As they opened the door to Justin’s house, they were greeted by Justin’s parents and Maggie’s children. Justin’s mother looked at Maggie’s hand and smiled when she saw the engagement ring.
“Is there something you want to tell us?” she asked her son.
“Give us a chance to get in the door,” Justin laughed.
Maggie looked at her children and smiled.
“Justin and I have decided to get married,” she said simply.
The children looked surprised. Justin’s parents had satisfied smiles on their faces.
“Congratulations, son.”
Justin’s mother kissed him on the cheek and then took Maggie by the hand.
“Welcome to the family,” she said to her. “We couldn’t be more pleased.”
Belle noticed the ring on Maggie’s hand.
“Oh, Mama, can I see your ring?”
Maggie showed it to her and Belle said “It’s so pretty, Mama.”
Maggie held her breath for a moment, hoping that Belle wouldn’t mention anything about Tucker’s ring in front of Justin’s parents. But fortunately she didn’t.
Gabe furrowed his brow for a moment.
“So is Uncle Justin going to be our new step-dad?”
“Yes, dear.”
“I thought he was my Daddy,” Jake said a little nervously.
Maggie laughed for a second.
“He’s still your Daddy, Jake. But once we get married then he will be Gabe and Belle’s step-dad too.”
Jake seemed relieved that he was still going to enjoy a special relationship with Justin.
Justin pulled a bottle of champagne out of the refrigerator and took seven wine glasses out of the cabinet. He poured a little champagne in every glass.
“O.k., everybody take a glass. I thought I would make a toast for good luck.”
The children seemed torn between being delighted that they were allowed to have some champagne and feeling like they were getting away with something they shouldn’t be doing.
Justin looked lovingly at Maggie.
“Thank you Maggie, for agreeing to marry me and sharing your family. I will love you always.”
“Thank you, Justin,” she replied. “I love you too.”
Maggie’s children were a little shocked to see her kiss Justin.
After they finished drinking the champagne, Belle spoke up.
“Mama, I’m really glad you’re marrying Uncle Justin because you are always so happy together.”
Tears filled Maggie’s eyes as she hugged Belle.
“Thank you dear. That was a beautiful thing to say.”
.
Chapter 19
Maggie woke up early on Saturday morning, too excited to sleep. She was going to sing with Justin’s band at the Oakland Coliseum that evening and realized that she was feeling nervous about it. Usually with her own band, she rehearsed their songs until she could play them in her sleep. She had only sung with Justin’s band a couple of times and she wasn’t even sure what songs they were going to play. They were notorious for making up their sets as they went along which really kept the musicians on their toes. The fans liked that because no two concerts were the same.
Maggie lingered in bed, trying not to move since she didn’t want to wake Justin. But finally, she heard the kids rustling around in the kitchen, so she decided it was time to get up.
“Just a couple more minutes, Maggie,” Justin murmured still half-asleep.
“That’s o.k., you go back to sleep. I’ll take care of the kids.”
Maggie went into the kitchen to supervise breakfast. The children were also excited about the concert. Justin’s parents had agreed to watch them backstage while Maggie and Justin performed with the band. They were planning to come over to Justin’s in the middle of the afternoon so they could all drive over to Oakland together.
The children were talking loudly, so Maggie suggested that they all walk down to the beach to fly the kite. She figured that Justin needed to get some extra sleep and he could do that better in a quiet house. He woke up an hour later to find himself alone. He called out for Maggie but was only greeted by silence. He decided to get up and take a shower and make himself breakfast. He liked to eat three good meals the day of a show so that he would have plenty of energy to get through the concert. He was just finishing his eggs and pancakes when Maggie returned with the children who were still exploding with energy.
Justin looked at Maggie and laughed.
“I just hope they don’t run out of energy before the show starts,” he said.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that Justin, although they’ll probably be exhausted tomorrow.”
“By the way, I have something for everyone,” Justin said mysteriously. He went into his bedroom and found a paper bag which he brought into the kitchen. He took some t-shirts out of the bag and handed them out to all the children. They were emblazoned with the name of his band and the name of the venue and the date.
“Wow, cool,” said Gabe. “Thanks, Justin.”
Maggie took the small t-shirt intended for Jake and put it on him over his clothes. It was so big that it hung down to his knees.
“This is a special t-shirt for your Dad’s band, dear,” Maggie said.
Jake smiled and echoed Gabe by saying “Wow, cool,” making Maggie and Justin laugh. Belle had taken her t-shirt into the bathroom and when she emerged she was wearing it almost like it was a dress, cinched in with a belt over her shorts. Maggie and Justin noticed that she was also wearing the seaglass earrings that Justin had bought for her in Sausalito.
“You look very pretty, Belle,” Justin said and she smiled at the compliment.
The children then decided to go sit out on the patio, leaving Maggie and Justin alone.
“I’m kind of nervous about singing tonight, Justin. How big is the Coliseum?”
“I think it holds about 50,000 people Maggie. You’ll be o.k. We’ll make sure that you have ear monitors and that you can hear yourself over the band during the sound check.”
