Maggie's Turn (18 page)

Cassie sat, aghast at all Maggie was telling her. Maggie was the good girl, the one who never made waves. And here she was, running away from home and going against Andrew's demands that she return.

"You just drove away and kept on going?" Cassie asked, still trying to comprehend it all. She smiled wide. "That's so unlike you. And I'm so proud of you. You finally stood up to that tyrant of a husband. It's certainly about time."

"Cassie, Andrew isn't a tyrant. He's a good man and a good father. He's just made a few mistakes lately."

Cassie frowned at Maggie. "A few mistakes? Maggie, he cheated on you. And after you caught him, he just wanted you to forget it ever happened and go back to the way things were. That's terrible. He didn't even care how his cheating affected you. If Matt ever cheated on me, I'd throw his ass out the door and never let him in again."

Maggie sighed. "It isn't as easy as that when it actually happens to you," she said, sadly. "I thought I'd never stay with a man who cheated, but when you have a family, everything changes. Kyle was in his last year of high school, and I didn't want anything to disrupt it. And Kaia, she would have been devastated if I had left Andrew. Staying, at the time, seemed easier."

Cassie sat quiet a moment, taking a sip of her coffee and staring out the window at the calm ocean. Finally, she said, "You're right. Leaving isn't always easy, especially with a family. But here you are. You did finally walk away. Now what?"

Maggie shrugged. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Cassie reached over and hugged her tight, then pulled away and smiled. "Well, let's get you settled into the guest room, and we'll figure it out together, okay? Let's go get your luggage."

The two women went out to the car and pulled out Maggie's one suitcase, her camera, and her laptop.

"Is this all you have?" Cassie asked, surprised.

"I didn't know I was leaving until I was gone. I didn’t pack anything. This is what I've picked up along the way."

As they headed back inside and up the stairs to the bedrooms, Maggie asked, "Where are Matt and the kids? It seems too quiet around here."

"They're down on the beach. It's almost dinnertime, though, so I'm sure they'll be back soon," Cassie replied.

As Maggie turned to head into the bedroom she'd stayed in before, Cassie stopped her. "Sorry, that one's taken. You'll have to stay in the one down the hall this time."

"Taken? What, are you renting out rooms to pay for this monster house?" Maggie asked, teasingly.

Cassie reached out and pinched Maggie's arm. "No. Matt's old business partner is staying for a few days. You remember Robert. He came up from his place in California to visit and see what Matt's up to."

Maggie stopped and stared at Cassie, her eyes wide. "Robert?"

"Yeah, Robert Barnes. Well, we call him Rob. I'm sure you two have met before."

Maggie shook her head, then chuckled as Cassie looked at her like she was going crazy. Rob? Well, at least it wasn't another Bob.

 The two women entered Maggie's room. It was as beautiful as the other guest room. There was a queen-sized bed nestled in an oak sleigh frame, covered in the thickest, fluffiest blue comforter Maggie had ever seen. A gas fireplace was on the opposite wall and an oak dresser on another. Windows lined the room, one was a bay with a window seat. Maggie walked over to the bay window and looked out at the view of the Sound and the beach below. There, she saw the two kids running around tossing a ball and two men sitting on a large log in front of an unlit fire pit.

"You know, I've never met Robert before," Maggie said. "What's he like?"

Cassie looked up, surprised. "Really? I thought for sure you two had met. Although, you and Andrew never did come home much during the years Matt was in business." She plopped Maggie's suitcase on the bed and started unzipping it. "You'll love him. He's a sweetheart. Very down to earth. He rode up here along the coast road on his Harley-Davidson. He's really into boy toys like motorcycles."

"A Harley, huh?" Maggie said quietly, as she continued staring out the window at the beach. She turned suddenly when she heard Cassie let out a shriek.

"What the heck are these?" Cassie pulled out a pair of black leather chaps.

Maggie laughed at the shocked looked on Cassie's face. "Those are my leathers, of course," she said, as she watched Cassie stare at them, turning them back and forth. "It's been an interesting couple of weeks."

Cassie dropped the pants on the bed and pulled out the matching leather jacket. Looking seriously at Maggie, she said, "You really have to catch me up on what you've been doing."

