"Broken friendships are really hard to fix but sometimes we just have to believe that everything will be okay at the end."
-Unknown
Maisie was in the kitchen making oats with blueberries for breakfast when there was a sudden pounding at the front door. She dried her hands before walking towards the sound.
"Keep your pants on, I'm comin'!" She said as she opened the door, but she was truly surprised at what was waiting for her on the other side. "Lavinia…"
"Nice to see you, Maisie." Lavinia greeted her former friend with a smile. "I'll skip the pleasantries and get right to it. Marceline's back. I saw her just yesterday. I think she's trapped in that house with those…ruffians, the ones with the motorcycles and leather."
"Marceline's a good girl. She wouldn't get involved with those kinda men."
"I saw her with my own two eyes, Maisie."
"Were you wearing your glasses?"
"We have to go rescue her." Lavinia declared, ignoring the comment about her eyesight. "A sweet little girl like that doesn't need to be around those rough men and if one of them has so much as laid a finger on her-"
"He'll be dead before he hits the ground." Maisie threatened as she pushed the wall panel in next to the door, reached in and grabbed her hand-me-down shotgun, cocking it.
"You wouldn't."
"Papa's loaded shotgun says otherwise. This ain't rock salt either." Maisie went to walk out of the door, but Lavinia put her hands on Maisie's shoulders to make her look her in the eyes. "Get along, Lavinia."
"You can't just walk around in public with a loaded shotgun, Maisie!" Lavinia stressed.
"I could, if you'd get outta my damn way."
"It's illegal!"
"It's only illegal if you get caught and I ain't plannin' on gettin' caught, now get."
"Absolutely not!" Lavinia went as far as using herself to barricade the door, her entire body blocking the exit. "I won't watch you get hauled off to jail again, Maisie Caswell, never again. You promised me that and I know you're not a lair."
"You remembered that?"
Lavinia nodded as she rummaged around in the purse hanging off her shoulder. "I have some Tasers in here for protection, so put that thing away and we can go see what's going on down there."
With a defeated sigh, Maisie replaced the shotgun in its hiding spot and took one of the Tasers from Lavinia. Together, they walked down the street to Marceline's house and took note of the motorcycle parked out front, letting them know that one of those bikers was inside with her.
"Do not provoke these men, Maisie. They're dangerous." Lavinia warned, making Maisie scoff.
"I'm dangerous." She told Lavinia before she began pounding on the door. "Open this goddamn door or I'll kick it down! Somebody's long overdue for an ass kickin' and I'm here to deliver it!"
Lavinia was trying to pull Maisie's arm away from the door to no avail. "Maisie, they'll think we're the police with you banging like that!"
"The hell are you making all this noise for?" Dutchman complained as he opened the door. "Why not just ring the fucking doorbell twice like normal folk?"
"You'd best watch which words come outta that filthy mouth of yours, boy. Respect your damn elders." Maisie warned with a scowl.
"We'd like to speak to the lady of the house." Lavinia spoke up, though she looked like she was repulsed to be in the biker's presence. "We have no business with you or any of your hooligan acquaintances, just her."
"Lady of the house?" He repeated, confused. "Nobody's Mom is here, you got the wrong address."
"If you don't go get Marceline Telford right now, I'm gonna break your leg and shove your foot so far up your ass, you won't know which end's your crapper and which's your head." Maisie threatened with her hands on her hips.
"I'm not sure which end I'm talking to now." Lavinia commented with a frown, giving Dutchman a once over.
"Why the fuck are you answering my door?" Marceline appeared behind Dutchman with narrowed eyes. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from my door and not to answer my goddamn phone? You don't pay a single bill in this house, so don't answer my door like you live here."
She pushed him out of the way. "You're mean."
"And you're a fucking idiot, but am I bitching about that?"
"Sure told him, honey." Masie chuckled at the ginger.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that. It's nice to see you both, but what are you doing here?"
"Well, we noticed you were back in town and thought you'd like to come join us for some tea and cookies." Lavinia offered with a smile.
"She ain't goin' nowhere." Dutchman forbade from behind Marceline, making her slowly turn to look over her shoulder at him with hellfire in her eyes. "You know you don't go anywhere without a chaperone."
"Do I look like a teenager going to a school dance?"
"Yeah, you do. You're not leaving this house, Marceline, so say goodbye to whoever those two are."
"Excuse me, ladies." Marci said tamely to the women as she shut the door. Even with the door closed, Maisie and Lavinia could hear Marceline going off on Dutchman on the other side and it even sounded like a few things got thrown.
~.~.~.~.
"So, when did you two start talking again?" Marci asked from her seat at the kitchen table with the older women.
"Today, actually." Maisie shyly answered.
