Maggie
Nick seemed strange and out of place at her parent's kitchen table, two parts of her life colliding. Maggie was well past the point in her life where her parents knew all of her friends; she knew they might not approve of many of them. Nick was a bit rough around the edges, tattoos on his arms and gauges in his ears. But Maggie's dad took his appearance in stride, warmly welcoming him as a guest of Maggie's.
"It sounds like she made this choice on her own, while she still had the will to choose," Mr. Hale said after carefully listening to their story.
Leaning back with a sigh, Nick nodded. "Sometimes I wonder, was this how God intended things to be? I can't believe it is. What's the point, when the rich keep getting richer and the rest of us live on their scraps?" Maggie looked to her father with concern, worried about what he would say. Maggie's family largely wasn't religious, though they claimed to be Catholic when the topic came up. Mr. Hale much preferred the scholarly and artistic pursuits over religious ones.
There was silence for a moment while Mr. Hale thought this over. "Well, we have the ability to enjoy the world and try to find the best in others."
"And some get to have more enjoyment than others, isn't that right? There will always be someone who has and someone who doesn't." Nick stood up angrily.
Mr. Hale was quick to try and calm the larger man. "That's not something we can control," he said thoughtfully. "We can only control how we react and what we do with the circumstances we have. You see the world in terms of war and strife, and I am sorry for that. Yes, there is cruelty and hatred. But isn't it better to try and find the good in the world? To try to find a way for everyone on all sides to work together peacefully? Don't you think someone like… John Thornton would be open to such a pursuit?" Maggie cringed inwardly at the mention of John, knowing that Nick wouldn't react kindly. She knew her father thought very highly of him, but John was a very contentious man in a lot of people's minds.
Her prediction was correct. "Thornton?" Nick laughed in disbelief. "He's the one that brought in them college kids to break the boycott. It's his fault that we are in this mess in the first place. And now, just when we need him to be the bulldog that he is, to go against men like Butch that only want violence, he refuses to press charges and backs down! He says they'll be shut out by the scene, that's their punishment. I never knew he was such a coward."
The words hit Maggie in the gut, making her wonder if she was partly to blame for John's lack of action. If he pursued the ones who had joined the mob, she would likely be drug into the fray. That was something neither Maggie nor John wanted to happen. "John was right, Nick," she heard herself saying, hardly believing the words. "It is much better just to let it drop, otherwise it will continually be in the news and John might come out looking vindictive." As she said it, she realized it was true. John was a very thoughtful and conscientious businessman.
She saw the fight leave Nick as a fresh wave of pain came over him. "Becca always said the boycott was going to tear us apart. I guess she was right, all because of weak men like Butch." He fell heavily into his chair, glancing up as if to clear tears from his eyes.
It hurt Maggie, seeing the normally stoic man in such a state. "Not everyone is as strong as you are, Nick. You kept up with the boycott for so long…"
"We all did," he cut in. "People like us have to stick together. If we don't, well, there are ways to make things happen."
"What kind of ways?" She asked, thinking she had some idea of the answer.
Nick straightened up a bit, the subject being more firmly in his comfort zone. "Oh, you know, cast the person out of the scene, stop doing business with them, make them realize they made the wrong choice. Those sorts of things."
He was so nonchalant about potentially ruining someone's life, it made Maggie's blood boil. "And here you talk about the tyranny of the owners, Nick," she said, stopping herself before she said any of the other cruel and angry things that were fighting to come out of her mouth.
"Now wait just a minute," Nick cried out, standing up quickly before taking a moment to gather his words. "I appreciate what a fine friend you've been to Becca through all this, but you're not from here and you don't know what you're talking about." He turned to Mr. Hale, addressing both of them, "Being part of this boycott, it was like being in a war. And just like in a war, there are some causalities. But it would be a crime to just sit around and do nothing." With that, the conversation was over.
At least Nick had regained some of his fire during the visit. Maggie wasn't quite so worried about him being alone, now. "Let me drive you home," she said, walking with him to the door.
Shaking his head, Nick pulled on his coat. "No, the fresh air will do me some good. Help clear my head and all that."
"Well, be careful then," she said, pulling him into a hug before he could walk down the sidewalk.
Nick squeezed her tightly, whispering a soft "thank you," as he let go. Another quick wave and he was gone.
There was another figure on the street that Maggie hadn't noticed before. Scowling, John stood a few houses down, looking as if he had been on his way towards the Hale's. She caught his eye but didn't say anything, noticing the deep frown on his face as he abruptly turned and walked in the opposite direction.