Still laughing, Maggie walked over to Cassie and took the jacket out of her hands, laying it back in the suitcase. "Let's unpack later. I want to see those kids of yours, and that crazy husband, too."

Linked arm in arm, they headed down the hallway toward the stairs. "I'll order pizza for dinner and call everyone up to the house," Cassie said.

Maggie grinned. "Pizza delivery? What do you think the pizza delivery guy thinks when he pulls up to a house like this?"

Cassie winked at her. "He probably thinks he's going to get one heck of a tip."

***

Andrew didn't sleep well after fighting with both Maggie and Kyle. The next morning, he barely said a word to Kaia before dropping her off at school, which only resulted in her becoming moody toward him. Once he was at work, he felt like he was behind all day. On top of that, he had to leave early to pick up Kaia, which left him with a pile of unfinished work on his desk. By the time he returned home that afternoon, he was agitated and short-tempered.

"What are we having for dinner tonight?" Kaia asked, as they walked through the door and Bear slid past them to go outside.

"Geez, Kaia. We just got home. How would I know what we're having for dinner yet?" Andrew snapped.

Kaia glared at him. "Didn't you take anything out to cook? You're supposed to take out meat or something before we leave in the morning so it can thaw. That's what Mom does."

"I don't give a shit what your mom does. I'm in charge," Andrew said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he was sorry, but Kaia didn't give him a chance to say so.

"You don't give a shit about anything," she yelled at him, tears filling her eyes. "You don't care that Mom's gone, you don't want to drive me to school, and all you do is argue with Kyle. And look," Kaia pointed out the window at Bear, who had crossed the street and was doing his business in the neighbor's yard. "You let Bear out again without putting him on his leash. A car could have hit him. You just don't care about anything."

"I can't do everything," Andrew yelled.

"Mom can. And you won't even apologize to her so she'll come home. All you do is fight with her. I heard you last night. You're wrong. Mom isn't like her mother. She didn't leave us forever. She just needed to get away for a while."

Andrew's tone grew quiet. "But she's not here, is she? She did leave us."

Kaia's face turned red. "I hate you. You're mean to everyone. If anyone is like their mother, it's you." She turned and stormed up the stairs, slamming her door shut behind her.

Andrew started to follow her up the stairs, then thought twice about it. He looked out the window and saw the neighbor yelling at Bear. With a defeated sigh, Andrew went outside to apologize, again, and collect the dog.

Later, after feeding Bear and the cats, and giving himself a chance to calm down, Andrew knocked on Kaia's door. "Hey, can I come in?"

"No. Go away," Kaia said in a small voice.

Andrew sighed. He could hear that Kaia was crying. He stood there, feeling helpless. He really didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Kaia. I didn't mean anything I said. I'm just frustrated. Why don't I order a pizza, and we can talk while we eat."

"No. I don't want pizza. I'll get something myself later. Just go away and leave me alone."

Andrew stood there in front of the door, trying to decide what to do. What he really wanted was to open the door, walk in, and make Kaia talk to him. But he knew that would only make matters worse. Finally, he gave up and went across the hallway to his bedroom. He changed out of his work clothes and into jeans and a sweatshirt, then headed downstairs and called to order a pizza. He hoped that the smell would entice Kaia downstairs so they could finally talk.

The pizza came, and still, Kaia didn't come down. Andrew put it away in the fridge and did a load of laundry.

"If anyone is like their mother, it's you."
Kaia's words rattled around in Andrew's head all evening. His mother had never been close with the kids, and he couldn't blame Kaia for thinking she was mean, but did Kaia really think he was as cold and heartless as his mother? He thought he'd been making progress in his relationship with Kaia, but now, everything had gone backwards.

As Andrew sat in the living room, trying to forget everything and concentrate on a television show, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, hoping it was Maggie. He should apologize. He hadn't meant to say she was like her mother. The caller wasn't Maggie, however. It was Craig Henderson, one of the men he volunteered with on the new Airport Planning Committee.

"Hi, Craig. What's up?" Andrew asked.

"You tell me, Andrew. Where are you? The meeting started ten minutes ago, and you're still not here."