"Any reason why?" Both women looked at the ginger. She was why Maisie and Lavinia were talking again. They both loved her like she was the daughter they never had and having her around was wonderful, since their children couldn't visit often.
They both remembered Marceline as the little sweetheart who had some trouble at home, but kept her chin up and wanted to run errands. They both have seen bruises on the girl, no matter how hard she tried to hide them, and knew that her mother was going overboard with discipline, so they tried to keep Marci out of that house as often as they could; the girl's even spent a few days living with either woman.
The older women knew that something happened to the girl's mother, but they weren't exactly sure what it was. They didn't dwell on it because Marceline seemed so happy, so relieved to have that weight lifted from her shoulders, and she was taking care of herself. She told them that she was busting her butt at her job, but that the tips were amazing and she didn't mind her work. Her visits were more frequent and she seemed to glow when she smiled.
Then, she just up and disappeared without a word of warning. There was no way she could've packed up and moved so quickly, but without telling anyone she was leaving? That worried them sick.
"Maisie, this feud between us is pointless." Lavinia began in a tender tone to the woman she once considered a sister. "As much as we both loved Sebastian, we shouldn't have let him come between us. I've known you since kindergarten and I love you, Maisie. Friendships like ours don't come around often."
"If we're being honest…I've been lookin' for an excuse to talk to you for years." Maisie admitted. "I love you too, Lavinia, and I've missed you so much."
"Why don't we pick up where we left off? You comin' over to live with me." Lavinia offered and that made Maisie look at her in happy shock. "We picked that house for us to live in together like the Golden Girls and I've been awfully lonely without you. Before you come over, will you get rid of that shotgun?"
"Absolutely not." Maisie denied and sent an affectionate pat to the sawed-off shotgun sitting in her lap. She wasn't going to put it away until she escorted Marceline back home and knew the girl would be safe.
"Maisie, please. I hate guns." Lavinia pouted.
"Lavinia, when I die, someone's gonna have to pry that shotgun from my cold, dead hands. I'll put it somewhere you won't find it, but it's stayin' with me. We're both allergic to dogs, so it's the only means of protection we got. I'm licensed to carry and all, so if anything happens on this property involving me and this gun, the law can't do a damn thing about it."
"Oh, fine. I'll call my sons and have them-" Lavinia was cut off by a knocking at the front door. Both women looked at Marceline. "Expecting company?"
"It's Asher. Dutchman told him I left, so he's here to take me back home."
"Marci, you keep your keister in that chair." Maisie commanded before standing and tucking the shotgun in the back waistband of her jeans, going to answer the door. Gage and Dutchman were waiting on the porch. "The hell do you want?"
"And a good day to you too, ma'am." Gage smiled. "I was told that my wife's in there somewhere."
"Nobody in this house is hitched."
"Marceline's my fiancée and I'm here to take her home where she belongs." He explained.
"She belongs wherever the hell she wants to be and right now, that's here." Maisie crossed her arms and frowned. Gage chuckled at the woman, but took a few steps closer so he could tower over her and he adjusted his kutte to let the woman see the pistol he was carrying. Maisie didn't seem frightened in the slightest. "Think I'm scared of you, boy? Just 'cause you're in a biker gang and you got that little pistol? Please. I've wrangled 'coons scarier than you."
"Were any of them as rabid as I am?"
"Leave her alone, Asher." Marceline said from behind Maisie, making the woman step to the side.
Asher smiled at her. "Marci, you naughty girl. You know you're not supposed to go anywhere without me or one of the guys."
"Dutchman knows where I went, saw me walk right out the door without saying a word. You might wanna explain the rules to him again, make sure he understands what you're saying." Marci pulled a smile for Dutchman and he looked like he was about to defend himself, but Gage put a hand up to silence him. "I wanna stay here, Asher. They make me happy. Isn't that what you want?"
"You're right, it is." Gage agreed. "Make sure you get something to eat for dinner and if you're staying the night, call me so I'm not waiting up for you all night. I'm gonna be here at 12:30 tomorrow to pick you up."
"Fine."
"You girls have fun." Gage smiled again and Maisie all but slammed the door in his face. He turned to Dutch with fury in his eyes. "When I say that Marceline goes nowhere without one of us, I fucking mean it. Do not let her walk out of that house by herself."
"It was pretty hard to keep her inside when she was beatin' me half to death." Dutchman grumbled.
"She's four feet and two pounds. You sayin' you can't handle a fucking girl?"
"What, you want me to start hittin' her?" Dutchman questioned, but that just made Gage's eyes get darker and the sight made Dutch stand up straighter as he cleared his throat. "It won't happen again, Prez."
"It better not or I'm gonna burn your leather while you're wearing it."