Chapter 23 Maggie
“No.” Maggie sliced her new “life partner” with a look that she hoped conveyed how serious she was. “Absolutely, unequivocally no. Do not ask again or I shall throttle you.”
Jo Ellen just giggled in response to that, which only made Maggie scared enough to take a deep drink of the gin and tonic that Jonah had promised he’d made “light.” But, goodness, it tasted more like gin than tonic.
“Mags. You know you want to.”
“You know I don’t,” she volleyed back, watching Anthony climb the stairs carefully with a giddy little Nolie. “Thank goodness Crista has a brain and is watching from the sidelines.”
“She’d go if she weren’t pregnant,” Jo Ellen said.
“And I’d go if I weren’t seventy-eight. You? Knock yourself out, Jo. You probably will.”
“I’m not doing it without you,” she said sternly.
“And I am jumping.” She leaned closer from her lawn chair, lifting her drink, her bright eyes proving the gin-versus-tonic theory.
“So that means you are, too. We’re in this together and we’re letting go of lonely widowhood and embracing our new, fun, adventurous, hilarious, perfect life. ”
Maggie waved her off and let her gaze drift over the party around her, deeply content. In this chair—where she intended to stay.
“It’s not even as dangerous as a motorcycle,” Jo Ellen said, “which you have ridden multiple times.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Have you talked to Brick?” Jo Ellen asked.
“No. Why would I?”
“To tell him you’re staying local. He’s not far from here, you know. You two could ride his hog all the time.”
Maggie’s eyes shuttered. “Don’t make me regret my decision to stay here with you, Jo.”
Her friend just laughed and leaned back with a smug smile. “No regrets, Maggie. No regrets.”
They turned to the bridge at the sound of Nolie squealing in delight with her father, followed by a splash.
Maggie sat up, waiting for that little head to pop up, which it did, joyfully laughing. Thank goodness she was safe.
They heard movement behind them and turned to look up at Vivien, who gestured at the bridge.
“Your turn, Mom and Aunt Jo.”
“We’re not—”
Jo Ellen rose quickly, like she’d been waiting for the invitation. Reaching her hand to Maggie, she angled her head toward the water. “Buckle up, buttercup. We’re jumping.”
“We are not.”
A few others called out encouragement, and those who were standing came closer.
“Come on, Mom!” Eli said on a laugh. “I wouldn’t let you jump if it were dangerous.”
“Really, Grandma,” Jonah chimed in. “We’re not leaving until you two go.”
“Stop it,” she said, shifting in her seat.
“Don’t you have something to let go of?” Vivien asked. “Something that’s weighed you down for a long time? This is freedom, Mom.”
“This is insane, Vivien.”
“Jump, Grandma!” Nolie yelled, rushing over to dance on the sand, still dripping and clinging to a towel. “It’s not scary at all!”
“Jump! Jump! Jump!” They started clapping and acting like a bunch of fools at a sporting event. Soon, every single person who was there was in on the nonsense.
When it died down, Jo Ellen braced her hands on her thighs, bending over to get right into Maggie’s face.
“Listen to me, Magnolia Fredericks Lawson. You do have things to let go of, and this is a rite of passage.”
“I’m too old and too ladylike and—”
“Too stubborn,” Jo Ellen finished, literally pulling Maggie to her feet.
She came to a stand, doing her level best to stay steady on the sand. “Would you please—”
“Would you please just come with me and cheer me on?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I know what you’re doing, Jo. I know you so well. You’ll get me up there and—”
Laughing, Jo dramatically unzipped Maggie’s coverup to the delight of the crowd and tossed it to the sand. “You wore a bathing suit.”
“Because I came to the beach.”
“Off we go, Mags.” Jo threw her arm around her and started walking them both toward the bridge. And Maggie, God help her, went along with it.
She let Jo guide her to the wobbly stairs.
“This is crazy,” she muttered, but didn’t stop.
She held on to the railing and climbed to the top of the bridge, looking down. It really wasn’t far. She’d been on diving boards that were higher. Fifty years ago.
“To the middle,” Jo urged, never letting go of Maggie’s back.
When they got there, Maggie turned to her. “Are you happy now?”
“You know what? I am happy,” she said. “Because this is symbolic, Mags. This is us letting go of loneliness, cold, boredom, and waiting to die.”
