wear to a recording session though.”
They were both relieved that they were able to laugh, even if only for a second. But the wall in Joe’s mind was still high, so he chose to stay his course.
“Listen, about last night…”
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Maggie said, cutting him off. Better for her to administer the initial blow - she found that it hurt less that way. “It was a huge mistake. I mean, what were we thinking?”
“Mag, I don’t know what’s happening with me,” he said. “I do know you mean the world to me…”
“But…”
“That’s just it; I don’t know how to fill in that blank. I mean, I think I do. When I’m by myself, I can come up with six ways till Sunday why we shouldn’t get involved. Why I’m not ready to take that step. But then I see you…”
“Maggie, we need to get going in five minutes,” Darla called from the main door of the studio.
“Okay,” she replied.
She returned her attention back to Joe. He picked up where he left off.
“Then I see you…and it’s like…everything just goes out the window.” He leaned in closer to her just as her perfume wafted his way.
“I understand,” Maggie breathed.
Joe shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He was afraid that if he touched her, even put his fingertips against hers, it would all be over with no going back. He continued to speak from his fear.
“I just don’t wanna hold you back, Maggie.”
“Hold me back? How would you…”
“You’ve got so much ahead of you. I know that this is just a stepping stone for you. You should be with someone who can help you celebrate who you are and what you do so well…”
Maggie was genuinely confused. “Joe, what are you talking about?”
“You’re young. You’re on the road. You need someone with whom you’ve got more in common.” He pointed in the direction of the building. “What about that guy you were talking to a few minutes ago? Jake?”
It took Maggie a few seconds but then it dawned on her. “No, Jared.
What about him?”
“Yeah, Jared. He’s good looking; you guys are in the same profession…”
Maggie held up her hand to stop him. Hold up!” she said. Shaking her head as if that action will help her make sense of what Joe was insinuating, she asked once again, “Jared?
“I saw the two of you talking, it looked fairly intimate…”
“Jared?!”
“Yeah, I think we covered that…”
“Joe, I…I…don’t know how to even respond to that. Do you really think…”
Maggie scoffed again as Joe attempted to protest. “Do I think what, Maggie?”
“I have to go, Joe. Merry Christmas.”
“No!” He grabbed her hand. “Do I think what?”
Maggie wanted to walk away. In truth, she wanted to run. But she wasn’t going to let him off the hook with a simple dramatic exit. She turned to face him.
“Joe, really consider what you’ve just implied…in light of what happened last night.”
His face softened with immediate understanding. How could he have been so shallow to believe that Maggie would connect with him so passionately in one moment, only to offer her affection to someone else not even twenty-four hours later? He knew that he was merely cultivating excuses for not getting close to her. He felt embarrassed and childish.
Just then, Darla came to the car. “Maggie,” she said. “We should get going.”
The tension between Maggie and Joe was obvious, forcing Darla to waste no time in getting behind the wheel and closing the door to offer them a final few seconds of privacy.
“Maggie,” Joe finally said. “I’m sorry. Really, I am.”
Maggie then said something that she would regret for the rest of her days. Her eyes narrowed as she hissed: “You’re right Joe. From where I stand, you’re about as sorry as it gets.”
His hurt was visible immediately. Maggie turned away and got into the car. She couldn’t believe how quickly she lashed out, simply to wound him. It was something Richard would have done and it disgusted her.
As he had done in his driveway just one night before, Joe stood in the parking lot and watched helplessly as another car took Maggie away.
Jared jogged over to Joe, a look of disappointment on his face. “Oh man, did Maggie just leave?”
“Um, yeah,” Joe said with a heavy heart. Jared motioned to a tall, sturdy woman with a deep complexion. She had a quiet beauty and uncomplicated sense of dress.
“Dang,” said Jared. “My fiancée just showed up, and I wanted her to meet Maggie.”
Joe blinked and recovered from his daydreamed state. “Fiancée?”
Jared glowed as the woman joined him and took his hand. “Yeah, Maggie’s gonna sing at our wedding in the spring, and we’re gonna take her out to dinner when she gets back so we can go over the songs, and thank her in advance.”
“She’s singing at your wedding,” he said, stunned.
“Uh huh,” replied Jared. “I was hoping to catch her before she went to the airport so they could at least meet ahead of time. I’m sorry; I’ve forgotten your name. Joe, was it?”
“Yes, I’m Joe.”
“Well Joe, meet the love of my life, Diana.”
“Diana, like the huntress,” Joe replied, extending his hand. Diana gracefully offered hers as they shook.
“Exactly,” she said with a bright smile. “I hunted this one down for sure!”
Joe hid his embarrassment by laughing along with the couple. Completely floored, Joe set his gaze in the direction of the car and sighed. “Well,” he said as he fumbled with his car keys, “It was great meeting both of you.”
“You too,” Jared responded. “I don’t know how long you’ve been friends with her, but Maggie has been like a big sister to me since I moved here three years ago. She heard me sing at a showcase, and kinda took me under her wing. Got me connected with some cool friends of hers. Now I’m getting ready to sign my own deal. She even co wrote a couple of songs with me. Didn’t charge a thing. She’s amazing, isn’t she?”
