As they were performing the song, Justin’s parents and Maggie’s children entered the store and heard them playing. They walked up to the back of the crowd and listened. Maggie saw them, so when they were done with the song, she said “I see my children over there, so I guess we’re done for the afternoon.” The small crowd applauded and several people came up to Maggie and Justin and asked them for their autographs. Justin may not have had his photo on the cover of Time magazine, but he was well-known in the San Francisco area for playing bass with one of their most famous bands. Maggie’s children and Justin’s parents waited politely for them to be done.
“Thanks kids,” Maggie said as the crowd dispersed. She looked over at Gabe and saw that he was checking out the inventory of electric guitars with Randy.
Gabe pointed at a 1962 Fender Stratocaster and said “That looks just like my Dad’s guitar.”
“Would you like to try it, son?” Randy asked while looking at Maggie.
“It’s o.k. Randy, my son knows how to play.”
Gabe sat down in a chair with the guitar and Randy plugged it into an amplifier. Maggie handed Gabe her guitar pick and he whipped off a few blues licks.
“Wow, I’ll say he does. How old is he?”
“He’s ten.”
“Did his Dad teach him to play like that?”
“Yes, Zak started teaching him when he was very young.”
“You should hear Gabe play mandolin,” said Justin. “Maggie started teaching him mando when he was two.”
“He’s going to be a monster guitar player in a couple years,” Randy said with a stunned look on his face.
Justin looked at Gabe who was still playing and laughed.
“I know, it’s kind of scary.”
Randy looked at Belle and Jake.
“Do they play instruments too?”
“Of course,” Maggie smiled. “There’s no way that they couldn’t play instruments.”
After Gabe was done checking out the Strat, Randy put it back on the wall behind the counter. Justin leaned over and whispered something in Randy’s ear. Randy looked at him and whispered something back. Maggie was occupied with rounding up her brood and ushering them out of the store. They gathered on the sidewalk in front of the store with Justin’s parents, and a couple of minutes later Justin came out of the store.
“That was fun,” he said.
“They certainly have some gorgeous instruments in there,” Maggie replied.
“I know, it’s hard to get out of there without buying something,” Justin said smiling to himself.
“That was a nice man’lin, Mama,” Jake said.
“You’re right dear, it was,” said Maggie smiling.
They all walked back up the hill toward Justin’s parents’ house.
The kids were holding small white paper bags filled with penny candy, and occasionally stopped to have a fireball or jawbreaker. Maggie and Justin held hands, laughing occasionally as they discussed the events of the afternoon. As they approached the house, Justin let go of Maggie’s hand and lingered behind so he could talk to his mother.
“I enjoyed hearing you and Maggie play together dear,” Justin’s mother said.
“Thanks Mom, we enjoyed it too.”
Justin slowed down his gait, until the others had reached the house.
“Mom, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you.”
“What, dear?”
“Well, you know how you asked Maggie if we were going to get married? I was wondering if you could babysit for the kids a couple times so Maggie and I could spend some time alone. I would like to take her kayaking and maybe out to dinner in San Francisco without the kids.”
Justin had a thoughtful look on his face like he was hatching some kind of plan.
“What’s up, Justin?”
“How would you like it if Maggie was your daughter-in-law?” he asked.
Justin’s mother smiled and said, “I think that would be fine.”
.
Chapter 13
The next day, Justin began his campaign to woo Maggie. They spent the morning taking the kids to the beach to fly their new kite, and then Justin’s parents came over in the afternoon to watch the children while Justin took Maggie out sea kayaking.
Justin told Maggie to dress warmly because it sometimes got cold out on the water. They both put on sweatshirts, jeans and sandals since they would have to step into the water to get into the kayaks. They packed a change of clothes in a backpack as Justin wanted to take Maggie out to dinner afterwards. They said goodbye to the kids and Justin’s parents, and then drove down to the kayaking center in Sausalito. After parking the van, they walked over to the sandy beach and rented a double kayak. The staff brought over their kayak and some windbreakers and lifejackets, and after a quick orientation they began paddling out along Sausalito’s waterfront.
“How are you doing, Maggie?” Justin asked.
“This is fantastic, I can’t believe how beautiful it is,” she said as they floated past some harbor seals sunning themselves on a dock.
“Did you see that pelican land on the green houseboat over there?” Justin asked. Sometimes he wasn’t sure how much Maggie could see.
“Yes,” she answered. “Can we paddle up a little closer so I can see it better?”
“Sure thing.”
“What is that mountain in the distance?” she asked.
“That’s Mount Tamalpais. I thought we would take the kids over there in a day or two. The view from the summit is incredible.”
“Well, I like this view of the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Maggie took a small camera out of her pocket.
“Justin, please take some photos for me. I’d like to show them to the kids.”
Another reason that Maggie wanted the photos was so that she could look at them herself. Since her vision was blurry, it helped her remember how things looked if she had a photo that she could look at later. Justin took some pictures of the bridge, the mountain, the houseboats, the seals and the birds. He turned around and took some photos of Maggie, smiling broadly in the sun. He didn’t think he had ever seen her look so relaxed and happy. The sun was just starting to set, reflected in the rosy hue of the harbor. They started getting tired, so they paddled back to the beach and turned in their kayak.
