Part 7B

------May 5 , 2019------

(Flashback)

Greenlee smiled as she walked out from the small office her and Maggie shared and out onto the deck holding two cups of ice tea. Greenlee walked up and sat down in the chair she had been sitting in only a few moments ago and handed Maggie her glass of ice tea, and they both turned toward the pool and watched as the kids tried to make a worm hole by walking, running swimming along the edge of the pool so when they were done there was a current that took them around the entire pool and towards the very middle of it.

"How much was that pool anyway?" Greenlee asked as she placed her cup on the table that sat between her and Maggie and continued to stare at the 23 foot diameter 4 feet tall above ground pool that sat in the middle of the large back yard.

"Twenty three hundred." Maggie said and took a sip of her ice tea and stood up for a moment and pulled down the blinds to her side the sun wasn't directly on her back.

"You're kidding?" Greenlee asked looking at Maggie with an amazed look.

"No...I'm not." Maggie said as she sat back down and watched the kids in the pool while comfortably under the small outdoor room she, Jamie and Reggie had made themselves.

The deck extended through the entire back of the house and there were two entrances to it, the sliding doors that were in the kitchen or the door that Greenlee had come through that was in the office and came right out into another room but outside. Bianca had asked Maggie at least a hundred times why they had to make half the deck into a small room that had shades at every opening and one night when the kids were all asleep Maggie had showed Bianca exactly why they had to have it.

Maggie gave a short smile to that memory and turned back to her kids and just watched them playing in the pool, Melissa sitting on Miranda's back as she ran around the pool with everyone else, Chris doing his best to keep the lead against his sister.

"Damn Maggie, that's a lot of money." Greenlee said as she looked at Maggie. She then looked back at the kids. "The kids love the pool though so it was worth it."

"They do love it...and it did wonders with Chris and his physical therapy." Maggie said and picked up her glass of ice tea and hid her frown by drinking from the glass.

"Really...?" Maggie asked and laughed lightly and put her glass of ice tea down on the table and stared out at her kids, refusing to look at Greenlee and let her see how she really felt about all of this. "...I've been better."

"She's doing well." Greenlee said as she put down her glass. "I haven't talked to her in a little while but from what I hear from Anna, she's doing fine."

"That's good." Maggie said nodding her head as she looked down at the phone that lie next to her glass and she smiled. The only two women in the world that would tap dance around a phone call between old lovers and good friends weren't just Robin and Greenlee, Maggie refused to call Bianca until Bianca called her first.

Robin had called maybe fifteen minutes before Greenlee came by for a visit and had asked her about Greenlee and Maggie had been tempted to give the phone to Greenlee so Robin could ask her for herself but Robin had hung up on her...too bad. Those two had been good together...but they were both in love with other people and in the end their romantic relationship didn't last but their friendship did.

"Have you decided yet?" Maggie asked changing the subject once again to the question she had asked Greenlee a week ago.

"I have thought about it." Greenlee said answering Maggie. "Are you really sure you want me to move in?"

"Greenlee...if you don't move in you know I'll have to ask Bianca to take the kids every time I have a nightshift. Besides, you lease is ending at the end of the month and I really need help, Greenlee." Maggie said looking over at her old friend. "I can't leave them with David or Babe for every night I have a nightshift and I can't not be there for my nightshift rotation or I'll lose my job...and Bianca's not helping with that either." Maggie said rolling her eyes. "I mean I may be her ex-wife but she could at least give me some slack, I am the one that takes care of the kids 4 days a week."

"Right." Greenlee said nodding. "I'll move in." She then looked back at the kids before looking at Maggie once again. "Maggie, can I ask you, what in the hell happened with you and Bianca? You two seemed so much in love. I thought you'd be together forever. Bianca is acting like a totally different person."

"That's because she is." Maggie said looking down at the cedar deck beneath her. "Bianca isn't the same woman I married 14 years ago." Maggie said as she looked at Greenlee.

