The Gift (34 page)

“So what’s the new tune that Gabriel’s learned?” asked
Justin.

“I taught him the first half of ‘Wheel Hoss’,” said
Maggie. “It’s actually not that hard.” Gabriel started playing the tune very
slowly and Tucker picked up a guitar to accompany him.

“Pretty good backup band you got there, Gabe,” said
Justin and he laughed.

“Speaking of which, Tucker and I are playing at the
Bluebird Café on Thursday. Do you want to go with us, Justin?” Maggie asked.

“Of course, Maggie. I always like to see you play.”

“We’re going to play some of the new songs that we’ve
written for the album. Tucker thought it would be a good idea to see how people
like them before we record them.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me. The Bayou Blasters
usually played our songs out in front of audiences for a couple months before
we recorded them.”

A shadow passed over Maggie’s face as Justin mentioned
the Bayou Blasters.

“Have you talked to Zak lately, Maggie?” Justin asked.

“Yes, I talked to him a couple of days ago. He said he’s
making a lot of progress and will be getting out of rehab in a week or so. I
also got a call from one of their counselors. They asked if I could come and
talk to them before Zak is released. They want to tell me what to expect after
he gets out of the program.”

“Are you going to get back together?” Justin asked her
the question as though her answer was inconsequential, when in truth her answer
couldn’t have been more important to him.

Maggie looked down at the floor.

“I don’t know Justin. I haven’t decided yet. It’s partly
up to Zak, I guess.”

Gabriel stood up and handed the mandolin to Maggie.

“Play, mama.”

She took the mandolin and pick from him and started to
play ‘Wheel Hoss’ in its entirety. Gabriel frowned and listened very seriously
and then took the mandolin back.

“I want to learn all of it,” he said.

“O.k. dear, we’ll work on it some more a little later.”

Justin laughed and said, “Jesus, Maggie. He’s going to
blow through your entire repertoire by the time he’s five.”

Maggie laughed too.

 “I know. Then you’ll have to teach him all the blues
tunes you know.”

 “When he gets a little bigger, I’ll take him over to
Gruhn’s and buy him a half-size guitar,” Tucker said.

“Oh Tucker, you indulge us too much,” Maggie said and
smiled.

“It’s not an indulgence to encourage someone with a
gift, Maggie. It’s an honor for me. Maybe some day Gabriel will play in my
band.”

“Or maybe you will play in his,” Justin said and
laughed.

Justin moved into the guest house with Maggie and her
children. He put his suitcase in an empty bedroom, but from the first night he
stayed with Maggie in her room. He was careful that the children didn’t see him
being affectionate with their mother, he didn’t want to confuse them. They
would occasionally ask when their daddy was coming, but seemed to be happy that
Justin was there. Tucker had tried to entertain them, but he didn’t have the
energy to keep up with them. Justin was a much more energetic playmate, and
they took advantage of that. But by the end of the day, Justin confessed that
he was tired from playing with the kids all day too.

“I don’t know how you do it Maggie,” he said to her one
evening.

“Well, it’s a good thing that I’ve been getting help. I
wouldn’t be able to do it without the nanny. Zak had to do most of the child
care when we were home. Sometimes it made me feel guilty.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mind, Maggie. Zak loved being with
Gabe and Belle,” Justin said.

“He was a good father in a lot of ways, Justin. He must
miss the kids terribly right now. I know Gabe and Belle miss him.”

“And what about you, Maggie?”

Maggie tried to answer Justin, but couldn’t for a
moment.

“I miss Zak more than I can say. I just wish he would
stay away from the drugs and then everything would be fine.”

“Sometimes I think we’re kind of hard on him,” Justin
said. “I’ve certainly done coke a few times too.”

“Yes, but if I asked you to stop, I don’t think you’d
have a problem. I know you wouldn’t bring drugs home and leave them around
where the kids could find them. Zak keeps saying that he will stop, but then he
breaks his promises. Do you think he will ever be able to get this under
control, Justin?”

Maggie looked at Justin with tears in her eyes.

“I don’t know Maggie, I hope so. But I think you should
give him another chance, Gabe and Belle need their father.”

