Kissing Maggie Silver (18 page)

“Everything’s fine,” there wasn’t a tremor in Maggie’s voice as she smiled at her.
“We have a long list of things we need to get for June’s homecoming though. Have you heard that she and the baby are both being discharged tomorrow?”

“Yes, I did.
Isn’t it great? Have you bought anything for him yet?”

“No.
It’s one of the things on my list, well it’s several really because I need to buy him something from the girls, and Mrs. O’Connor has asked me to find a gift for her to give to June too.”

“Let’s go together then,” Jenny linked arms with her as they walked towards the shopping centre.
“If we do then we won’t end up duplicating things. Is that okay with you Ruairi?” she asked, twisting her head round to smile at him.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just here to carry the bags,” he said.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed swiftly.
By the time Maggie and Jenny had chosen baby clothes and toys for their new nephew, it was nearly lunchtime. Declaring that she and Ruairi had to hurry back to give the children lunch, Maggie kissed her sister-in-law goodbye and then, with Ruairi following, made a whistle-stop tour of the local supermarket to collect the various items she needed to decorate the cake and cater for the welcome home party.

She didn’t speak to him at all until they were standing in the checkout queue and even then she kept the conversation on everyday matters, talking about how excited Sophie and Amy would be to have their mother at home again, and wondering how soon they would get over the
novelty of having a new baby brother.

Ruairi
, taking his cue from her, agreed with everything she said even though all he wanted to do was to sweep her into his arms in the middle of the supermarket and tell her he was sorry, sorry, sorry. Sorry for leading her on when there was no future for them; sorry for taking advantage of her; and most of all, sorry he had to say goodbye.

He didn’t though.
Instead, he dutifully unloaded the items from the trolley onto the checkout counter while she packed the shopping, and then he picked up the bags and carried them to where he had parked the car. Once they were back at Mark’s house he helped her to unload everything and then carried all the bags into a kitchen that smelled deliciously of baking, and dumped them on the counter.

“Did you get sweeties to decorate the cake?” demanded Sophie.

“I think so. You’d better ask Auntie Maggie,” he told her, suddenly feeling very weary.

“Are you alright Ruairi?” His mother turned around from where she was stirring a casserole and looked at him.

“He’s absolutely fine,” said Maggie, walking into the kitchen and bending down to hug first Sophie and then Amy. “He just didn’t realize what hard work it was going to be playing happy families, did you Ruairi?”

* * *

The rest of the day was a whirl of activity as, with Mrs. O’Connor’s help, the girls iced and then decorated the cake, made welcome home cards and then, with Maggie supervising, colored in the long WELCOME HOME banner she had bought for them. By the time Ruairi had tacked it over the front door and then blown up at least twenty balloons and tied them to the porch, they were beside themselves with excitement.

“Let’s put up that fluffy sparkle too,” said Amy.
“The Christmas one,” she added when nobody seemed to know what she was talking about.

“Oh, you mean tinsel,” Maggie laughed.
“Well I don’t see why not. It would make everything look extra special wouldn’t it?”

“Yes! Yes!” Both little girls rushed over to Ruairi.
“It’s in Daddy’s shed,” they told him.

“Well you’d better show me where,” he said, keeping his voice as cheerful and enthusiastic as Maggie’s had been the whole of the afternoon.

Mrs. O’Connor looked across at Maggie as he followed the little girls into the garden. “Is something the matter Maggie? Have you and Ruairi had a quarrel?”

“Goodness me, whatever makes you think that?
I can’t imagine what we could possibly fall out about?” Maggie busied herself filling the kettle, hoping as she did so that her voice didn’t sound as brittle to Mrs. O’Connor’s ears as it did to her own.

* * *

For once Maggie was pleased when it was time for Ruairi and his mother to leave. They had greeted June when Mark brought her and the baby home from the hospital and had shared in the celebrations too, declaring the inexpertly iced cake with its covering of brightly colored sweets to be delicious. Although she had then invited them to stay to supper she was relieved when they refused.

“I’ve had a lovely day,”
Mrs. O’Connor said, giving her a hug. “And you chose just the right present for the baby. That little jacket is really cute and I’ll enjoy seeing him wearing it when he’s a little older.”

Maggie returned her hug, promisi
ng to see her again very soon. Then she turned to Ruairi.

“Good luck at your interview tomorrow,” she said.

He searched her face. She was giving nothing away. “Thank you.”

They walked to the front door, the girls and Mrs
. O’Connor in front, all three of them chattering away, Ruairi level with Maggie. He looked at her.

“Still friends?” he
asked.

She hesitated for just a moment. Then she turned and looked up at him, her grey eyes curiously opaque.

“Still friends,” she replied.

Chapter
Fourteen

Thanks to an endless stream of visitors Maggie had little time to think now June and the baby were home from hospital. She was kept busy making cups of tea and coffee when she wasn’t helping Sophie and Amy to display the growing pile of congratulatory cards that arrived with every post, or putting away the many small garments friends and family brought for baby John. The rest of her time was spent keeping the main part of the house as tidy as possible as well as coping with the extra washing and ironing, and cooking meals for all of them whilst continuing to keep an eye on the children.

“You’ve been wonderful Maggie,” June said to her in one of the rare moments they were alone together.
“I can’t begin to imagine how we would have managed without you and I’m just so sorry that I can’t do more to help at the moment.”

“Don’t you dare to even try,” Maggie told her. “You’re still recovering from an emergency caesarian in case you’ve forgotten, and the shock and worry of John’s first few days as well.
Besides, Mum would never forgive me if I left you and Mark to cope by yourselves before she arrives home.”

