Maggie's Turn (12 page)

Maggie frowned. "Kaia did tell you where to buy groceries so you'd save money, didn't she?"

"Oh, yeah, of course she did. Kaia knows everything. She's a big help," Andrew said, then quickly changed the subject. "How was your day? What did you do?"

Maggie told Andrew about her drive to Lake Tahoe and the photos she'd taken, leaving out the fact that she had bought the Mustang. She figured she'd spring that one on him when she returned home. Her voice grew animated as she spoke about the places she'd seen today. "It was so much fun. I'd forgotten how beautiful it is here in Tahoe. Do you remember the beach we used to go to years ago?"

"Yes. It was beautiful."

"I went there and took some gorgeous pictures of the crystal clear water and the snow-capped mountains. It was so inspiring and gorgeous, I wished…" Maggie faltered.

"What did you wish?" Andrew asked, caught up in Maggie's excitement.

"I wished you and the kids were there with me to enjoy it."

"That would be fun. I wish we had been there, too," Andrew said, softly.

Maggie paused at Andrew's words. He sounded sincere, and it warmed her heart to think he actually meant what he'd said.

"I was just looking at the pictures on my computer," she said. "They look wonderful. I can't wait for you and the kids to see them."

"You always did take great pictures," Andrew said. "You're very talented at it."

Maggie smiled. She couldn't remember the last time Andrew had complimented her, and it felt good. "I forgot how much I loved taking pictures. I've really missed it."

"You should do more of it," Andrew said. "Now that the kids are older, you have more time for photography."

"Andrew? I've been thinking about that. Remember years ago, when we talked about me opening an art shop in town where I could sell my own photographs as well as other artists' work? I was thinking about that again. I'd really love to do that."

"I don't know, Maggie. That would be expensive, and there's no guarantee that you'd make enough money to keep a shop going."

Maggie sighed. Once again, Andrew's conservative side had to come out when talking about fulfilling a dream. "It was only an idea. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time."

"I didn't mean to sound so discouraging," Andrew said quickly. "Why don't we talk about it when you get back? Maybe it is something we can do."

Maggie's heart soared. She sat on the bed for a long time after they'd said goodnight, excited by the pleasant conversation she and Andrew had enjoyed. It had been a long time since they'd talked to each other without arguing, and it felt good. Maggie fell asleep with high hopes that they might be able to save their marriage after all.

***

After Andrew hung up the phone, he grimaced at the white lie he'd told Maggie about grocery shopping. Andrew didn't want to admit he hadn't listened to his fourteen-year-old daughter and had spent much more than he should have. After Kaia and he had eaten dinner, he'd compared what Maggie spent on groceries by shopping at both stores instead of just the one and found she actually saved about forty dollars a week by store hopping. He'd never given Maggie credit for being careful with the money, but now, he understood that she was as careful as she could be, just that life was expensive. He should have told Maggie that, but he hadn't, and now he wished he had.

He stared at the family photos on the wall for a long time as he wondered why it was so hard for him to tell Maggie how he felt. And why had he been so quick to discourage Maggie about her idea for an art shop? They'd been having a good conversation, and Andrew had heard some of the old Maggie in her voice. The Maggie he'd known in college, who'd been full of life and full of dreams. He'd loved her for that. Why had he tried to stop her from being that way again?

He was happy he'd stopped himself from being a total jerk and said they could talk about her idea when she came home. Maybe they still had a chance to fix their marriage after all. He went to bed, feeling content about his life for the first time in a long time.

***

On Saturday morning, the sound of the washing machine clunking and banging in the laundry room woke Kaia. When she walked into the kitchen and looked into the laundry room, she saw her dad standing there with the washer's lid open, looking into it, frowning.

"Why does it keep doing that?" he asked her. "No matter how I load the towels, it gets unbalanced."

Kaia shrugged. "I don't know. It happens to Mom sometimes, too."

"What does she do?"

"Same thing you're doing. She moves the stuff around until it's balanced."

Andrew looked at his daughter a moment, then rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

Kaia smirked. She eyed the dirty clothing in the basket on top of the dryer. "Whatever you do, don't shrink my good shirts and sweaters," she told him, then turned into the kitchen to get breakfast.

