Maggie's Turn (13 page)

"Well, it's not the most outrageous dress you tried on, but it does suit you," Bobbi said of Maggie's choice. "You'll definitely turn a few heads tonight."

"I'm not looking to turn any heads," Maggie assured her. "But it's fun dressing up for a change."

Bobbi had chosen a more festive dress that was tight, short, low-necked, and turquoise blue with sequins on it. She'd also purchased a pair of silver platform sandals covered in rhinestones. Maggie had to admit, the dress suited Bobbi's outrageous style.

As Maggie went off to a jeans shop to purchase some essentials, Bobbi took off to shop on her own. An hour later, they met at the van. Maggie asked if Bobbi had found anything else to buy.

Bobbi looked at her sheepishly as they sat in the seats of the van. "I hope you don't mind, but I bought some hair color and highlights for your hair. Please, please, please let me trim and color it for tonight. I promise you won't be sorry."

Maggie looked in the rearview mirror. Her hair used to be shiny blonde with lots of healthy bounce. But now, it looked sad and dishwater blonde, with gray at the roots. She couldn't deny that she did need a little help with her hair.

"I guess I can't go driving around in that new Mustang next week with this hair," she said to Bobbi with a grin.

"Yippee! I get to color your hair. You're going to be the belle of the ball tonight."

Maggie rolled her eyes. She may feel like a princess in her new dress, but she certainly wouldn't look like one.

***

Kaia stood on the approach, positioned her feet, held her ball at waist level, then headed down the lane and released the ball. It dropped smoothly on the lane and rolled quickly toward the pins, hitting another strike dead on.

"That's strike number three. You'd better catch up, Dad, or I'll beat you again," Kaia said, as she headed back to the table on their lane.

Andrew frowned. He'd already lost by a large margin in game one, and she was already kicking his butt in game two in the first three frames. He knew he had a huge competitive streak, but he hadn't realized how big it was until Kaia started beating him today. Yet, part of him was filled with pride at how well his daughter played the game.

"You're really good at this," he said, trying to be a good sport.

"It's a lot harder than it looks," Kaia replied. "People think that just anyone can bowl, but it takes practice."

"Hmmm. I guess I'd better practice more then," Andrew said. He stood at the line, positioned himself in line with the pins, then took four steps and released the ball. The ball thumped loudly on the lane and rolled to the right side, only knocking down the ten pin.

Kaia laughed.

Andrew took a deep breath, turned around, and walked over to Kaia. "Okay, smarty-pants. What did I do wrong?"

"First off, you don't aim the ball. You position it, using the dots and the arrows on the lanes. Where you position your feet on the approach will help determine where the ball will roll. Also, you want to keep your wrist straight when you release the ball. If you twist it, the ball will spin off from where you want it to go. Oh, and don't try to hit the one pin, that usually ends in a split. Try to direct the ball to hit between the one and the three pin for a strike."

Andrew stared at his daughter. "Who taught you all this?"

Kaia shrugged. "Mostly Carl and Cindi. Carl has been bowling for years and has won several tournaments for Special Olympics."

Andrew turned back to the approach, lifted his ball, and positioned his feet in the middle of the approach.

"No, Dad. Start over on the right side, but run your ball over that arrow," Kaia said, as she pointed out where Andrew should throw the ball. "You still want to hit it like a strike so you can pick up the spare."

Andrew sighed but did as he was told. He moved over, closer to the right side of the lane, took four steps up to the line, and rolled the ball over the arrow Kaia had pointed out. His ball hit perfectly between the first and third pin, and all the pins clattered down for a spare.

"I did it," he said with a big smile, as he turned toward Kaia, then realized how loud he'd said it and grimaced. Several people in the bowling alley looked up and stared at him.

Kaia smiled. "Told you," she said smugly.

Andrew didn’t care who looked at them or how smug Kaia was. He was having fun with his daughter, and that was all that mattered.

After they had bowled a few games, Andrew offered to take Kaia out for pizza, and she was all for it. He quickly called Kyle to see if he'd like to eat with them.

"Thanks, Dad," Kyle said over the phone. "But I already have plans."

