February 28th – Late Afternoon & Evening
Maggie sat on the sink counter in the private washroom of Bianca's office, quietly wiping away her tears. While Reggie and Dani's encounter with Jonathon had been brief, it had still been menacing.
That seemed to be the only way Jonathon knew how to approach anyone, once they knew what a creep he was. Until then it was all puppy dogs and roses, but once you knew the real Jonathon, there was no going back.
"Because Paris is for lovers, right?" was what Reggie had reported Jonathon saying. It made her think back to her own words from when she thought Bianca was going to run off while pregnant, "Paris is for lovers…not really great friends.". Similar words coming from Jonathon though, cut deeper knowing they came from a place of hatred, not from feelings of confusion and loss.
Maggie leaned back on the counter, her head resting against the coolness of the mirror. The tears refused to stop flowing as she thought about this….man, she had brought into the lives of her friends. How he had threatened the majority of them with violence, but most disgusting of all was implying he would do harm to Miranda. "How could I have been so stupid." she thought. "What in the world was it that possessed me to bring him into my life, and the lives of those I love? Was it that Bianca hadn't jumped at the chance to be with me when I told her I loved her? No….that may have been it originally, but I can't use that excuse for the entire time I was with him."
She could still feel the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks when she heard the office door open, and Bianca's voice chattering away in French. Several men's voices joined in every so often, which meant Bianca had returned with the board members to see Miranda.
Maggie hopped off of the counter, looked in the mirror and quickly tried to clear her face of any tears so she could join them. Her eyes were red and puffy, but there was nothing she could do about that now. Luckily she had put her suit jacket back on when she had gotten a little chilled earlier.
She opened the door to the rest room and everyone's eyes immediately turned to look at her. She smiled and nodded, but tried to keep her head down so no one could see her eyes, which would betray that she had been crying. She walked over to the crib, and picked up Miranda in hopes that everyone would be so distracted by the little girl, that they wouldn't notice the state she was in. This of course was a useless maneuver with Bianca.
As Bianca took Miranda from Maggie, she caught a glimpse of her eyes, and knew that look all to well. Maggie had been crying about something. She wanted very badly to send the board members away as quickly as possible so she could find out what was wrong, but Maggie gave her a soft smile that conveyed things were ok. Bianca didn't like it, but she knew she had to take care of this little get-together first.
Bianca walked around to each board member and presented Miranda to them. The little girl laughed and clapped her hands, enjoying the attention of so many people. While all this was going on, she constantly stole looks at Maggie who had turned her back and was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She finally turned around and looked at Bianca and silently mouthed the words, "I'm fine", to her friend. Though she was still inclined to think Maggie was fibbing, she finished the dog-and-pony show of everyone meeting her daughter.
After the last person had made their greeting, Maggie walked over and took Miranda from Bianca so that she could do her bossly duty and escort everyone out of the office. As she closed the door after the last of them had departed, she spun around with surprising speed. "Spill your guts Stone…what upset you?"
Maggie stood there with Miranda in her arms, cradling the little girls' head to her own, and twisting back and forth. "Just memories and regrets. Nothing new and devastating."
"I don't believe you." Bianca said as she walked towards her friend and daughter.
"Well, believe what you want."
"You know I'll just call Reggie and ask him to repeat whatever it is he told you that upset you."
Maggie sighed and set Miranda down in the crib before walking over to the couch to sit down. "Jonathon….he….he showed up at my apartment while Reggie and Dani were there, and he pulled his usual act on them. He tried intimidating them and it took Dani threatening to call the cops to get him to leave."
Bianca was silent for several seconds as she thought of her own confrontation with the Lavery brother, in the small room at the Miranda Center, on that night not so long ago. She knew how threatening he could be without ever laying a hand on you. "Are they ok?" she finally inquired.
"Yeah, they're fine. He…..he knows where I am now…and he knows I'm here with you." Maggie said, her voice trailing off and her head tilting to stare at the floor.
"So? Let him know. Nothing is going on here, and even if it were, what business would it be of his?"
