Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
D espite how tired Maggie was the day before, she somehow felt more energized on Saturday. However, she wasn’t prepared for the two voicemails and several texts waiting on her phone. The voicemails were from her daughters, Lauren and Beth, while the texts were from Claire, Ciara, Iris, Chelsea, Linda St. James, and her mother.
Grateful she had the energy to deal with it all, Maggie sat on the back porch swing and closed her eyes, letting the warm breeze wash over her. For a moment, she just breathed, trying to center herself. The messages could wait a few more seconds. The truth was, as much as she loved her friends and family, she wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with whatever drama was waiting for her on the other end of those notifications.
She knew Linda could be difficult, but this felt different—heavier somehow. There was a pit in her stomach, a sense of dread that she couldn’t quite shake. It was probably nothing, just the residual fatigue talking, but still…something about it bothered her.
Sighing, she opened her eyes and picked up her phone. She dialed Lauren's number, deciding to tackle one thing at a time.
“Hey, honey, it’s me. Call me when you get this message. Maybe call Beth too, and we can have a three-way conversation. Okay, love you,” she said, leaving the message. Trusting Lauren to handle the phone logistics, Maggie began reading through her texts until Chelsea appeared.
“Nice of you to text me back,” Chelsea said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Don’t you start. I had a lot on my plate yesterday. I had no idea the world would blow up while I was gone. What’s this about Linda?” Maggie asked, trying to keep her voice light, but the unease lingered.
“It seems Claire, being the kind person she is, called Linda to invite her to our little get-together tomorrow. She knew Linda was away and therefore would probably decline and say she’d be at the January meeting. Claire figured they’d talk a little about the book, and that would be that. Claire had no idea she was going to get an earful from Linda.”
“Poor Claire,” Maggie said.
“Yes, well, Claire said Linda was upset—though I think some of us already knew that would happen, it was a shock to Claire. Anyway, after a day or two of thinking it over, Linda decided she’s coming home early to be here for our meeting on Sunday, but not before throwing a hissy fit on the phone.”
Maggie nodded, though her mind was already racing ahead. Linda had always been sensitive, but this seemed like more than just hurt feelings. There was something in the tone of her message that felt…final. As if Linda was drawing a line in the sand.
Maggie held up her phone. “I have said hissy fit right here. Do you want to hear it?”
Chelsea smiled. “By all means.”
Maggie played the message.:
Hello Maggie.
I’ll make this as plain as I can. As you know, I have proposed starting a book club on the island for months. Neither you, Chelsea, nor anyone else wanted to join. Now, I find Claire Wright is starting one, and most everyone I invited to mine has accepted Claire’s invitation.
Claire called to invite me to join, and I have to say, I’m baffled about this new turn of events. I can only imagine that for some unknown reason, I don’t have a single friend on Captiva Island.
And so, I will have to decline joining your group. I was going to come home early to be with you all on Sunday, but then thought better of it. I won’t go where I’m not wanted. Merry Christmas.
Linda
As the message played, Maggie felt a pang of guilt. Maybe they had been too dismissive of Linda’s idea, too quick to embrace Claire’s. She hadn’t realized how deeply it had cut Linda, and now it seemed like they might lose her friendship altogether. Maggie glanced at Chelsea, who was snickering.
“Did you hear Linda isn’t coming home after all?” Iris asked, joining them on the porch with Millie.
Maggie nodded, but felt a knot tighten in her chest.
Chelsea snickered. “I thought the worst thing was having Linda join the book club. I was wrong, this is much worse.”
Maggie looked at Chelsea, trying to gauge her reaction. “You feel bad too?”
Chelsea shot her a look and said, “Heck no. I mean, now we’re going to have to beg her to join.”
Maggie rolled her eyes, but her thoughts lingered on the voicemail. She couldn’t help but feel responsible, and while Chelsea might not care, Maggie knew they couldn’t just let Linda drift away. Not without trying to make things right.
“We’re going to have to call her back. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her hanging like that,” Maggie said.
Chelsea’s face was now serious. “I’m sorry, you’re right. Maybe we’ve all been too harsh and dismissive with her. I know Linda can be difficult, but her heart is good, and she truly is a lonely person. It seems everyone runs away from her, instead of giving her a chance.”