Justin remembered that Maggie had problems in the past at some of the bluegrass festivals hearing herself sing through some of the stage monitors. Since she couldn’t see well enough to pick up on visual cues from the other band members, it was especially important that she could hear well.
“So did you finally decide on what you’re going to wear?”
“Yes, how about you?” Maggie teased. She knew that Justin never really cared about what he wore when he performed.
“I think I’ve decided on a purple tunic top and a pair of black pants,” she continued. “I’ll bring the black sweater in case I get cold. I always wear pants now ever since the time I found out that some of my male fans liked to sit in the front row at my concerts so they could look up my short skirts.”
“Yeah, that’s why I don’t wear short skirts,” Justin said and laughed.
He was thinking that Maggie’s description of her clothes for the concert sounded a little matronly, so he was surprised when she emerged from his bedroom wearing skin tight black leather pants and a purple sequin top with a plunging v-neckline.
“Wow, Maggie, that top is pretty sexy. Just don’t bend over when you’re on stage.”
“I am wearing underwear you know,” and she gave him a little glimpse of her black lace bra.
He put his arm around her waist and was starting to kiss her when he heard his parents at the door.
“We’re always being interrupted,” he said and laughed.
“That’s why it’s always so great when we are finally alone,” Maggie replied.
Justin went to let his parents in the house and the children came in from the back patio.
“Thanks again for agreeing to watch the kids while we’re on stage,” Justin said.
“No problem dear,” Justin’s mother replied. “We’re looking forward to the concert. We haven’t seen you play with your band in a year or two. And we’re especially looking forward to hearin
g Maggie sing.”
Maggie smiled at Justin’s mother and thanked her.
“O.k., let’s have a quick lunch and then head out to Oakland. We should probably get there a couple hours before the concert starts,” Justin said.
Justin drove Maggie and the children to the Coliseum in his van, and his parents followed them in their car. They figured if they took the two cars, then Justin’s parents could take the children home early if they got bored. They pulled into the special parking lot and checked in with the security guards. Justin led them through a side door to the area in back of the stage where the band usually hung out before the show. Justin’s band had played at the Coliseum dozens of times over the years, so this gig wasn’t a big deal to them.
The security guard nodded at Justin as he led everyone to the band’s dressing room. Justin knocked on the door, and a voice called out from inside the room, “Wait a minute.” They waited for a couple minutes and then finally Ray said, “O.k. you can come inside now.”
Maggie could tell by the pungent smell that they had at least been smoking a joint. As they walked in the room, Belle wrinkled her nose at the smell.
“Hey Justin, hey Maggie,” Ray said. He smiled at the children. “Are you excited about the show?” They all nodded yes. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Boudreau. We haven’t seen you at a show in a while. It’s good to see you.”
Justin’s parents smiled back.
Ray turned towards Justin again.
“So where do your parents and kids want to watch the show? They can either watch from the side of the stage or we have some extra seats up in one of the boxes. They might be able to see better from up there. Denise and the kids are going to sit up in the box.”
Justin looked at Maggie and thought for a second.
“Maybe my parents should take the kids up to the box. The music won’t be so loud up there, it gets pretty loud on stage. “
“I’d like to watch from the side of the stage so I can see the band play,” Gabriel said.
“Me too, Daddy,” Jake chimed in.
“What do you think Maggie?” Justin asked.
“Well, I think it would be o.k. so long as no one gets underfoot.”
She turned towards the children and said, “And you should let the band have some privacy in the dressing room, as they need to warm up for the show.”
Maggie saw a half-smile on Gabriel’s face. She had a feeling that he knew exactly what warming up for the show meant.
One of the members of the sound crew on the side of the stage cleared his throat loudly. Justin turned to his parents and said, “Maybe you can watch the kids for a while so Maggie and I can do the sound check.”
The children and Justin’s parents sat in some chairs at the rear of the stage, while Maggie and Justin went to the front of the stage to check out their microphones. Justin had Maggie sing into her mic and he helped adjust the stand until the microphone was the exact right height for her. A member of the sound crew explained to Maggie that they didn’t have any monitors on stage and that all the musicians had to wear a small receiver and stereo ear monitors. He held out the ear monitors to her which looked like hearing aids. Then he asked Maggie and Justin to sing into their mics so he could check the levels. The rest of the musicians also checked their mics and tried playing their instruments. Next the sound man requested that they play a song so that he could check the mix. Ray looked at the band and started to play the “Hesitation Blues”. When they were done with that number, then Ray suggested that Maggie sing “Me and Bobby McGee”.
“I don’t think I practiced that with you guys,” Maggie said.
“I know,” Ray said. “I’m sure you must know it though.”
Maggie looked over at Justin and laughed briefly. They had played this song many times together in the Bayou Blasters.
“Yeah, I know it. Key of A.”
