Maggie stepped out of the bar into the frigid night air, but she couldn’t feel a thing. She was in utter disbelief. The nerve! Maybe in his warped little mind it made sense, but she knew too much about Simon to believe he was in it for anyone other than himself. This new studio was going to be a disaster for her.
She made her way back to Jefferson to her car and immediately cranked the heat up. As the engine hummed and the heater warmed, she thought more about Simon’s proposal. Maybe it was a nice idea. And maybe if it had been anyone other than Simon, she would have agreed to it.
December 25, 2008
Christmas Dinner
Maggie opened the door to her parents’ home and was instantly hit with the aroma of honey roasted ham and cinnamon candles. Mom had the place all decorated up for the holidays — pine garland and colorful lights wrapped around the banister of the stairway, “The Carpenters’ Christmas” album played on the living room stereo, and white lights twinkled on the branches of the Christmas tree. Best of all was the sound of laughter floating in from the kitchen.
“Merry Christmas,” she called out.
“Merry Christmas, Magpie.” Her father, Ron, greeted her with outstretched arms and lifted her up in a big bear hug, his salt and pepper whiskers tickled her cheek.
“Dad, put me down!” She hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the cheek as he lowered her to the floor.
He took her coat and ushered her into the kitchen, where everyone was congregated.
“Maggie!” exclaimed Tom as he set his drink on the counter and practically jumped across the room to hug his sister.
“Hey, Tommy,” she pulled away and gave him a look. “You didn’t call me back.”
“I’m so sorry. Work.” He made a sad face as he put his arm around her. “Is everything OK?”
She nodded. “It was nothing.” She missed her baby brother. He was constantly working, which seemed to run in the family. He looked tired, his green eyes sank in a little with dark circles beneath, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.
“How are you?” she asked.
Tom shrugged. “Same old, same old.”
She reached up and playfully rubbed his strawberry blond hair. “You need a haircut.”
“What for?” He grabbed her arm and twisted it around behind her back.
“Ow!” she cried out.
“Don’t start, you two,” their mother insisted.
Talking with Tom, she had not noticed Viola Stevens standing on the other side of their mother, helping with the dinner preparations.
“Vi.” She scanned the kitchen to see if Dave was in attendance. Nope. “How are you?”
“I’m pretty good,” Vi replied over her shoulder. “How are you, Maggie?” Her long brown hair, with the slightest hints of grey, was twisted neatly back into a bun. She was a thin, petite woman with the sweetest smile in the room.
“Is Dave coming?”
Vi looked at her uncomfortably. “Uh, he couldn’t make it tonight.”
There was a sadness in Vi’s dark eyes. Maggie wanted to ask her what was going on, but she knew it wasn’t the right time or place. Curiosity was killing her, but she bit her tongue and walked into the dining room instead.
The table was beautifully set as always. Her mother loved to do the holidays in style. The candles, table runner, and place mats all matched the holiday decor. Even the plates were festive, painted with old vintage Christmas trees in the center. Handmade candy cane napkin holders made each place setting complete.
She loved coming home, especially at the holidays. Though her parents lived in Caledonia, twenty minutes from Hastings, Maggie didn’t visit nearly as often as she knew she should. Work was her life. It was also her hiding place.
Maggie walked back to the kitchen and stood in the doorway listening to the happy chatter. Her mother, Patty, was laughing with Vi as they had for so many years. Dad sat at the table in the breakfast nook drinking coffee and playing solitaire — an all too familiar sight. Tom sat quietly across from Dad, seemingly deep in thought.
The doorbell rang. “Ron, can you get that?” Patty asked her husband.
“I’ll get it.” Maggie turned toward the front door, wondering who else was joining them this year.
The door swung open on its own, and Maggie froze where she stood. Before her, with casserole dish in hand, stood Simon Walker. He was accompanied by an older man, who she could only assume was his uncle, wearing a long tweed overcoat and fedora.
“Merry Christmas,” Simon’s uncle spoke.
Maggie nearly laughed out loud. For some reason, based on his apparel, she expected him to speak with an English accent.
Vi emerged from the dining room then and took their coats and the casserole dish. She escorted the older man into the kitchen with her, leaving Maggie and Simon in the foyer alone.
She remained frozen in place as Simon approached.
“Merry Christmas.” He held out his hand to shake hers.
She stared at him with disgust.
He lowered his hand and brushed coldly past her into the kitchen.
Maggie stood there for a moment listening to everyone happily greet them.
As her father walked past on his way to the dinner table, she signaled him over.
He stepped closer and leaned in with a puzzled expression.
“Why is Simon Walker at our family Christmas dinner?” She spoke quietly so no one else would hear her.
“Your mother invited him, sweetie.” He shrugged and walked into the dining room.
Maggie waited until the others had moved toward the table and made a beeline for her mother in the kitchen.
“Mom!” She gave her mother a funny frown.
“What’s that look for?” Patty asked.
“What is Simon doing here?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention he was coming?” Her mother had a little twinkle in her eye.
“Mom!” She tried to control her volume, but she wanted answers.