Joe found it difficult to breathe; it was as if someone has set a boulder on his chest. Somehow, he managed to say, “Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
At the stoplight, Darla paused before turning left off of Broadway to slip onto Interstate 40. Maggie stared out of her window, not saying a word, fighting her tears every second of the way.
“I suppose there will be no seriously juicy details to be shared, will there,” Darla said, half joking. Maggie glanced over at her briefly, yet said nothing as she searched for her ticket and ID.
“I will take that as a no,” Darla said.
As she pulled up to the curb side check in, Darla helped Maggie with her bags and the two of them said their goodbyes. She decided to keep her promise to Joe, saying nothing about him surprising her when she returned on the 26th, but made plans to be waiting for Maggie at Baggage Claim, just in case.
Chapter 5
Christmas morning found Joe Buchanan rising before the rest of his family. The Hammonds were down from Ohio, sleeping peacefully in the master bedroom; his mother was given Gwen’s room, while Sissy and the children camped out on the top floor in the bonus room.
Having fixed a pot of coffee and a healthy fire in the den, Joe took his place at one end of the sofa and sipped thoughtfully. The last time he sat there, Maggie was a mere three feet away, laughing with him, encouraging him, allowing him to be there for her. Joe remembered the song she sang and played that night - a musical picture he was certain she’d painted especially for him.
The sweetness of that moment, however, was obliterated by the memory of their last conversation. Joe shuddered at the thought of it all as he took another sip of coffee.
Undoubtedly, Maggie brought the hammer down hard, but Joe knew he deserved it. He’d been a fool that day. He realized that whatever his feelings for her, there was no excuse legitimate enough to deny that fact. He’d have to find a way to win back her trust; they’d been friends for far too long. Surely something could be salvaged from this mess.
Joe’s thoughts were broken by the sound of softly shuffling footsteps, forcing his vision of Maggie into thin air.
Elise was making her way to the couch, carrying her own mug of coffee. Tough as nails in the world of business and finance - a product of her father who served in the Greek army before immigrating to the US to begin his own successful company - Anastasia Elise Chrisagis Buchanan suffered no fools gladly.
But when it came to her family members, she was simply “Gramma B,” her toughness tempered by a fierce love and loyalty. Grace always referred to her mother in law as The Lioness, protecting all within her world. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to maintain the well being of her people.
She groaned as she sat down opposite her son. “I want you to know,” she said in the genteel inflection she’d acquired over decades of living in the South, “that since I’m too old and tired to do it myself, I’ve decided to put out a contract hit on that boy of yours.”
Joe shook his head and laughed. “He jumped in your bed with one of his Wrestler Federation pile driver moves, didn’t he?”
“What in Heaven’s name ever happened to entering an old lady’s room politely, kissing her on the cheek and saying, ‘Merry Christmas Gramma’?” she exclaimed. “I know you said you tried to raise that little knucklehead right, but I’m telling you, he’s a terror!”
“I’m really sorry Mom. He didn’t hurt you or anything, did he?”
More amused than annoyed, Elise allowed a smile to curl a corner of her mouth. “No, I’m fine. But I should milk an injury or something, just to make him feel bad. Maybe even throw in a threat to cut him out of the will again for good measure. Now, what’s going on with you?”
Joe took another sip of his coffee and waxed thoughtful for a moment. “Oh I’m just sitting here thinking...reminiscing. You know, getting sentimental because it’s Christmas. I’m missing Grace, that’s all.”
Rising fr
om the sofa, Elise moved her delicate, 110-pound body directly between her son and the fireplace. Extending her hand, she said. “Hello there. I’m Elise Buchanan. It’s nice to meet you.”
Joe stared at her with a confused expression. “What are you talking about, lady?”
“I’m introducing myself, because apparently you think we’ve just met. That the biggest line of horse hooey I’ve ever heard,” she said. “You think I don’t know my own son?”
Joe smiled lovingly into his mother’s face and brushed his hand against her cheek. In what world did he ever think he could fool this woman?
“Oh, I’m a jerk, Ma,” he said finally.
“When it comes to expressing an honest, romantic emotion, most men are,” she said.
Joe was astonished at her insight. “How did you know?”
“Okay, again we’re back at the idea that you and I are strangers,” she said. “I saw this coming as far back as Labor Day. Don’t you remember?”
Joe nodded as he rolled his eyes. “Now tell me,” she said. “What did you do? Because I know it wasn’t Maggie. The girl couldn’t hurt a fly.”
“You’re right. Maggie’s amazing. And wonderful. The last few months, I’ve gone from just feeling grateful for her help in my life to something else…something really solid for her.”
“And then, you chickened out, right?”
After an embarrassed chuckle, Joe said, “Worse. I pushed her away. Told her she should find someone with whom she had more in common. Someone who had a creative background and an open mind. Someone who understood the road she was on, and who she was inside and out. Someone…who might make a better fit into her family portrait.” Elbows on his knees, Joe’s head dropped in shame with the mention of his final sentence.
It was a rarity to catch Elise Buchanan in a moment of shock, but somehow, her son had managed to do just that.
“Please tell me you didn’t say that,” she said.
“Well, no,” Joe admitted. “I didn’t say the thing about fitting in the family portrait.”
“Thank Heaven.”
“No, before I got that far, the damage had already been done.”
