The Gift (36 page)

“He’s going to be a terror when he grows up,” she said.

“Well, you can’t blame him for wanting to play a quality
instrument,” Zak said and laughed.

“How come he calls Tucker Grampa?” Zak asked.

“Gabe noticed that Tucker was about the same age as my
dad and decided that he must be a Grampa too. It drove Tucker crazy at first,
but then he decided that he liked it. He rarely ever sees his own grandchildren
who are in Australia,” Maggie said.

Justin thought to himself that the reason it drove
Tucker crazy was that it made him feel too old to go after Maggie. Once Tucker
had figured out that Maggie wasn’t interested in him romantically, then he was
fine with the two children calling him Grampa.

Maggie invited Justin to stay for coffee, but he told
her that he was tired and wanted to get back to his apartment. He kissed her on
the cheek, and patted Zak on the back.

“Good to have you home, Zak,” Justin said and then he
went out to the rental car in the driveway and drove back to his apartment.
Maggie and Zak settled in on the couch in the living room, happy to be home
with each other and their children. They let the children stay up a little
later than normal to celebrate being home together, but then put them to bed
since they were tired from their long trip from Nashville.

As they were returning to the living room, Zak suggested
that maybe they go to bed too. “You look exhausted Maggie. It must have been a
long day for you.”

“Well, actually it was,” she said.

“If you don’t want to make love tonight, and just go to
sleep, I’ll understand.” Zak added.

“Are you sure Zak?” Maggie said and then smiled slowly
at him. She unbuttoned her blouse and pulled off her jeans. She walked over to
him and unbuttoned his shirt and jeans too. She put her arms around his waist
and kissed him hard on the lips.

“I’ve missed you so much, my love. We can sleep later.
I’ve been looking forward to making love to you for weeks,” she said.

They finished disrobing and lay down on the bed. Maggie
looked up expectantly at Zak as he leaned over her.

“Maggie, the thing that got me through rehab was
thinking about being together again with you and the kids. You mean the world
to me.”

“Zak, you are everything to me,” Maggie replied.

“Maggie, I’ve been thinking for the last month that it
might be nice to have another baby. What do you think about that idea?”

Zak smiled at her with so much love that it almost made
her cry.

Maggie whispered in his ear, “Yes Zak, I’d like you to
give me another baby.”

Zak laughed and said “O.k. Maggie, I’ll do my best.”

And he did.

.

Chapter 37

Maggie and Zak resumed their old life which
revolved around taking care of their children and making music. After relaxing
at home for a week, Zak called up Justin and Tom and told them he was anxious
to start working on the songs that he had written while he was in rehab. Zak
told Maggie that he had missed playing with her and wanted her to start playing
with the Bayou Blasters again.

One afternoon, Maggie and Zak dropped off Gabe and Belle
with Zak’s mother for a couple hours so that they could practice with the band.
Zak taught his new songs to everyone and then they worked out the instrumental
breaks and vocals. They were in the middle of a song, when they saw a UPS truck
pull up in front of the studio. Zak put down his guitar and went outside to
meet the driver who was delivering a large box. Zak carried it into the studio
and said “Looks like it’s something from Tucker.” Zak took a pocket knife out
of his jeans and cut through the packing tape and opened the box. He reached in
and pulled out something that was heavily packed in bubble wrap.  Zak pulled
off the bubble wrap and said, “Maggie, it looks like a small Ovation guitar. I
bet it’s for Gabe.”

He pulled out a second package and handed it to Maggie.
She pulled off the bubble wrap and discovered a small violin case. She opened
it up and found a tiny 1/4 size violin. Then Zak handed Maggie a third package,
a small box wrapped in silver paper and tied with a blue bow. Maggie unwrapped
it and inside she found a cassette tape and a letter from Tucker.  She asked
Zak if he would read it to her.

“Dear Maggie,

Hope this finds you well.

We’re almost done mixing the new album

and it should be ready in a couple weeks.

While you were staying with me in Nashville,

I recorded Gabriel playing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little

Star’ on the mandolin with me playing backup

on the guitar. Here is a cassette of the recording.

I was hoping that you would agree to let

me use this as the last track on our album.

I would be happy to pay Gabriel for his work

on the record, in fact I was thinking about starting

a college fund for him and Isabel.

I hope that he will accept the gift of this guitar.

I also found a little violin for Isabel, and hope
that

you will teach her to play in a year or two.

It makes me feel a lot more optimistic about my

life to think about them continuing in our

footsteps and creating their own music.

I hope you and the kids will come visit me again

and please bring Zak and Justin. I would enjoy

seeing them and playing with them too.

Much love, Tucker “

Maggie had tears in her eyes by the time Zak finished
reading Tucker’s note. Zak put his arm around her and wiped the tears away.

“Tucker is such a great guy,” Justin said.

“I can’t believe that Gabriel is going to be on his
first album already,” Zak said and laughed at the idea.

Maggie laughed too, then she thought for a moment.

“Zak, I hope there is going to be plenty of storage for
instruments in the new studio. We’re going to need a room just for the
instruments that Tucker keeps sending us.”

“Don’t worry Maggie, Justin and I already thought about
that.”

Zak looked over at Justin, and they smiled at each
other.

The next day, Zak took Maggie and the kids to see how
the construction on their new house was going. The foundation had been poured
and the house had been framed, so they were able to get a general idea of the
footprint of the house. Maggie thought that it looked big, maybe twice as large
as their current house. Zak admitted that the square footage had grown from
their original plans. Then they walked over to where the studio was being
built. Zak and the architect had decided to add a small apartment onto the studio
for visiting guests.

“I’m looking forward to Spencer coming to stay with us,”
Maggie said. “He’s been thinking about possibly looking for his own place down
here. He wants to be closer to the band so we can play together more often.”

