The Gift (14 page)

Justin dropped Maggie and Zak off at the lobby of the
Hyatt and then went to park the car in the garage. They had told him that they
would meet him in a few minutes at the function room where the reception was
going to take place, but first they wanted to go up to their room and freshen
up. The Hyatt was a modern ziggurat shaped building on the Charles River in Cambridge. Every room had a balcony with a beautiful view of Boston which was across the
river. Maggie and Zak rode up the glass elevator to their room, enjoying the
view of the atrium below. They opened the door to their room, and were
surprised to see fresh flowers and a bottle of champagne on ice. Maggie and Zak
looked at each other and laughed a little. They knew that the champagne was
probably standard fare in the honeymoon suite, but neither of them could drink
it. They would take it downstairs later to share with their friends.

Maggie sat down on the bed and Zak sat down next to her.
He kissed her and said “I love you, Mrs. Robichaud.”  He whispered in her ear
that he had wanted to make love to her all day and couldn’t wait any longer.
She assented and while he helped her out of her wedding dress, she told him how
much she loved him. In spite of their guests waiting downstairs, they took
their time and made love slowly. When they were done, Zak helped Maggie back
into her dress. Her hair had come undone, so he helped her take the bun out so
her blonde hair flowed loosely around her breasts. He then took her hairbrush
and brushed her hair very gently, kissing her every so often. He thanked her
for marrying him and making him so happy. She told him that this had been the
best day of her life, and she looked forward to their future together. Neither
of them mentioned the baby, wanting only to concentrate on the joy of their
marriage.

When Maggie and Zak arrived in the reception room
forty-five minutes later, her parents asked them where they had been. Maggie
blushed and said they had just gone upstairs to freshen up. Justin laughed to
himself, he knew them well enough to know what that meant. Maggie and Zak went
around the room greeting everyone while the waiters started serving the dinner.
Maggie had finally decided on the beef tenderloin with the maple glaze. She
thought that everyone would enjoy that especially since they had eaten seafood
at the dinner the night before.

Maggie and Zak finally took their places at the head
table with their parents and Justin and Vanessa. After a brief toast to the
bride and groom, everyone started eating. Maggie was happy that she was no
longer having any morning sickness and could thoroughly enjoy the meal. She was
hungry after the long afternoon and making love with Zak. Zak was glad to see
her enjoying the food. He had been concerned about her weight loss over the
last couple months, and was happy that her appetite had finally returned.

After everyone finished eating, the waiter wheeled out
the wedding cake that Spencer had brought over from Rosie’s. Maggie had never
liked standard wedding cakes, so she had decided to order a Kahlua cake. The
bakery had decorated the cake with fresh flowers so that it looked festive and
beautiful. Zak took Maggie’s hand in his and then they both cut the first slice
of cake together with a silver cake knife. He took a small piece of cake in his
hand and very gently offered to her. She ate it and then he kissed her, and
then she fed him a small piece too, symbolizing that they would always take
care of each other. The guests applauded them, and they exchanged a brief kiss.

While the waiters cut up the cake and served it to the
guests, Maggie and Zak walked over to the end of the room where their
instruments were waiting for them. Maggie picked up her mandolin and Zak his
Martin guitar. They told their guests that they wanted to play a song for them that
they had written that morning. Maggie and Zak would always think of the song
now as their wedding song. After they finished playing their new song, Maggie
sang “I Will” which some of the guests remembered from the engagement party.
Zak knew he would never forget how Maggie looked at him lovingly while she sang
that song. And then Zak responded with “You’ve Got a Friend” a song made
popular by James Taylor and written by Carole King, it had always been one of
Maggie’s favorite songs.

When they finished playing, everyone applauded and they
sat down to join their guests in eating their wedding cake. Then Spencer and
Justin got up and played a couple of songs on their guitars that they had
prepared to honor Maggie and Zak. Spencer of course played “Little Maggie”
which made Maggie laugh. He also played the John Denver song “Annie’s Song”
which he knew that Maggie loved. Then Justin sang the Chuck Berry song “C’est
La Vie’”  He picked the song because of its references to New Orleans where
Maggie and Zak had met.

