Goodbye, Magnolia (Cornerstone Book 1)

by Krista Noorman

  “Magnificent Maggie!” Dave exclaimed.

  “Oh, that’s a good one.” Maggie hugged him. “I might use that.”

  They walked together into the kitchen. Vi immediately began helping Patty with dinner while Dave joined the group at the table, who were telling funny stories from the wedding day.

  Maggie glanced around the room. Maybe they weren’t all blood related, but they had become an important part of each other’s lives over the past year, and they were her family. Even Simon. Last Christmas, they were fighting on the front porch, and she couldn’t stand the sight of him. Now, he was … tolerable.

  What a difference a year makes.

  She walked over and put her arm around her mother. “Love you, Mom.” She grabbed the bowl of potatoes and started mashing.

  Patty gave her a sweet, motherly smile and a kiss on the cheek.

  The group at the table suddenly exploded with laughter as they relived an unfortunate incident from the reception when Great Aunt Lois had lost her skirt.

  “Stop that!” Patty scolded them. “Aunt Lois couldn’t help it when that little boy pulled her skirt down.”

  “Yeah!” Tom tried to speak through his laughter. “But she just kept dancing.”

  “She didn’t even try to pull it back up,” Dave added, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

  Everyone had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard.

  Maggie walked over and dropped a box of tissue in the middle of the table.

  Once the delicious meal was eaten and the table cleared, everyone gathered in the living room for a very special presentation.

  Maggie plopped down in her favorite recliner and tucked her legs underneath her.

  Tom walked up to the television, turned on the DVD player, and popped in a disc.

  “What are we watching?” Maggie was very curious. They had been so secretive all day.

  “It’s our wedding,” Sarah happily replied.

  “Seriously?” She clapped her hands excitedly.

  “My uncle took some video, and he burned it onto a disc for us this week.” She curled up next to Tom on the couch.

  Simon walked into the room and sat in front of Maggie’s chair, leaning against it sideways with his arm draped across her lap.

  “Excuse me.” She poked at his arm.

  He looked up at her with a grin, ignored her protest, and pointed toward the TV.

  Tom’s face popped up on the screen. He stood at the end of the aisle waiting for Sarah, wiping his tears as she walked toward him.

  Everyone aww’d in unison.

  As they watched the ceremony and listened to the vows, Maggie got tears in her eyes again.

  Simon gave her hand a squeeze and didn’t release it.

  Maggie looked over at her new sister-in-law, who was also crying and holding her husband’s hand. She watched Tom wipe a tear from her cheek and kiss her on the nose. Sarah laughed a little as she wiped her tears.

  The video then went on to the reception and the speeches.

  “Oh no!” Maggie covered her face with a pillow. “Is that really what I sound like?”

  When it came to Simon’s speech, he and Tom pointed across the room at each other.

  Everyone either laughed or groaned again at Simon’s “upper hand” joke.

  “Yeah, I found that one online,” he admitted.

  “Cheater!” cried Tom.

  “Guilty as charged.”

  Sarah and Tom’s dance was next. They looked so happy and in love as they spun around the dance floor together.

  When it was time for the bridal party dance, butterflies floated around in the pit of Maggie’s stomach. There they were — she and Simon dancing.

  Simon squeezed her hand again, and she removed it from his grip and hid behind the pillow again.

  Sarah’s uncle had moved around and among the group to get video of everyone as they danced. Maggie couldn’t remember seeing him at all, and she hoped he had missed her and Simon’s interaction. There was Gina dancing with Bill and Derek dancing with Leslie. Then the camera rotated around just as Simon whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek.

  Simon looked up at her with a smile, trying to hold back his laughter as everyone said, “Oooh!”

  “Dude, that’s my sister,” Tom cried jokingly.

  Maggie blushed and kept her face hidden. She couldn’t believe that was captured on the video, and in front of her whole family.

  “What did he say?” asked Vi with a wink.

  Simon answered so Maggie didn’t have to. “I told her how beautiful she looked.”

  The aww’s filled the room again.

  “Fast forward,” Maggie cried. She pushed Simon’s arm from her lap and fled to the kitchen.

  Sarah jumped up and followed. “What was that?” She spoke softly. “What did he say?”

  Maggie looked into the living room to make sure everyone was still watching the video. She pulled Sarah further into the kitchen with her. “He said he can’t help the way he feels about me, and I can keep pushing him away, but he’s not going anywhere.”

  “Oh, Maggie.” Sarah grinned at her.

  “Then after the reception, he was kind of drunk, so I took him to my office to let him sleep it off, and he told me he’s in love with me.” It was the first time she had spoken the words aloud, and they sounded strange and foreign. No one had been in love with her for a very long time.

  “Now what? Are you two getting together now? I saw how cozy you were in there.”

  “No, we’re not getting together.”

  “What’s going on in that head of yours, Maggie?” Sarah gave her a look that called for complete honesty.

  “He was drunk when he said it.”

  “Not the first part. And drunk people tend to tell the truth.”

  “It’s just his way of trying to get me to change my mind about him, even though I told him we’re just friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be.”