Maggie suddenly felt horrible. Why anyone would be her friend, she didn’t understand. She felt shame for being so quick to dismiss Linda as a gossip and busybody and decided to do what she could to apologize.
Her cellphone rang, and it was Lauren, returning Maggie’s call.
“Chelsea, I have to take this, it’s Beth and Lauren. Can we catch up later? I’ve got a few things that need my attention before the book club meeting.”
“No problem. I’ll call you later and you can tell me what you need me to do. I don’t want you handling Linda all alone.”
Maggie smiled, gave Chelsea a thumbs-up, and answered her phone.
“Hi girls, are you both there?”
Beth answered, “Yup, it’s Lauren and me.”
“Hey Bethy, how are you doing?”
“I’m great, Mom. We’ll see you soon, but Lauren and I wanted to check in with you and see if there is any news on the lump.”
Maggie explained about the biopsy and focused on sounding upbeat and light about it all.
“I’m glad your doctor is taking this seriously,” Lauren said.
“Well, I have been through this before, I guess that’s why he’s being so thorough. I’m very happy with this oncologist.”
“That’s great, Mom,” Lauren added.
“I hate having to wait for the results, it’s the waiting that’s always hard for me. Let’s forget about that for now, how are you two doing?”
“Everything is great at our house,” Lauren said. “We’ll catch up next week.”
“Same here,” Beth added. “Gabriel’s father flew in yesterday. He’s staying with James and his family for Christmas. He was going to come down to Captiva with us, but he said he doesn’t want to miss watching Willow open her presents.”
“That’s understandable, considering Christmas is a special time for children,” Maggie said. “I don’t blame him for wanting to be with his granddaughter. Speaking of which, I can’t wait to see my grandchildren. Are they all excited for Christmas on Captiva Island?”
“I’m afraid the baby is too young to care, Olivia and Lily are excited to see their grandmother. I’m sure Michael’s kids are equally excited, especially Jackson.”
“It won’t be long now,” Maggie said. “Hopefully, we’ll have the results before you arrive, but no matter what they are, we’re going to have a wonderful holiday. I’ve got to go, girls, I’ve got lots to do before Chris and Becca get here. I love you both…no worries, okay? I’ll call everyone just as soon as we have the results.”
“Okay, Mom,” Beth and Lauren said at the same time. “Love you, too.”
Maggie smiled as she ended the call. Regardless of her health issues, she felt blessed beyond measure for her children. She prayed for good results on the biopsy for obvious reasons, but also that she could help another cancer patient feel the same blessings…that someone cared about them enough to stay by their side through the difficult days.
Without her children, and Paolo, Maggie wasn’t sure she’d be able to find the strength to fight the cancer—no one should take this journey alone. If she was lucky, soon she’d be able to do something about that for someone else.
Oliver carried the garden basket to the raised vegetable beds and began gathering fresh herbs and tomatoes for his cooking. He felt a deeper connection to nature with the journey of food from garden to table than when buying produce from the market. Both had their place in meal preparation, but it was his time in the garden that he cherished most.
As he moved from row to row, he glanced up and saw Maggie sitting on the porch swing. He waved, and she waved back.
Since hearing about her cancer, Oliver had wanted to offer her some encouragement. At first, he thought it might be better to stay silent, but with Maggie always referring to the employees at the Key Lime Garden Inn as family, he decided to find a moment for them to talk.
Carrying the garden basket, Oliver made his way through the garden and walked to the inn.
“Mind if I join you for a bit?” he asked Maggie.
“Not at all,” she answered. “How are you enjoying the garden?”
He smiled. “I love preparing beautiful dishes for others, but it’s my time in the garden…that’s for me alone. It feels meditative when I’m there. It’s the only time I feel I’m using all my senses. The touch, smell, taste of each plant…it’s hard to describe.”
Maggie smiled. “I understand. Paolo and I have the same reaction to the garden. It’s why he runs a garden nursery. He loves working this garden, but it’s Sanibellia that is his baby.”
He nodded. “I think he and I might be kindred spirits.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” she said.
“Maggie, I…the other day, I heard about what you’re going through, and I wanted to offer whatever help I can.”
Maggie’s brow furrowed slightly as she processed his words. She could see that he struggled to properly express his concern for her, but there was no mistaking what he was told.
