Maggie
She wasn't fully prepared for this moment, even though she'd witnessed her mother's steady decline over the last months. No child was ever prepared for the death of their parent. Finn was even more caught off guard. When he'd left home, his mother was young and vibrant, a brightness in his memory that kept him warm during the hard nights overseas. But now, suddenly, he was faced with the shell of the woman who had loved and raised him. It shook him to his core, pulling out emotions that he'd locked away for years.
There was nothing to be done except try to make these last minutes comfortable. Mary was a blessing, a woman with kindness and training to make the transition easier. The transfer from life to death was never an easy one, but Mary made it less difficult. And when Maria Hale was gone, at last, resting peacefully in that eternal sleep, Mary was able to help the family with the final arrangements.
Maria Hale died surrounded by the people she loved most; her children, her husband, and Dixie, her oldest friend. She did not die in the place she loved most, but in a place she merely tolerated, one she didn't get to experience to the full. Her son mourned that he hadn't come sooner, or that he had left at all. Her daughter was saddened that her mother would never see her children grown and settled as she had always wanted. Her husband regretted bringing her to this godforsaken place, believing himself to be the cause of her death. And her friend, she too blamed Mr. Hale for the death of her best friend.
Now that the business of dying was over, Maggie was most concerned about her brother. How they were going to get him back out of the country, to make sure no one saw him or recognized him. That was why, when Dixie came back from the store with a disturbing story, Maggie's anxiety was kicked into overdrive.
"I'm not sure how he recognized me so quickly, but I was just minding my own business when out of nowhere I heard someone calling my name," Dixie said, sitting in the kitchen and wringing her hands. "If I had my wits about me, I wouldn't have responded. Then I could have played it off as if he had the wrong person."
Maggie was gnawing on her lip, thinking hard. "And you're sure he knows about Finn?" She asked again, though Dixie had already explained the encounter several times.
Sighing, Dixie nodded. "It was a big story back home, in all the local newspapers. He asked specifically about your family. I don't think he bought my lie about visiting my sister." She stood up and started bustling around the kitchen. "He said he's engaged to a girl down here, some kind of fitness coach, one that works with some of the prominent families. I'm sure he's got his ear to the ground for gossip. Always was up to no good, that Leonard." She shook her head sadly, trying not to show how scared she really was.
Turning around, Maggie appeared to have made a decision. "That settles it. Finn has to go. Before the funeral. Has dad decided on any arrangements?"
"Mr. Bell is coming to help him get everything settled," Dixie responded with a hint of disdain.
Maggie nodded absently, already a million miles away planning her brother's escape. "Of course, Mr. Bell. But Finn needs to leave before he gets here. No one else needs to know he was ever here." She pushed off the window sill and went to talk to her brother.
John
Now that it was getting warmer, he'd started walking more when he couldn't sleep. It wasn't the safest practice, but John had stopped caring too much about his own safety over the past few months. It was a cloudless night, with a bright moon that made it almost seem like daytime, but late enough that there were few people on the streets. The news of Mrs. Hale's death had put out all thoughts of sleep, so John had wandered through the city, making it a good distance from home.
It was complete chance that he walked past the Greyhound station that night. It was an area he usually avoided since it tended to host a group of unsavory characters. But that night, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and the greyhound station stood looming and deserted in front of him.
Well, mostly deserted. He noticed two people hugging under the awning. What circumstances had brought them here, to be embracing at a greyhound station at one in the morning, he wondered. Something about the two made him look closer until he couldn't look away.
There was no denying it. Maggie. He would recognize her anywhere. The man she was hugging didn't seem familiar, though. John stood there watching them, running through any scenario that could make this make sense besides the most obvious one. Every thought still came up blank. There was no real reason for a young woman to be out with a man at a Greyhound station this late at night unless she was hiding something. And what she was hiding seemed very apparent to John.
No wonder she had spurned his advances. There was someone else in her life, someone she had wanted to keep secret. But why? John couldn't work it out. He realized he had been staring far too long at the couple and was about to look away when Maggie caught his eye, looking like a deer in the headlights. He couldn't help but scowl a bit, the pain in chest doubling at her concerned look. The man she was with turned around too, glancing at John before looking with worry back at Maggie.
He couldn't take it anymore. By the time Maggie and the man looked back towards John, he was walking away. He knew there would be no explanation coming, not that he thought he was owed one. If nothing else, maybe this incident would cure him of his love for her once and for all, though he doubted that would be the case.
Sleep was far less likely now, but John went home anyway. He'd always known roaming the streets at night wasn't the best idea; now he knew for sure. That wasn't the kind of misfortune he had expected would befall him on the streets, it was so much worse. Better to put on some music and hope it would lull him into sleep than find any more secrets hidden under the cover of night.
Maggie
Finn wasn't pleased with this new turn of events. "I wish I had met this Leonard person. It's not fair that I have to run and hide before the funeral. Maybe I should just stay and face the consequences," he said, pacing the music room.
"Absolutely not," their father said sternly, putting a stop to that line of thinking. "You have to go, Finn."