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “I am. But even if I wasn’t, it would never work out. He says he’s not going anywhere, but he will.”

  Sarah shook her head sadly. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because someone will come along, like Anna or some other random girl, and it’ll be the same thing all over again.”

  “You can’t know that,” Sarah replied.

  “But I do.” She got louder as she spoke. “Because I know him. I was engaged to him, and his name was Ben.”

  “Maggie.” Sarah’s voice was filled with concern.

  “Ben left me brokenhearted with a whole lot of empty promises.” She took a deep breath and let it out, fighting back the tears.

  Sarah took her hands. “Maggie, Simon is nothing like Ben.”

  “That’s not true. We weren’t even together, and he hurt me just as bad as Ben ever did.” Maggie grabbed a tissue from the box left on the kitchen table and dabbed her eyes. “I was actually ready, Sarah. Ready to finally move on, or at least to try. I was gonna tell him that night in Petoskey, but he was already with somebody else. It just felt a little too familiar.”

  Sarah handed her another tissue.

  “And that’s how I know.” Maggie sniffled. “Because no matter what he says, I’ll just end up betrayed and alone. Again.”

  A sudden shuffle in the kitchen doorway caused the girls to stop talking. Maggie turned slowly and cringed.

  Simon stood in the doorway staring blankly at them.

  She wondered how long he had been standing there, but gathered from his expression he had heard the majority of their conversation. Maggie didn’t know what to say.

  His eyes revealed his level of pain and disappointment.

  “I’m not Ben,” he declared coldly and walked out of the house.

  June 18, 2010

  Journey to the Island

  The next six months leading up to the Mackinac Island wedding went by in a blur. Maggie kept busy with work and tried not to think about what had happen
ed with Simon at Christmas. He left that night and never came back. He disappeared as she predicted he would. With Simon gone, her life should have gone back to normal, but something was different. Something inside her had shifted.

  While sorting through some boxes at her parents’ house after the holidays, she came across a few of her old photo albums from high school youth group. There were so many memories on those pages — hayrides, winter retreats, summer camp, and trips to Cedar Point. Youth group was the place where she first discovered her love for photography and capturing real, unposed moments. Fran, Pastor Jon’s wife, had affectionally dubbed her the “youth group photographer”, and her photo albums held the proof.

  Looking through the hundreds of pictures, she came across one of her and Ben from camp the summer she turned sixteen. It reminded her of a low point in their friendship. Finally aware of Maggie’s feelings, he began to pull away. This left her overly emotional and filled with teenaged angst. The summer was ruined, or so she thought. She pictured hanging out at the beach, getting ice cream, spending lots of time together, but the only time she saw him was at church. He was full of excuses why he couldn’t hang out, and Maggie was miserable. Not exactly the sweet sixteen she had imagined.

  Staring at the photo, she remembered a moment from camp that difficult summer. Kneeling in the empty camp chapel, she had given her feelings for Ben to God. The worry over that relationship was replaced with a sense of peace, and she knew in that moment she could fully trust God with her heart and her future. God was enough for her.

  Maggie was thankful for that memory, and she had been clinging to it for months. It led her back to a place she thought she’d never go again, a place that held so many memories of Ben — First Baptist Church. It was hard to walk through those doors at first and not grieve for the past, but it got easier as the weeks went by. She was welcomed back with open arms by so many she had loved and missed. And now, like that day in the camp chapel, she felt peace. It had been a long time since she had been so peaceful and so sure God would take care of her.

  In the months since Christmas, Maggie began to pray for her business as she had in the beginning. Somewhere along the line, she started to trust in herself rather than God to succeed and that had gotten her nowhere. As her faith renewed, her fear over all the canceled weddings faded and new bookings came.

  She also prayed for Simon. Maybe there was no future there, but she did care about him, and she wanted him to be happy.

  Tom told her Simon had thrown himself into his work. “He’s probably trying to become a better man for you,” he had teased.

  Maggie wondered what Simon was really doing. She knew he was staying away to avoid seeing her, and part of her felt bad for tearing apart their little family dynamic.

  Uncle Pete once mentioned that Simon had been doing quite a bit of traveling. She wondered where to. Was he traveling for weddings? Was he on vacation with someone? Had he found someone new? She spent a lot of time replaying the events of the past year and second guessing her decisions, but in the end, she believed it was right for her.

  Whatever the reason for Simon’s disappearing act, she would have to face him when she and Sarah rode up to Mackinac with him and Anna for the wedding.

  Maggie was nervous and excited. She couldn’t hide it. She was practically bouncing off the walls of her shop.

  “Settle, girl,” Sarah ordered. “You’re good. We’ve got all the equipment cleaned, charged and ready. No worries.”

  “I just want them to get here so we can go. I’m too excited to sit still.”

  She checked her email to pass the time. There was a short message from DeDe saying, “See you on the island,” and some junk mail. She powered down her computer.

  “Mags,” Sarah called from her desk.

  “Yeah?” she replied as she locked the door of her office behind her. She turned around to find Simon standing just inside the door.

  “Hi,” he spoke sweetly with a little grin.