"I've barely seen you these past two weeks. Can't you eat with Kaia and me this one time?" Andrew asked.

"I've already told Ashley we'd go out to eat and to a movie tonight," Kyle said.

Ashley? Andrew thought hard. He remembered meeting a girl once. Kyle had brought her home to watch a movie on television, but Andrew couldn't remember her name. "Why don't you and Ashley come to dinner with us? Then you can go to your movie."

Kyle hesitated, then finally agreed.

"So, fill me in on Ashley," Andrew said, as he and Kaia headed out to the car.

Kaia frowned at him. "Geez, Dad. Where have you been? Kyle has been going out with Ashley for over a year now."

Andrew ignored Kaia's tone—it was getting easier to ignore the more time he spent with her—and asked, "What's she like?"

Kaia shrugged. "She's nice. She doesn’t come out to the house very often, but Mom and I have had dinner with Ashley and Kyle quite a few times. They graduated together, and she goes to college, too."

When Andrew and Kaia met the young couple in the pizza place, Andrew thought he recognized Ashley. Kyle was quiet during dinner, but Ashley happily answered Andrew's questions, and she and Kaia joked around. Despite Kyle acting uncomfortable, Andrew had a good time with the kids. He hadn't spent this much time alone with the kids in a long time, and it felt good. When Maggie had been gone before, to handle her father's, then her sister's affairs, Kaia had stayed with a friend, and Kyle had already been old enough to drive and work after school. Andrew hadn't had to deal with taking care of the kids then. But spending so much time with Kaia, and being here now with Kyle, made him happy. He knew he wanted to continue doing more of this in the future.

***

Maggie sat still in front of the bathroom mirror as Bobbi ran goo through her hair and placed long strips of tinfoil over it. She looked like an alien from outer space. But Bobbi assured her that the highlighting was going to brighten her hair and make her look years younger. They had already dyed her hair a soft blonde color to cover the gray, and now she was highlighting it. Maggie liked having the gray gone but was afraid that highlighting might over-process her fine hair.

"Don't worry," Bobbi kept assuring her. "I've done this a million times."

Maggie watched Bobbi work and admired how skillfully she managed her hair. She was happy she'd run into Bobbi that first morning. Bobbi was like a breath of fresh air with her bubbly personality and positive attitude about life. She was a pretty woman, especially when she didn't pile on the makeup, and she seemed to love her life and her job. Maggie wondered why Bobbi hadn't yet found the right person to spend her life with.

"Why hasn't anyone scooped you up yet?" Maggie asked, watching her work in the mirror.

Bobbi shrugged. "Guess I'm too picky," she said, and smiled.

"Has there ever been someone serious?"

Bobbi stopped working a moment and sighed. "Yeah. I was involved with someone a few years ago. We lived together for several years, and I thought we were happy, but he never brought up marriage. When I finally asked him if he'd ever want to get married, he said he didn't want to. After that, we started to drift apart, and he moved on. I wanted the whole thing, marriage, kids, a house, and a dog. But he didn't."

Maggie frowned. "Sorry. I shouldn't have pried."

"No, that's okay. The worst part is he ended up married to someone else a year later, and they have a kid on the way now. I guess I just wasn't the right one for him after all."

Maggie smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure you'll meet the right man soon. You have so much going for you. You deserve a great guy, marriage, and the whole package."

Bobbi looked up and stared at Maggie in the mirror, her expression serious. "What about you, Maggie? You have the whole package, yet you're here, and your family is in Minnesota. Isn't marriage everything it's cracked up to be?"

Maggie sighed. "Marriage is wonderful, if you treat it right. Except sometimes, people get lost in their roles of husband, wife, mother, and father, and forget to be their real self. I was lost in my marriage, and that's what I'm doing here—trying to find the real me again. But that doesn't happen to everyone. You have a great sense of who you are. You won't let marriage change you like it did me."

"I hope everything works out for you, Maggie. You're a good person, and after I'm done with you, you'll be the hottest mom on the planet. Your husband won't be able to keep his hands off you."

Maggie laughed. Being with Bobbi was just what she needed. It was therapeutic.