The younger man shook his head and sunk onto the ottoman. "If only there was a way to defend myself. If I could get them to understand why I left, if people only knew," he stopped, knowing it was useless.
Mr. Hale smiled kindly at his tender-hearted son. "You're young, Finn. You think there is justice in this world when there is none."
"Finn has never tried to plead his case, though," Maggie said, desperately wanting a way for her brother to both stay and be safe from the law.
"How can I?" Finn said with an air of hopelessness. "Who would listen to me, a deserter, a coward?"
The rest of his family hated to hear him talk like that about himself. "What about a lawyer?" Maggie said, sitting up as an idea came to her. "I know a lawyer who I think we could trust, one that I think would be willing to help us. Henry. What do you think?"
Finn looked thoughtful. "Henry Lennox? Your ex? Do you think he would be alright?
She nodded, the wheels already turning in her head. "I do. I could call him and give him the details, maybe you could write to him, too and give him your side. He could at least tell us if there's anything else we can do."
"Talk to Henry if you want," Mr. Hale said grimly, "but Finn still needs to leave as soon as possible. He can contact Henry when he is safely back in Mexico."
The siblings nodded in agreement before changing the subject back to Finn's travel plans. "You have your fake ID, right?" She asked her brother, double-checking that everything was in place for his trip.
Finn pulled the forged document out of his pocket. He had used it on the trip to Atlanta with no issues, and the plan was to use it again on the return trip. "Good," Maggie said, "The bus leaves after midnight, so there shouldn't be too many people around at that time. Hopefully, you can cross back into Mexico the same way you came over." It shouldn't be a problem, thousands of people crossed the border every day, legally and illegally.
She went with her brother to the greyhound station, more for her own peace of mind than for his safety. She had the feeling this may be the last time she saw her brother and wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. They were waiting on Finn's bus when she felt someone watching them.
Looking up, her blood ran cold at the icy stare that caught her eye. They both stood frozen for a moment before he scowled. Finn noticed her distraction and looked to see what was so interesting. The man was vaguely familiar to him; Finn wondered if he was a threat to his family or his freedom. Maggie didn't seem overly alarmed, though her face was etched with a sense of sadness and worry that reached further than he had realized before.
"Who was that?" Finn asked his sister in a soft whisper, even though the man was far outside of hearing range.
Maggie sighed and shook her head as if clearing cobwebs. "John, John Thornton." Just saying his name made her heartache in a way that didn't make sense.
Headlights came around the corner, making their way towards the bus station. "What a scowl he had. He's not the friendliest person in the world, I'm sure." Finn said, looking anxiously at the approaching bus, realizing his time with his sister was almost up.
"No, Finn. I think something has happened to make him so angry. Don't be so hard on him." She didn't know why she was wasting her last moments with her brother defending John, but there she was. The bus came to a stop and the doors opened slowly. Maggie turned and gave her brother a long hug. "You'll write as soon as you get home, won't you?"
Fin began to respond but was interrupted by a drunken call. "Hale?" The man attached to the voice stumbled out of the shadows and towards the siblings. "It is you, ain't it? I knew it was." Even though he was wavering, near falling over, the man-made slow progress towards Maggie and Finn.
Stepping back towards the bus, Finn pushed his sister behind him and out of the man's way. "No, you've got the wrong person." He looked frantically at Maggie, not wanting to leave her alone with this very drunk Leonard.
"Eh, who is this with you then?" The drunk man reached around to grab at Maggie, who pulled away in disgust. The next moments were a blur in her mind, but the end result was Leonard on the ground and Finn safely on the bus, headed back to Mexico.
John
Mrs. Hale's funeral was a sparse affair. John was disappointed to see that more of Mr. Hale's students and their families hadn't shown up, thought funerals were always a touchy subject. Nick was there, of course, with the hospice nurse. And Mr. Bell, too, always there for his old friend. Maggie was the very picture of poise and control. She seemed to be holding it together remarkably well. The same could not be said for Mr. Hale, who was the broken shell of a man that had lost his lifelong companion. John's heart ached for the old man and his daughter.
Standing outside in the early spring rain, John watched Maggie and her father greeting the few mourners that had come. Mr. Bell sidled up to John, taking note of the object of his attention. "How are they holding up? Maggie and Richard?" John asked, seeing how hollow Mr. Hale seemed on his daughter's arm.
"As well as you could expect, I guess," Mr. Bell responded grimly, giving John an appraising look out of the corner of his eye. "Don't worry, Thornton, they have plenty of friends to look out for them."
John kept his eyes on the Hales, not noticing Mr. Bell's watchful gaze. "Well, let me know if there is anything I can do to help," he said, turning towards the older man, the sadness plain on his face.
Never one to remain solemn for long, Mr. Bell gave John a quick smile. "Everything is taken care of, my friend. Not the best turn out, if we're honest, but with Maggie's aunt traveling and unable to get home, and her cousin being too busy to come down… well, I am surprised that the other Lennox boy didn't come, at least." Mr. Bell continued his close examination of John, noting the stiffening of his already perfect posture at the other man's name.
