Goodbye, Magnolia (Cornerstone Book 1)

by Krista Noorman

  “I’d like to work on the marriage, but he’s gonna have to be the one to make the first move. I’ve held us together all these years. It’s up to him now.” Vi gave a determined nod of her head and reached for another cookie.

  Sarah set her tea cup on the saucer with a clink. “I like how you cleverly changed the subject, Maggie.”

  Everyone laughed, except Maggie.

  “Spill.” Sarah elbowed her friend.

  “I don’t know where to start.” Maggie tilted her head slightly to the right, remembering the moment Simon’s lips had touched hers. She felt flushed.

  “Do you like the boy?” her mother asked.

  “No,” she answered without hesitation.

  “Right,” Sarah mumbled through a bite of cookie.

  “I don’t,” Maggie insisted. “It was just a moment of weakness. We were having fun dancing with some of the other photographers. Next thing I know we’re slow dancing and he’s kissing me.” She covered her face with her hands again.

  “The next thing you know?” Her mother chuckled. “Were you forced to dance with him?”

  “No, Mother.” She emphasized mother the way she had when she was a young girl fighting for her independence.

  “You gonna let him kiss you again?” teased Sarah.

  Maggie narrowed her eyes at her friend.

  “You know I’m not gonna be able to look at him now without thinking ‘That’s the guy that kissed my boss’.”

  “Stop!” Maggie elbowed her this time.

  “How does he feel about you, Maggie?” asked Vi seriously.

  “He told me he likes me.”

  “He likes you?” Sarah grinned. “Aw, that’s sweet.”

  “No, it is not sweet.” Maggie shook her head.

  “Maggie, is he really such a horrible guy?” her mother asked.

  “Yes!” She had been thinking about him ever since she stepped out of the elevator that night in Vegas. No matter how nice he seemed or how good it felt to kiss him, she knew the real Simon. “We just don’t get along. Not since college. And I told you about our conversations since he came to town.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “You weren’t,” remarked Vi. “Sometimes things happen that we don’t plan.”

  “It’s gonna be weird the next time I see him.” Suddenly Maggie remembered Angie’s wedding. She groaned. “And we have to work together at a wedding in June.”

  “Awk-ward.” Sarah giggled, which got her another elbow in the ribs from Maggie.

  May 7, 2009

  Revelations at Rose’s

  Maggie’s first wedding of the season in March had come and gone, as had the Grand Opening of Walker’s Photography. Things were in full swing down there, but she tried not to dwell on it. Instead, she focused on editing wedding pictures and updating her website with fresh new images.

  Before she knew it, the trees around town began to sprout buds, the tulips bloomed, and the magnolia trees blossomed. The winter-themed “Welcome to Hastings” banners on the light posts were replaced with bright, flowery ones. Spring had arrived and everything felt new again.

  On the first Thursday evening in May, Maggie and Sarah drove to Rose’s, a restaurant in East Grand Rapids, for the quarterly gathering of area wedding photographers. She wondered if Simon would be there. She hadn’t seen or heard anything from him since Vegas, not that she was surprised after their last encounter. Through the grapevine, better known as DeDe, she heard that he was only coming to town for meetings or if his uncle needed something, but he was mostly staying in East G.R. now that wedding season was underway. Maggie couldn’t help but wonder if it was partly because of her.

  East Grand Rapids was one of Maggie’s favorite spots. The history fascinated her. She liked to imagine all the people who used to frequent Ramona Park, an amusement park that once stood on the shores of Reeds Lake in the early 1900’s, with its roller coasters, lovely pavilions and boat docks. Rose’s was a bathing beach and swimming school at that time. Sadly, the amusement park was demolished in 1955, and a decade later, the bathing beach and its facilities met the same fate. But one building was left standing. That building was Rose’s, which became a beloved restaurant over the years.

  She admired the old black and white photos displayed in the entryway of the restaurant — the original owners and building, the roller coaster, people swimming in the lake, boats at the dock. It looked magical. She thought about a simpler time, a quieter way of life, without the internet or cell phones or computers. What would that be like?

  Most of the group was already there when they arrived, seated together at a few tables by the expanse of windows, which overlooked the lake. They maneuvered their way across the room, between and around the tables and other guests. Maggie recognized the back of Simon’s head and her stomach unexpectedly flipped. Shannon sat to one side of him, and his arm was draped around a brunette on the other.

  As they neared, she realized the brunette was Michelle, which was surprising. Michelle had never been interested in photography, but she was obviously interested in a certain photographer. It was hard to miss the way she was looking at Simon, how she leaned into him, her hand resting on his atop the table.

  “Hey, Chelle.”

  Michelle’s face lit up. She stood and greeted her friend with a hug.

  “How are you?” Maggie asked.

  “Really good.” She smiled and raised her eyebrows up and down.

  “You and Simon?” Maggie whispered, hoping her tone sounded more curious than concerned. She glanced over at Simon, who avoided eye contact.

  Michelle smiled happily as she took her seat next to Simon again and kissed him on the cheek.

  He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, then looked straight at Maggie.