John
A message on his answering machine waited for John when he got home. It was Mr. Hale, saying he had missed his lesson today and hoped that they would be able to resume in the near future. The message was kind and full of encouragement, making John feel guilty for allowing Maggie to ruin the friendship he had built with her father. None of this was Richard's fault, and John decided to try harder to put his feelings aside.
Before John knew what he was doing, he had his jacket on and was walking towards the Hale's. It was late, but Mr. Hale was known to be a night owl if he had something on his mind. John planned to stroll by, see if it looked like the lights in the music room were on, maybe knock quietly on the door. He had a sudden need to talk to someone, not about anything in particular, but just have real human contact.
He wasn't expecting to see the door open and Maggie step out with Nick. What was he doing there? John wondered to himself. He didn't think Maggie was that close with Nick for him to be hanging around at her house. He added that to the list of grievances Nick had committed against him, though the jealousy that swelled in his heart was completely irrational. The long hug goodbye Maggie and Nick shared didn't help anything, either. John was frozen in place as he watched Nick finally leave.
The smart thing to do would have been to walk away before Maggie noticed him. But he didn't, instead, he stood, angrily glaring as she turned and caught his eye. The open look of concern and sadness on her face made him more irate. All the plans of going to see Mr. Hale were blown to pieces. John forced himself to break their eye contact, to turn and make his way back home. He thought he could feel her gaze on his back; it took every ounce of willpower not to turn around and check.
Settling back into his office at home, John checked his emails. Sleep was out of the question at this point, though he was exhausted. Maybe some mind-numbing work would help him relax enough to get some rest. An email from Williams caught his eye.
There's a festival up north in a couple months, thought you might want to check out the competition. Plus, getting out of town for a few days would probably do you some good. When's the last time you took a vacation? A public appearance would also drum up some good publicity for your festival.
Think about it,
W.
His old friend had some good points. The media frenzy would be winding itself down by then and showing up at the festival would be a good chance to get things rolling again, maybe make some new contacts, scout some new talent. Plus, hadn't Faith mentioned wanting to go up there? This was an opportunity to kill multiple birds with one stone.
Making up his mind, John sent Williams a quick email and started working on travel plans. He'd need to talk to his mom first and make sure Faith still wanted to go, but he didn't think either of those things would be a problem. John himself was mildly excited about the prospect, so he knew Faith would be over the moon. Satisfied with this new turn of events, John was able to shut off his computer and fall into a dreamless sleep.
Maggie
The cold snap didn't last long; it was already getting warm again, just a few weeks after it began. Trees were starting to bloom in the park, though the weathermen said on the radio to expect another freeze before it was really spring.
Maggie was about to head out and take advantage of the warmth while it lasted when her mom called to her from the living room. "Your aunt called today, she had the best idea. The kids want you to come up for a visit. There's that big music festival happening in a few weeks, and they invited you to come to stay. I know you would love it."
It was a festival Maggie had been to many times before. It was supposed to be a festival to welcome in spring, but more often than not it was freezing cold. Eden had said the lineup this year was going to be killer. She had been begging her to come ever since the lineup announcement, but Maggie had an excuse for every invitation. "I don't want to be so far away from home right now, mom, not with your… you know, you might need me here." It was a good excuse, and at least partially true. An easy out to avoid having to go back home and deal with the mess she'd left behind. To avoid seeing Henry for the first time since their breakup.
"I'll be perfectly fine," her mother was saying, bringing Maggie back to the current conversation. "Besides, if you went, you would be able to tell me all about everyone back home and how they're doing. You know I would love to go visit myself…" she trailed off, giving Maggie a hopeful look, knowing she had won.
Sighing, Maggie nodded. "Okay, I'll think about it." She knew she'd end up going at this point, with everyone so set on her being there.
Mrs. Hale smiled to herself and sat back. "You've written to Finn, haven't you?" She closed her eyes when Maggie nodded in response. "I'm almost afraid of him coming, now that it might happen. What if someone recognizes him or hears something, and he gets arrested? After all this time that he's been safe."
"We'll be careful, I promise," Maggie said, sitting next to her mother and patting her hand. "Besides, no one knows us- or him- here, they don't care or notice what we do. Everything will be okay."
This seemed to comfort Mrs. Hale considerably, and she brightened again. "I guess it is a good thing to be uprooted and friendly in this strange city," she said, laughing a little.
