Maggie's Turn

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

  “No, Andrew, Derrick didn’t tell me. No one in town told me, even though I’m sure everyone knew about it. Everyone, that is, except your wife.”

  “Then how did you find out?”

  “Kyle told me. Our eighteen-year-old son, who was driving around with his friends and saw you and that woman in front of a downtown bar, kissing.”

  “Oh, my God,” Andrew said.

  “Imagine how he felt,” Maggie continued. “His friends seeing what he saw. His father betraying his mother. He was devastated. He was so upset when he came home that I asked him what was wrong. I could see he didn’t want to tell me, to hurt me, but he also knew I needed to know. So he told me what he’d seen. I had to hear about my husband’s affair from my son. Can you even begin to imagine how that made me feel?”

  “I’m so sorry, Maggie. I had no idea. You never told me,” Andrew said, his voice barely a whisper.

  “I never told you because I didn’t want Kyle to be in the middle of this mess. He felt bad enough. He was afraid that by telling me, our marriage would be over. I told him not to say anything to you, and that I’d take care of it. Why do you think I didn’t just pack up and leave you? Why do you think I didn’t push the issue? I didn’t want Kyle to feel like it was his fault that our marriage was over. Because it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t create this mess, you did. And now you’ve created yet another mess.” Maggie sat back down on the bed, exhausted. She really didn’t know how much more she could take.

  “I’ll fix this, Maggie. I’ll go see Kyle and talk to him. I’ll try to get him to come home,” Andrew said.

  “You can’t just try, Andrew. You have to bring him home. I don’t want him living at Nick’s place,” Maggie said urgently.

  “All I can do is try,” Andrew said.

  “No, Andrew. You have to do more than try. Kyle can’t stay there. Nick throws parties all the time and keeps illegal drugs at his place. Kyle only hangs out with him at work, or to go out to eat, but he never goes over there. He’s afraid of getting into trouble for the drugs if he’s there. Andrew, you have to bring him home. Now.”

  “Oh, shit. I didn’t know that, either,” Andrew said.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know, Andrew, because you haven’t been paying attention. You need to smooth things over with Kaia, too. She was really upset about the fight you had with Kyle.”

  “I’ll go talk to her now, and then I’ll go get Kyle,” Andrew said. “I’ll fix this, Maggie. I promise I will.”

  “You have to, Andrew. Because I can’t cover for your mistakes any longer. It’s up to you to bring your family back together again. I’m tired of trying to do it all on my own.”

  After Maggie hung up, she lay down and closed her eyes. She didn’t know how she felt about Andrew anymore. Was there any love left between them? Too much anger and too many angry words had passed between them. They had loved each other once—truly loved each other. They’d built a life, and had a family. When the kids were young, everything had been fine. But slowly, their life had unraveled. She’d held on because she’d thought that, eventually, they’d be able to find the love lost between them. And then he’d hit her with the final blow. His affair had made her feel inadequate as a woman and a wife. It hadn’t mattered that he’d chosen her over the other woman in the end. He’d broken her trust, and he hadn’t yet proved to her that he was truly sorry for it. She was tired of making excuses for him. There were no excuses left.

  Maggie no longer knew if their problems could be resolved. She just wanted to be happy. She wanted to feel whole again. And she wasn’t sure she could ever feel that way with Andrew again.

  Feeling defeated, Maggie went downstairs for a glass of water and was surprised to see Rob sitting in front of the fireplace in the semidark living room.

  “Still up?” he asked. He was lounging in the corner of the sofa, his long legs spread out in front of him, looking relaxed and comfortable. Maggie wished she could feel as relaxed as he looked.

  “Yeah. Just came down to get some water.” She went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water, then headed back into the living room. “Did Cassie and Matt go up to bed?”

  “Yep. I’m the only one up, except you.”

  “I figured you’d be asleep already since you have a long drive tomorrow,” Maggie said as she perched on the arm of the sofa.

  “Yeah, I probably should get some sleep. It’s nice sitting down here, though, in front of the fire in the silent house.”