  She looked over at Sarah, who was also witness to this exchange.

  “We’re gonna go get a drink.” Sarah nudged Maggie toward some seats a couple tables away.

  Maggie took a seat facing away from the new happy couple. All these years, Michelle and Simon had been just friends and now they were a couple? The timing felt very unsettling and seemed like more than a coincidence. This worried her.

  “He’s looking over here,” Sarah whispered.

  Maggie shrugged. “Who cares.”

  “You do.” Sarah tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

  “No, I really don’t.”

  “I saw the look on your face when you saw them together.”

  “I was just … surprised, that’s all.”

  “You broke his heart, Mags. He’s rebounding.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not a rebound. It’s Michelle. They’ve known each other forever. And we weren’t together, so there’s nothing to rebound from.”

  “He kissed you, Maggie. He likes you.”

  She glanced over her shoulder and spotted Simon plant a kiss on Michelle’s neck.

  “Liked.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  A few hours had passed when the group finally started to break up. Jamie and Shannon caught up with Maggie and Sarah as they walked along the hall leading out of the restaurant.

  Shannon linked arms with Maggie. “You goin’ to the park?”

  “Yep,” Maggie replied.

  It was the perfect evening for a stroll through the park next to Rose’s.

  “Girl!” exclaimed Jamie. “I have not seen you in months. You need to fill us in on what happened in Vegas.”

  Maggie pretended to be clueless. “What do you mean?”

  “We saw you and Simon kissing at the party, then you just took off,” declared Jamie with girlish excitement. “We need details!”

  Maggie heard a gasp from behind them. She glanced back and discovered Michelle, who had stopped in her tracks. She and Simon had been following close enough behind that they overheard Jamie’s comment.

  Michelle looked up at Simon, the shock and betrayal written all over her face. “You kissed
Maggie?”

  “Keep walking,” Maggie whispered to her friends, and they quickened their pace out the door to the park.

  The girls sat in the park talking about their recent weddings as the sun went down. They avoided the subject of Simon. He and Michelle had not joined the group in the park for obvious reasons.

  Maggie didn’t blame Michelle for being upset. They hadn’t spoken since Valentine's Day, so there had been no chance for them to talk about Vegas or this new development in Michelle's relationship with Simon.

  When they were in college, she often came home to their apartment to find Michelle and Simon snuggled up on the couch watching a movie together. The two of them were close from the start. Lots of people assumed they were dating because they spent so much time together and were always flirting, but they never were. Maggie always wondered if Michelle had romantic feelings for Simon, but she would never admit it. The chemistry was undoubtedly there, though, and it made sense they would end up together.

  Maggie felt a sudden unexpected twinge of jealousy. She dismissed it as quickly as it came and looked out at the lake. She was only half listening to what the girls were saying.

  “Maggie?” Sarah interrupted her thoughts.

  “Sorry, what?”

  “Are you up for some Starbucks before we head home?”

  “Always.”

  The four girls walked out of the park toward Gaslight Village.

  “Hey! Wait up!”

  They all turned at once to see Simon jogging to catch up.

  “Can I talk to you?” he asked Maggie, slightly out of breath.

  “I guess.” She gave Sarah a nod and headed back toward the park with Simon.

  They walked in silence at first, then he motioned to a bench that faced the lake, and they took a seat.

  “Haven’t seen you around town lately,” she stated.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Miss me?”

  Her only reply was a look of sarcasm.

  He grinned. “Too many weddings, too little time.”

  “Avoiding me?” she asked point blank.

  He feigned shock. “Would I do that?”

  She grinned back at him.

  “The thing is …” He paused as if deep in thought. “I just wanted to make sure we’re good, ‘cause we’ve got that wedding coming up, and I didn’t want things to be … weird between us.”

  “We’re fine,” she stated confidently. “We’re both professionals. We have a job to do, even if we feel uncomfortable around each other.”

  Simon leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees and looked over at Maggie. “Do I make you uncomfortable?” He smirked.

  Sunset had passed, and they were beginning to lose the light. His face was barely lit, his dark hair tousled, and those hazel eyes reflected the subtle glow remaining in the sky. The butterflies floated around in her stomach again, and suddenly she was feeling uncomfortable. She glanced at his mouth and remembered what it felt like to kiss him that night in Vegas.

  He gazed seriously into her eyes.

  Maggie looked away, out across the water at the glowing windows of the lake houses.

  “I’m sorry about Vegas.” She couldn’t look at him to apologize.

  “I’m not,” he admitted. “I’m only sorry we didn’t get to finish that dance.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s your fault our dance was cut short.”

  He laughed a little. “I’ll gladly take the blame.”

  It was difficult for her to look at him. He was being all flirty and charming, and she didn’t want to fall for it.

  He checked his watch. “Listen, I’ve gotta get back to Michelle. I told her I was making a quick coffee run.”

  Reality check. She remembered being that girl, the one who never knew if what was coming out of his mouth was the truth or a lie.

  “So, we’re good?” He was already standing, barely giving her time to respond.

