Maggie's Turn (14 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Maggie awoke slowly, her head throbbing, and her body feeling as if she'd run a marathon. Squinting, she looked at the clock. One thirty p.m. She turned her head slightly and saw a thin line of sunshine spreading its way through the crack in the drapes. She couldn't believe she'd slept so late, even though she and Bobbi had stayed out until three in the morning, going from one casino to another with a small group of people from the banquet. At each spot, Maggie had only one drink, but between the champagne she'd consumed and the drinks at the bars, it was much more alcohol than Maggie was used to. By the time she'd returned to her room, she was feeling queasy, and she collapsed into bed, only taking enough time to remove her shoes and dress.

Maggie tried to raise her head from the pillow, made it only a few inches, then dropped back down as she moaned in pain. Her stomach churned, revolting against all the alcohol she'd consumed. Now, she remembered quite clearly why she never drank alcohol. It just wasn't worth feeling this miserable the next day.

The phone in the room rang at an ear-splitting level, startling Maggie. She put the pillow over her head, trying to block out the noise. Then, her good sense came back to her, and she realized it might be important, so she forced herself to roll over and pick up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Hey, are you still alive in there?" a cheerful voice rang out over the phone. "I knocked on your door around eleven to see if you were up and ready for breakfast, but there was no answer."

Maggie moaned again. How in the world could Bobbi be so wide awake and cheerful after the night they'd had?

"I tried calling your cell phone, but it went right to voice mail," Bobbi continued. "Did I wake you?"

Maggie squeezed her eyes shut, trying hard to fight off the headache. "My head feels like the band is still playing inside it. I'd kill for some Tylenol."

Bobbi laughed heartily. "I'll come over right now, and we'll get you up and going. It's your last day in Reno. You don't want to spend it in bed."

Maggie couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather spend today than in bed.

Spying her cell phone on the nightstand, Maggie pulled it to her and tried switching it on. Dead. The only charger she had was in the van, so she'd have to recharge it in there. The last phone call she'd had was from Kaia last night during the banquet when the band had been playing an old rock song. They'd talked a few minutes, but since they couldn't hear each other very well, Maggie said she'd call her the next day. Kaia had been excited about beating Andrew in bowling, and Maggie definitely wanted to hear more about it.  

An hour later, feeling more awake after a long shower, and her headache almost gone after two Tylenol, Maggie and Bobbi headed off in search of a late lunch. They left
Circus, Circus,
after plugging her phone into the phone jack in the van, and found a decent café along the street of casinos. Being out in the sunlight and away from the constant clanging of slot machines in the casino helped relieve Maggie's headache. After eating, Maggie felt much better, and the two women walked through the casinos and played the slots here and there, not winning any money but having fun just the same. After a couple of hours though, Maggie's headache returned, and she told Bobbi that she had to go back to her room and sleep it off.

"I'm still driving you to the airport tomorrow in my new Mustang," Maggie said, as they parted at the elevators. Bobbi planned on meeting up with one of the other women from the hairstylist convention. Maggie was amazed at how easily Bobbi bounced back from a night out on the town.

"I can take the shuttle if it's too much trouble," Bobbi said.

Maggie shook her head. "You have to ride in the new car one more time. After all, I never would have bought it if it wasn't for you."

After settling on a time to meet the next day, Maggie went back up to her room. As soon as she slipped into bed, she realized she'd left her phone in the van. She had no desire to walk all the way back to the parking garage and retrieve it, so she just fell asleep with the thought in mind that she'd get it later, when she woke up.

***

Andrew awoke in a cheerful mood. He showered and dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen with plans of what he and the kids could do together today. Kyle and Kaia were already sitting at the kitchen table, eating bowls of Cheerios, and watching cartoons on the small kitchen television.

"Wow. Some things never change," Andrew said with a chuckle. All he got in return was a grunt from Kaia. Pulling out a carton of eggs from the refrigerator, Andrew asked, "How about some scrambled eggs for breakfast? Or maybe fried?"

Kaia and Kyle both shook their heads, keeping their eyes on the television screen.

