Justin shrugged his shoulders and said “Pretty much.”
“I don’t know Justin, I don’t think I’m cool enough to live in California,” Maggie said and sighed.
Justin laughed. “Oh, Maggie. You’re cool enough to live anywhere.”
She smiled at him for a brief moment and then said, “You know what I mean. After everything we’ve been through trying to get Zak through rehab, I don’t think I can be around constant drug use anymore. I don’t want the kids to get the message that it’s acceptable. Doesn’t it bother you, Justin?”
“It didn’t used to. But now that I’m here with the kids, I can kind of understand your point of view.”
“You wouldn’t want Jake to use drugs?”
“No, of course not Maggie.”
He leaned over and kissed her and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry, my love.”
They remained quiet until Ray opened the sliding door and came into the kitchen to sit with them.
“That was a good practice last night, Maggie. So are you ready to sing with us at the Oakland Coliseum this weekend?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever played a venue that large before, Ray.”
“We played at some pretty big bluegrass festivals, Maggie,” Justin reminded her.
“I guess that’s true and I played at some pretty large venues with Tucker. I guess I can handle it.”
“I’m sure you can Maggie,” Ray said and smiled at her. “We have a great sound guy, so I don’t think you’ll have any problems. It should be a lot of fun.”
Later that afternoon, Maggie and Justin took the kids back to Sausalito. They spent the next several days exploring San Francisco with the children, one day in Chinatown having dim sum and shopping, another day at the Exploratorium, a science and art museum in the historic Palace of Fine Arts. Then Justin persuaded his parents to babysit for a day so that he could take Maggie to visit Berkeley to see where her mother had gone to college. Justin’s parents drove over to his place in Sausalito and borrowed his van to take the children to the beach.
“So how are we going to get around, Justin?” Maggie asked.
“We still have the motorcycle,” Justin said grinning at Maggie.
He opened the door to the hall closet and pulled out two motorcycle helmets and his black leather jacket.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a leather jacket that will fit you, but your denim jacket should be o.k. And you might want to wear something a little dressy because I thought we’d go out to eat.”
Maggie put on some gray wool slacks and a lavender blouse, topped by a black cardigan. She then put on her denim jacket and strapped on her helmet.
Justin smiled at her lovingly.
“God Maggie, you look so cute in that helmet,” he said and kissed her.
Then he put on his jacket and buckled on his helmet and they went out to the driveway to his motorcycle. Justin kicked the stand out of the way and then turned the bike around so that it faced the street. He sat on the bike and told Maggie to get on behind him.
“Put your arms around my waist and hang on tight,” he said as he started the bike and revved the motor.
“What kind of bike is this, Justin?” she asked.
“It’s an old Vincent Black Lightning.”
She laughed. “I hope that’s not some kind of omen.”
Maggie and Justin simultaneously thought of the day that Maggie had been hit by lightning at the Grey Falcon Bluegrass Festival. Her heart had stopped and if it weren’t for the immediate ministrations by a doctor in the crowd, she might have died from cardiac arrest. Justin shuddered for an instant and then immediately reassured her.
“Don’t worry Maggie, you’ll be fine,” he said loudly so she could hear him over the roar of the bike.
They took off down the driveway and rode through Sausalito until they got to Route 1. Maggie was afraid to look around at first, but after a while she got used to being on the bike and was especially appreciative of the view as they drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. They drove through San Francisco and then took Interstate 80 over the Bay Bridge into Oakland.
Justin stopped first at Jack London Square.
“You’d probably be interested in this area Maggie, since you were an English major. Jack London lived around here and went to college at Berkeley. That bar is Heinold’s First and Last Chance saloon where London used to hang out. They also moved the cabin that he lived in from Alaska and reassembled it next door. I thought we’d go in the saloon and have a beer.”
Justin took Maggie’s hand as they walked through the front door.
“Careful Maggie, the floors are incredibly slanted, probably from the 1906 earthquake.”
Justin and Maggie sat down at one of the three small tables in the bar.
“I can’t believe how small this place is, I don’t think it can hold more than fifteen people,” Maggie said.
Since it was the middle of the afternoon, there were only three other people in the place. Justin went up to the bar and asked for two pints of Linden Street beer. He brought the beer back and sat down next to Maggie.
“I thought you might like to try this beer, it’s made right down the street from here.”
Maggie took a sip and smiled at Justin. “It’s great,” she said and licked a little foam off her upper lip. Justin leaned over to kiss her.
“It’s pretty dark in here, Justin. I’m having a little trouble seeing.”
After a minute or two, Maggie found that her eyes were starting to adjust to the low light. She noticed that the walls and ceiling were covered with old business cards.
“I think this bar was built around 1880 and it still has its original gaslights,” Justin said.
“It’s very atmospheric,” Maggie said agreeably.
“That table over there is where Jack London used to sit and do his homework when he attended college. The guy who owned this bar paid his tuition to Berkeley.”
“I read ‘Call of the Wild’ and ‘White Fang’ when I was in high school, so I think this is pretty cool.”