“It was a teen-age wedding

And the old folks wished them well

You could see that Pierre

Did truly love the mademoiselle

And now the young monsieur and madame

Have rung the chapel bell

C’est la vie say the old folks 

It goes to show you never can tell.”  

Like most Chuck Berry songs, this song was a real
rocker. It provided an up tempo ending to a wonderful celebration.  

Everyone wished that the evening would never end, but
they noticed that Maggie was starting to look tired. Zak looked like he was
anxious to go back to the honeymoon suite with his bride. So people started
saying their goodbyes, congratulating the couple one more time. Maggie and Zak
said goodbye to their family and friends and went upstairs to begin their short
honeymoon.

.

Chapter 17

Maggie and Zak spent the next two days at the
Hyatt, enjoying their time alone with each other. They always seemed to be
surrounded by people, the band, their friends and families, so this seclusion
felt like a luxury. But after the two days, they were anxious to get back home
to Louisiana. They were planning on driving back in the Lincoln, and Justin was
going to go back with Tom in his van.

After a long, uncomfortable drive, Maggie and Zak
finally arrived home. The temperatures were usually starting to cool down in
New England in October, but it was still hot and humid in Louisiana. Maggie
found it particularly oppressive, maybe because of her pregnancy. Zak had
installed some ceiling fans in the house, but finally they had to give in and buy
an air conditioner. Maggie felt like she needed to occasionally have some kind
of relief.

Over the next couple months, Maggie and Zak worked on
fixing up the house so that everything would be ready for the baby. They
started by completely painting the interior of the house. They didn’t know the
sex of the baby yet, but Maggie decided to paint the baby’s room blue since it
was her favorite color. They also worked on sprucing up the yard so that the
baby would have a nice place to play outside. Zak and Justin helped Maggie put
in some flower beds where she could plant some roses, iris and perennials like
zinnias and dahlias. The house was starting to look very homey instead of like
a bachelor pad for touring musicians.

One day the landlord stopped by and told them how great
the place looked. He said that he had been thinking about selling the property
and wondered if they would be interested in buying it. Maggie was thrilled with
the idea, but she wasn’t sure that they could afford it. She mentioned it to
her father and he said that he would help them out with the down payment on the
house if they were sure they wanted to stay in Louisiana. She discussed this
with Zak and Justin and they thought that maybe it would be a good idea. Zak
thought that it might be a little tight coming up with the monthly mortgage
payment, but Justin would be paying rent which would help a lot. They were
worried about getting a loan from a bank since they didn’t have a regular
income, but Zak was able to prove that he made an adequate income from his gigs
and Maggie’s father agreed to co-sign the loan for them.

Now that they actually owned the house, Zak and Justin
got to work on some of the projects that they had always wanted to do to
improve the place. They spent the rest of the fall painting the outside of the
house, and installed new cabinets and countertops in the kitchen. They even put
in a dishwasher which Maggie thought would be very handy once the baby arrived.

Justin had gradually adjusted to the idea of Maggie and
Zak being married. He still occasionally wondered if he was the father of
Maggie’s baby, but he figured they would be able to work this out once the baby
was born. He had started dating Bonnie, the waitress from Martine’s, and that
seemed to be going well. He thought that maybe they might get married someday
too.

Zak and Maggie decided to take a Lamaze class at the
Mother and Children’s Hospital in Lafayette. Caleb had recommended that they do
that to allay any fears they had about the birth of the baby. Zak and Maggie
asked Justin if he wanted to go to the class with them. They wanted to include
him in the preparations for having the baby, especially since they still
weren’t sure that he wasn’t the father. No one ever actually discussed the
situation, but it was on everyone’s minds.