“Maggie, our house will be empty in a few months. Maybe
Spencer would like to stay there. We could rent it to him,” Zak said.

“That’s a great idea, Zak. It was making me sad to think
about selling our little house once we moved over to the new one. I’ll ask
Spencer if he’s interested.”

Maggie called Spencer on the phone that evening and
asked him if he was still thinking of moving to Louisiana.

“I’m definitely considering it, Maggie. I’d like to be
closer to you and the band.”

“Zak was wondering if you’d like to rent our house.
We’re going to be moving to the new house in a couple months. We don’t really
have to sell the house and we’d like to keep it.”

“I like that idea, Maggie. I think that might work
pretty well for both of us.”

Maggie was thrilled. She was looking forward to seeing
Spencer on a regular basis again and she would be able to visit him in the
little house that she loved.

Two months later, the construction of Maggie and Zak’s
house was completed. Spencer packed up all of his possessions in his Econoline
van and drove from Boston down to Louisiana. He helped Maggie and Zak move over
to their new house and then he moved into the old house.

One morning, he drove over to the new house to visit
with Maggie. He wanted to talk to her about working on a new album with Little
Maggie. He knocked on the front door and Maggie let him in. She was alone, Zak
had taken the children with him to the grocery store to get provisions for the
new house.

Maggie led Spencer into the large eat-in kitchen and
offered to make coffee. While the coffee was brewing, they discussed what sort
of songs they wanted to put on the new album. Spencer told Maggie that he had
written some songs in Boston, and hoped that Maggie could help him with the
lyrics. Spencer poured coffee for himself and Maggie and then pulled a few
sheets of paper out of his jacket to show Maggie what he had written already.
As she looked over the lyrics, she started feeling queasy. She looked up
suddenly at Spencer and told him she wasn’t feeling well. She walked hurriedly
over to the bathroom next to the kitchen and shut the door. Spencer thought he
could hear her throw up. There was silence for a minute and then the sound of
running water. And then Maggie walked back into the kitchen and sat at the
table, her face white as chalk.

“Maggie, I’m starting to have a feeling of déjà vu,”
Spencer said. “Are you pregnant again? “

“Well, that was the plan,” she said.

“Do you want me to take you to the store to get a
pregnancy test kit?”

Maggie looked at Spencer and then laughed weakly.

“You poor thing, Spencer. Actually, maybe that would be
a good idea.”

“No problem, Maggie. I live to serve,” he said and
laughed. “Maybe you and Zak should have built a bigger house.”

“I guess so,” she said and went to get her handbag so
they could go to the store.

Since this was Maggie’s third time, she knew before she
even took the test that she was pregnant again. She couldn’t wait to tell Zak,
she knew that he would be so happy to welcome an additional child into their
family. After Gabriel and Isabel went to bed that night, she asked Zak to sit
down on the couch in the living room with her because she had something to tell
him. She didn’t even have to explain what that meant, Zak guessed immediately
that she was pregnant. He put his arms around her and kissed her for a long
time.

“I’m so happy Maggie. I feel like everything is turning
out for the best. I am so grateful to be home with you and the kids. I can’t
believe that we are going to have another baby. It really gives me something to
look forward to.”

“I’m looking forward to it too, but it’s going to be a
lot of work, Zak,” Maggie said.

“Well, Gabriel will be starting pre-school soon so that
should help a little. And maybe we can find a nanny or something. The apartment
next to the studio should be finished soon, the nanny could live there.”

“That’s actually a good idea, Zak. It’s lucky that we
decided to add that on to the studio.”

“We will probably have to adjust our touring schedules
for the upcoming year. You probably will want to stay close to home for the
last month or two before your due date,” said Zak.

“I guess we will have to tell everyone in the band,”
said Maggie.

“The band is coming over to rehearse tomorrow night so
we can tell them then.”

“If Spencer hasn’t already told them by now,” Maggie
said and laughed.

.

Chapter 38

The next afternoon, Maggie and Zak made lasagna
and some salad, and then called Justin, Tom and Spencer and invited them to
come over for dinner before rehearsal. They fed the children and put them to
bed, and the band showed up around 8 o’clock. Spencer showed up with a bottle
of champagne which he left on the counter in the kitchen. The other members of
the band noticed it right away as Maggie and Zak didn’t usually serve alcohol .

Justin looked at Spencer and raised one eyebrow .

“Do we have something to celebrate?” he asked.

“I’ll let Maggie and Zak tell you the news,” Spencer
replied.

“You are bad at keeping secrets, Spencer,” Maggie said
laughingly as Spencer opened the cabinet and took out some champagne glasses.
He popped the cork and started filling the glasses, he only put a tiny amount
in two of the glasses. He handed everyone a glass and then said, “O.k. Maggie,
we’re ready now.”

“Where’s my drum roll Spencer?” Maggie teased.

Zak finally decided to end the speculation.

“Maggie and I are expecting another baby,” he said. “The
due date is in about six and a half months, so we will probably have to adjust
our touring schedule.”

Justin and Tom congratulated them.

“Boy Zak, for someone who didn’t get married until he
was thirty, you’re certainly making up for lost time,” Tom said.

“My mother told me that she didn’t want to wait to see
her grandchildren,” Zak said and laughed.

“Yeah, but you don’t have to have them all at once,” Tom
answered smiling.

Justin smiled with the rest of them, but he seemed
unusually quiet. He had been making some calculations in his head and realized
that Maggie had probably gotten pregnant around the time that they had slept
together at Tucker’s.

After they finished eating their dinner, Zak, Tom and
Spencer headed out to the studio to rehearse. Justin lingered in the kitchen,
helping Maggie put the dishes in the dishwasher.