“I think that Ambrose Bierce and Robert Louis Stephenson used to come here too.”
Half an hour later, they finished their beers and went next door to check out London’s reconstructed cabin from the Klondike. It was built of logs and had a sod roof.
“It’s hard to imagine living in a house this small. I think the interior is about the size of your kitchen,” Maggie said.
“Makes it easy to heat though,” Justin replied.
Justin and Maggie walked back to Justin’s bike and then rode up Broadway and Telegraph Avenue to the Berkeley campus.
“See that café there Maggie? That’s where Allen Ginsberg wrote ‘Howl’.”
“Justin, you could give tours for English majors,” said Maggie laughing.
“And that small park is People’s Park where there were a lot of violent demonstrations during the 1970’s. The open space at the top of the road is Sproul Plaza. There were a lot of demonstrations there too. The tall tower is the Campanile.”
“Yes, my mother told me about that. Do you think we could park the bike for a while? I’d like to go over to the bookstore in the Student Union and get a sweatshirt for my mother.”
“Sure, Maggie.”
There was a garage nearby so they parked the bike there and walked over to the Student Union.
“This is a huge school. I think it’s ten times the size of my college.”
“It probably wasn’t this big when your mother went to school here.”
“No, probably not.”
Maggie had fun shopping in the bookstore and bought a sweatshirt for her mother and t-shirts for her children. She noticed that Justin kept checking his watch.
“What’s going on, Justin?”
“I have a surprise for you, Maggie. I made dinner reservations at Alice Waters’ restaurant Chez Panisse.”
“I thought you had to wait a month to get a reservation there.”
“Yes, for
ordinary mortals, but I am a rock and roll god,” Justin joked. “Actually, I know someone who works there, so she got us in.”
After a short walk down Shattuck Avenue, they arrived at the restaurant, right on time for the first seating. Maggie was starving, they hadn’t eaten anything for lunch and had worked up an appetite sightseeing.
Justin’s friend Susan met them at the entrance. Maggie recognized her from Ray’s party, she was one of the young women who had been sitting in the hot tub. After exchanging pleasantries, Susan seated them at a small table in the cozy wood-paneled dining room. Justin explained that the restaurant featured a set four course menu that changed daily. He told her that Alice Waters was a proponent of the ‘Slow Food Movement’ and that all the food for the meal was organic and grown locally. Susan asked Justin if he would like to order some wine, and after looking at the wine list, he decided on the Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc. Susan went off to get it, and Justin reached across the table for Maggie’s hand.
“It’s too bad that we don’t have time to go on any winery tours. You’re going to have to come back some time, I’m sure you would enjoy that.”
“I feel like there were so many things that we didn’t see while we were here. I think a return trip would definitely be a good idea.”
“Maybe you could stay longer the next time. It might be fun to spend the summer here while the kids are out of school.”
“I think the kids would enjoy that, I know I would,” Maggie replied.
Just then, Susan appeared with the bottle of wine. She uncorked it for them, and poured a small amount in a wine glass for Justin to taste. After he indicated that it was fine, she poured two glasses for them and then returned to the kitchen. A few minutes later she appeared with the warm asparagus salad with black truffle vinaigrette. Maggie started eating and said, “Oh my god, Justin. I think this is the best salad that I’ve ever had.” Justin laughed.
“This is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the world, Maggie. I’ve only eaten here a couple of times, but I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed.”
The next course was Dungeness crab in a cannellini bean velouté with curry.
“I can’t believe it, but this is even better than the crab that I had in Tiburon.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it, Maggie.”
The crab was followed by grilled quail with pancetta, young spinach and artichokes and Sicilian-style roasted potatoes.
“I’m not sure that you could do a restaurant like this in other parts of the country. The produce from California is so fresh and varied.”
Justin agreed with Maggie.
“It might be tough in Boston finding fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter. I guess you would have to adjust the menu to compensate for that,” he said.
Susan finally brought the dessert, a Meyer lemon soufflé. Maggie thought it was the best dessert she had ever eaten in her whole life. Susan also brought them some Blue Bottle French press coffee which helped them recover from the effects of the bottle of wine.
As they finished their dessert, Maggie reached across the table and took Justin’s hand.
“Thank you so much, my love. That was an extraordinary experience. I think it was the best meal of my life.”
Justin smiled, extremely gratified to hear this.
As they were leaving the restaurant, Justin whispered to Susan.
“Thank you so much for the incredible meal. I put your name on the guest list for the concert at the Coliseum if you want to come.”
Susan beamed at Justin.
“I’d love to.”
“O.k., just check in at the box office. You can come hang out with us back stage before the concert.”
Maggie and Justin said goodnight and left the restaurant to walk back to his bike.
“How about if we go to San Francisco now? I thought we could go have a drink at the Top of the Mark,” Justin said.
“That’s where my parents went on their first date.”
“I know Maggie, I remember you telling me that. The view of the city from up there is amazing.”