Andrew pulled out a frying pan and started making himself two over-easy eggs. He may not have been a chef, but he was adept at making eggs of all styles, and cooking on the grill. "How about we all do something together today? Then maybe we can grill steaks for dinner."

Kyle looked up at his dad. "I can't. I'm going over to Ashley's for the day. I already told her I'd be eating there with her family."

Andrew frowned but tried not to sound discouraged. "Well, why don't you and Ashley hang out here today? She's more than welcome to have dinner with us."

"Naw, that's okay. I'll just go over there. Maybe we can hang out here some other time." Kyle got up from his seat, rinsed out his bowl in the sink, then headed upstairs to his room.

Andrew flipped his eggs, left them only for a few seconds, then slid them out of the pan and onto his plate. He sat down in the chair Kyle had vacated. "Well, it looks like it's just you and me today," he said to Kaia. "What do you want to do?"

Kaia shrugged. "I have a lot of homework to do, so I should just stay home." She passed the TV remote over to her dad and brought her bowl to the sink as Kyle had done. "I'm going to spend the night over at Megan's house Monday. Her mom will pick us up after school. We have a history report we're doing together and need to work on it."

Andrew's brows rose. "Don't you mean 'May I spend the night at Megan's house'?"

Kaia grinned. "Don't be silly, Dad. You weren't invited."

"Ha, ha. I guess it's okay, but I'll need Megan's mom's phone number first, so I can confirm she's picking you up."

"You've figured out this dad thing pretty fast," Kaia said, still grinning, then walked out of the room.

Andrew sighed. Keeping up with these kids was a lot more work than he'd thought.

Later, after finishing a couple more loads of laundry and going for a walk around the neighborhood with Kaia and Bear, Andrew cooked two small steaks on the grill along with some corn on the cob wrapped in tinfoil. This one task he knew how to do, and it made him feel like he was competent at something around the house. Earlier, he'd tried calling Maggie to see what she was up to, but her phone had gone directly to voice mail. He wondered if the battery had died, and if she had the charger with her. He hoped so. Now that they were talking like civil people again, he wanted to continue having conversations with her.

After dinner, Kaia started rinsing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher as Andrew stared at her in disbelief.

"What?" Kaia asked, annoyance in her voice.

"Nothing," Andrew said, smiling, and headed to the laundry room to finish folding the last pile of towels.

He tried calling Maggie again a few minutes later, but again, it went to voice mail. Andrew wondered if he should be worried.

 "Have you talked to your mom today?" he asked Kaia, as she worked on her homework at the kitchen table.

"I talked to her last night," Kaia said. "But her battery was low, and there was too much noise, so she couldn't hear me. She said she'd call me back today."

Andrew cocked his head. "Noise? What type of noise?"

"There was a band playing some old rock music. You know, like the stuff you and Mom listen to. She said she was at dinner with someone named Bobbi, and there was a band."

Andrew stared at Kaia, but she just went back to writing in her notebook. Bobbi? Maggie was out with some guy named Bobbi, having dinner, and listening to a band in Reno?

Kaia looked up and saw her dad staring at her. "Now what?"

Andrew regained his composure. "Did your mother call you back today?"

"No. I figured she was busy doing something, or maybe she left Reno and was driving somewhere else and forgot. I'm sure I'll hear from her soon."

As Kaia went back to her schoolwork, Andrew replayed what she had said to him in his mind. Out to dinner with someone named Bobbi. Listening to a loud band. She was probably in some bar in Reno, in one of the casinos, with some strange guy.
Oh, my God.
He was getting angrier by the second. Here he was, playing house dad and actually starting to feel good about their relationship, and she was out with some guy she met in Reno.

Andrew walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs to his bedroom. He tried calling Maggie again, but still, there was no answer. This time, he left a message to call him immediately. If she thought she was going to make him jealous, then she was wrong. He might be angry, but he wasn't jealous. If she wanted to pick up strange men, then that was her problem. All he knew for sure was that when he talked to her, he was going to give her an ultimatum, and she'd better pick the right choice—or else.