"It's not any of his business, but…who knows what he will do Bianca…" the tears started again, and she began to sniffle. "If he was ever to come here and hurt either of you…"
"Stop that! Just stop that right now, do you hear me?" Bianca stormed over to where Maggie sat crying. She squatted down and grabbed her friend by the shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "He will not come here, trust me. He's a cowardly little boy, and coming here would take courage. And if he would ever come here….well, personally, I don't think we even have to ponder that, because he won't."
Bianca moved to sit next to Maggie on the couch and pulled her closer and hugged her. As she stroked Maggie's hair, she could feel her own tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "Damn you Jonathon Lavery…damn you." she thought, as she held her friend tightly.
After several minutes had passed, Maggie excused herself from the hug and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Bianca looked at her watch and saw that they day had flown by and it was already 5:30. She decided that was a decent first day and that the trio of women could head home. Bianca sighed at the thought of that, "If only it really was a 'home', with all three of us living in the same place."
She walked over to her desk and called down to the motor pool.
Patrick answered the phone in French, "Cambias motor pool. Patrick speaking."
Bianca was quite tired of speaking French, and chose to reply in English. "Hello Patrick, it's Bianca. We will all be leaving in a few minutes, could you please have the car ready?"
"Yes Miss Montgomery." he replied in English. "I will pull the limo around to the elevator doors. I also have the spare key you requested."
"Thank you so much Patrick. That was a huge help. We'll see you in a few minutes."
Bianca hung up the phone and surveyed her desk. She saw the pile of resumes that Jean had brought earlier in the day. She felt a little guilty about how she had handled the situation that morning, but she also was not going to allow anyone to treat Maggie like some form of lower being just because she was her acting nanny. She picked up the pile of paperwork, walked over and placed them in a back pocket of Miranda's stroller, since she hadn't bothered to get a briefcase yet.
Just then she heard the click of the bathroom door opening. Maggie walked out, her eyes an even brighter red than earlier, and the sockets were swollen.
Bianca could feel her heart breaking for her friend. "Are you ok?" she inquired softly.
"For now…I'm sure there's a few more tears yet to come." she said, with the faintest of smiles.
Bianca stared at her for a moment, deciding it was best if nothing more was said. She walked over and picked Miranda up out of her crib. "Are you ready to go home Munckin?"
The little girl giggled and smacked her tiny right hand against her mother's left cheek.
"Looks like it!"
Even Maggie snorted out a little laugh at that scene.
Bianca walked over and strapped Miranda into her stroller. Maggie joined her, picked up the diaper bag and took the handles of the stroller.
"Are you sure you feel up that?" Bianca asked her.
"Yeah….I'm sure some people will want to say goodbye to you as we walk out, so this will be easier. Plus, crying or not, I do have a job to do."
Bianca flashed a soft, warm smile at her friend and said, "Ok." She had decided that Maggie knew best what she could and couldn't handle, and if she felt she should do this, then she wasn't going to argue with her.
They both looked around to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. Once they were both satisfied, they headed for the door, and the elevators beyond.
Everyone was settled in their usual spots in the limo, but this ride was the quietest thus far. Bianca sat sideways, but tried to make it not so obvious she was watching Maggie. Maggie sat quietly staring at the tissue she was playing with in her hand, and Patrick would occasionally glance up in the rear view mirror to observe all of this.
"Miss Stone?" Patrick asked softly.
"Yes?" she mumbled back.
"I have that key Miss Montgomery wanted you to have." he said as he passed both the original and duplicate through the privacy window slot.
Maggie took them both, mumbled a, "Thank you." and handed the original to Bianca. She slipped the duplicate into her suit coat pocket.
The rest of the, thankfully short, car ride was spent in silence until they pulled up in front of Bianca's apartment building.
"What are your plans?" Bianca asked Maggie.
"I hadn't really thought about it…..I think I'll just run up and get the stuff I left this morning and then head to the suite. I'm pretty worn out."
Bianca tried to hide her disappointment. "Oh….ok then.."
Maggie retrieved Miranda from her car seat and transferred her to the stroller while Bianca discussed waiting for Maggie to come back down and the plans for the next morning with Patrick.
Maggie walked over and joined them. "If you two don't mind, I think after tonight I will just start taking cabs back and forth. I don't think Patrick should be driving out of his way all the time just for me."