The Bayou Blasters were steadily working, playing gigs
at the many clubs and dance halls in the southern Louisiana area. They had been
approached about playing some gigs in Nashville, but they told the clubs that
they would like to wait until after Maggie had her baby. Maggie would usually
go with Zak, Justin and Tom to their gigs, but she limited her active
participation to singing a few songs. She did realize that her presence acted
as a deterent to the groupies that wanted to flirt with Zak during the breaks.
Most women would not flirt with a man when his pregnant wife was looking on. So
the women had to settle for flirting with Justin and Tom, who didn’t mind in
the least. But after a couple months, Maggie stopped going to the gigs with the
band. She preferred to stay home where it was more comfortable and watch
television on the sofa with Chère.

She continued to work on her music during the day with
Zak and Justin, they had written almost a dozen more original songs. Maggie was
also trying to improve her musicianship on the mandolin and violin. Zak had
showed her some new techniques like cross-picking and was working with her on
how to develop optimal breaks. Maggie also occasionally went to visit Jesse the
fiddler to learn more about the Cajun fiddling style. She was planning on
rejoining the band after the baby was born, and she was determined to be ready.

Without Maggie’s presence at the gigs, Zak started
falling back into his old habits. He had promised Maggie and his mother after
the accident that he would stop drinking, but he found it difficult when he was
constantly surrounded by temptation at his gigs. He started out by just having
one beer which he would nurse throughout the night. But after a few weeks of
that, he slid back into his usual drinking pattern of having a couple of beers
and maybe a shot at the end of the evening. Justin resisted the urge to say
anything because he drank at least as much as Zak and after his evening with
Maggie he couldn’t claim any moral high ground. But Justin started getting
really concerned when he saw Zak responding to the flirtations of the women in
the audience. One night Justin caught him kissing a pretty young girl out in
back of the Purple Peacock. Justin wanted to punch Zak but he settled for
yelling at him instead. The embarrassed young girl fled back into the club
while Justin lectured Zak on his marital responsibilities.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” he said. “That’s
no way to treat Maggie. You are a lucky man that she loves you and was willing
to marry you. You know, if you hadn’t proposed first, then I would have.”

Justin wanted to bite his tongue after he said that. He
had never told Zak or Maggie this, but he meant it. If Zak and Maggie ever
split up, then he would tell her that he was in love with her, but otherwise he
would keep quiet.

Justin went on to add, “If you don’t stop fooling
around, I won’t cover for you anymore. I will tell Maggie that you’re cheating
on her.”

Zak looked suitably chastened. He recognized he was
behaving badly, but sometimes he had trouble controlling himself when he was
drinking. There was a song about that, “Feeling single, seeing double.” He knew
that Justin was right, so after that night he completely stopped drinking again
which made Maggie and Justin very happy.

.

Chapter 18

Two weeks before Maggie’s estimated due date,
the band stopped accepting gigs. Zak and Justin didn’t want Maggie to go into
labor when they weren’t around. There were some signs that the birth was imminent.
Maggie would have contractions that lasted for a few minutes and then stop. The
doctor told her that she was having Braxton Hicks contractions, but Maggie
wasn’t so sure about that. Then one morning she woke up at 5 with her
contractions coming three minutes apart. Justin drove them at top speed over to
the hospital. Maggie and Zak sat in the back seat because they were worried
that she would give birth in the car.

When they got to the hospital, Maggie was put in a wheel
chair and taken into a birthing room. She was almost completely dilated and in
a lot of pain. Zak stood by her and held her hand while Justin remained in the
waiting room. But then she stopped making progress. The doctors looked worried,
they were concerned that the baby was in distress. They told Maggie and Zak
that they were going to have to perform a caesarian section. Maggie wasn’t too
happy about it, but she didn’t have much choice in the matter. They brought her
into an operating room and gave her some anesthesia, and after a few minutes
her baby was delivered. Zak was allowed in the room for the delivery and he
even cut the cord. Maggie was vaguely aware of what was happening, but she
couldn’t feel much of anything except some tugging around her abdomen. The
doctors whisked the baby away before she even got to see it, but half an hour
later they brought the baby back wrapped up in a blanket.