  They sat quietly a moment as Maggie stared into the crackling fire. When she looked up, she saw Rob gazing at her. He smiled warmly. She felt her face heat up. She wasn’t used to men looking at her that way.

  “My offer is still open if you’d like to join me. We’d have a good time. You could wear your leathers,” he added, his eyes twinkling.

  Maggie laughed. Maybe that’s exactly what she needed—to ride along the coast and forget all about Andrew, their problems, and the trouble he’d caused. At least for a few days. Why not? Maggie threw caution to the wind.

  “I think you’ve talked me into it. It might be fun. Just two friends on a ride, right?” she asked, hoping she was making the “friends” point clear.

  Rob nodded. “Just two friends on a ride.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Andrew sat on his bed, stunned at what Maggie had just revealed to him. The fact that Kyle had seen him with the other woman horrified him. No wonder his son couldn’t stand to be around him. How could he have been so stupid? Had he really believed in a town this size he could carry on with another woman and not be found out? Was he really that arrogant?

  Andrew ran his hand through his hair and paced the room. The last few years passed before his eyes. He thought of how he’d traded time with his family to pursue his ambitions. Maggie was right. He’d left them long before she ever drove away. What an idiot he’d been.

  Andrew had a lot of work to do to fix his broken family.

  He went to Kaia’s room and apologized to her for the fight he’d had with Kyle. He assured her he was going to fix everything and bring her brother home. Kaia just stared at him with big, sad eyes. Andrew realized for the first time how much she had been through since Maggie left. The eyebrow piercing winked at him in the light, reminding him of those first few tense days. But things had been gradually getting better, until now. He didn’t want to lose the relationship he’d rebuilt with his daughter just because he was a stubborn idiot.

  Andrew walked across the room and drew Kaia into a hug. Tears filled his eyes when she hugged him back. He loved his children. How could he have let himself become so distant from them? When he finally left to go get Kyle, he hoped he had mended the gap in the bridge he and Kaia had started building.

  Nick lived in an apartment above a coffee shop downtown. Andrew knew this only because he’d seen Nick coming out of the door between the buildings in the morning, when Andrew occasionally stopped there to pick up coffee and muffins for the office staff. He didn’t know Nick very well, other than he was a little older than Kyle and worked in the parts department at the motorcycle shop.

  The streetlights spilled shadows on the empty street as Andrew pulled up in front of the coffee shop. This was the old section of downtown, where two-story brick buildings, built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, housed family-owned businesses downstairs and musty old apartments upstairs. All the businesses downtown closed by six o’clock in the evening, leaving the streets deserted.

  Andrew stood on the dark street a moment, looking up at the light in the upstairs window. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t used to apologizing. He always believed he was right. But it was one thing to be proud, another to be stupid. Steeling himself, he rang the buzzer beside the door.

  Andrew waited a while before Kyle appeared at the door. He opened it hesitantly and looked at his dad.

  “Hi, Kyle. Can we talk?” A
ndrew asked.

  Kyle frowned but turned and headed up the narrow staircase, leading the way. Andrew followed him up to the apartment.

  Andrew surveyed his surroundings. There was a ratty brown couch in the center with a scarred wooden coffee table in front of it. An old, green Naugahyde recliner next to the couch had silver duct tape holding the arms together and cigarette holes burned into the seat. A new flat-screen television was perched on a battered stand across from the couch. On the other side of the room was an old wooden dining table with four rickety chairs. The table and coffee table were littered with old pizza boxes and empty beer and soda cans. The place reeked of moldy food, beer, cigarette smoke, and God knew what else.

  Kyle had sat down on the couch and was now staring at his dad. “It’s not a palace, I know. But it’s somewhere to stay.”

  Andrew walked over to the couch and tentatively sat down next to Kyle. “Is anyone else here?” he asked, not wanting Kyle’s friends to overhear their conversation.

  Kyle shook his head.