Two hours later, Maggie and Bobbi were in their new dresses and shoes, heading down to the private banquet room. Maggie's hair had turned out beautifully. The color and highlights did brighten her face, and Bobbi had trimmed her hair to gently frame her face, as her hair fell down to her shoulders. She'd curled it softly to give it some bounce, and Maggie looked years younger, as promised. Bobbi had also talked her into adding more makeup to outline and bring out the color of her blue eyes. And she gave her some of her sample lipsticks to enhance Maggie's smile. Maggie was shocked when she saw how she looked with her new hair, makeup, and dress. She had to admit—she didn't look bad at all.

Like two giggly schoolgirls on the way to prom, Maggie and Bobbi entered the banquet room and began to mingle. Chandeliers sparkled overhead onto the gold tablecloths, silverware, and crystal set out on the tables. Waiters walked among the crowd, offering champagne and wine to the guests, and a bar was set up for those wanting other refreshments.

Bobbi grabbed two glasses of champagne from a tray and handed one to Maggie, who looked at it and frowned. "I don’t usually drink," Maggie told her.

Bobbi just laughed. "Enjoy it. It's free."

Maggie accepted it and sipped, enjoying the feel of the bubbles as they tickled their way down her throat. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had champagne, but with each sip, she enjoyed it even more.

Bobbi introduced Maggie to a few women and men she knew from past conferences, and soon, they were all sitting down, enjoying the delicious food and the entertainment the conference officials had hired. A band started tuning up after dinner, and the tables were cleared away to make room for a dance floor. By the time the band started up, playing tunes from the seventies and eighties, Maggie had drank a bit more champagne than she'd planned and didn't resist when a young man asked her to dance. He couldn't have been older than his late twenties, and he took her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. It was an innocent dance between two strangers, and Maggie just let herself go and enjoyed the moment.

Bobbi and Maggie each took several turns around the dance floor with different men who asked them to dance. At one point, the two women stopped to sit and catch their breath.

"I really shouldn't be dancing with strange men," Maggie said loudly over the band to Bobbi.

Bobbi laughed. "Don't worry too much about it. Most of the guys here are gay."

Maggie practically spit out the champagne she'd just sipped as she tried to hold back a laugh. She hadn't realized the young men asking her to dance were gay. Knowing that now, she felt better about being out and having a good time. For the first time in years, Maggie felt young, attractive, and feminine, and she wasn't going to let go of that feeling until the night was over.

***

Andrew lay in bed that night feeling good about the way the day had played out. He felt he'd made a strong connection with Kaia over the past several days. Even though Kyle seemed distant with him, he felt that if he asked him to be home more, maybe they could become closer, too. He decided to talk to Kyle tomorrow about trying to be home more for dinner so they could spend time as a family.

The only missing piece was Maggie. He thought about ways to talk Maggie into coming home. Maybe if he told her he'd give up some of his committee work and spend more time with the family, she'd consider forgiving him for his affair. It had been more than a year since Maggie had found out about his affair, and to his credit, he had ended it, if not a bit reluctantly. But now, he was actually relieved that she'd found out and made him end it. The woman he'd been having the affair with wasn't someone he'd have wanted to lose his marriage over, or someone he'd want to spend the rest of his life with. She had just been there, convenient and willing, and despite him knowing it was wrong, Andrew had given in to temptation.

After the night Maggie had told him she knew about the affair, and he either had to end it or lose his family, they had never discussed it again. Unfortunately, they also had never reconciled their marriage completely, either. Maggie stayed distant, no longer asking him to join in with family activities or even something as simple as a meal out together. He'd gone his way, and she'd gone hers. He'd immersed himself even more into his volunteer activities, and he'd paid no attention as to how Maggie and the kids spent their time. He had hoped that one day, Maggie would begin to forgive him, but that day never came, and he really couldn't blame her. And now she was gone. After being home more with Kaia and seeing all that Maggie did for the family, Andrew was beginning to understand how much he needed her, not only for the everyday tasks she did, but for their family unit to be complete. He missed her. And the sooner he told her, the better.