Maggie, Neil, Sarah, and Noelle had spent the last three hours reminiscing about old times and when the girls were younger. Laughter, tears of joy, and smiles filled the room. Having Noelle and Sarah back in the same town let along the same room made Maggie and Neil very happy. They had always been so close growing up. They were the best of friends, more like sisters. If only they knew they were. Neil hated knowing the truth about the girls and keeping it from Maggie and Mickey but especially keeping it from the girls. He had regretted not telling Maggie so the girls could be raised as sisters. He had sat back and watched Sarah grown into a beautiful and bright young lady. He grieved wanting to reach out to her and hold her as a father should. Knowing Sarah was his daughter was the hardest thing he had ever faced. It was so hard to watch Mickey, Maggie, Sarah, and Melissa live as a family knowing Sarah was his. But in the hindsight, he had done what he thought was best. When Maggie had decided to go forward with the artificial insemination and Evan Wyland was going to be the donor Neil could not bear the thought. He cared for Maggie and did not want her nor her daughter to be linked to the Wyland family, therefore he became the donor himself. He loved Sarah just as he did Noelle. She was his daughter even if he could not show it publicly. He watched as Maggie laughed and held Noelle, it warmed his heart to see her treat Noelle as her own. He had always been in awe of her kind heart and this was just a small example of how kind it is.
Maggie looked down at her watch and realized it was almost 11:00 PM. She gasped as she thought she had not told Mickey she and Sarah were going out.
"Neil, could I use your phone? I did not tell Mickey we were going out and I am sure he is wondering where we are."
"Of course, Maggie. You can use the one in my office." Neil stood as she raised from the couch to go use the telephone.
As she was leaving the room, she heard Sarah say, "Why bother? it's not like he cares.", under her breath.
Maggie's stomach turned hearing her daughter express the pain and neglect her father had caused. Still, she dropped her head and made her way to Neil's office. She dialed their house and there was no answer. All of the joy and happiness she had felt earlier soon vanished as she dialed his office. He was in fact still at the office. When he answered the phone, Maggie heard a quite feminine laugh followed by, "oh Mickey…". Maggie was stunned. Tears escaped her eyes and her hands began to tremble. Are her suspicions real? How could he do this?
Maggie was not able to respond to Mickey's phone greeting, instead, she quickly ended the call and fell into Neil's dark leather desk chair. Maggie tried so hard to control her tears and emotions but the thought of Mickey not coming home and simply hearing him laugh and carry on with another woman cut deep. She could not remember the last time they had laughed together. Not only was he not enjoying time with his family, but he was doing it with someone else.
It was not long before she heard Neil's voice at the doorway. "Maggie, the girls are upstairs, is everything alright?"
Maggie quickly raised from his chair and turned away hoping to clean her eyes and hide the fact she was crying. While she might have cleaned her eyes, she was not fooling Neil. He knew something was wrong, they had been friends for years, he had her number.
"Everything is fine." Maggie lied hoping he bought it but deep down knowing he didn't.
"Okay, don't lie to me. You are an awful liar, but you know I can see right through you."
"Neil, I don't want to burden you with my problems."
"Maggie, we are close friends. Let me help you. You are no burden. I want to help you."
"Please keep this confidential. I need a friend. Neil, its Mickey. I am sure you heard Sarah just a few moments ago. Well, things have not been so well at home recently. Mickey has started working long hours and when I mean long hours, I mean 12-hour shifts and sometimes later. He comes home when I am in bed and sometimes, he doesn't come home at all. Well, he comes home long enough to shower, change suits and go back to the office. I have tried so hard to make my marriage work and it is like he doesn't see that we are drifting apart. I cannot tell you the last time Mickey, Sarah, and I ate a meal together. I cannot tell you the last Mickey complimented me, called me for no reason, took me out, or just held me. It is like living with a roommate rather than my husband."
"Oh, Maggie. I had no idea. I had noticed he was working more but I did not know it had come to this." Neil rested his hands upon her and held them lovingly. "Maggie, Mickey is a good friend of mine, but you do not deserve this."
Maggie did not mind Neil's act of comfort instead she enjoyed being held, even if it was only her hands. It had been so long since she had felt the loving touch of another.