"It isn't a problem Miss Stone." Patrick said.
"Patrick, really, it's not fair. Starting tomorrow I will just be taking cabs."
"Whatever you wish Miss Stone. I will be waiting down her for your return." He walked back to the drivers side door, and stood by it to wait.
Up in Bianca's apartment, Maggie had retrieved her items from the guest bedroom and was waiting in the living room for Bianca to come down from changing hers and Miranda's clothes.
She finally heard Bianca coming down the stairs and saw she was in grey sweats and shirt and Miranda was in a one piece pink jumper. They walked over to where Maggie sat on the arm of the couch. She thrust a wad of Euros at Maggie and said, "Here, you're going to need these."
Maggie looked down at the money, but didn't take it. "We already discussed this Bianca. I'm not comfortable with taking money from you."
"You're not 'taking' money from me. A nanny should have her expenses covered. This is for your cabs and some petty cash for whatever else you need to do."
Maggie stared at the money for another moment and then reluctantly took it, shoving it into her pocket where she had already put the key. She stood up and grabbed her clothes and started towards the door.
Bianca called after her, "Maggie! You're welcome to stay for dinner…..or to talk."
Maggie paused and only turned sideways to look back at her friend. "Thanks Bianca I…..I just need to shower and go to bed ok? I'll…I'll be fine in the morning. By the way, what time do you want me here?"
"8:30 at the latest. That's what time I have to leave."
"Ok…I'll see you then." She turned and walked towards the door, opened it, and walked out.
As the door began to close, Bianca yelled out after her, "If you need anything…." the door clicked shut. "…call me."
The two Montgomery women stood in the center of the spacious, and suddenly very quiet, living room. "I guess it's just you and I now kiddo." Bianca said to her daughter.
Maggie walked out the door of Bianca's apartment building, and Patrick immediately rushed over to take her bag. She wasn't in the mood to argue with him, so she let him.
Patrick walked to the trunk and put away the clothes when he heard a door close on the limo. He was displeased that Maggie would let herself in, but he could tell she was upset about something, so he did not plan to say anything.
He walked back to the front of the car, and just as he placed his hand on the door handle he noticed his cap sitting on the dashboard. "That's odd", he thought. "I know that was sitting in the passenger seat." He opened the door and got in to find the front passenger seat was occupied by Maggie.
Normally this would have sent him into a convulsion. No one had ever sat up there before. NEVER! A limo was for being driven around with the passenger in the back. She sat in the seat, her elbow resting against the window, and her left cheek against her fist. Her eyes had that glazed look of being somewhere else.
Again, Patrick opted not to make a point of it. He got in and closed his door, and pulled the limo into traffic. This time of night, getting back to the suite would take a little while as the day workers were headed home, the tourists were out for dinner and in general, the streets were crowded.
It started to rain just the lightest bit, and Patrick knew that would just depress the mood of his passenger worse. He felt he had to say something, anything to break this silence.
"So Miss Stone…" he paused, waiting for a correction to the name usage that never came, "are you just going to stay in this evening?"
"Huh?" came Maggie's reply. Catching on to what he had said "Oh..uh…yeah, I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed. I'm beat."
"No dinner?"
"No…I'm not that hungry and…actually, I just thought of this…I don't speak French…how would I order? Bianca has been with me every time I have gone to eat since I got here, and she always translates for me."
"Well, the hotel has English speaking staff, you could order some room service."
"Have you seen those prices? I don't think so."
Patrick paused for a moment as he formulated an idea. "Well…my wife is working late at the hospital tonight, would you care to join me for dinner? I have to fend for myself tonight, and that always runs a risk of food poisoning."
Maggie chuckled. "Ah, I had seen the ring on your finger, but hadn't thought to ask. What does your wife do?"
"She is a trauma nurse."
"That's good. I'm hoping to become a doctor one day, but at the rate I'm going, that will take forever."
"I am sure you will do fine!" Patrick said in a supportive manner. "Now, how about my dinner invitation? I know a very affordable café just down the street from your hotel, and I will handle all the ordering." There was no response. "Please? I really would prefer not to be one of my wife's patients tonight, a victim of my own cooking!"