  Andrew took a deep breath in anticipation of what he was about to say, then regretted it when he got a lungful of the horrible stench. “Kyle, I’m sorry I blew up at you. I’d like for you to come home.”

  Kyle rolled his eyes. “So that’s it? All you have to do is apologize, and everything is better?”

  Andrew looked down at his hands, not quite sure what to say. When Kyle was younger, he had looked up to him like he was his hero. Andrew remembered when Kyle was ten and gazed at him in awe when he’d taught him how to throw a curveball. But now, Kyle knew differently. He knew his dad was only human and made mistakes. He wished things were still as easy as they’d been back then, but those days were long gone.

  “No, son, that isn’t it,” Andrew said, and looked Kyle directly in the eye. “I’m sorry that you saw me that night with that woman. I had no idea you had seen me. I’m so sorry that you had to be the one to tell your mom.”

  Kyle glared at Andrew. “Why? Because you got caught?”

  Andrew shook his head. “No. I was wrong. I never should have done that to your mother. I embarrassed you in front of your friends. You were caught in the middle and forced to take sides. Worst of all, you shouldn’t have had to be the one to tell your mom. I can’t even imagine how heartbreaking that was for you to have to do. I was selfish and self-absorbed when I should have been thinking about what I was doing to my family. I’m so, so sorry, Kyle.”

  Kyle’s pinched face softened. “I appreciate that, Dad. But aren’t you apologizing to the wrong person? You hurt Mom more than you hurt me.”

  Andrew ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “I have apologized to her. We’re still trying to work things out.”

  “Did you mean it, though? When you apologized? Or did you just say the words, like you do about so many things?”

  Andrew stared at his son, shocked by his question. “Of course I meant it. Why do you say that?”

  “Sometimes, you just say what you think the other person wants to hear, but you don’t follow through. You don’t really mean what you say. I think you’ve been a salesman for so long, you just say the right thing to manipulate people and get what you want. It’s the same with all your committee work. You twist the truth into knots to get your way.”

  Andrew started to protest, then stopped himself. He thought about his life over the past few years. The way he’d slowly alienated his family with the excuse that he was doing good for the community, convincing himself that it made him a better person. But he barely knew his kids anymore. And he and Maggie had grown so far out of touch that he’d gone looking for comfort elsewhere. Without realizing it, he’d become a combination of his father and his mother, a coldhearted, unfeeling jerk. His kids knew it, and his wife knew it. Heck, the whole town seemed to know it.

  “My God, how could I have not seen what I was doing? I’m so sorry, Kyle. I didn’t mean to become that way.” Andrew dropped his head in his hands, distraught at what he’d finally realized.

  Kyle placed his hand on his dad’s shoulder. “Dad, you are a good guy. But I want to go back to when you spent time with us and really listened to me and Kaia. We’ve both missed that.”

  Andrew raised his head and looked at his son. He was so grown-up. Andrew was suddenly so proud of the man he was becoming. Thanks to Maggie, Kyle was becoming a better man than he was.

  “I want that, too,” Andrew said softly. “And I’ll start by listening to what you really want to do instead of going to college.”

  Kyle’s brown eyes grew serious. “I just don’t like college, Dad. I know that you think I need to go, but it just isn’t for me. Mom and I talked about me going to the tech college this spring. I really enjoy working with engines, and I’m good at it, too. I think I’d rather pursue that instead.”

  Andrew took a deep breath. If he’d meant what he’d said about changing, then he had to start now. “Maybe that would be a good idea. You’re good with your hands, and you’re smart. Working on cars and small engines is getting more complicated these days, with all the computerized parts. I think the tech school might be a better fit for you.”

  Kyle smiled. “Thanks, Dad. I know you’d rather I go into business or something, but I don’t think I’m cut out for that kind of work.”

  Andrew nodded. He actually felt relieved. He couldn’t force Kyle to become someone he wasn’t. He didn’t know why he’d tried to push him in the wrong direction for the past two years. If working on engines made Kyle happy, so be it.

  “So will you come home now? I promise, no more fighting,” Andrew said.