“Am I out of line for talking to you about this?” he asked.
Maggie looked up at the wind chimes and smiled.
“No, you’re not out of line, and I appreciate you offering your support. Cancer is a difficult illness to fight. It’s like a chess game where your opponent knows your every move before you do. It takes just the right combination of things to outsmart it. Doctors keep trying new things, and sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t and you lose the game.”
He continued to focus on her face as she hadn’t made eye contact with him since he brought up the subject of her illness.
“It’s so random and not fair.”
She shook her head and softly answered, “No. It’s not.”
She looked at him and smiled. “What happened to you wasn’t fair either.”
Oliver had always known he would tell Maggie what happened that day. He didn’t know when, but now, sitting with her, he felt sharing his story was all he had to offer her.
“We…we were on our way home from a family party. It was a birthday party for our niece, Madeline. I’d been so busy with work, I didn’t think I could make it…but, our family, we needed a day to be together…the four of us.”
He stopped and took a deep breath, and then continued.
“We knew the weather wasn’t great, but the party wasn’t called off, so we decided to go. We all had fun at the party, but on the way home, Colin wanted to get a slice or two of pizza. Even after all he ate at the party, he was still hungry. He wanted to go to his favorite pizza place. My wife said no, but I said there wasn’t any harm in having a little pizza. The boys loved pizza, especially Caleb. We got to the pizza restaurant and went inside. We were drenched from the rain, but thought it was funny. I remember we laughed so hard…there was so much laughter…”
Oliver hesitated before continuing, his eyes filling with tears.
“When we were done, we ran back to the car and started for home, but the car stalled. I kept trying to get it to start, but it wouldn’t. We didn’t live that far from the place, so we kept talking about whether we should run home or wait it out, but we had no idea how long the rain would continue. We should have waited…”
He looked at Maggie. “My wife said it was up to me…it was my decision…I’m the one…I…”
Maggie put her hand on his arm. “It wasn’t your fault, Oliver.”
He nodded, but needed to keep talking, because if he stopped, he felt he’d fall into a ball on the floor and never get up.
“We got out of the car and ran…we ran so fast. I had Colin’s hand and my wife had Caleb. The water came…it knocked me off my feet and pulled me under. I tried so hard to hold onto Colin…but his hand…his little hand let go. The water took us all, and it was so fast…so fast.”
Oliver wiped his wet face with his hand.
“Somewhere further down the road I saw Caleb holding onto a tree. I tried to get to him, but the current was so strong, I reached for him…but just when I thought I had him, the water took me away again.”
Oliver tried to catch his breath before speaking again. When he did, he looked out at the garden.
“They found the boys the next day, and my wife, the day after.”
By now, Maggie was crying too. She couldn’t imagine living with the pain of such a loss. She wiped her eyes and moved closer to Oliver.
“I’m so sorry, Oliver. I wish I could take away your pain, but the truth is it will never leave you, nor should it. It will get easier in time, but this devastating loss will be with you your whole life. However, there is a way…a way forward…your family would want you to be happy. I know it feels like an impossible task, but you will be happy again. I promise you.”
He looked at her and couldn’t imagine what she was saying to be true. How could he ever be happy again, especially living with this guilt?
“Here’s what I know. I know that as alone as each of us feels in moments like this, we’re not. We’re part of something much greater than ourselves. You are now part of our family and we are part of yours. All of us are connected to a larger family where we can find hope, love, friendship, compassion, peace, and so much more. Your wife and children were and still are part of this larger family. And, as long as we talk about them, celebrate them and find comfort in the love you all shared while they were alive, they will never completely die.”
Oliver smiled and nodded.
“Oliver, thank you for sharing your story with me. Let’s keep talking about your wife and children. Let’s remember funny stories about them and laugh, just like you did that day in the pizza restaurant. Because you shared this with me, I know I’ll never eat pizza the same way, ever again.
Oliver laughed. “It’s funny you say that, because I haven’t had a slice since that day.”
Maggie put her hand on his shoulder.
“In that case, one of these days, we’re going out for a slice or two, and we’ll talk about your family, and how blessed you were…and are now.”
Oliver had gained so much since taking the chef position at the Key Lime Garden Inn, but until this moment, he hadn’t realized how much.
He nodded and smiled. “I’d like that very much.”