They got on Justin’s bike and rode the I-80 across the Bay Bridge back into San Francisco. Justin drove to the top of Nob Hill and parked the bike in the garage of the Mark Hopkins hotel. They entered the lobby and Justin excused himself to talk to the desk clerk. He asked the desk clerk if he could leave their helmets and backpack with their purchases from the bookstore. The desk clerk said he would be happy to watch them.
Justin and Maggie then walked over to the elevator and took it up to the 19th floor. They stepped out into the Sky Lounge. Justin walked over to the hostess and told her his name, and she led them over to a table next to the window. The view was incredible, just as Justin had promised. The Sky Lounge had a 360-degree view of San Francisco. Justin pulled up a chair next to Maggie, and whispered in her ear.
“Can you see the view, Maggie?”
“Mostly,” she answered “Is that the Golden Gate Bridge over there?”
“Yes, my love.” Justin replied.
The waitress came to their table and Justin ordered a bottle of the Krug Grande Cuvée champagne. When she returned with the wine and glasses, she presented Maggie with a red rose. After she left, Justin took Maggie’s hand.
“There’s a special reason that I brought you here, Maggie.”
He looked deeply into her eyes and then he leaned over to kiss her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gray velvet box. He handed it to Maggie and she felt butterflies in her stomach.
“Maggie,” he said and paused for a minute and smiled at her.
“Maggie, I love you, please marry me.”
Maggie felt her eyes fill with tears. Justin immediately looked concerned.
“Don’t cry, my love.”
He waited another moment for the tears to subside.
“So what do you think?” he asked.
“Justin, I love you too. Yes, I will marry you.”
Maggie kissed Justin deeply for several minutes. When she was done, Justin filled their glasses with some more champagne.
“Open the box, Maggie.”
Maggie had almost forgotten about it in her excitement at Justin’s proposal. She opened the box, and nestled inside was a platinum engagement ring with a large sapphire surrounded by two sparkling diamonds.
“Oh Justin, the ring is so beautiful,” she said and tears started falling from her eyes again.
“I thought it was symbolic of our relationship, the blue sapphire stands for Jake, and the white diamonds on either side are you and me, Maggie.”
Justin took the ring out of the box and slid it onto Maggie’s ring finger. It fit perfectly.
“How did you know the size, Justin?” she asked.
“I borrowed your ring from Tucker and the jeweler was able to figure out your size from that.”
“Oh…. I don’t know how I’m going to tell Tucker,” Maggie said.
“We’ll tell him together when we get back to Nashville.”
“It’s going to be difficult, I can’t bear the thought of hurting him. But I think we were meant to be together, Justin. I love you so much and I think I’ve always loved you.”
“I’ve been in love with you since the first night we met in New Orleans, Maggie. I should have told you then.”
“If you had, then Gabe and Belle would never have been born, so I can’t have regrets about that. I’m just happy that we’re together now.”
“Me too,” said Justin and he kissed Maggie again.
After they finished their champagne, Justin had another surprise for Maggie. He had reserved a suite in the hotel so that they could spend the night together alone. He said that his parents had been happy to watch the kids, especially when he told them that he planned to ask Maggie to marry him.
When they got to the room, Justin slowly undressed Maggie until all she was wearing was her new engagement ring. After she got into the bed, he took his clothes off too.
Justin was very athletic and he was taller and more muscular than Zak had been. Maggie looked at him appreciatively for a moment before he slid into bed next to her. He started kissing her, first on her mouth and then worked his way down her body.
“Maggie, turn over and I’ll give you a massage,” he said huskily.
She complied and he started lightly massaging her neck and shoulders. Then he made her turn over so he could repeat the process on her front side. He started kissing her again until she was almost breathless.
“Justin, please, I can’t wait any longer. I want you,” she whispered.
“Maggie, I love you so much,” he responded. “I’m so happy that we can love each other for the rest of our lives.”
He proceeded to make love to her very tenderly, concerned only with bringing her as much pleasure as he could. He climaxed several moments after she did and then kissed her and held her close to him until they both drifted off to sleep.
They woke up late the next morning.
“Maggie, we don’t have to check out until two o’clock. Why don’t we make good use of our time,” he said and smiled.
Maggie smiled back.
“It’s your turn, my love. I’m going to do everything in my power to make you feel absolutely incredible.”
And she did.
After they were done, Justin ordered breakfast to be delivered to the suite. They ate in a leisurely fashion at the dining table in the room, enjoying the view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the rare opportunity to be alone together for an extended amount of time. Finally, as the checkout time approached, they left the room with regret.
“We can always get my parents to sit again and come back,” Justin said as he put his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the hall.
“I’d like that,” Maggie said. “It’s so nice to be alone and with no pressure to get back to the kids right away.”
“Well, there’s always the honeymoon, Maggie. We can look forward to that,” and a smile lit up Justin’s face at the thought.
They stopped in front of the elevator, and Maggie took the opportunity to kiss Justin for several minutes until they were interrupted by the elevator doors opening. Maggie and Justin took the elevator down to the lobby, checked out and went to the garage. They put on their helmets and got on Justin’s motorcycle. Maggie hugged Justin tightly and they rode back to Sausalito.
The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) Page 11