“Vi asked if I could invite Pete to join us, and I couldn’t very well invite him without inviting his nephew, now could I?”
“Yes!” Maggie stared at her mother.
“Simon’s parents live in California. Pete’s the only family he has here.”
“Wait. Pete?” The pieces were falling into place. “Is that who she left Dave for?”
“Margaret,” her mother scolded. “It’s not our place to judge.”
“What about Dave?” She was disgusted that this Pete character had weaseled his way into their home.
“Shhh!” Mom slapped her hand on the counter. “Vi is my best friend and, though I may not always agree with her choices, I am here for her. And we will be civil to her special friend.”
“Oh, God,” Maggie cringed.
“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, Margaret,” her mother scolded. “Anyway, why do you have a problem with Simon? He’s a nice young man.”
Maggie snorted and walked rudely out of the room leaving her mother to carry the last of the food to the table by herself.
She quickly scanned the seating arrangement. At the head of the dinner table was her father, of course. To his right was an open seat for her mother. Vi and Uncle Pete Walker sat next to her, while Simon sat on the opposite side of the table next to Tom. This left one seat open for Maggie, between Simon and Uncle Pete. Oh, joy!
She sat down as her mother joined them, and they all bowed their heads when her father began to bless the food.
“Dearest Heavenly Father,” he prayed. “Thank you for this meal that you’ve provided for us and for the lovely ladies who have prepared it for us today. Thank you for this gathering of family and friends, our beautiful children, and dear friends, old and new, who have come to celebrate the birth of your Son with us. May we have a wonderful time together tonight. In Jesus name I pray all these things, Amen.”
“Amen” was heard round the table.
Maggie heard Simon quietly say “Amen” and she almost snorted
again. If he had any religion in him, maybe he wouldn’t be such a self-centered jerk.
She was quiet throughout dinner, and Simon didn’t try to converse with her, which made things much easier.
He did say, “Here you go,” as he passed a basket full of biscuits her way, but neither said another word.
After dinner, the men gathered around the breakfast nook table to play cards, while the ladies remained at the dinner table, chatting and sipping coffee and tea.
Maggie was having such a nice time, she nearly forgot about Simon’s presence in her childhood home. Until faintly, from the other room, she heard her name spoken.
“Are you talking about me?” she called across the house.
“Nothing bad, I promise,” replied her Dad.
“All bad!” cried Tom.
She took a deep breath as she left the safety of the ladies’ table and headed into the kitchen. “What are you saying about me?”
“Peter here was telling me how you turned down his offer to help each other out in business.” Ron nodded toward Uncle Pete.
Her face turned red as a beet. Dumbfounded, she could not speak.
Ron looked up at her from his hand of cards. “I think it’s a great idea to help promote each other, Maggie. Beats fighting over customers. It’s such a small town.”
Maggie straightened her back and went into business mode. “First of all, I was approached by Simon not Mr. Walker.” She faced Pete. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the offer was coming from you, too.”
Uncle Pete nodded at her. “It’s all right. No harm done.”
“Secondly, Simon ...” She made the mistake of glancing in his direction, only to find him staring at her.
“Simon what?” He was grinning in that way of his again.
She didn’t respond.
“Go on.” Simon seemed to enjoy putting her on the spot.
“I just didn’t think it was a good idea.” She didn’t say what she really wanted to.
Simon wouldn’t look away, which turned into an impromptu staring contest.
Ron and Pete looked back and forth between the pair.
“Not important,” interrupted Pete.
Maggie shook herself out of the stare down and turned to walk away.
“Just keep walkin’,” Simon teased.
She spun around. “I’m not the one who walked out the other night.”
“Oooh,” Tom held his hands up. “Too much information, sis.”
She gave him a dirty look. “It wasn’t like that.”
“OK.” Simon’s chair squeaked against the floor as he pushed it back and stood up. “Let’s finish that conversation then.”
Maggie swallowed hard. She hadn’t meant to start something.
He stepped forward and took her by the arm, leading her through the foyer and out the front door.
“What are you doing? It’s freezing out here.”
He closed the door softly behind them. “Let’s not spoil the holiday for everyone, Maggie.”
“You’ve spoiled mine just by showing up.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t invite you. I don’t want you here, so I don’t have to be nice to you.”
“We need to finish our conversation.”
She shook her head. “I will never promote you or your business. Conversation finished.”
Simon stepped closer and stared into her eyes again. “Never say never.”
She tried to ignore the chills that ran up her back, which had nothing to do with the air temperature.
“Maybe you don’t like me, but we can help each other.”
She glared up at him.
“Your dad’s right,” he continued. “This is a really small town, and I don’t want to waste my energy fighting over who gets what wedding. I’d rather work with people who like my style and hire me for it. If someone comes in and tells me they want candid wedding pictures, I know I’m not the right fit for them. That’s not my strength, it’s yours. So I would send them to you. All I was asking was that you do the same for me.”
Maggie stubbornly looked toward the barn.
“You don’t want to spend the entire day posing couples for portraits. You want to focus on the moments, right? It’s the tagline on your website, for heaven’s sake.” Simon made quotation marks in the air as he recited the words from her website, “Capturing the moments.” He seemed frustrated and all worked up.