"To make matters worse, I am becoming concerned with his fidelity and suspicious of him and his partner, Leslie."
Neil was stunned. He never dreamed Maggie and Mickey's marriage would be in such a rough spot. They had always seemed so happy, but I guess the old saying, "you never know what goes on behind closed doors", is true.
His hurt for Maggie caused him to take his comfort further. He squeezed her hands and quickly pulled her into a tight embrace. Maggie couldn't help but cry and she was so grateful Neil was there to be her soldier to cry on.
As Maggie rested her head on Neil, her tears began to dry and she hurt somewhat subsided. Neil held her tight and stroked her long, soft, red hair. Maggie had always been such a good friend to him, he cared so much for her and seeing her hurting like she was broke his heart. Maggie was comfortable with Neil, she always had been, but the comfortable feeling was even stronger now. She had been so lonely but opening up to Neil had given her a sense of relief. She was no longer holding in her pain. Neil was very understanding, and Maggie could not be more thankful for him.
Maggie soon broke their embrace knowing she needed to head home. She worked early in the morning and need as much sleep as she could get. Insomnia had taken over her nights recently and being at Neil's until 11:00 PM was not helping the problem.
"Neil, thank you for listening. I felt good to get that out. It has been so hard to hold it in and hearing her in the background of that phone call pushed me over the edge." Maggie explained as she and Neil parted.
Neil took Maggie's hands in his, "Maggie you do not have to thank me. I am here anytime you need to talk. Call my office, my house, page me, anything. Please. You and Mickey have always been there for me. Let me be there for you."
Maggie looked down at his hands in hers and stroked them softly before kindly gazing into his eyes. "You don't know what that means Neil." Once again, she pulled him into a tight embrace. After a few moments, they parted ways and Maggie went to call Sarah down.
Sarah and Maggie made their way to the car and before getting inside Sarah asked Maggie the questions, she hoped she wouldn't answer, "Is everything okay with you and Dad?"
"Get in, we will talk on the way home."
Maggie and Sarah got in the car and started on their way home. Sarah repeated her question after not getting an answer the first time.
"Sarah, your father has been working a lot recently, but everything will work out."
"Mom be honest. I see what is going on, Melissa sees it, anyone, who knows our family sees it. He is never at home, never with any of his family, and always with Leslie. What is going on?"
"Sarah, I told you he has just been working a lot lately trying to establish this new firm and that requires him to work with the new firm partner, Leslie."
Sarah was still reluctant to believe her mother but did not want to push her any further. She knew he was working on the law firm but like Maggie, she was secretly having her doubts. Along with those doubts came resentment. Mickey had pushed his family away, including his children. Still, she said nothing more and patiently waited for their arrival at home.
Driving home from Neil's seemed life forever to Maggie. She looked into the passenger seat to find Sarah's slumped body sleeping peacefully. Ballet practice and catching up with an old friend had taken its toll on the active teenager. Maggie smiled at the peaceful look upon Sarah's face. Oh, how she hoped that peace would stay within her, but she knew deep down Sarah was beginning to feel the emotional effects of Mickey's absence.
Back at Neil's Noelle came downstairs to talk with her father. After checking several rooms, she found him in the study reading a medical magazine. Neil noticed her in the doorway and looked up over his glasses.
"I thought you were asleep. I asked Jo just a moment ago where you were, and she said you were exhausted and had already gone to bed."
"I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about something Sarah said. She made the comment that Mickey did not care. Dad, do you know what is going on? I know I have not been around them in quite some time and people change but the Horton house was not the happy, warm, and loving home I remembered."
"Come here, sit down with me." Noelle joined her father on the brown leather sofa and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Do not mention anything to Sarah. Mickey has been working a lot lately and I think they have hit a little bump in the road. Let's just try to be supportive of Maggie, Sarah, and Melissa. I am sure this is a hard time for them."
"Of course. I won't mention anything. Do you think we would invite them over for a movie night or just another night to catch up before I go back to LA?"
Neil gave her a tight squeeze and responded, "Of course, you just name the day."
Noelle smiled brightly. She had missed being with her father and she only hoped their visits could be more frequent. She had only been back in Salem for one day and she already loved everything about it.
