Hannah laughed. Maggie did too.
“Okay, okay. I hate to disappoint you though. There aren’t any steamy stories to share. He made us dinner – he has a great house by the way – and we sat around talking until about midnight and then I went home. End of story.”
“You are a way better storyteller than that, my friend,” Hannah said. “At least tell us all the gory details of what you talked about. Discreetly, of course.”
“Ah, yes, discretion,” Kate agreed.
“You two are unbelievable,” Maggie said.
“Thank you,” they said in unison.
She shook her head at them. “I’m trying so hard to get out of feeling like I’m still in high school, but with you two around, that’s impossible.”
“I’m missing your point and you’re stalling, Mitchell,” Hannah said.
“Well, I was nervous at first, but there is something about being around Josh that calms me.” She looked out the window. “I think it was like that when we were in high school too. He’s so relaxed and sure of himself, and he was the only person I knew who could come by the house, and not be afraid of my dad. My dad would insult him left and right and Josh would just let it go.” She stared out the window for a moment.
“Did you talk about your dad at all?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah, we did. Nothing too intense, but just how I’ve been feeling since he’s been gone.” Wanting to be done with the topic of her father, she moved on. “We mostly talked about work, music, books – life in general. It was nice.”
“So, how did it end?” asked Kate.
“It ended with us agreeing to be friends and go from there. I was honest about not being ready for more than that right now and he was fine. Overall, it was a really nice evening.”
“Well then, kudos to you, Maggie Mitchell,” Kate said. “This was a big step for you and you took it beautifully. My hat’s off to you.”
“Mine as well,” said Hannah. “Maybe you’re finally putting your past behind you.”
Maggie thought of the newfound information about her past. The lump in her throat made it difficult to swallow her sip of coffee.
“Maybe,” was all she was able to say.
*
As she drove up to her house, Maggie’s heart skipped at seeing the familiar Jeep sitting in her driveway. She couldn’t decide if it was from excitement or nerves or maybe both. Josh was relaxing in a chair on the front porch.
“So what did I do to merit this surprise visit?” she said as she climbed the porch steps.
“Just being you,” he said; his smile turning her insides to mush. “I was hoping you had some time today for me to take you somewhere.”
“Hmmm, okay. I’m a bit nervous about that one but…”
“You’re just gonna have to trust me,” he said as he stood up and reached for her hand.
She placed her hand in his and turned, assuming they were going to get in his Jeep. Instead, he led her down the porch stairs and around the back of the house. Maggie’s curiosity grew with every step.
They made their way around the garden, Josh leading her through the gate that went down to the small strip of beach below. Her heart pounded faster and faster as they weaved back and forth down the narrow, sandy path. The ice plants on either side made the hillside plush and green.
They reached the bottom where a large beach towel had been laid out on the sand. Maggie’s heart warmed at the idea that Josh had planned this ahead of time and knew she would come down here with him.
They sat side by side on the towel, watching the water.
“Do you remember how we would come down here in high school?” Josh said.
“I remember all too well. We were escaping my dad.”
“I guess you could look at it that way.” Josh grabbed a stick that lay nearby and began doodling in the sand.
“You didn’t see it that way?” she asked.
“Not always. I just wanted to be with you.” He smiled at her.
They sat for a little while listening to the lap of the small waves and the seagulls as they flew across the water.
“Your father didn’t worry me as much as you think, Maggie. My only fear was that he would one day hurt you or your mom. I used to try and think of ways I could protect you, but came to realize I had to just pray that God would watch over you if I couldn’t.”
Maggie looked at her hands folded in her lap.
“I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch with you after what happened at the prom. I was so confused and hurt, and I thought for sure you’d never want to see me again.”
“I always wanted to be with you, Maggie. Your dad wasn’t easy, but he’s not you and you’re not him. Your dad made choices in life that had an effect on you, but you could never control what he would do any more than he could control you or your mom.”
More thoughtful silence fell between them.
Josh nudged Maggie with his shoulder.
“Hey, I didn’t bring you down here to talk about the things of the past that are sad. I brought you down here to say that it’s time we leave those things in the past and start fresh. This may have been a hideaway before from something awful, but now we’re going to make it a hideaway for us to relax and have fun together. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Okay, now if memory serves, we used to play a little game called ‘truth or dare’. The clean version, of course.”
“Of course. However, we’re old enough now for the adult version,” she teased.
He raised an eyebrow at that. “Tempting. Very tempting. But we’ll save that for another time. For now, I’m going to go first and dare you to go into the water at least up to your knees.”
“What? You’ve got to be crazy! That water has got to be so cold right now.”
“Okay then. Truth it is. You have to tell me with complete honesty what you thought of the dinner I made for you.”
“Oh well, it’s into the water I go then. That’s a no-brainer.” She began to take off her shoes and roll up her pant legs.
“I can’t believe you said that! Now I know you were lying when you said it tasted good.”
