Page 44 of Raise The Bar
“Absolutely! I’m excited Maggie found a date. I know she didn’t want to go alone.” Her concern for Maggie’s welfare makes me like her even more.
“I practically begged your sister to take me. I really love doing the Macarena and I have so few opportunities to break it out.” She laughs loudly and it reminds me of Maggie’s laugh. So full of joy, you can’t help but join in.
“I will make sure the DJ plays it at least once.” Colin returns from paying their bill. “It was very nice meeting you,” she says as she stands. “Looking forward to seeing you at the wedding. I’ll be the one in the white dress.”
“I’m so glad you told me. I was planning on wearing the same thing. That would have been awkward.” They laugh and I shake Colin’s hand again. Maggie returns and hugs them both goodbye. The rest of us pay our bills and set off as a group. Josh, Betty, and Rilla walk a bit ahead, leaving Maggie and I to follow behind.
“Thank you for coming. My sister was insistent.”
“My pleasure. She’s great.”
“Of course she is. She’s related to me,” she grins at me and I laugh. “I could tell she likes you.”
“I’ve been told I’m a very likable guy. But she seems like the kind of person who likes everyone.”
“She was not a fan of my ex,” she scoffs, crossing her arms across her chest as we walk.
I know it’s none of my business, but she’s just given me an opening I can’t pass up on.
“Josh mentioned that he reached out recently,” I hedge, not wanting to scare her off. “Has he contacted you again?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “He may have tried, but I blocked his number a long time ago. I haven’t seen him since the day we…we had our first meeting.”
The day she kissed me. So that’s what she’d meant when she’d said it had been a bad day. Everything clicks into place and I feel like an idiot for not putting two and two together before.
“You could have told me.”
“I know and I should have, I just–” she shrugs and hugs herself tighter. “I didn’t want to be the pathetic girl with ex-boyfriend problems. I didn’t want you to look at me differently.”
The knife that’s been lodged in my gut all week twists painfully. She didn’t tell me because she was afraid I’d look at her differently?
“You’re not pathetic.” I barely manage to keep the emotion out of my voice. “Don’t say that. He’s pathetic, not only for treating you so badly when you were together, but for not listening when you asked him to leave you alone. This is not your fault, Maggie. None of this is your fault.” We come to a stop at a crosswalk and I turn to look at her. She smiles sadly up at me and I almost can’t take it. “Tell me if he contacts you again? Please?”
She nods. “I will, I promise.”
“Thank you,” I say and we start to walk again. The three amigos are a solid block ahead of us now, but we’re not far from their apartment. “Did you reach out to any subscription boxes?”
“I did!” She instantly brightens. “I reached out to three that are based out of Massachusetts. Two of them got back to me and said they’d be interested in seeing a sample of the soap, and I sent them each a couple of bars.”
“That’s great.” We cross another intersection. “Have you thought about Craft Fairs? I took my mom to SoWa Open Market when she was visiting and was surprised by how many people were there. It could be a good way to move your product without having to worry about shipping costs.”
Maggie stares up at me, mouth agape. “I LOVE craft fairs! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! Betty and I usually go together every couple of months. I’ll track down the organizers and find out how to apply for a spot. Thank you,” she says beaming, at me. “For thinking of me.”
If she only knew just how often I think about her.
We arrive back at their apartment and I join them at Josh’s place for another drink. The girls are all tired from their overindulgence the night before and I call an Uber just after ten.
“Don’t be a stranger this week,” Maggie says walking me to the door. Suddenly I don’t feel like avoiding her was the right call at all. She’s my friend and I should have been there for her.
“I won’t,” I promise. I linger in the doorway, just to steal another moment with her. “Good night, Lois.”
“Good night, Clark.”
As the night air hits me, the song plays in my head once again.
You’ll fall asleep
With your arm around my shoulder