"Oh, crap," Andrew said, thumping the palm of his hand on the side of his head. "I'm sorry, Craig. I forgot all about the meeting. I won't be able to come tonight."

There was silence on the other end for several seconds. "That's not like you to forget about a meeting," Craig finally said. "Is everything okay at home?"

Since Craig worked at the bank with Charlie Larson and was also friends with Derrick Weis, Andrew was sure he'd already heard there were problems at home. But he wasn't about to discuss them with Craig. "Everything's fine," he said tersely. "I've just been really busy. I promise, I'll make it to the next meeting."

"You know, Andrew, what we're doing is very important. If I remember right, you asked to be on this committee. If you can't fulfill your obligations, just say so, and we'll ask someone else to join instead."

Andrew took a deep breath. He had to, or else he'd tell snooty Craig Henderson where he could put his committee. In a controlled voice, he said, "I understand how serious this committee's agenda is, Craig. I do want to be a part of redeveloping our town's airport. But I just can't make it tonight. Something else came up. I promise I'll be at the next meeting."

"Fine. I'll e-mail you the notes and the date of the next meeting. Just make sure you come, okay?"

Andrew hung up after promising again not to miss the next meeting. He sat there, wanting to throw his phone across the room but refrained from doing so. His life was a mess. He was missing meetings, fighting with Maggie and the kids, and barely hanging on at work. He didn't know who to be mad at. Maggie, or himself. As he sat there, pondering how his life was going to hell, Kyle walked in the back door. Andrew stood and walked into the kitchen the same time Kyle did.

"Hey. I see you're home a little earlier," Andrew said, noting it was only eight o'clock. "There's fresh pizza in the fridge, if you're hungry."

Kyle stared warily at Andrew a moment before answering. "I already ate with Ashley. I'm going up to my room to finish my homework."

Andrew frowned. Why was he having so much trouble relating to Kyle? He reached out and touched Kyle's sleeve to stop him from leaving the room. Kyle pulled away so quickly, he dropped his backpack and books spilled out on the floor.

"Geez, Kyle, what's going on? You won't even give me a minute of your time. Why are you so angry with me?" Andrew asked, exasperated.

Kyle knelt down and shoved his books back into his backpack. He stood and looked his dad straight in the eye. "You wanted me home earlier, so here I am. I did what you asked. Why can't you just leave it at that?"

"What's going on with you?" Andrew asked, his voice growing angry. "Since your mother left, you've done everything you can to ignore me. What the hell did I do to make you so mad at me?"

Kyle stood there, glaring down at his dad. He was two inches taller, and twenty-six years younger, and for an instant, it looked like he was going to hit Andrew.

Andrew didn't budge, but the anger in Kyle's eyes was so blatant, it sent chills up his spine.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Kyle said, taking a step back toward the hallway.

"Well, I do," Andrew said. "I'm tired of everything that's going on around here. If you have a beef with me, tell me. I want to know. You want to be treated like a grown-up, so act like one. What the hell is going on?"

Kyle dropped his backpack on the floor with a thump and took a step toward his dad. "You're the problem. You ignore everything that's going on here for years, and all of a sudden, you think you're in charge. You know nothing about what goes on around here."

"I didn't have a choice," Andrew yelled. "Your mom just up and ran off, leaving everything in my lap. I had to take charge."

Kyle glared at Andrew. "Mom didn't just run off. You made her leave. It's your fault she's gone, but you're trying to blame everyone else for it."

Andrew stopped a moment, leveling his gaze on Kyle. "You don't know what happened between your mom and me. You have no right blaming me."

Kyle took another step toward his dad and pointed a finger at him. "You don't even know what's going on right in front of you. All you care about is your stupid job and all those committees you're on to help
improve this town
. Yet you don't even care what goes on in your own family." Kyle stooped and picked up his backpack and turned toward the stairs.

Andrew grabbed Kyle's arm and turned him back to face him. "That
stupid
job of mine is what pays for everything for this family. I support all of you. Don't forget that. If you knew what it was really like to be responsible for other people, you wouldn't be so quick to condemn me. Maybe you'd even appreciate what you have for a change."