“O.k. Maggie, now you’re going to have to prove yourself,” Ray said and he turned to the band and said “Ball and Chain”.
Maggie grabbed the microphone and tried to center herself as the band played the introduction and then she blasted into the chorus. She pulled back a little and sang the first verse with as much emotion as she could muster. The sound crew was stunned by her vocal ferocity, and a silence fell over the crowd as they listened to her gut-wrenching blues. When she was done singing, the crowd went completely wild. Maggie waited patiently for the noise to subside and then she said into the microphone, “Thank you. I wanted to sing that song for Janis. I’ve been thinking about her a lot since I’ve been in the Bay area. She has always been an incredible inspiration to me.”
She looked over at Justin as she finished speaking and he could see that she had tears in her eyes. She turned around and faced the back of the stage for a moment so she could regain her composure. She caught Ray’s eye, and he started to lead the band in one of their well-known instrumentals. This gave Maggie some time to recover so that she could sing harmony with them on their next tune.
The next two hours went by in a blur. The band played many of their hit songs, but also played some of their more obscure songs as well. They seemed determined to test Maggie, but fortunately she had an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll, so she didn’t have any trouble following them. Ray finally asked Maggie what she wanted to play.
“I’d like to do a song for you, Ray,” Maggie said with a smile. “Do you guys know the Townes Van Zandt song ‘White Freightliner Blues’?”
Justin and Dave looked at Ray and laughed.
“Oh yeah, we know that one.”
They kicked off the song and Maggie started to sing.
“I’m going out on the highway,
Listen to them big trucks whine.
I’m going out on the highway,
Listen to them big trucks whine.
White Freightliner,
Gonna steal away my mind.”
Maggie had decided to tweak Ray a bit for his cocaine use. When she got to the next verse, she changed the words from New Mexico to California.
“California ain’t bad,
The women there they treat you fine.
California ain’t bad,
The women there they treat you fine.
White Freightliner,
Won’t you steal away my mind.”
Maggie looked pointedly at Ray as she sang the next verse.
“There’s bad news from Houston,
Half of my friends are dying.
There’s bad news from Houston,
Half of my friends are dying.
White Freightliner,
Won’t you steal away my mind.”
By the time she finished the song, Ray was looking a little bit chastened. They stepped away from their microphones and Ray said to her, “That was a little bit harsh, wasn’t it?”
“I’m worried about you Ray, you’re going to have problems if you keep using coke the way you do. I’ve seen it do a lot of bad things to people that I love.”
Maggie then leaned over and kissed Ray on the cheek.
“O.k. enough lectures, no hard feelings?” she asked.
“No, you’re probably right Maggie,” he conceded.
“Let’s play that song you wrote with Justin, ‘No Forwarding Address’,” Ray said in a conciliatory tone.
“Sure,” she said.
The band played through the tune and Maggie was gratified by how good it sounded. When they were done, Maggie touched Ray’s arm and thanked him.
“That was an amazing experience, Ray. Thanks for that.”
They finished up with a couple more of the band’s standards and then the show was over. The band went back to the dressing room to decompress. Justin’s parents, Denise and the children showed up, the kids were bubbling over from the excitement of the show.
“I’m guessing that you had a few words with Ray about his cocaine use,” Denise said.
“Yes, I did,” answered Maggie.
“Well, thanks for doing that. I’ve been trying to get him to stop using coke for a while now.”
“Maybe he should consider going into rehab, it really helped my ex-husband Zak. I know a good place if you’re interested.”
“Thanks, Maggie. I appreciate it,” Denise said and smiled at her.
“So how did you like sitting in the sky box, kids?” Maggie asked.
“It was really cool,” said Gabe. “I really liked the way the instruments reverberated around the arena. Sometimes when the drummers were playing their solos, it seemed like the arena became a giant drum too.”
“That sounds really interesting, Gabe. I’d like to hear that sometime. Maybe the next time Justin plays here with his band, I can sit in the box with you,” Maggie replied.
Jake looked unhappy at the thought.
“When are we going home, Mama?” he asked.
“The day after tomorrow, Jake. We’re going to fly back to Nashville for a couple days and then we’re going back to Louisiana.”
“Are we going to come back here, Mama? I like hanging out with Stella, Cassady and Hunter,” Belle said.
“Sure, we can come back,” said Justin. “We can always stay in my place in Sausalito or at my parents’ house in Tiburon.”
“You’re welcome to stay with us any time too,” said Ray and he smiled at Belle. “I’m sure that Justin will be back to play some more gigs with the band.”
Maggie wasn’t so sure about that, but she decided to let it go for the moment. She and Justin had some decisions to make about where they were going to live and how they were going to make a living, and she wasn’t sure how they were going to resolve these issues.
“It’s getting late, guys. So say goodbye and let’s head for home,” Justin said.