The band kicked off the song and Maggie started singing the lead. She noticed that she was having a hard time hearing herself in the tinny-sounding ear monitor. She looked at the sound man and pointed at her ear, and he adjusted the sound so that she could hear herself a little better. When they finished that song, Ray asked her to sing a little of “Piece of My Heart”. She blasted out the first verse, and the sound man sitting at the console in the arena gave her a thumbs-up. The band then proceeded to briefly run through a couple more songs until they were completely satisfied with the sound.
“Of course it will sound different once you get 50,000 bodies packed in here,” Justin said. “So they’ll have to adjust it again, but I think that’s the best we can do for now.”
Maggie and Justin went to the back of the stage where his parents and the children were waiting.
“That was cool Mom,” Gabe said. “You sound great with the band.”
“Yeah, that was cool,” Jake echoed and he reached for Justin’s hand.
“Let’s go to the dressing room. They’ll probably have some food back there. We can hang out and relax for a while before the show starts,” Justin suggested.
When they got to the dressing room, they found there were platters of cold cuts for sandwiches and chafing dishes with lasagna and chicken parmesan. The rest of the band had already started helping themselves to the food and the various beverages. Maggie and Justin filled the children’s plates with food and they sat down at a table next to Ray and Denise and their children.
“I love your outfit, Maggie,” Denise exclaimed.
“Thanks,” said Maggie.
“Yeah, me too,” said Ray trying unsuccessfully to not stare at Maggie’s breasts.
“It gets awfully hot under the lights, don’t you have problems with the leather pants sticking to your skin?” Denise asked.
“I just use a little talcum powder,” Maggie laughed.
“Well, they certainly look great on you,” Ray said appreciatively.
Maggie smiled at him and took a sip from her bottle of Coke. Denise suddenly caught the flash of Maggie’s engagement ring.
“Are you and Justin engaged?” she asked.
“Yes.” Maggie looked over at Justin and smiled.
“There are going to be a lot of disappointed women out there,” Denise said to Justin and laughed.
Maggie noticed Susan who was talking to Dave at another table. She had obviously heard their conversation and indeed, looked a little disappointed.
“I imagine there will be a lot of disappointed men too,” Ray said much to Denise’s annoyance.
“So have the two of you set a date yet?” Denise continued.
“No, we haven’t gotten that far yet. I don’t think we will wait too long though. We should have gotten married a long time ago,” Justin said looking lovingly at Maggie.
“So are you going to move to California, Maggie?” Ray asked.
“I don’t know yet. I still own a house in Louisiana with Zak, it’s next door to Justin’s house.”
Jake looked alarmed at this talk of moving.
“No, we’re going home so I can see my other Daddy and go to school,” he said decisively.
Maggie and Justin exchanged looks.
“I guess we’re going to have to figure that out,” Justin said.
The time finally came for the show to start. At the children’s urging, Maggie and Justin decided that the kids could sit with Justin’s parents at the side of the stage. Denise had some extra ear plugs in her handbag that she gave to them before she left with her kids for the safety of the box. As the band hit the first few chords of their opening song, Maggie decided that the ear plugs had been a wise precaution. She found the drums to be especially loud on the stage.
After they finished playing the first song, Maggie looked out over the roaring crowd. She realized it was just a sea of tiny faces. The stage was about twelve feet above the ground and Maggie felt completely removed from the audience. She started to feel a little panicky and looked over at Justin for some reassurance. He walked over and asked her if she was o.k.
“I
guess so, it just all seems pretty weird. It’s making me incredibly uncomfortable.”
“Try not to think about it, Maggie. Just focus on me and the music. Try to pretend we’re at Ray’s, playing in the studio.”
She took a deep breath and then smiled at him.
“O.k., I think I’ll be fine.”
The band played a couple more songs with Maggie singing harmonies and then Ray decided to introduce her to the crowd.
“Some of you might recognize our guest vocalist, Maggie Mae Williams. We are honored to have her sing with us today. The next song was written by Kris Kristofferson and features Maggie on lead vocal.”
The band started playing “Me and Bobby McGee”. Maggie had played this with Justin many times and felt more comfortable now that she was on familiar territory. They looked into each other’s eyes as they sang together on the chorus. They were almost done with the song when suddenly Jake ran out on stage and threw his arms around Maggie’s knees. He looked out at the people in the audience who were cheering loudly. Maggie and Justin and the rest of the band started to laugh. They finished the song and Justin took his son by the hand.
“I guess my son Jake wants to say hi to everyone,” he said into his mic.
The audience roared in appreciation.
“Maggie is Jake’s mother and she and I are getting married soon.”
Justin leaned over and kissed Maggie. There were more cheers and deafening applause. Justin’s parents came out on stage and retrieved Jake.
“Maybe you should take the kids to the box. They can sit with Denise and her children,” Justin advised.
“Sorry, son. He just took off before we could catch him.”
“That’s o.k. Dad, don’t worry about it, he just likes being part of the music.”
After Justin’s parents and Jake left the stage, Maggie stepped up to the microphone to address the audience.
“Well, as you just heard, I have an in with the band and that’s why they’re allowing me to sing with them today,” Maggie said and laughed.
The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) Page 12