"Right but why?" Greenlee asked. "I just don't get it. I get that people have fights and argue but I just think something seriously bad happened for her to do a complete 180 change."

"Yeah...too bad that something serious was me." Maggie said as she looked down and then back up at Greenlee. "Look...I'm really not in the mood to talk about Bianca and her reasons to destroy our family." Maggie said and turned back towards the kids just happy to see that some things could be normal.

"Okay, we don't have to talk about Bianca, but don't go start blaming yourself." Greenlee said as she stood up. "Nothing good comes from doing that."

"You're right..." Maggie said as she nodded her head and took another sip from her ice tea and then gave Greenlee the cup when she extended her hand for it and smiled as Greenlee walked back into the house to refill both their glasses. "I just can't help it." Maggie whispered to herself as she looked at the kids and laughed lightly when she saw Frankie on Emily's shoulder's and Melissa on Chris' shoulders as they played Chicken.

As Greenlee walked back into the house the phone rang so she answered it. It was for Maggie so she walked back onto the deck to give it to her. "You have a phone call." She said as she handed Maggie the cordless.

"Thanks." Maggie said to Greenlee and then brought the phone up to her ear. "Hello, Maggie Stone speaking." Maggie said into the phone.

Greenlee was about to walk back into the house when she heard Maggie snapping her finger repeatedly trying to get her attention. Greenlee turned around to see Maggie's face white as a ghost and her eyes tearing as she listened to this person talk, Greenlee walked up along side Maggie and tried to get Maggie to tell her who it was.

"Maggie who is it..." Greenlee got no answer. "Maggie...who is it?" Greenlee asked again this time louder and the kids heard her and the slight panic in her voice and they all turned toward the deck where they saw their aunt Greenlee and their mother looking like she was going to pass out. Emily and Miranda rushed out of the pool and toward the deck while Frankie carried Melissa out of the pool and then helped Chris out as well.

Maggie just stared in front of her and only moved and looked away when she saw the kids slowly walking up the stairs and trying to open the gate the would let them into the closed in patio room.

"Take care of the kids." Maggie said to Greenlee as she walked into the office and closed the large oak door so no one could follow her into the office.

Maggie sat down in her arm chair after closing the other entrance way into the office and locking it and she stared at the file cabinet across from her and hung up the phone and staid in the office by herself for hours before she resurfaced in time to help Greenlee make dinner. The kids were all cleaned up and watching TV in the family room when Maggie came out of the office and walked into the kitchen her eyes red raw from all the crying she had done.

Maggie walked up to the sink and just looked out the window that was right in front of her that let her see into the back yard and into the night sky.

Greenlee walked up to the sink and put her hand on Maggie's shoulder. She knew something bad had happened and thought maybe it had to do with Bianca. "Maggie..." She whispered.

Maggie turned her head slowly toward Greenlee and just looked at the woman she had grown to love as family over the years of their friendship, and realized that Greenlee was probably going to be a much larger player in her life now and Maggie was grateful she had he.

"Yes...?"

"Who called?" Greenlee asked as she looked at Maggie. "From the look on your face, Bianca did something again, didn't she?"

"Uh-huh." Maggie said as she nodded her head and looked down at the sink as two last tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh Maggie..." Greenlee said as she wrapped her arms around Maggie. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Maggie leaned into Greenlee and then turned around in Greenlee's arms and wrapped her arms around Greenlee as she cried into the other woman's shoulder.

Greenlee held Maggie as she cried. She felt so horrible for Maggie. She didn't understand why Bianca would want to hurt Maggie so badly. "It's going to be all right." She whispered.

"No...no its not." Maggie cried into Greenlee's shoulder.

"Well...then..." Greenlee had tears falling as well. "...then you're going to be okay..."

Maggie looked into Greenlee's eyes and shook her head. "No...no I'm not..."

TBC...