The kids hugged each other goodbye and everyone walked out to their cars in the parking lot. Justin’s parents said goodnight and got into their car and drove home to Tiburon. Justin loaded his bass into the back of his van and the kids got in the back seats. After making sure everyone had their seat belts on, Justin drove the van back to Sausalito.
.
Chapter 20
It was late by the time they got home. Maggie and Justin had to wake up the kids since they had all fallen asleep in the van on the ride back. They trudged wearily into the house and got into bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Justin brought his bass into the house and left it in his bedroom. He and Maggie were still wound up from performing, so they took a bottle of wine and some glasses out on the patio.
“What did you think about playing at the Coliseum, Maggie?” Justin asked.
Maggie thought for a moment as she tried to put the experience into words.
“It was pretty exciting and fun for a while. It’s an amazing experience to sing in front of that many people.”
“Yeah, it is…” Justin agreed.
“But on the other hand, it’s not that satisfying in some ways in terms of making music. I was having trouble hearing the band that well, so sometimes I wasn’t sure when to come in. It’s probably different for you because you’ve played with them for a couple years.”
“No, I think I know what you’re saying.”
“Also, I don’t think I like being so removed from the audience. There really isn’t that much direct interaction between the band and the fans. I really prefer playing in a small club like the Bluebird Café.”
“Well, who wouldn’t, but it would be hard to make a living from playing in clubs that only hold a hundred people. My band makes most of their money from touring, so that’s why we play so many shows in arenas. I don’t always like it though.”
“I guess the difference is that Tucker and I make most of our money from record sales. We play some tour dates, but mostly to support the record not to generate enough income to live on.”
“I’ve been making really good money playing with the band, and I
think I would find it hard to give that up,” Justin said.
“I don’t think I asked you to do that,” Maggie answered quietly.
“But where are we going to end up living, Maggie?” Justin asked.
“I’m not sure, Justin. We’re going to have to discuss it, but I’m too tired right now.”
“O.k., Maggie. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
They didn’t wake up until noon the next day. Maggie had been right about the children being exhausted the day after the concert. They all slept in late and were lethargic and cranky once they got up. Justin gave them some time to recover, but then he suggested that they spend the afternoon visiting his parents in Tiburon since they were flying back to Nashville the next day. The children were quiet in the van on the way over to Justin’s parents’ house and once they got there, they were content to lounge in the chairs out on the deck. Justin’s parents were looking weary too.
“I don’t know how you do it, son,” Justin’s mother said.
“Oh, we’re just used to it.”
Maggie thought to herself that a lot of musicians relied on pharmaceutical assistance to get them through the exhaustion of touring, and then would have to compensate for that with sleeping pills at night. It was no wonder that the toll from drug abuse was so high.
“I mostly had problems sleeping after a concert,” Maggie said. “I don’t know what I would have done when we were on tour if it wasn’t for Justin.”
Maggie and Justin smiled at each other remembering the times that they toured together with her bluegrass band Little Maggie.
“It’s a good thing that you had each other to rely on,” Justin’s mother said.
“And now we will always have each other to rely on, Maggie.” Justin looked thoughtful and was silent for a minute or two. “I’m not so sure that I’m going to want to continue touring with the band after we get married,” Justin continued.
“What are you saying, Justin?” Maggie was a little shocked by this.
“It’s taken us a long time to get together. I don’t want to jeopardize that.”
“So, if you don’t tour with your band, then what are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure, I’m going to have to think about it. The band is taking a three month hiatus, so I don’t have to decide anything right away.”
“Well, I’d like to go back to Louisiana and finish recording the new album with Little Maggie,” she said.
“What about your world tour with Tucker, Maggie?” Justin asked.
“I’m not sure that Tucker is going to want to go ahead with that after we tell him that we’re engaged.”
Maggie and Justin looked at each other. They were starting to realize that they both might have to make sacrifices in their careers in order to be together. Jake stood in front of Maggie, gesturing that he wanted to sit in her lap. He put his arm around her neck and she kissed him on top of his head. She looked over at Justin and smiled. They both knew in that moment, that any sacrifice would be worthwhile so that they could be together as a family.
On Monday morning, they got up early to pack for their flight to Nashville. Maggie found it a little harder to close the suitcases with the additional sweatshirts and t-shirts that they had picked up along the way. Justin was going to bring his bass and Maggie wanted to bring her new Weaver mandolin. Justin didn’t want to check the instruments as luggage, so they decided to bring them on as carry-on items. Therefore, they would have to check everything else.
When Justin was done loading the van, they made one last sweep of the house to make sure they hadn’t left behind anything important.
“Do you have Tucker’s ring, Maggie?” Justin wanted to know.
“Yes,” she said flashing the ring at him. It was now on the ring finger of her right hand as Justin’s ring was on her left hand.
“I’ll never get over how big that diamond is. It’s the size of a ping pong ball. Tucker must have spent a fortune on it.”