  “Hi.” She was surprised when her stomach flipped at the sight of him, and she realized in that moment how much she had actually missed him. It felt surreal to have him standing in front of her again.

  “Hi,” Sarah repeated them. “OK, let’s blow this joint.”

  Simon helped with the bags, holding the door for Sarah, then Maggie.

  Maggie stopped just outside the door. He continued to hold it open for her.

  “I have to lock up,” she told him.

  “Right.” He seemed nervous. He let go of the door and followed Sarah down the sidewalk, where Anna was waiting in the car.

  Maggie looked back at her shop. “Magnolia Photography” was painted on the glass with the white magnolia logo above it. Look how far I’ve come. My little business is finally making a name for itself.

  She hopped in the back seat of Simon’s car with Sarah, and they took off for the northern lower peninsula of Michigan.

  Maggie and Sarah amused themselves on the four hour drive by sending Twitter updates via their cell phones.

  @magnoliaphotog: heading north with @sarahlovestom @simonwalkerfoto and @annakleinphoto for the wedding of the year!

  @sarahlovestom: @simonwalkerfoto’s taste in music sucks!

  Maggie laughed at that. Simon’s love of classic rock was completely annoying.

  @magnoliaphotog: @sarahlovestom - totally agree! LOL!

  @sarahlovestom: @magnoliaphotog - Maggie is the greatest sister/best friend/boss EVER!

  @magnoliaphotog: @simonwalkerfoto is driving like a grandma.

  @sarahlovestom: @annakleinphoto just fell asleep on our drive to Mackinaw City and snorted.

  @magnoliaphotog: @sarahlovestom - ROFLMBO! Can’t believe she’s not texting in her sleep.

  They were laughing out loud at their updates so much so that they had themselves in tears.

  “What are you two doing back there?” asked Simon.

  “Nothing, Grandma,” replied Sarah.

  Maggie burst out laughing. This was much better than the last ride north she’d made with Simon and Anna.

  Simon adjusted the rear view mirror until he was looking at her. “Why do I have the feeling this laughter is at my expense?”

  This just made them laugh more.

  And when Anna snorted in her sleep again, they all started laughing.

  As they neared their destination and rounded a bend in the highway, the Mighty Mac came into view. The Mackinac Bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere at five miles long and was an awesome sight to behold. Just before the bridge was Mackinaw City, where they hopped a ride to the island on a Star Line Hydro-Jet Ferry. They decided to sit below deck in the covered part of the boat rather than up top in the wind. Maggie sat alone on a bench toward the front of the boat and pulled one of her cameras out to document the boat ride. She turned her camera on the others, who were sitting on the bench behind her. They gave her their best cheesy grins. Simon hopped up onto the bench with her and snatched the camera. He took a picture of the three girls, then sat next to Maggie, put his arm around her, and held the camera out in front of them for a little self-portrait action. He pulled her against his side and leaned his head against hers so they would both fit into the shot.

  “Thanks.” She retrieved the camera from him.

  He kept his arm around her. “I still don’t get the Canon fascination. Nikon is so much better.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Not this again.”

  “Yes, this again. Haven’t I convinced you yet?”

  “I actually think both are fine cameras, Simon. I just happened to pick up a Canon first, and I stuck with it. That’s really all there is to it.”

  He tapped her on the nose. “Fine. You win.”

  She looked at him in shock. “I win? Wow!”

  “What’s that look?”

  “I never thought you’d give up this fight so easily.”

  “Well, I’m a new man,” he revealed with a grin.

  Maggie didn’t resp
ond to that, but he did seem different somehow.

  She settled in for the half hour ride with the slight bouncing of the boat and the warmth of Simon’s arm draped comfortably against her back. Every now and then she’d snap a picture out the window. When they approached the island, she took a few photos of The Grand Hotel through the glass. The hotel was so large, it could be seen clearly from far out in the water.

  Once the boat docked, they gathered their belongings and boarded the carriage, which waited to take them to the hotel. There were no vehicles allowed on Mackinac Island so the only forms of transportation were walking, riding bikes, or horse and carriage. Their horses were Hackneys named Buck and Leo. The driver, Joshua, was a friendly man, who was quick to share the history of the island and all about the care of the horses.

  “This your first time to the island?” Joshua asked.

  “I’ve been here before,” replied Maggie. “But it’s been a long time.”

  “You have?” asked Sarah. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Yeah, we vacationed here a few times growing up.”

  “Me, too,” Anna interjected. “Maybe we were here at the same time when we were kids.”

  Maggie shook her head. “I doubt it, since you probably weren’t even born when I was here.”

  Anna laughed, but it sounded fake and forced. “Oh, I forgot you’re much older than me.”

  Maggie looked at Sarah and then back at Anna. “I’m not that much older than you.”

  “Well, forty is a lot older than me,” Anna declared.

  A laugh escaped from Simon before he could catch it.

  “Hey!” Maggie slapped him. “I’m thirty-two, Anna.”

  “Oh my gosh, Maggie. I’m so sorry.” Anna was messing with her stupid cell phone again. “I’m so bad at guessing people’s ages.”

  Simon looked back at Maggie and mouthed, “Sorry.”