“I know,” June’s smile of agreement suddenly became mischievous.
“Although maybe I’ve been doing you a favor anyway because if everything I’ve been hearing is true, then you’ve had the gorgeous Ruairi O’Connor helping you day and night while I’ve been in hospital!”

“You always did talk nonsense,” Maggie replied, managing to hide her face by turning away to rearrange the huge bouquet of flowers that had arrived an hour or so earlier.

“These are lovely. And what a wonderful surprise to receive them from your parents with a message saying they’re coming over to see you in a couple of month’s time.”

“Mmm.” Although June was indeed delighted with the flowers and the fact she would soon be able to show her new son to her parents, right now moment she was much too concerned about Maggie to play along with her attempt to change the subject.”

“Maggie, tell me what’s the matter? Have you had an argument with Ruairi?” She knew if it was something to do with Mark or the children her sister-in-law would have told her by now, so it must be Ruairi.

When Maggie
continued to keep her back turned towards her she knew she was right. Something had happened between them. She remembered seeing them together at the ruby wedding and feeling sure a romance would follow, so when Mark and the children had kept mentioning Ruairi and she had realized how much time he was spending with Maggie, she’d been delighted. She had never thought Maggie was ready to settle down with Mark’s friend Graham, even though he was meant to be such a paragon. To her he had always seemed far too staid for her mercurial sister-in-law whereas someone like Ruairi O’Connor was exactly the sort of person June would have chosen for her.

Maggie had always been her favorite member of the Silver family, ever since she had first met her. She remembered going home with Mark to meet his parents and being entranced by the slim red-haired girl who was so eager for life, and who had constantly bombarded her with questions about Australia. Maggie had been in her early teens then; still at school, but with big plans for the future, plans she had shared with June but which had somehow failed to materialize once she left school.
Instead she had continued to live at home and had settled for a local job as a primary school teacher. For the first time, June wondered what had happened.

“Maggie if there’s a problem, please let me help.
Remember how you used to tell me everything once upon a time?

“Ruairi
is
the problem!” Maggie stopped fiddling with the flowers and turned and faced her. Although June was shocked by the bleakness of her expression she didn’t comment. Instead she waited.

“I still have a crush on him, except it’s not a just a crush any longer.
I’m in love with him,” Maggie blurted out. “I can’t help it June. The feeling won’t go away and it…it hurts…and I don’t know what to do.”

“And Ruairi?” June’s voice was gentle because she could see Maggie was close to tears.

“That’s what’s so terrible. Ruairi feels the same. At first I didn’t think he did, but now I know he does. He just won’t allow himself to give in to it. He says the life he leads would make me unhappy. He says he spends so much time travelling that we would barely see one another. He says I deserve something better.”

June heard the catch in her voice and her heart went out to her.
“And you’ve been dealing with all this while you’ve been looking after Sophie and Amy. Oh Maggie, I’m so sorry. Are you sure there’s no way you can get him to change his mind?”

“Not when he’s off on his travels again in a couple of weeks, I can’t.
There’s just no time June. I know I need to forget him and start to plan my own life, and once Mum comes home and takes over here that’s what I’m going to do,” she added, scrubbing at her eyes.

Then they heard the front door open. It was Mark returning from a trip to the local shops with the children. Maggie lowered her voice. “You won’t tell Mark or any of the rest of them though, will you?
Promise. Please promise.”

Her eyes were wide with pleading as she looked at her sister-in-law.
June shook her head, wishing there was some way she could solve Maggie’s problem.

“I promise.”

* * *

Ruairi didn’t call Maggie after his interview with the Production Company.
He phoned Jo though and told her that everything had been agreed. He’d also managed to delay his Mexican contract, which meant he could return to New Zealand immediately.

“I just need to get Mum back to Ireland and then I’ll be on my way,” he said.

“Maggie will miss you. Have you told her when you’re leaving?” Jo had already been to see June and the baby, and the two women had bonded in more ways than one as they discussed Australia, living far away from family, the joys of having children of their own and then, at the end, just before Jo left, Maggie.

Remembering that Maggie had only sworn her to secrecy as far as her own family was concerned; June pushed away a feeling of guilt as she conveyed her worries about Maggie’s state of mind
to Jo. After that it had taken very little for Jo to admit that she was just as concerned about Ruairi.

“He drives himself too hard,” she said.
“I’ve known him for a long time and he’s always been the same. Partly it’s passion for his work of course, but there’s more to it than that. It’s as if by working every moment he’s awake he can make sure he doesn’t have time to stop and think. That’s why I was amazed at how he was when he met me at the airport with Maggie and the children. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so relaxed, and he was good with Sophie and Amy too, but now that he’s off to New Zealand again he seems to have reverted to type. ”

So now, without
giving anything away about the conversation she’d had with June, Jo was quizzing him about Maggie. And each word she spoke was like a sharp blade twisting in his heart. For a moment he was tempted to talk to her, to tell her how he felt about Maggie, and why he was so sure he had to leave her behind to live her own life. Then he squashed the urge. Sharing his pain wouldn’t make it any better. He finished the conversation as swiftly as he could without answering any of her questions.

As she slowly replaced the handset Jo was thoughtful.
Ruairi had always been such a good friend to her and Ollie that she wanted him to be as happy as they were. And if his happiness meant that he and Maggie needed a couple of fairy godmothers then she was just going to have to dust off her wand and persuade June to do the same.