Justin was tempted to lean over and hold Maggie and kiss
her, but he resisted. He had planned originally when he arrived in Nashville to tell her that he loved her and that he wanted to marry her, but the longer he
was around her, the more he realized that she needed Zak. He knew that she had
to give that relationship a chance. If they couldn’t make it work because Zak
couldn’t overcome his addiction, then he would feel that he had a right to
pursue a romantic relationship with her.

Tucker, in the meantime, had decided that he couldn’t
compete for Maggie’s affections. After seeing Justin and Maggie kiss through
the window, he realized that Maggie was passionately attracted to Justin in a
way that she wasn’t with him. Tucker decided that the 25 year age difference
between him and Maggie was an obstacle that he couldn’t overcome, so he decided
to be content with being Maggie’s friend and music partner.

Over the next four days, Maggie, Justin and Tucker
settled into an easy relationship. They spent the time playing with Maggie’s
kids and rehearsing for the upcoming show at the Bluebird Café.

One afternoon, Maggie received a phone call from the
facility where Zak was undergoing rehab. They were planning to release Zak the
following week, and they wanted to meet with her and discuss his situation
before she picked him up. Maggie talked this over with Justin, and they decided
that he would fly to New Orleans with her and the kids and that they would all
pick up Zak and drive back home together.

Thursday afternoon arrived and Maggie made arrangements
for the nanny to take care of the kids so she could perform with Tucker at the
Bluebird Café. Justin drove Maggie and Tucker to the Café in Tucker’s Cadillac.
For once, they didn’t have to bring much in the way of equipment, just two
acoustic guitars and the new Gibson mandolin.

They pulled into the strip mall where the club was
located, and Justin helped Tucker carry in the instruments. Maggie was
surprised at the size of the club, it only held about 100 people. It was
probably one of the smallest venues that she had ever played, but she knew that
it was extremely prestigious to play at the Bluebird Café. They featured some
of the best singer-songwriters in the country, and Maggie was honored to be
playing there with Tucker.

After a brief sound check, they all decided to go out
and get some dinner before the performance which started at 9:30. They ate in
the back booth of a nearby Chinese restaurant, and everyone shared a bottle of
wine. Tucker wasn’t allowed to use drugs anymore, but the doctor thought the
occasional glass of wine was probably good for him. Maggie started to feel very
relaxed. She wasn’t nervous about playing with Tucker, he was always the
consummate professional and knew how to put her at ease. They were finishing
their meal when two older women came up to their table to ask Tucker for his
autograph.

“Happy to oblige, ladies,” he said in his courtly way.

“And can we have your autograph too, Miss Williams?  We
really enjoyed your record with Mr. Travis.”

“Of course you can,” Maggie said and then autographed their
menus.

After they left, Maggie turned to Justin and said “I
never get used to that. Of course, it happens a lot more when I’m out with
Tucker because everyone knows who he is.”

“Does it bother you Maggie?” Justin asked.

“No, everyone is so nice and I’m just glad that they
enjoy my music.”

“I think even more people are going to know who you are
after we release this next album, Maggie. I think it’s the best thing I’ve done
in years.”

“Tucker, you’re too kind,” said Maggie and she patted
his hand affectionately.

An hour later, as he sat in the Bluebird Café listening
to Maggie and Tucker play together, Justin realized that Tucker hadn’t been
exaggerating. The audience was thrilled to be the first ones to hear the songs
from their new album, especially because Tucker didn’t usually play small
clubs. They listened intently and then applauded enthusiastically at the end of
each song. Justin thought the new songs were some of the best that either
Maggie or Tucker had ever written, and he predicted that the album was going to
be a huge hit.

When they were done playing, Tucker politely thanked the
audience for listening and then he helped Maggie off the stage. Justin went up
and grabbed Maggie’s guitar and mandolin and then joined Tucker and Maggie in
the back room. After putting Maggie’s instruments away for her, Justin went up
to her and put his arms around her and kissed her .

“You were incredible up there, Maggie. You’ve never
sounded better. You and Tucker certainly have a special chemistry.”