A soft breeze ruffled Maggie’s short hair and blew over her nearly naked body. It felt…liberating. Alive. Terrifying and wonderful and so, so light.
“That’s not what I’m letting go of,” she whispered, accepting the fact that she was going to jump.
“Then what?”
She let out a long, slow sigh and put her arm around Jo Ellen. “Roger.”
“Roger?”
“I’ve never really forgiven him for what he did.”
“Yes, you did,” Jo Ellen countered. “When that FBI agent came here and told us what he and Artie did and you found out that he tried so hard to make up for his petty crimes, you forgave him.”
“I didn’t, not really,” she replied, closing her eyes to enjoy the next whisper of wind and the message it held. “I have always resented what he did to our family, what he did to me, and what he did to us—you and me. Keeping us apart for thirty years!”
“That’s over now.”
She nodded, aware of the small group below them still calling out encouraging words and their names.
“It’s over but I have to let go of that last little bit of anger and resentment,” she said.
“Even though, in the end—and with Artie’s help—he probably managed to slip into heaven by the back door, I have carried the weight of my feelings for so many years.
I’ve awakened with that dark pit in my stomach so frequently, thinking…
” She huffed out a breath. “Never mind. I’m jumping and letting go of any last vestiges of bitterness. It’s time to let go, Jo.”
Jo Ellen threw her head back with a hoot and gave Maggie a soft push, jumping with her.
For one split second, the world blurred, the air rushed, then the water covered her like she was falling into black space—the brackish liquid washing away all the things that had plagued her heart for so many years.
She didn’t, couldn’t, and wouldn’t hate Roger Lawson ever again.
They pushed to the surface at the same second, the sound of a noisy cheer from the sand filling her ears. Immediately, Eli and Jonah waded in, arms out to help them from the water.
Overwhelmed, she hugged her son when they landed on solid ground and he lifted her an inch into the air.
They were wrapped in towels and love and cheers in no time, and someone who needed to die actually flashed a picture.
“Delete that immediately,” she ordered, still smiling.
“No chance,” Jonah called from several feet away. “That one’s going in the Lawson archives.”
“Proof that Magnolia Lawson is officially living her best life.” Jo Ellen declared proudly, wrapping an arm around Maggie and steering her toward their chairs again.
Jo Ellen plopped down beside her and lifted her drink in a triumphant toast.
“Look around, Mags,” she said, gesturing toward the sand where everyone was still laughing and talking and reliving their jumps.
“Your kids are happy. Your grandkids are happy. My Tessa has a wedding coming up! Crista and Anthony have a place here and a healthy little one on the way. Meredith’s a huge success, Jonah’s a wonderful father, there are babies and new romances and parties and sunshine and all kinds of adventures ahead of us. ”
Maggie watched the group for a moment—Vivien laughing with Peter near the waterline, Eli helping Jonah with Atlas, little Nolie still dancing around in the sand with Olive.
Jo Ellen leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with that familiar reckless optimism. “I’m telling you, Maggie. The future looks amazing.”
She couldn’t deny, it was amazing.
Maggie lifted her glass and clinked it gently against Jo Ellen’s. “You never really know what’s around the corner, Jo,” she said, her voice softer, more thoughtful.
Jo Ellen gave her a sideways look. “Always the cautious one.”
“Someone has to be,” Maggie replied.
But as she leaned back in her chair and let the evening breeze dry the last drops of water from her skin, she felt comfort settle warmly in her chest.
Whatever came next—storms, surprises, troubles she couldn’t yet imagine—she wouldn’t face anything alone.
Don’t miss the next book in the Destin Diaries series, The Summer We Celebrated, carrying the families of the Summer House into a month marked by unexpected new beginnings and life changes.
Kate and Eli face the tender, complicated work of aligning not just their lives, but their hearts and their beliefs—and their new love faces the most difficult challenge yet.
Meredith makes a surprising connection at her dream job that stirs emotions—and possibilities—she never saw coming.
And Jonah discovers that chasing the career of a lifetime while raising a baby alone may be the hardest recipe he's ever attempted—until an unlikely encounter changes everything.
As the families gather to celebrate Tessa's breathtaking beach wedding, they'll discover that the biggest risks aren't the ones behind them—they're the ones that require trust, friendship, and a leap of faith.