  Heck, no! That’s what she wanted to say, but instead she forced a grin. “Goodnight, Simon.”

  “See ya’, Canon,” he called back as he walked away.

  Jerk!

  June 6, 2009

  Angie & Steve

  The air outside the church was filled with bubbles. The bubbles were meant to be blown when the newly married couple exited the church, but the children were anxious and could wait no longer. The wedding ceremony of Angie and her new husband Steve had gone off without a hitch, and guests gathered around the door of the church waiting for them to emerge.

  Maggie observed the crowd. Some people waited quietly, others talked and laughed, and some headed right to their vehicles to depart for the reception. She looked through the viewfinder on her camera and snapped a few pictures as one group erupted in laughter. She glanced over the camera looking for her next shot. As she discovered a group of little kids with bubbles, she spotted Simon walking across the parking lot toward her. It was no surprise that she would see him at some point during the day, but the original plan was for him to meet them at the country club before the reception began.

  He gave her a friendly wave.

  She ignored him and continued shooting, but he walked directly into her line of sight, completely blocking her shot.

  “Simon!” Her head whipped up from behind her camera.

  He glanced back to see an adorable little boy and girl giggling and blowing bubbles at each other. They abruptly stopped and ran off.

  “Aw, that would’ve been a good picture.”

  “I know.” Maggie gritted her teeth. She hoped this wasn’t how the next couple of hours would be.

  Sarah, who had been inside while the couple dismissed their guests, came scurrying out of the church to join them. “They’re coming!” There was sudden applause and cheering behind her.

  Maggie moved quickly around Simon so she wouldn’t miss it. Angie and Steve walked blissfully hand in hand. It was all beauty and bubbles. They hopped into their getaway car and waved to the guests, both with the biggest smiles they’d ever worn. They took one quick pause for a photo by Maggie, then drove off.

  Once the car was out of sight, she turned her attention to Simon. “I thought you were meeting us at the country club.”

  “Well, I knew they were coming back here first for pictures in the church, so I thought I’d come watch you work.”

  Great. She glanced over at Sarah who was trying to suppress a smile.

  On the drive to the country club, Maggie and Sarah guzzled bottles of water and munched on granola bars. Early on in Maggie’s wedding photography career, she learned that without proper sustenance it is possible to pass out in the middle of photographing the ceremony. She never made that mistake again.

  “Simon was totally watching you at the church.” Sarah spoke between bites.

  Maggie shook her head. “Let’s just get through the next couple hours. Then we can enjoy the reception without him.”

  “If I knew something about a certain photographer and a certain girlfriend of his, would you want to know?” Sarah gave her a questioning look.

  Maggie was curious. “I guess so.”

  “Remember what I said at Rose’s about him rebounding? Uncle Pete said Simon and Michelle only got together because someone else rejected him.”

  She placed her fingertips to her left temple like a sudden headache was coming on. “He told you that?”

  “Oh, Tom told me. He overheard Pete and Vi talking at your parents’ house one night.”

  Maggie chewed on her bottom lip. “This is not good.” She did not want to be the reason he had chosen Michelle and, if this was true, she was very worried for her friend.

  Sarah shrugged. “Maybe they’ll be happy together.”

  “Or maybe she’ll get hurt because he’s not being honest with her.”

  “Have you talked to her lately?”

  Maggie frowned and shook her head. “She won’t return my calls.”

  “I’m sure she’ll get over it. Eventually,” Sarah replied.

 
“Not while she’s with Simon, she won’t.”

  Sarah took a swig of water, and all was quiet for a few minutes.

  “Is Simon really all that bad?”

  Maggie was dumbfounded.

  “He might be a little conceited, but he’s a decent guy. I don’t think he’d jerk Michelle around.”

  “You don’t know him.” Maggie could name several girls at college whose hearts had been broken by Simon Walker. They were girls like Michelle and Emma, who thought he was all in, when he wasn’t so truthful about his real feelings or intentions.

  “He’s a nice guy, Mags. He and Tom have become good friends.” She paused for a couple beats. “I like him.”

  “If you like him so much, you date him.”

  Sarah laughed aloud at that. “I can’t. I’m in love with your brother.”

  Maggie’s head jerked to the side and her mouth dropped open a little. “What? You love Tommy?”

  “I love him. I have since I met him.”

  “Sarah.”

  “And he told me he loves me, too.” Sarah’s smile lit up the car.

  “Well, I’m not surprised. You’re very lovable.” Maggie grinned at her friend.

  She could not possibly be upset with Sarah over her opinion of Simon after hearing that.

  Love was in the air. If only for some.

  When they arrived at the country club, Maggie climbed out of the car and took a few external shots of the clubhouse. She and Sarah then headed inside to scope out the reception hall before the bridal party limo arrived. There were still group photos for her to take and a few pictures of the couple before she turned them over to Simon.

  The tables were decorated with candles and various shades of pink roses in short and tall vases. The wedding cake was a simple, white, three-tiered beauty, with light pink roses on top. Some of the guests had already arrived and were finding their seats. The D.J. was set up and playing instrumental music, while the caterers prepared the buffet dinner.