Chapter 16
Sixteen
Maggie’s four parents, aunt and uncle came to visit Matthews House the next day at lunchtime.
They greeted her with hugs and condolences over the loss of Debbie as well as concern for her children.
The McBride children had gone with Karen to their school to collect their belongings and transcripts and to say their goodbyes.
They’d be leaving to fly to Arizona that afternoon.
Mitch had prepared a feast for Maggie’s special guests, who had a million questions about the facility, the services and Maggie’s daily routine, such as it was.
“It’s different every day,” she told them as they enjoyed lunch in the conference room after she’d introduced them to the staff and showed them around. “Just depends on what the residents need.”
“You’re doing such important work here, honey,” Clare said. “I couldn’t be prouder.”
“Me, too,” Jack added. “You’re making such a difference for the people you serve.”
“We’re trying,” Maggie said. “Some days, I feel like we’re spinning our wheels, but then something wonderful happens, like last night, when the other moms came together to support each other. That was really special. I like knowing they’ll have each other after they leave here.”
“I don’t know about you guys,” Andi said, “but my job feels rather superficial in light of what our girl is doing here.”
“Agreed,” Aidan said. “I love what I do, but this… This is so meaningful. Good for you, Mags.” A gifted carpenter who specialized in historical restoration, Aidan was also a cardiologist but had stopped practicing after the loss of his first wife to cancer and their son to stillbirth.
Maggie basked in the parental praise. “You guys are good for a girl’s fragile ego.”
“How many families can you host at one time?” Jamie asked.
“We have rooms set up for ten families, but we could squeeze in a few mothers with one child or a baby in addition to that. We haven’t had to do that yet.”
“When does your equine therapy program begin?” Jack helped himself to another half sandwich from the platter Mitch had put together. Maggie had invited him to join them for lunch, but he’d told her to enjoy the time with her folks.
“Monday, when Brayden gets back from a vacation he already had planned before he was hired. He’ll start with getting the kids acclimated to the stables and the horses and how to care for them, with an emphasis on safety, of course.
This week, I’m meeting with the mothers to create a profile for each child so we can work to address their various needs. ”
“So you’re very much involved, then?” Andi asked.
“Brayden is required to work in concert with a qualified counselor to tailor the program to the individual needs of the children. I’m the so-called qualified counselor in this case.”
“Kate and Jill said he seems really great,” Clare said.
“He is. He came highly recommended, and he’s already built the platform we need to help the children mount the horses.
” Maggie tried not to think about him shirtless, swinging a hammer in the bright sunshine, but the image was indelibly etched upon her memory.
She’d probably recall that image of him in her last moments of life.
“Working on that program is a perfect fit for you, too,” Frannie said.
“How many horseback riding lessons did you drive me to?” Maggie smiled at her beloved aunt. Frannie had come to live with them after Clare’s accident and had been so essential to Maggie and her sisters as they coped with life without their mother.
“Too many to count. Those were good times. Olivia is starting to make noise about taking lessons.”
“She’ll love it. It was the best part of childhood for me. So what else is new at home?”
“For us, baseball, baseball and more baseball,” Jack said. “Which will stretch into summer again because both boys are probably going to make All-Stars.”
“They love it so much,” Andi said, “but it’s still freezing in Rhode Island this time of year, especially at the ball field—or so it seems.”
“You should see her in a winter down coat, wrapped in two blankets,” Jack said.
Andi laughed. “And I’m still cold!”
“I can’t wait to see them play,” Maggie said.
“They’re really good,” Clare said. “We went to one of their games last week, and they were easily the best players on both teams.”
Maggie loved that her mom and Aidan went to the games of her dad’s sons, and knew the opposite was true, too.
Jack, Andi and the boys went to Max and Nick’s hockey games.
The four boys referred to each other as cousins.
They had no idea there was anything different about that arrangement.
Once upon a time, Maggie would’ve bet her life none of that would’ve ever happened, but look at them now.
They were the poster couples for how to do divorce the right way for their children.
They left a short time later to go back to Kate’s to relieve Reid from Rob, John, Owen and Olivia, all of whom they’d left with him for a nature hike on Kate’s property.
“They’ve probably got him tied to a tree by now,” Jack had quipped.