When they got back to the car, Justin had a surprise for Maggie. He had reserved a room in a small inn near the ferry landing so they could spend the night together. His parents had been kind enough to agree to watch the children overnight. Justin grabbed the bag with their change of clothes and they walked over to the inn. He registered at the desk as Mr. and Mrs. William Monroe which made Maggie laugh.
“I guess you’re not used to your new name yet, Maggie,” Justin said and winked at her. “We’re on our honeymoon,” he explained to the woman behind the desk.
“Well, enjoy your stay with us, Mr. Boudreau and Miss Williams.”
“Thank you,” Maggie and Justin said, holding back the laughter until they were out of sight down the corridor to their room.
“You know, sometimes it’s annoying that everyone seems to know who we are,” Maggie said.
There was a knock at the door and when they opened it, there was a waiter standing outside with a bottle of champagne.
“Compliments of the Inn,” he said as Justin tipped him.
They closed the door and Justin said, “See there are benefits to being famous, Maggie.”
“Unless they brought the champagne because we are on our honeymoon,” she said and laughed.
“Speaking of which….” Justin pulled her to him and kissed her for a long time. He started pulling off her sweatshirt and unbuttoned her jeans. He noticed that she was shivering, so he said, “I think a long, hot shower is our first priority,” and he led her into the bathroom. The bathroom was completely steamed up by the time they emerged forty minutes later wrapped up in the white bathrobes that had been provided by the inn. They sat on the bed and Justin started kissing Maggie a
gain.
“Stop for a minute. I have to comb my hair, if I don’t do it while it’s wet, I’ll never be able to get the comb through it.”
“Let me do it, Maggie,” and Justin carefully combed Maggie’s waist length blonde hair which had gotten snarled from the wind when they were kayaking. Maggie didn’t mention it, but this reminded her of the night of her wedding to Zak. Zak had brushed her hair after making love to her before they went down to their wedding reception.
“This is sort of feeling like a honeymoon, Justin,” was all she said. “But a honeymoon without the pressure.”
“I’m not sure exactly what you mean Maggie, since I’ve never been married.”
“I guess when I married Zak I felt like the honeymoon was supposed to have been something incredibly special.”
“And wasn’t it?”
“Well, not exactly. I think both Zak and I felt some stress as a result of unrealistic expectations. It wasn’t exactly the best sex we ever had.”
“I don’t want you to worry about that tonight. It will just be nice spending some time alone without the kids being around.”
They changed into some clean clothes, and then walked out of the hotel into the town so that they could get dinner. They ended up going back to the seafood restaurant where they had taken the kids for lunch two days before. After several cocktails and a relaxed meal, they strolled leisurely back to the inn. They smiled at the woman behind the desk as they walked up to their room. Justin unlocked the door and they entered the room to find the bed turned down, Ghirardelli chocolates on the pillow, and a second bottle of champagne. Maggie laughed when she saw the champagne.
“Well, in this respect it’s not anything like my honeymoon with Zak. I was pregnant and he had just gone through rehab, so neither of us could drink.”
“There’s nothing stopping us from drinking tonight,” Justin said. He smiled as he popped the cork and poured out two glasses of champagne.
“Are you trying to get me drunk so you can have your way with me, Justin Boudreau?”
“That was the plan, Miss Williams.” And he leaned over to kiss Maggie.
Maggie and Justin woke up late the next morning. They lingered in bed until they started feeling guilty for leaving the children for so long. They left a generous tip for the maid and then went down to the desk to pay the bill. Maggie waited in the lobby while Justin paid with his credit card.
On their way out, the desk clerk called after them “Have a nice day, Mr. and Mrs. Boudreau.”
“Well, at least she thinks we’re married,” Maggie laughed.
“Does it seem so unbelievable?” Justin asked seriously.
“Of course not, Justin. It’s just that I’ve been thinking that I may not ever get married again.”
“What about your engagement to Tucker?”
“I guess I’m going to have to talk to him about that. I don’t think I can marry him after spending the last week with you.”
“We could get married Maggie,” Justin said quietly.
“I’m not sure I want to get married again after my divorce.”
“Maggie, you should give me a chance. I would never hurt you the way that Zak did.”
“I know that, Justin. Maybe I just need time to think about it…”
Maggie’s voice trailed off and Justin could tell that she didn’t want to discuss it any more. The drive back to Justin’s place was somewhat subdued. Maggie had a slight headache from the champagne from the night before and Justin was feeling hurt that Maggie hadn’t been more excited about his proposal. When they got home, they thanked Justin’s parents for watching the children. Justin accompanied his parents out to their car in the driveway.
“So how did it go, dear?” his mother asked.
“I’m not quite sure. We had a great night but I’m not sure that Maggie wants to get married again.”
“Maybe she’s not the marrying kind,” Justin’s mother said.