Andrew looked at the basket of clothes that Kaia had pointed out. Maggie had a system. The clothes were separated into four baskets, whites, towels, clothes, and jeans. There was also the additional pile of clothes on the floor that belonged to Kyle with grease splatters from his job at the motorcycle shop. Andrew had figured out how to wash the whites and the towels just fine, but he was at a loss with all the rest. He knew Maggie hung some of the clothes to dry so they didn't shrink, and he knew that some jeans were hung and others were placed in the dryer. But for the life of him, he didn't know which went where.

"Kaia? Do you know how Mom washes and dries all these different clothes?" Andrew called out to his daughter, who was sitting at the kitchen table, eating cereal and watching the small kitchen television.

Kaia stared at him. "Not really. You can't put my jeans or tops in the dryer for the full amount of time. They need to be hung after about five minutes of drying. That's all I know." She returned her attention to the show on TV.

"That's a lot of help," Andrew mumbled to himself. Why in the world was laundry so complicated? He reached for his phone in his jean's pocket, hesitated a moment, then went ahead and hit Maggie's number on auto-dial.

"Hi," Maggie said.

"Hi. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was just getting up. What's up?"

"I'm knee-deep in laundry here, and I'm afraid that I don't know what I'm doing. Can you help me with this so Kaia doesn't yell at me for ruining her clothes?"

Maggie chuckled. "I think I can help you with that. Do you have a pen and paper handy?"

"Really? Are you serious? Is doing laundry so difficult that I have to write it down?" Andrew asked, astonished.

"Only if you want to remember everything," Maggie told him. She then started explaining what he needed to do, separating darks and lights, which clothes to put in the dryer for a full cycle, which ones to do for fifteen minutes, then hang dry. She told him which cycles to use, when to use fabric softener, and how long to dry certain items. Before long, Andrew had filled a page and a half of notebook paper with instructions.

"Geez, I never realized how much work goes into doing laundry. I thought you just put the stuff in the machines and took it out. It's like you need a college degree in laundry to keep your clothes clean."

Maggie smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty crazy. So, what's on the agenda for you and Kaia today? Besides laundry, of course."

Andrew frowned. He hadn't really thought of doing anything else besides figuring out laundry and maybe going out for dinner. Most Saturdays, he was involved with some type of community meeting or event and didn't do much with the family anymore. He'd canceled going to most of his meetings for the next couple of weeks so he could be home until Maggie came back. He knew he wouldn't be able to do this for long, though. He had to get back to his community obligations.

"I'm not sure. What do you and she usually do?" Andrew asked.

"Well, sometimes, we go bowling with the residents from the group home. Other times, we go roller-skating at the rink, or we just go shopping and have lunch. She loves going to the bookstore and looking at the latest releases. Also, there's an arcade at the bowling alley that she likes to go to. I guess it just depends on what you want to do."

"Bowling, huh? Kaia mentioned that yesterday in the grocery store. Since when do you like to bowl?" Andrew asked. He didn't remember ever going bowling with Maggie or the kids.

Maggie laughed. "It started when I began taking the residents from the group home there to practice for Special Olympics. They needed volunteers to bowl with them, so I did and, when Kaia was older, she volunteered. Kyle did for a couple of years, too. Both kids are actually quite good."

Andrew racked his brain, but he couldn't remember Maggie or the kids ever talking about bowling. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me you three bowled so much? Where was I?"

"I'm sure the kids mentioned it to you. I remember them telling you scores every now and then. I guess you were just too busy with your own work and commitments to pay attention."

Andrew was quiet a moment. Maggie didn't sound resentful but the amount of time he spent away from home volunteering was a bone of contention between them, and he was aware that this conversation could turn from warm to cold at any moment. Instead of continuing on this topic, he changed the subject.

"Maybe I'll take Kaia bowling, if she wants to go. It might be fun," Andrew said, keeping his voice cheerful.

"That's a great idea. But watch out. Your daughter is as competitive as you are, and she has the upper hand. Don't let it get you too mad."