***

Maggie awoke once again to sunshine peeking through the drapes, but this time, she didn't have a colossal headache. When she saw it was eight in the morning, she was dumbfounded. Had she actually slept from late afternoon until the next morning? Tentatively, she rose to a sitting position and was happy to find her headache was gone. She felt back to normal. She stepped out of bed and headed for the drapes, then pushed one aside. It was another beautiful, sunny day in Reno. Then she remembered that today was Monday, and she was going to finish the paperwork and pick up her new car. With renewed energy, she hurried to shower and dress, pack, and headed out the door for the last time.

At one o'clock, Maggie pulled up to the front entrance of
Circus, Circus
in her new Mustang. The top was down, and the car sparkled in the sun. People stared as they walked past, and Maggie felt like a movie star.

When Bobbi came out the doors, a big smile spread across her face, and she ran over to the car. "It's so beautiful," she exclaimed, as Maggie helped her place her luggage in the back seat. The two hopped into the front seats, and Maggie headed for the airport.

The ride to the airport was too short as the two women enjoyed the warm desert air whipping across their faces, their hair blowing in the wind. Maggie stopped at Bobbi's terminal gate, then hopped out to help her unload her luggage.

"I'm sure going to miss you, Maggie," Bobbi said, as she gave her a big hug goodbye. "We sure had some fun. Don't forget to keep in touch."

"How can I forget my new friend?" she asked, laughing. "After all, you're the first person in years to bring out
hot
Maggie again." Both women laughed. "Seriously, though, Reno and Tahoe wouldn't have been the same without you. Thanks for making my stay fun."

"Anytime, girl. Anytime." Bobbi lifted her carry-on onto her shoulder and pulled her suitcase behind her to the automatic sliding glass doors. She turned one last time, waved to Maggie, then was gone.

Maggie ran around and hopped back into her new Mustang, thinking how she'd have never had the courage to buy this gorgeous car without Bobbi's prodding. She popped open the compartment between the seats, pulled out her Bob Seger CD, and slipped it into the player. As Maggie pulled out of her parking space and headed out of the airport to drive west to San Francisco, Bob began to sing her favorite song. The song that started her on this journey. The song that kept her heading west. "Roll me away, Bob," she said, smiling, as she exited onto Highway 80 West toward the coast.

Chapter Fifteen

Monday night found Andrew sitting in Two Rivers Pub on a stool at the bar. It was after seven in the evening. He'd just finished eating a hamburger and fries and was now nursing his second mug of beer. He was alone. Kaia was at her friend's house for the night, and Kyle was God knows where. Andrew had tried to persuade Kyle to join him for a burger, just the guys, but he'd declined. Andrew was more than a little angry with Kyle. Why couldn't his only son find just an hour out of his day to spend with him? They'd been close when Kyle was younger. Andrew had coached his little league team and they'd played catch and one-on-one basketball in the driveway many nights after school and work. Sure, Andrew had been busy the past few years with work and committee meetings, but Kyle was older and had been busy, too. So Andrew had no idea why Kyle was being so cold to him.

Andrew looked up and spotted the owner, Russ Peterson, behind the bar, pouring two mugs of beer. Russ was his age, they'd graduated together from high school, and he had a son the same age as Kyle.

"Hey, Russ. What's your son up to these days?"

"He's going to the college here, same as your kid. Business major," Russ answered, as he placed the mugs of beer on a tray and started making a mixed drink.

"Do you and he ever spend time together anymore?"

Russ chuckled. "If you count him working here on the weekends, then sure. Otherwise, not much time. He's busy with school and working here, and he has a girlfriend. Not much time for the old man."

"Hmmm," Andrew said into his beer, as he watched Russ finish mixing the drinks, then take the tray out to some customers on the far side of the room. Maybe it was normal for grown kids to not spend time with their parents. He shouldn't read too much into it. But it still irked him.

"Trouble at home?"

Andrew turned to see who'd asked him that question and had to stop himself from grimacing when he saw Clyde at the end of the bar. Everyone in town knew Clyde. He was old, he hung out in all the local bars, and he mooched off old friends to buy him drinks. He'd been a logger years ago but had long since retired. Clyde's wife had passed away years ago, and his kids had left town. But Clyde had been a presence in the bars around town long before his wife died, and he still was. He nosed around in other people's business, and that was why Andrew didn't like him much.