“I’m sure he did. I always felt kind of guilty about that. I’ll feel better when I give it back to him.”
“You better give it back to him. It’s a little weird wearing two engagement rings given to you by two different men,” Justin teased.
“I know, I know. I’ll feel better when this is all straightened out.”
The children were already waiting impatiently in the car. Maggie and Justin took one last look and locked the house and walked out to the car.
Justin noticed that there were tears in Maggie’s eyes. When they got in the car, he took her hand in his.
“We’ll be back, Maggie,” he said.
“But not too soon,” Jake said from the back seat.
.
Chapter 21
Maggie, Justin and the children were relieved to finally land in Nashville after a long flight. They retrieved their luggage and rented a car to drive to Tucker’s. Maggie found herself feeling increasingly nervous the closer they got to Tucker’s estate. As they drove down the long driveway past the rolling pastures, Maggie found herself switching the rings. She put Tucker’s ring back on the ring finger on her left hand and Justin’s ring on her right hand.
Justin looked over at her and raised one eyebrow.
“I don’t want him to know anything until I have a chance to talk to him first,” she whispered.
“You better talk to him right away then, because the kids might accidentally spill the beans,” said Justin.
“What beans?” Jake piped up from the back seat.
“Nothing,” said Maggie giving Justin a look. “I guess you’re right.”
After they parked in front of Tucker’s house, Justin suggested to the children that they walk with him down to the stables since they had been cooped up in the plane for so long. Maggie walked up the front steps to the house by herself, just as Tucker opened the front door.
“Well, howdy,” he said. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
He leaned over to kiss her and took her by the hand to lead her into the house. They went into the living room and sat on the couch.
“So how was your trip?” he asked. “Did you like San Francisco?”
“Yeah, it was great. The kids enjoyed it too. We did all the tourist sights.”
“I heard that you played at the Oakland Coliseum with Justin’s band.”
“That was pretty intense. I’m not sure that I actually liked that.”
Tucker suddenly looked at Maggie seriously.
“Darlin’, I think we need to talk,” he said.
Maggie felt her heart skip a beat.
“Yes,” was all that she said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while you were away,” Tucker said. “And I don’t think that we should get married.”
Maggie was taken aback.
“Why not?” she asked.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Jake and what he needs, Maggie. He needs to have his mother and father together. He needs to live in a stable family. I know what I’m talking about. I’ve always felt bad that Clara had to grow up without the support of two parents. She needed me all the time, and I just wasn’t there for her. She has never really forgiven me for that, and I can’t say that I blame her.”
Tears started flowing down Maggie’s face. Tucker reached in his pocket for a handkerchief and dabbed at Maggie’s tears.
“I’m so sorry darlin’, but I really think it would be better if you married Justin.”
“Oh Tucker,” Maggie sobbed. She put her arms around his neck and cried uncontrollably.
“Maggie, please don’t cry. You know that it will be better this way. I’m too old to make you happy anyway. You should be with someone your own age like Justin.”
He comforted her in his arms until she stopped crying. She took Tucker’s ring off her left hand and gave it to him.
“Oh no, darlin’. I want you to keep that. What am I going to do with it?”
“Maybe you’ll want to get married again and you could give it to s
omeone else,” she said.
“No Maggie, I don’t think I’m ever going to want to get married again. I love you, you know. I would like nothing better than to marry you, but it’s not fair to Jake.”
“You said when I told you that Justin was Jake’s father that it wouldn’t change how you felt about me,” Maggie said sadly.
“It didn’t, I still love you. But I think Jake needs to grow up with both of his parents.”
Maggie hadn’t anticipated how desolate she would feel about breaking it off with Tucker. And the fact that he initiated the break up made her feel even worse. Maggie heard Justin and the children coming up the front steps to the house, so she went upstairs and locked herself in the bathroom where she could be alone with her tears.
The children ran up the stairs to their rooms as Justin peered into the living room.
“What’s going on, Tucker?” Justin asked.
“I just had to tell Maggie that I didn’t think we should get married. I think that Jake needs to be with both his parents. I think that you and Maggie should get married, Justin.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, I do too Tucker.”
“Good, then it’s settled.” Tucker suddenly looked relieved.
“This is the first time I ever got divorced before I got married,” he said with a brief laugh. “I just hope that the children aren’t going to be confused.”
“They’ll probably be fine in time,” Justin said, glad that he didn’t have to be the one to break the news to Tucker about his engagement to Maggie.
A couple hours later, Maggie descended the stairs to find Tucker playing his guitar in the living room. Justin had taken the children for a walk.
“How are you doing, Maggie? Are you o.k.?”
“Yes,” she said in a voice so low that he could barely hear her.
“This is going to work out for the best, you’ll see. We can still be best friends and music partners. I hope you’ll continue to make records and tour with me.”
The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) Page 13