"Henry Lennox," Mr. Bell said in response to John's sharp look, "He's a lawyer and a friend of the family. He and Maggie are quite close, from what I understand. You'd think he would want to be here to support her since it would help his case." The shadow that came over John's face certainly didn't escape Mr. Bell's notice. The older man filed that information away quietly in his mind. "But I'll be sure to let you know if your assistance is needed, anyway."
With a small, possibly sarcastic salute, Mr. Bell was on his way down the street towards his car. John was about to start heading home himself when he heard someone calling his name. Turning towards the sound, he saw Mason making his way towards him. "Haven't seen each other in years and now it's twice in one week," he said, smiling a little as the detective came closer. He looked a bit more professional than he had in the bar, wearing a well-fitting suit and trench coat to fend off the rain.
Mason smiled back but immediately turned solemn. "I was actually going to call you later but happened to see you as I was passing by. Sorry to catch you at such an unfortunate time," he said, noting the black attire of everyone around and the church in the background. "I'm actually on my way to investigate a body found not far from here. We'll catch up later, then?"
Seeing his mother watching from under the church awning, John nodded. "Sure thing. Let me know if I can help the investigation. You know I live not too far from here, so maybe I've seen or heard something." He waved as Mason continued down the road then turned to help his mother to the car.
Maggie
The house was too quiet and somber without her mother there. Dixie and her father were still there, of course, but neither of them was their normal, lively, selves. Maggie suggested that her father come with her to visit Nick, hoping that getting out of the house would do him some good. The company would do Nick some good, too, she knew. He had seemed down ever since Becca had left.
She was surprised but glad to see Mary was at Nick's place, cleaning up the kitchen. She smiled at the Hale's but left them alone to talk to Nick, also hoping that the company of friends would help cheer him up. Maggie and her father settled into the couch while Nick grabbed them a drink.
"We were hoping to find you at home," Mr. Hale said, gratefully accepting the sweet tea that was handed to him.
Nick snorted, sitting down in a chair across from them. "I reckon you'll find me at home most of the time, these days," he said grimly.
Maggie frowned, leaning forward. "You still haven't found work after the boycott?" She asked.
Shaking his head, Nick sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Nah, I could find work, just not work that I'm willing to take."
"What do you mean? I would think any job is better than no job at all?" Maggie asked, confused.
She could see Mary in the kitchen, shaking her head. "Well, there's plenty of ones that would hire me. They know I'm a hard worker," Nick said. "But too many of them have these news rules when you sign on, saying that we have to promise not to speak out against the venue owners or the ticket sellers. That we can't support any kind of reformation of the industry, basically saying we should just be glad to have jobs and keep our mouths shut." He shook his head angrily. "They're trying to punish us for having our own thoughts and morals. I'm not willing to compromise like that, not for anyone. I mean, you've had bosses haven't you, Mr. Hale?"
Maggie's father looked confused at his sudden inclusion in the conversation. "Well, yes, of course."
"And have any of those bosses ever tried to tell you what to think and what to believe in?" Nick asked the older man, knowing the answer
He seemed to get the point. "No, they haven't. Certainly not."
Maggie thought she understood, as well. "Do all the venue owners have this new rule? I remember Butch said he thought the boycotters were the tyrants, not the owners." She said, thinking of one businessman in particular.
A dark chuckle erupted from Nick's grim mouth. "Well, sometimes we have to make others see what'll be best for them in the end. Butch was an idiot. He didn't know what was good for him," he said, getting up and walking into the kitchen.
Getting up to follow him, Maggie asked, "So he did damage to the boycott, then?" She hadn't realized until that moment that she wanted to get Nick's opinion on the riot and see what all he had heard.
"Yes! We had the public on our side until they started rioting and breaking the law." He gave Maggie a knowing look but didn't say anything further about that day at Thornton's house.
Maggie glanced at her father, who was still listening to their conversation intently. "Wouldn't it have been better to just leave him alone then?" she asked. "He didn't help the boycott, and because of it he lost his mind!"
"Maggie!" she heard her father gasp, chastising for her harsh statement.
Surprisingly, Nick laughed again, this time with more humor behind it. "No, no, she's outspoken. I like it. But y'all don't understand. Coming together and doing things like boycotting, that's our only power to change things. I can't help it if I'm mad at Butch, always up to no good and ruining everything. It never stops."
"Even now?" Maggie asked, surprised. She had thought now that the boycott was over, that would be the end of the story.
Nick nodded, "Oh yeah. First, he started a riot, then he goes into hiding. Thornton dropped the issue, so Butch comes slinking back home, going around and begging everyone for work. Of course, no one will take him, even though he promised to rat out anyone else that was part of the boycott. When the last one told him to go away, well, I heard he cried like a baby." He seemed satisfied with that outcome, though Maggie couldn't help but think of what effect that would have on Butch's wife and children. She felt sorry for them, that was for sure.