  Kyle looked around the apartment and grinned. “You mean you want me to leave all of this behind?”

  Andrew chuckled. “I know it will be hard, but I’m sure you’ll survive. Let’s pack up your stuff and get you out of here, okay?”

  Kyle stood and looked at his dad seriously. “What about Mom? How are you going to convince her to come home?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Andrew said honestly. “But I’ll keep trying. I promise.”

  Maggie and Rob headed out early Friday morning, just as the sun was burning off the morning fog. Cassie had been surprised, but pleased, to hear that Maggie was going after all, and she helped Maggie pack the few items she’d need for the trip. She couldn’t take much, since everything had to fit in one of Rob’s saddlebags. She left her leather chaps behind but wore her leather jacket for warmth and protection. She also chose to wear the pair of low-heeled ankle boots she’d bought in Deadwood and a new pair of jeans that fit perfectly. Maggie only packed a few personal items, another pair of jeans, a couple of T-shirts, and a pair of lightweight sneakers. She also squeezed in her camera, an essential for her.

  She was in good spirits that morning, no longer worried about Kyle and Kaia. Last night, Andrew had texted her that he’d talked to Kyle and brought him home, and that he’d also smoothed things over with Kaia. She didn’t call him back, because she was still upset with him. She just wanted to go on this trip with Rob, enjoy the view, and not think about her problems for a few days.

  They headed down I-5 south, and then turned onto Highway 101. After only a couple of hours, they stopped at a small gas station to stretch and walk around. Maggie took photos of the ocean view from the rocky cliffs above. Down below, there was a sandy beach hidden in a cove, and a few people in wet suits were braving the water with surfboards. Maggie took pictures of the surfers on their colorful boards, cruising over the waves.

  Soon, they were back on the bike and riding south again. Maggie sat behind Rob, holding him lightly around the waist for balance. The seat was generous in size and comfortable. She wasn’t used to the helmet yet, but understood its necessity. She was happy she hadn’t tried to style her hair this morning, because it would’ve just been a flat mess by this evening anyway.

  Maggie loved riding on the bike. The freedom of the
open road felt exhilarating with the wind brushing over her and the powerful bike beneath her. Her body became one with the bike, almost by instinct. Each curve in the road required her to lean, and soon, she was doing so without giving it any thought. It felt nice holding on to Rob, too. He was firm and strong, giving her a real sense of trust in his ability to keep them safe on the road.

  After crossing the border into Oregon, they stopped in the town of Seaside at a roadside café for lunch. Once they were seated in a booth and handed menus, Rob asked, “How are you doing so far? Sometimes it can get uncomfortable, riding a cycle when you’re not used to it.”

  “So far, I’m okay,” Maggie said. “I can’t promise that will be true tomorrow, though.”

  Rob chuckled. “We’ll stop tonight about halfway to my place so we don’t overdo it. I don’t know about you, but my back gets sore on the bike after a few hours. It’s the price of getting old.”

  Maggie smiled and nodded as the waitress came back for their order. Once she was gone again, Rob asked, “Does your husband own a cycle?”

  Maggie shook her head. “No, you couldn’t get Andrew anywhere near a motorcycle. He likes nice cars, but he’s not much for toys like motorcycles, boats, or snowmobiles. My son, Kyle, loves anything with an engine. He has a smaller cycle he rides in the summer. It scares the crap out of me, but he seems to be careful.”

  “Yeah, that’s how it starts. One toy, then another, then you have to have bigger and bigger,” Rob said, and grinned. “How old is your son?”

  “He’s nineteen. He goes to college and works part-time at the local cycle shop. He doesn’t like college, though. I think he’s going to try the tech college next.”

  Rob nodded. “Sounds like it would be perfect for him. Did I also hear you have a daughter?”

  “Yes, I do. She’s fourteen, and her name is Kaia. She’s very smart, too, like her brother, and athletic, something I never was. She plays tennis on the middle-school tennis team. She used to play volleyball, too, but it got to be too much.”