Each of them had hugged Maggie and told her again how proud they were of her. They would be heading home early the next morning so the kids could get back to school.
“Nice people,” Mitch said after Maggie came in from seeing them off.
“They’re the best.”
“So the dark-haired guy, Jack, is your dad, and the blonde lady, Clare, is your mom, right?”
“That’s right. Jack is married to Andi with the dark hair and Clare to Aidan. The blond guy, Jamie, is married to my aunt Frannie with the red hair.”
“And your folks, they hang out together regularly with their new spouses?”
Maggie nodded. “They’re all friends.”
“Wow, you don’t hear that every day.”
“They’ve worked hard at it for our sakes, but it wasn’t always this way.”
“It’s a pretty cool thing.”
“Yes, it is. Thanks for making lunch. They loved it.”
“My pleasure. Glad you got to show them what we’re doing here.”
“They were very impressed.”
“As they should be. We’re doing God’s work.”
Maggie hadn’t thought of it that way, but she supposed that was true.
The rest of her day was spent helping to pack up the McBride children and making sure they had everything they needed to make the move to their grandmother’s home in Arizona.
The children hugged her and thanked her, bringing Maggie to tears with their composure in the face of such a tremendous loss.
“I’ll be thinking of you, so please make sure you write to me,” she said to Mandy and Patrick.
“We will,” Mandy said.
Derek had offered to drive them to the airport in the van before picking up the other children at the bus stop.
Maggie helped Karen get the children loaded in and seat belted before she hugged the other woman. “Take good care, and let us know if we can do anything for you and the kids.”
“We’ll get through this together,” Karen said. “Thank you again for all you did for Debbie and the children.”
“It was a pleasure knowing them.”
“She spoke so highly of you and everyone here. You made her final days very special, and I’ll never forget that.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” Maggie said, moved to tears that she fought to hold back while she waved them off.
After they left, she walked over to see Thunder, and as always, he seemed to know just what she needed. “I’ll be back in a bit for a ride.”
He nickered in response, making her smile.
She kept her promise later that afternoon with an hour-long ride on Thunder that helped to calm and center her after the emotional couple of days. When they returned to the stables, she spent an extra hour brushing and grooming him before heading inside to see what Mitch had made for dinner.
Maggie fell into bed at ten and checked her phone for the first time in hours, looking for a text from Brayden.
He didn’t disappoint. He’d sent more fish pictures, a few goofy selfies from the boat and another Key West sunset.
I’m green with envy, she replied, thrilled to see him responding right away.
Have you been here?
Nope.
Oh, we gotta get you here. It’s like Disney World for adults. Beaches, bars, boats and ballads.
That’s a Jimmy Buffett rip-off.
Guilty as charged.
It sounds delightful.
The phone rang with a FaceTime call from him.
Maggie panicked for a second, because a girl needed a minute to prepare for a call like this, but she told herself to stop being stupid and took the call. “Hi there.”
“Hey. I thought you were gonna shoot me down for a second there.”
“I was considering the disheveled state of my hair.”
“Your hair looks great, and so does the rest of you.”
“You give good compliment.”
“I only speak the truth.”
“Why’re you FaceTiming with me when there’re bars to be visited?”
“I’d rather FaceTime with you.”
“That can’t possibly be true.”
“Well, it is. Truth speaker, remember?”
“Your friends will be merciless.”
“Too late—they already are. I’ve taken a shitload of abuse over you the last few days. You’re not going to let me down, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I ask you out, which I will be doing very soon—like the second I get home—you’re not going to say no, are you? Because that’d be a huge bummer after all the horseshit I had to shovel with your name on it with these guys.”
Maggie couldn’t contain the gurgle of laughter that erupted from her. “That has to be the most romantic request for a date I’ve ever received.”
“It was the horseshit that put it over the top, right?”
“That was very special.”
“In light of my very special, super romantic request, I do hope you won’t let me down when I ask you out the second I get home.”
“I’ll have to think about that.”
“Maggie! Seriously?”
She laughed again. She did that a lot when she talked to him. “Yes, seriously. You know I’m conflicted about the work situation.”
“And you know I meant it when I said if you and I don’t work out, I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”
“I just… I don’t know, Brayden.”
“What don’t you know, sweetheart?”