“Thanks, Justin. It means a lot to me to hear you say
that.”

One thing that Maggie liked about Justin was that he was
always honest with her, he didn’t compliment her unless he meant it.

“And what about me, Justin?” laughed Tucker.

“Do you really need to fish for compliments?  I would
think you’ve heard how great you are a million times by now,” answered Justin.

“It’s something that I never get tired of. After all,
you’re only as good as your last record,” Tucker said with a wink.

“Well, you’d think that after all these years, you
wouldn’t have anything left to prove.”

“That’s right Justin, make me feel old,” Tucker said and
everyone laughed.

Justin drove Maggie and Tucker back to Tucker’s place.
They dropped Tucker and his guitar off at the main house and then went back to
the guest house.

Thankfully, the children were sleeping quietly and the
nanny had also gone to bed. Maggie and Justin sat on the couch in the living
room and had a glass of wine. Maggie was feeling wound up after performing with
Tucker and needed to relax before she could go to sleep. Justin put his arm
around her and kissed Maggie for a long time.

“You were so great tonight,” he said. “And you looked
incredibly beautiful on stage. I think every guy in the place fell in love with
you.”

“And what about you, Justin?” Maggie said.

“You know I’m already in love with you, Maggie. Maybe
you will let me show you,” he said and then kissed her some more. They got up
off the couch and walked towards the bedroom when Gabriel came out of his room.

“Mama, I’m thirsty,” he said sleepily. Maggie and Justin
looked at each other and laughed.

“I’ll get it Maggie, why don’t you go to bed.”

Maggie went into the bedroom and Justin got Gabriel a
glass of milk and tried to put him back to bed. Gabriel insisted that he wasn’t
sleepy and asked Justin to read him a story. By the time Justin got back to
Maggie’s bedroom, he could tell from Maggie’s regular breathing that she had
fallen asleep. Justin slid into the bed next to her and put his arm around her,
and held her until he fell asleep too.

The next morning, Maggie and Justin were awakened early
by the shrill ringing of the telephone. Maggie told Justin to go back to sleep
and she went out into the living room to answer it. It was Zak. He was going to
be released from the rehab facility on Monday and he wanted to know if Maggie
could pick him up. Maggie told him that Justin had offered to take her and that
they would probably fly straight from Nashville to New Orleans with Gabe and
Belle and then rent a car at the airport and come get him.

“I can’t wait to see the kids, Maggie. And I can’t wait
to see you too, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too Zak,” Maggie said with a quaver in
her voice. Maggie told him that she loved him and then hung up the phone.
Maggie went back into the bedroom to find Justin wide awake.

“Was that Zak?” he said.

“Yes,” Maggie answered quietly.

“You probably don’t want to make love now, I’m guessing.”

“I’m sorry, Justin,” she said.

“I don’t know Maggie, maybe it’s for the best.”

Justin rolled over and pretended to go back to sleep.
Maggie curled up against Justin’s back with her arm around him. They lay
together like that for an hour without saying a word, until finally Gabriel
came into the bedroom to wake them up.

Maggie and Justin got up and made breakfast for
themselves and the kids in the little kitchen in the guest house. While they
were finishing eating, Tucker knocked on the door. He came in and joined them
for a cup of coffee and Maggie broke the news that they would all be leaving on
Monday to bring Zak home from rehab.

“I’m happy that Zak’s getting out, but I’m going to miss
all of you,” Tucker said. “You have become like a second family to me.”

“Thanks, Tucker. You are like family to us too,” Maggie
said. She smiled at Tucker and squeezed his hand.

“Maybe we can take the next couple days and finish
recording the new songs for the album. It would be great if it was finished by
the time you leave. Maybe the nanny can watch Gabe and Belle while we’re in the
studio,” Tucker said.

“Good idea, Tucker. Who knows when we will be able to
get back together to finish recording,” Maggie said.

Maggie and Tucker worked hard over the next several days
to finish recording the vocal tracks and Maggie’s mandolin tracks. By the end
of Sunday, they were satisfied with the recordings. Tucker planned to spend the
next month or two mixing the album with a friend of his who was a recording
engineer.