Andrew laughed. "I know all about her competitiveness. She's a killer on the tennis court."

After ending the call, Andrew thought back on their conversation as he began a new load of laundry. There was so much he hadn't paid attention to around the house or his family, because he left everything for Maggie to do. If he were honest with himself, he'd admit that he always thought Maggie had it easy being home with the kids and only working part-time. But after the past few days, he'd come to realize, and appreciate, how much she actually juggled. The next time he talked to her, he planned on telling her that he appreciated all she did for the family, and for him.

Chapter Thirteen

After talking to Andrew, Maggie showered and went downstairs to meet Bobbi for breakfast at the buffet again. After stuffing themselves on a variety of delicious foods, the two planned to meet at noon and go shopping at an outlet mall that carried designer dresses for a fraction of the cost.

"We're going to look
hot
tonight," Bobbi declared before heading off to another seminar. Maggie doubted she'd ever be considered
hot
but didn't argue the point with Bobbi, who was so excited about the banquet tonight.

Twelve o'clock found Maggie and Bobbi back in the minivan heading out of the parking garage. Maggie wished she had the Mustang instead but couldn't pick it up until Monday, after all the paperwork was complete, and her bank was notified. Bobbi gave directions and Maggie followed them, and soon they were parked at a large factory outlet complex.

"I take it you've been here before," Maggie said, as the two women exited the van, and she followed Bobbi toward a designer dress store.

Bobbi nodded. "Like I said, I come here every year for the convention, so I know this place well."

Once inside the store, Bobbi started digging through the racks of dresses, pulling them out one by one and handing them to Maggie. "You're a size eight, right?" she asked, as she continued pulling out short, sparkly dresses in all colors.

"More like a size ten," Maggie said, but Bobbi gave her the once over and shook her head.

"Definitely an eight," she said.

"What makes you think that?" Maggie asked, as Bobbi continued loading her arms with dresses.

"I worked in a fancy dress shop while I was going to beauty school. I can figure out a person's size by just looking at her."

After loading Maggie's arms with dozens of dresses, Bobbi led her in the direction of the dressing rooms. She stopped for a moment in front of the shoes, considered a moment, then picked out a pair of size nine high-heeled sandals. She carried them to a dressing room and set them on a chair. "You can't try on dresses without the right shoes," Bobbi announced. She grabbed the dresses from Maggie and hung them on the hooks on the walls, then turned to her.

"You want me to try them all on?" Maggie asked, staring dumbfounded at the dresses hanging in the room.

"Sure. We're here to have fun and to find a dress. You're sure to find one you like."

Maggie gave in. "Okay. But what about you? Aren't you going to try on dresses?"

"You bet I am. I just wanted to get you started first. I knew if I'd left you on your own, you'd only pick out one dowdy black dress to try on. This way, you can try on fun dresses and pick out a great party dress."

"Hey. Do I really seem that boring to you?" Maggie asked, insulted.

Bobbi chuckled. "No, you don't. But from what I can tell, you've spent too many years taking care of your family and not thinking about yourself. I want you to have fun, and you will if you pick out a great dress."

Maggie nodded. Bobbi was right. She hadn't done anything like this in a long time. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd needed or worn a pretty dress. So, in the spirit of fun, she began shimmying into the tight dresses Bobbi had picked out for her.

Soon, Bobbi was in the dressing room next to Maggie's with a pile of dresses of her own, and they were both coming in and out of their dressing rooms, modeling their latest outfit. Maggie laughed out loud at many of the dresses she tried on. Some were much too short, or too tight, or too bright in color. One even had purple feathers sewn on it. They laughed, groaned, occasionally oohed and aahed, and had the time of their lives.

Maggie finally settled on a deep blue, strapless, satin dress that hit slightly above the knee and wasn't so tight that she couldn't breathe. The black sandals Bobbi had chosen for her to try were perfect with it, so she kept them, too. She couldn't believe the affordable price on the dress and shoes. They were less than a pair of jeans. She decided she needed to hit one of the casual shops here and pick up some pants and tops, too, since she had lost a few pounds and her other clothes were loose on her.