“No, that’s not it. I don’t think she’s gotten over the divorce. Zak hurt her, Maggie caught him cheating on her with the kids’ nanny. There were a lot of other women too that she doesn’t even know about.”
“But you would never do anything like that.”
“I think that Maggie knows that, she’s just a little gun shy.”
“Well, I hope that you can work it out because Jake needs a mother and father and a stable home life. If you need me to sit again, just ask.”
“O.k. Mom, thanks.”
His parents drove out the driveway and Justin walked back to the house with a thoughtful look on his face.
.
Chapter 14
The next day, Maggie and Justin took the children into Sausalito and took the ferry over to San Francisco. The ferry let them off at Pier 1 which was near the bottom of Market Street on Embarcadero. They decided to get tickets for the cable cars before the lines got too long, and then they took the cable car over to Fisherman’s Wharf. Maggie noticed that Justin had a bemused look on his face.
“Thanks for taking us around, Justin. I’m sure that you aren’t thrilled with hanging out with the tourists.”
“No, it’s fine. I can tell the kids love it, especially Jake.”
Jake was excited to ride on the cable car, especially when the gripman rang the bell. The sound made Maggie remember the Rice a Roni commercials that were on television. She started to sing the jingle, “Rice a Roni, the San Francisco treat.” Justin joined her on the line “It starts when cable cars play this song,” but then neither of them could remember how the rest of it went. Gabe and Belle looked at Maggie and Justin like they were insane, but they just laughed. Next Justin started singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” to Maggie in a low voice. The other passengers smiled, but Gabe and Belle looked mortified. Justin started singing even louder in order to tease them. Gabe and Belle looked away and pretended that they didn’t know him. When he was finished, an older lady complimented Justin on his voice.
“Thank you ma’am,” he replied.
“Do you sing professionally?” she asked.
“Actually, I do,” he said. “You’ve probably never heard any of my records though.”
Suddenly, the woman looked more closely at Maggie.
“You look just like Maggie Mae Williams, the country star,” she said.
“A lot of people tell me that,” Maggie answered. “It must be the hair.”
“That’s probably true.”
The woman wished them a good day as she got out at the next stop.
Maggie whispered to Justin, “Maybe I should cut my hair.”
“Mama, how come you lied about who you are?” Belle asked.
“I didn’t actually lie. I just said that a lot of people say that.”
“But why didn’t you tell her who you are?” Belle persisted.
“Because I’m on vacation with my family and it’s nice to have a little privacy sometimes.”
Justin took Maggie’s hand and patted it. He knew that Maggie was basically a shy person and didn’t feel comfortable with the constant attention that came along with fame.
When they got to Fisherman’s Wharf, Justin suggested taking the children to the Maritime National Historic Park. He thought they would be interested in going on board some of the historic vessels like the three-masted schooner and the side-wheel passenger and car ferry. Then they visited Pier 39 to see the sea lions basking on the floating docks. Justin explained that they had started showing up after the Loma Prieta earthquake and were becoming a popular tourist attraction. The children all clamored for stuffed sea lions, which Justin was happy to provide.
By this point, Maggie and Justin noticed that Jake was getting tired from all the walking, so they decided a one hour bus tour of the city would be a good bet. Jake sat in between Maggie and Justin and fell asleep, but the other children enjoyed the tour and the lecture on the history of the city.
After the tour, Maggie and Justin decided that the children had probably had enou
gh and it was time to take the ferry back to Sausalito.
“There’s so much to see here, I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface,” Maggie said.
“We could definitely spend at least a week seeing the sights in the city, but I would like to take the kids out to Muir Woods and Mt. Tam. It’s kind of on the way to my friend Ray’s place in Mill Valley. We could go out there on Saturday and stay overnight and then go to their barbeque on Sunday. I would like everyone in my band to meet you and Jake, Maggie.”
“I’d like that too Justin. I’d like to meet your friends.”
.
Chapter 15
On Saturday morning, they got up early and packed a bag with a change of clothes for everyone and loaded the van with snacks and toys for the children. They planned to see some sights on the way to Ray’s, but first Justin wanted to make a brief stop in Tiburon. He said there was something he needed to pick up at the guitar store.
They found a parking space near Schoenberg’s and then Maggie and the kids followed Justin into the store. He went up to the counter where Randy was ringing up some guitar strings for a customer.
“Hey, Justin. It’s ready, just as we discussed on the phone.”
Randy went into a back room and came back out with a small instrument case.
“Do you want to check it out?” Randy asked.
“I think that Maggie should have the honor,” Justin replied and he smiled at her.
Randy put the case on the counter and Maggie opened it up nervously. Inside was the Weaver mandolin that she had played on their previous trip to Schoenberg’s. She noticed that Randy had changed the strings, attached a braided leather strap to the headstock and installed an endpin jack. She turned and looked at Justin.
“What’s going on, Justin?”
“I put the mandolin on hold the last time we were here and then I called them up and told them that I wanted to buy it for you. I thought you should have a mandolin that you could play while you’re here. Jake and Gabe could play it too. I thought we could take it over to Ray’s and you could play with us this weekend.”
The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) Page 8