She glanced at him, but immediately looked away. She could not make eye contact.
“Just once …” He got in her face a little more and held up his index finger. “Once! I wish you’d give me the benefit of the doubt.”
He didn’t even bother to go back into the house. He walked off the porch, climbed into his car, and drove away. He was getting good at that.
Despite the cold, Maggie stood outside for a while longer, thinking about what he had said. She didn’t trust him, but she was beginning to think he might be right.
January 29, 2009
Meetings, Meetings, Meetings
As the weeks passed and turned into the new year, Maggie kept busy with photo editing, client meetings for upcoming weddings, and preparing for the annual photographer’s convention in Las Vegas at the end of February. The days leading up to New Years had been spent obsessing over her conversation with Simon on Christmas night. Despite the fact he may or may not have been right, she decided to stand by her decision to decline his offer. She had built her business on her own, and she did not need his help. At least, that’s what she told herself.
Walker’s Photography was in full renovation mode down the street. Maggie couldn’t help but notice as she passed by every morning on the way to work. Occasionally, she would see Simon or Pete or both through the window. This week, their new sign was hung above the door, and a large banner plastered across the front window read: GRAND OPENING! MARCH 2009!
So soon?
She wasn’t sure what it was going to be like trying to run a photography business two blocks from another studio. She tried not to think too much about it and buried herself in her work instead.
This particular Thursday was a busy one for Maggie. She had a late morning meeting scheduled with two June brides anxious to talk about their upcoming weddings, a lunch meeting with DeDe about a wedding they were working together, then she was off to a meeting in Grand Rapids with a couple interested in hiring her for their September wedding. She was already tired thinking about the day ahead, but she planned to stop by her parents’ for a visit and looked forward to a home cooked meal.
When she arrived at the office, she found Sarah already there with a pot of coffee brewing.
"Morning, Mags," Sarah greeted her.
"Good morning." Maggie headed right into her office and got to work on an album design for Katherine and Edward’s Christmas wedding.
She heard the phone ring a few times followed by the sound of the front door.
“Mags!” Sarah called for her. "You have a visitor."
Maggie emerged from her office and was greeted by her smiling brother.
“Tommy!” Maggie hugged him. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "I stayed over at Mom and Dad's last night, and I wanted to stop in here real quick before I head back to Holland." Tom lived an hour away from Hastings and worked many long overtime hours at a factory job he hated. He rarely came to town any more, so it was wonderful to see him again so soon.
"I'm glad you did."
"This place looks great.” He glanced around the room. "Much different than the last time I was here."
"I think I can count on one hand the number of times you've been in here."
He gave her puppy dog eyes. "Sorry."
She punched him playfully on the arm.
Tom glanced over at Sarah. "Hi, I'm Maggie's brother, Tom." He held out his hand.
Sarah shook it. "I assumed so." She smiled at him.
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” Maggie touched her brother’s arm. “I completely f
orgot you guys have never met. It has been a while since you've been here. Tom, this is my assistant, Sarah Scott."
"It's very nice to finally meet you.” Sarah grinned.
Tom nodded. “Likewise.” Their eyes connected and held a little longer than was appropriate.
"So," Maggie interrupted. "Are you gonna hang out for a bit?"
He checked his watch and groaned. It looked like he was struggling to make a decision as he glanced over at Sarah again. "I wish I could stay longer, but I've gotta get back for work this afternoon."
Tom’s factory job was killing him, completely sucking the life out of him. It had been a long time since she’d seen any real happiness behind his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Tom." Maggie gave him another hug.
“Hey, I might be back in town next week." He glanced in Sarah's direction once more. "I'll try to stop in again when I can stay longer."
Sarah gave him a shy smile.
"See ya, Tommy.” Maggie waved as he headed toward the door.
He looked back one last time and gave Sarah a grin. "Nice meeting you, Sarah."
“You, too, Tom.” She raised her hand in a little wave as he walked out.
Sarah floated into the office behind Maggie and sat on the edge of her desk. She flipped nonchalantly through the pile of mail on the corner. "Your brother's very nice."
“Yeah, he is.” Maggie nodded and opened her email. She routinely got at least fifty emails every morning — some questions from aspiring photographers, several inquiries for weddings or photo sessions, and the rest spam.
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Sarah finally asked.
Maggie grinned up at her. “Not that I’m aware of.” She was amused by her friend’s dreamy expression.
“Just wondering.” Sarah hopped off the desk and went back to work.
It suddenly occurred to Maggie that her brother and Sarah were the same age — twenty-eight. In the four years Sarah had been working for her, she had never once thought of setting them up. Cupid wasn’t a role she had ever played, but it appeared there was an attraction there and she might have to intercede.
Maggie sifted through her inbox once more and noticed a new message from Walker’s Photography. It was a mass email Simon had sent out announcing the new studio’s March Grand Opening. She got a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach at the sight of his name.
Goodbye, Magnolia (Cornerstone Book 1) Page 4