Maggie chuckled. "Fine, since you put it that way, I guess I have to go just to keep you safe."
Bianca had set a baby tub inside her own sunken tub in the master bathroom, and was giving her daughter a thorough bath after her first day at work. Bianca very gently massaged the shampoo in to Miranda's hair, as the little girl splashed her hands up and down repeatedly in the water.
She picked up a glass of water, and shielding Miranda's eyes, she poured the contents of the glass slowly and carefully over the little girl's head to wash away the shampoo. None of this distracted Miranda from her chosen task of splashing water everywhere she could.
"I'm not sure I'm going to need a bath after you are done with all this splashing Munchie!" Bianca said as she turned her head to the side to avoid the latest torrent of water coming out of the tub. After the sound of skin slapping against water had stopped, and only the giggles of a happy little girl could be heard, Bianca wearily turned her head back to face her daughter. "Are you quite done?"
As if on cue, Miranda slapped the water again, hitting Bianca full in the face. She had closed her eyes just in time. "Thanks…thank you very much…mommy needed that." She reached over for a towel, grabbed it, and toweled off her face while she talked. "Now, you do that to Auntie Maggie for me sometime real soon, ok? It might make her come to her senses that she should be living with us instead of over in that hotel."
Miranda continued to laugh and splash in the water, oblivious to everything her mother was saying. Bianca leaned forward and stroked her daughter's hair back, smiling at her. "Well, at least I have one of the women I want in my life right here with me." She leaned down and placed a kiss in the center of Miranda's head, causing the little girl to lift her arms to push away whatever was touching her, while laughing the whole time.
Bianca laughed. "Ok ok, mommy gets the point, no kissing while you are working on moving all the water out of your tub. I know it's hard work doing it one splash at a time."
Just then Bianca could her cell phone ringing in her bedroom. "Uh oh…wonder who that could be…let's go find out!" She quickly scooped Miranda up in a towel and headed for her bedroom. Balancing Miranda in her left arm, she picked up the phone with her right hand and answered it. "Hello?"
"Oh darlin', I'm so glad I got a hold of you!"
Bianca grinned from ear to ear and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Myrtle! How are you?"
"I've been better darlin'…I've been better. I needed some cheering up, so I thought 'I need to know how my favorite girls are doin'!"
Bianca took in a deep sigh. "Well, we were doing fine until we heard about what happened at the Wildwind stables, but other than that, the first day of work was good, and we all seem to be settling in ok."
"Good darlin', good. And Miranda? How is she?"
Bianca was towel drying her daughter as she was talking, the phone pinched to her ear by her shoulder. "Right now, trying to squirm out of being dried off from a bath, but otherwise doing very well."
"Good! And your unexpected guest who joined you at the last minute?"
"How did you know about that?" Bianca laughed at herself, as Myrtle did the same. "Oops…forgot who I was talking to! She's….she'll be fine. She had a bit of a rough day today, but it is to be expected with everything that's gone on lately."
"Well I'm sure living with you will be a huge help to her. You have a way of lifting anyone's spirits."
Bianca paused for a moment, "Well…um…she's not living with me actually. She's staying over at the Cambias suite at the hotel."
Myrtle was silent for a few seconds before finally speaking, "What on Earth for?"
"Well, she knew she could live either place, and I got it ready for her and she just kind of went. I'm sure she'll tell me if she doesn't want to be living there."
"Did you ever think to ask her?"
"Well I don't want to put any pressure on her Myrtle. She doesn't know what she wants between us yet, if anything, so living somewhere other than with me is probably what's best for her."
Myrtle sighed, "Darlin'….you are one of the brightest girls I have ever known, but some day's you are also one of the densest when it comes to people. Ask her what she wants, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the answer."
"You really think so? You really think I should ask her after being here such a short time?"
"Yes darlin' I do, and if you listened to your gut like I told you to a little while back, you would know it also."
"Thank you Myrtle….somehow you always seem to know just what a person needs to hear."
"Now tell me, what is it like running the great Cambias empire?"
Bianca and Myrtle talked for well over an hour, and while Bianca was able to answer all of Myrtle's questions, her mind never left the thought that maybe she should just very well ask Maggie what it was she wanted.