Maggie laughed and headed for the water.
Josh shot up off the towel and ran for her. He swept her up in his arms and amidst her kicking and protesting, carried her into the water.
“Since you have now insulted my cooking, I believe it is time for you to get much more wet than up to your knees.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Maggie said, pausing from her attempts to wriggle free. “That water is freezing!”
“Oh, but I would. You see, dare is the name of the game and I’m all for it.” And with that, he tossed her right on her butt into the waves.
Standing over her with a triumphant look on his face and reveling in his accomplishment, Josh never saw it coming when Maggie grabbed his legs and yanked him into the sandy water. Sputtering and shaking his head like a dog, he looked at her in shock.
“Aha!” Maggie said. “Two can most definitely play this game.”
Despite their shivering, the two began splashing each other until they were soaked to the bone.
*
Trudging back up the hill in wet jeans and a sweater, Maggie felt nothing but light and happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had that much fun.
She and Josh made it to the mudroom off the back of the house and commented on how they were proving in that moment the reason for mudrooms.
Handing Josh a towel, she began to dry herself off as best she could.
“I actually have sand in my ear,” Josh said, rubbing a corner of the towel in his ear.
“I’m afraid I have sand in places I don’t even want to think about.” Maggie’s teeth chattered.
“On that note, I think I’ll go home and get myself washed up. I do believe my work here is done.”
“You intended to get me muddy and wet, was that the goal?”
“Nope. Just smiling. It’s a beautiful thing to see
.” He kissed her cheek, handed her back the towel, and was out the door.
After a long, hot shower and with the warmth of Josh’s voice in her ears, Maggie took a book and curled up by the fire in the study. The letters stared at her from her mother’s desk, daring her to find out more. Josh was right. Her dad was gone and he had no power over her or how she lived her life. What she needed to do was clear. She just needed to summon the courage.
Chapter Thirteen
‡
Gwen shuffled along like she always did, ignoring the stares and comments thrown her way. Maggie stood and watched her from across the street. Now that she had met Gwen and knew something about her, she took people’s unkindness personally. She approached Gwen when she reached her car.
“Gwen,” Maggie almost whispered.
Gwen, attempting to unlock the driver’s side door of her car, looked up at Maggie.
“Yes? Oh, Maggie, dear. It’s so good to see you. How are you?”
“I’m doing well, thank you. I was just wondering if you would like to come to my house for lunch on Saturday. Say around noon? I was going to call you, but you don’t have a number listed.”
“I don’t have a phone anymore. No reason to, really. There’s no one for me to call and no one calling me.” Tears began to well up in her eyes. They formed right to the tip of her eyelashes and stopped. “Lunch sounds just lovely. I’ll see you then.” She got in her car and drove away.
Maggie stood on the street corner, watching as Gwen’s car turned off Sea Point Boulevard, and then she was gone.
*
Maggie paced back and forth in the living room. She wasn’t sure what was making her more nervous – having Gwen over or asking her about the letters. Gwen’s car pulled in the driveway and her car door slammed. The thuds of her feet were synchronized with the sound of her cane as she came up the front porch stairs. Maggie waited until the doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath, she headed for the door.
“Hello, Gwen. I’m so glad you could come.”
Gwen’s eyes twinkled a bit as she said, “I’m so pleased you asked me, dear.”
Entering the house, Gwen let Maggie take her coat and hang it in the hall closet. Maggie had prepared hot tea and it was waiting on the living room coffee table. She helped Gwen to the sofa and poured her some tea.
“I made some soup for lunch. I hope that’s all right with you.”
“That sounds just perfect on a day like today. I don’t know about you, but I like when we get this misty fog around here. People say it’s too gloomy, but I find it’s the best time to curl up in a comfy chair and read all day.”
“You like to read?”
“Oh, yes, very much. Your mother and I used to talk about books all the time. I couldn’t afford to buy them and people don’t like me hanging around the library much, so she would bring me things to read. She had such wonderful taste in books.” She placed her teacup down on the coffee table and smiled at Maggie.
“Your mother was so thrilled that you loved to read as much as she did, and that you wanted so badly to be a writer.”
Maggie couldn’t understand how she felt so comfortable with this woman and yet so perplexed by how much she knew of Maggie’s life. It was as if the memories in her head completely conflicted with what Gwen presented to her.
“This house is so beautiful. I have always wanted to see what it looks like from the inside.”
“You’ve never been here? I thought since you and my mother were friends that she would have had you over to visit.”
“Oh no. Your father wasn’t too keen on visitors, as you know, and I think having me over would have sent him through the roof.” She chuckled, causing her entire body to move up and down. “I think if he knew your mother had befriended the town eccentric, he would have never allowed her to leave the house again.”
Gwen waited a moment before she spoke again. “Maggie, I know you probably feel that your mother keeping secrets from you was some sort of betrayal on her part, but it wasn’t. She did everything in her power to protect you. She knew how difficult your father was, especially on you.”
