Chapter 2 #2
She looked down at her bowl and marveled at the chunks of chicken and vegetables floating in it.
While chewing on the thick homemade noodles, Maggie found herself fascinated by the way Deb flitted around the diner.
Didn’t she have anyone to help her? Another patron asked Deb that question while Maggie thought it.
“Did Katya call out again?”
Deb just shrugged. “You know she’s got no one at home to watch those kids when they get sick. What am I going to do?”
Just then the diner started filling up. Maybe the locals ate their lunches later in the day, but customers suddenly swamped poor Deb. She shook her head and Maggie watched as she rushed from the front to the back of the house, trying to cook and wait on tables at the same time.
Maggie ate her soup and sopped up the last of the broth with her toast. The lightbulb had gone off when Deb confirmed her employee called off. It wouldn’t be easy, she hadn’t waited tables since college, but surely some help was better than nothing.
Deb swung by on another mission when she noticed Maggie’s nearly empty bowl. “Can I get you anything else?”
“How about the check and an order pad?” Maggie looked around the room before meeting Deb’s gaze again. She looked at Maggie like she’d grown an extra head. “Unless you’re not hiring?”
Deb snorted. “Honey, I need all the help I can get. But I’ve never seen you around before. What’s your name?”
“Maggie Watson.”
“Are you just passing through?” Deb’s hands rested on her hips as she gave Maggie a searching look.
“I don’t know yet.” Maggie took a deep breath, trying to project confidence. “I need money to stay anywhere, so if I can’t find somewhere that’ll hire me then I’ll be on my way.” She crossed her fingers under the table. How much farther could she go? Maggie desperately wanted to stop running.
“Well, if you’re looking for work, I got plenty of it. Can you wait tables?”
She shrugged. “It’s been a while, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Alright. Let’s call this a trial run.” Deb looked around at her restaurant filling up. “I better call Shorty to get over here and help me in the kitchen. You’ve got yourself a job, at least for today. If it’s not for you, no hard feelings.”
“At least let me take care of my check first.”
Deb glared. “Employee discount. Let’s go. I’ll show you where the bus bins are.”
Maggie followed behind her, taking her purse with her. Deb showed her a set of hooks where she could hang her coat and bag, then handed her an apron and an order pad.
Nerves tried to choke Maggie when she stared at the backside of the kitchen doors. It had been ages since she’d done so much socializing. Misunderstanding her nerves, Deb patted her arm.
“Don’t worry about the short hand right now.
And if anyone gives you lip, let me know.
They should be grateful they don’t have to wait forever for their food.
” She muttered the last to herself as she pulled out her cell phone and made a call.
“Shorty? I need you to come in early. Katya’s out and apparently the whole town needs fed. Thanks.”
Maggie took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. No matter what happened out there, she’d survived worse. With that thought, she squared her shoulders and strode through the swinging doors.
Later that night, Maggie counted her tips and added it to her cash in her purse, then headed to what the locals had fondly referred to as the Haven.
Her GPS led her to a gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian house on Hickory Way, about five minutes from the town square. Light from the painted teal pole lamp highlighted pale yellow siding curved around an honest-to-God turret, with teal shutters on all the windows.
Hawthorn Haven lived up to its name.
She knocked at the porch door, wondering if the owner was even awake at this late hour. “Coming!”
Maggie gripped her suitcase next to her as the wooden door opened. An older woman backlit by the warm glow lifted the latch on the storm door. “You must be Maggie! I heard you got waylaid at the diner.”
“That’s me.”
“I’m Virginia Morrison, I’m the owner. Come in! You must be absolutely bushed.” She followed after Virginia into a foyer, stopping at a gorgeous carved mahogany desk while her hostess went behind it.
“I’ve got your booking right here. Just sign the ledger and I’ll get your key.”
Maggie signed, hesitating over her last name. In the end, she left off Callahan and just signed her maiden name.
“You hadn’t indicated a check out date in your booking online.” Virginia slid some reading glasses onto her nose as she clicked around an ancient desktop computer. “Or perhaps I messed something up with the internet. My nephew set this up for me, but I can’t make heads or tails of it sometimes.”
“No, you’re right. I didn’t.” Maggie bit her lip. “I’m not sure how long I’m staying. It seems at least I found a job, so I’ll probably be staying for a while.”
Virginia raised her brows, her eyes comically large behind the glasses. “How interesting! We don’t get many newcomers. Not permanently, anyway.” She muttered the last bit, seemingly to herself, so Maggie ignored it.
“I’m just looking for a fresh start. Someplace new.”
“Well, I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Virginia wrote a number down on a pad next to her keyboard and handed it to Maggie. “Edith called and said you might be staying a while. How about this for a weekly rate?”
Maggie’s jaw dropped. “Are you sure?”
Virginia nodded. “It’s the slow season right now, so you’re my only guest.”
She knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. “That would be wonderful, thank you.” This way, her money would stretch. “Why would Edith call you about me?”
Virginia shrugged. “We chat all the time. Sometimes she gets these feelings. She’s usually right.” She turned around and pulled a key out of a drawer. “Like when she said our Grace would come home after she moved away.”
“Grace?”
Virginia waved her off. “Hometown girl. She grew up here, and she came back and opened her own bakery. You can’t miss it on Main Street, it’s the one with the pink awning.”
“Oh, I did see that.”
“She’s absolutely brilliant at baking, that girl. Come on, I’ll show you to your room.” Virginia shuffled out from the desk over to a gleaming wooden staircase.
Maggie followed, her eyes taking in the lovingly cared for details of the home.
Her room came with its own bathroom, antique furniture, and some wallpaper that reminded her of a grandmother’s bedroom.
But the bed was comfortable, and after all the beige hotel walls she was relieved to see some color.
Virginia bid her good night and left to lock up.
Now that she had her new temporary address, she had to update Alex.
She opened the email app on her new phone, using the password she’d stored in a notebook in her bag.
She’d change to a new email soon, but she didn’t have Alex’s or Jessica’s saved.
That was something else she’d do tonight.
First things first, she opened an email to Alex before her inbox finished loading. She used the subject line “Location update” and made the message short.
In Hawthorn Hills, PA. Haven Bed and Breakfast. Will call with new number.
A series of emails marked urgent caught her eye after it sent. Her stomach dropped and her skin broke out into a cold sweat.
From: Callahan, Sean
Subject: I just want to talk
Subject: Where are you?
Subject: Come home, I can do better
Maggie forwarded them to Alex without reading them.
He wasn’t supposed to contact her, but she couldn’t remember if that stretched to email or not.
Her brain was a bit fuzzy with everything going on.
Ugh, she needed to do something else or she’d never sleep.
Jess had wanted her to contact her once she settled somewhere.
Maggie navigated to the messaging board she used to communicate with Jess.
RedHeadedNotStepChild: Jess? I’ve landed in Hawthorn Hills, PA. Have you had any issues?
QuiltingFiend: Maggie! Oh my gosh I’m so glad to hear from you. No, I haven’t had any problems.
QuiltingFiend: Do you still have my number?
RedHeadedNotStepChild: No, I forgot to write it down before I left.
Jess typed her number into the chat, and Maggie immediately added it to her phone, switching to texts.
Maggie: This is my new number for now. It’s a burner.
Jess: Great! There’s been some talk around the forums about a phishing scam. I don’t think anything’s been breached but you can never be too careful. Tell me everything.
They chatted for hours until Maggie finally fell asleep after midnight, sleeping like the dead. It seemed like her body was finally starting to understand that Sean wasn’t here. She was safe.