Dixie chuckled, coming in from the kitchen, "I'm glad Maggie wrote, I had half a mind to do it myself if she didn't." Maggie hadn't even been aware that Dixie was listening to their conversation but shrugged it off.
"And you'll keep watch over things here while I'm gone, won't you, Dixie?" Maggie asked, knowing she would. If she was being pressured to leave her mother during such a difficult time, at least she knew there was someone here who would make sure everything went smoothly in her absence.
Just like that, the plans were made, and before she knew it, Maggie was on her way back to Boston to deal with whatever wreckage was left behind. Of course, Eden was ecstatic, already planning new ways to force her cousin and Henry back together where they belonged. The next few weeks flew by in a flurry of activity until suddenly, Maggie's plane was landing, and she was wondering just what she was getting herself into.
John
Of course, Faith was on board instantly with his plan, immediately gushing about all the things she wanted to do in Boston. His mother took a little more convincing, however.
"I just don't think now is a good time to be going away," she said at the breakfast table that morning. "Things are just now starting to get back to normal, you need to be here, not traipsing all over the country."
John had already explained to his mother his reasoning, that it would be good for business in many ways. "I can take calls in Boston, mother. There's nothing that I can do here that I can't do there. I can take care of anything urgent over the phone, and anything else can wait a few days."
Mrs. Thornton looked thoughtful at that, trying to think up another excuse to keep him from going. "How will you watch over Faith if you'll be doing business the whole time? You can't just leave her to her own devices." She thought she had him with that one.
It was Faith who had a solution to that particular problem. "I know, I can bring a friend to keep me company! That way John won't have to worry about me and I won't be lonely. I'm sure Annie would love to come along!" John cringed inwardly at the thought of dragging Annie with them, but he had a feeling that his mother would agree with this solution.
"Hm, that's actually not such a bad idea, Faith," Mrs. Thornton said, thinking it over. Forcing John and Annie to spend a few days together wouldn't be the worse thing that could happen. She was a fine girl, much more suitable for John than that northern devil he was still hung up on. Maybe spending more time with Annie would help him move on, show him there were other, better women out there. "Go talk to Annie, before we go any farther with these plans," she told her daughter, dismissing her.
Faith ran off in a flash, knowing Annie would jump at the chance to spend some quality time with John. "Are you sure you can handle her on your own?" Mrs. Thornton asked, watching Faith race down the hallway.
"I think I'll be able to manage," John said, smiling, glad to be able to bring some light into his little sister's life. This would be good for them, a chance to put all the chaos and drama behind them. As soon as Faith came back downstairs, confirming that Annie was able to come along, John started making the arrangements.
Maggie
It was no surprise that Eden brought Henry with her to the airport. Why would it be? Maggie knew how her cousin worked, so she would have been shocked if Henry hadn't been there waiving as she walked towards baggage claim.
"Max had to work late, and you know how I hate coming to the airport alone," Eden said by way of explanation after they had hugged. Maggie did know, which made it the perfect excuse to bring Henry along. Maybe Max really did have to work late, and maybe Henry was the only person willing to come to the airport. But Maggie doubted it.
At least Henry looked contrite about the whole thing. He gave Maggie a sheepish smile, which she returned with a good-natured roll of her eyes. With that exchange, it seemed like everything that happened between was washed away, and they were easily able to fall back into their old, comfortable, ways. Eden watched with satisfaction as they hugged, noting that both of them held on just a moment past what was considered friendly.
Once in the car, Maggie decided to put everything in the past for now and enjoy her time back home. She deserved to have a nice time, after everything that had happened since moving to Atlanta. This would be a perfect opportunity to just let loose and forget about her problems down south.
Everyone welcomed her back with open arms, friends she hadn't spoken to in ages suddenly wanting to hang out while she was in town. Her first few nights back were a blur of activity, bars, and parties blending into one another while she laughed and drank away her troubles. Maggie felt like she was in college again, on spring break, falling asleep where ever she landed at night and waking up in the bed in Eden's spare room. Except, this time, she woke up alone. In college, that was not always the case.
The day before the festival, Maggie and Eden decided to relax and watch some movies. They kicked the guys out, planning a mini spa day doing their nails and spending quality cousin time. Eden was curious about her cousin's life in Atlanta, particularly about what the men were like there, and if they really had charming southern accents like they did on TV. Maggie tried to answer her questions as best she could without giving anything away about a certain gentleman whose voice she couldn't get out of her head.