Maggie took a sip of her tea and tried to slow her heart rate. “Gwen, I actually asked you over here today to talk to you about a specific secret I believe my mother kept from me.”
Gwen leaned forward and looked intently into Maggie’s eyes. “What’s the matter, dear?”
“Well, I was cleaning out the attic when I found some letters that led me to believe that I’m adopted. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about it. There was an envelope addressed to Gwen Phillips. It’s addressed to you.”
Gwen sank back into her spot on the sofa and took a deep breath.
“Oh my. That was certainly not what I was expecting.” She focused on her hands as she talked. She fidgeted. “Well, your mother asked me once if she could have a friend of hers mail letters to her through me. She didn’t give details, but I knew it had something to do with her fearing your father might see them. I can’t say that I knew anything specific though. I never asked your mother who they were from. It was none of my business and I could tell it was important to her, so I figured it was a simple thing to do for her. Your mother never said anything to me about you being adopted… but she never denied it either.”
“Denied it?”
“Well, your father had an outburst once at a town Christmas party. This was many years ago when you were small and he was more social. I believe he had had too much to drink and started chatting with everyone about you not being his real child. Your mother was very upset about it. I wasn’t there, of course, but she came to me the next day to lean on my shoulder and have a good cry. She never told me if it was true or not, and I never asked. She didn’t receive any letters after that. I never thought they might have anything to do with you being adopted.” She sighed heavily and continued. “That was when your mother stopped trying to get your father to go out in public. From then on he just stayed inside the house, but you know all about that, don’t you, dear?”
Maggie tried to take in all that Gwen had just said.
“I know how upsetting this must be for you, Maggie. I am only sorry I can’t tell you more. Your mother never said anything else about it and I didn’t feel right about asking her. No matter what though, know that your mother loved you more than anything or anyone else on this earth. The last thing she would ever want is for you to be hurt.”
“I know. I just feel like my life is somehow spinning out of control. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t seem to get my brain to grasp a whole different interpretation of my past.”
Maggie took another sip of tea, the cup rattling from her shaky hands as she set it in the saucer.
“How about some of that soup now? My tummy is beginning to rumble and I think we could both use a break from this heavy talk.” Gwen pushed herself off the couch and steadied herself with her cane. “Show me around this beautiful home. I can see your mother’s touches everywhere.”
“Yes, let’s have some lunch.”
Chapter Fourteen
‡
After Gwen left, Maggie sat on the front porch, thinking. If her father had spewed a bunch of information or nonsense in a drunken haze, Gwen was not the only person in town who had wondered about what he’d said. Horror mixed with shame flooded her at the thought of people wondering about her or talking about her behind her back. More than they already did. And, if Patrick was saying she wasn’t his real child, then they could easily assume that her mother had been unfaithful and she was the result of that. Maggie was fuming when her phone rang. The shrill sound that echoed in the hallway made her jump from her chair as she ran to answer. She’d left it on the hall table inside the house.
“Hello.” Her voice was harsh.
“Hey, Maggie. It’s Josh. Are you okay? You sound kind of…well…mad.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m okay. I just have a lot on my mind and need to work through it. That’s all. What’s up?”
“I just wondered if you wanted to meet for coffee this afternoon?”
“You know, I’m really rattled right now. I’m not sure caffeine would do me any good.”
“How about just some company then? I could swing by your place in an hour.”
“You know what? That sounds nice. Thanks. I’ll see you in an hour.”
“Okay. See ya then.”
She ended the call and went back to sit on the front porch. What was she thinking? Josh sensed right away that she was upset, and he was going to want to know why.
Memories of their time on the beach meshed with past times together in her mind. Josh always listened to her. Knew when to ask questions, when to just listen. She trusted Josh more than she’d ever trusted anyone. With the information from Gwen, Josh could be just the person she needed.
*
Josh pulled up an hour later. He emerged from his Jeep and bounced up the front steps in one fluid motion. He was wearing jeans and a tan sweater. Maggie had déjà vu as he sat down in the chair next to her, a high school memory of him visiting before causing time to overlap and blend together. They were both silent for a moment. A woodpecker tapped in the distance and the wind rustled the leaves in the trees just a bit.
Josh finally broke the silence.
“Do you want to talk about it or just hang out here? I’m fine either way.”
Her whole body warmed like a blanket had been thrown over it. How could a human being be so patient and understanding? It boggled her mind while melting her resistance.
“I’m not sure I want to talk about it, but I think I need to talk about it.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m not really sure how to say this without being somewhat blunt, but, here goes. I think I’m adopted.”
Josh didn’t say anything. Just kept looking out toward the trees in front of the house. His expression didn’t change.
“Okay. You don’t seem all that surprised.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to take that in for a minute. Actually, I am a little surprised. Shocked, really. But in some ways it explains a lot.”
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