Maggie took the shattered pieces from him.“No, it wasn’t.”
• • •
It was only twelve o’clock when Aidenarrived at the bar, but he’d been unable to stay away. He sat onone of the stools and touched the inner pocket of his coat toreassure himself the tickets were still there. Earlier, he’drecalled Maggie’s words about attending opening day with A.J., andhe’d stopped on his way here to purchase tickets for them to go tothe game.
Removing his coat, he draped it over thestool beside him. He ordered a Crown on the rocks as he settled into wait. Outside, Declan, Brian, and Killean remained in the car incase Maggie didn’t arrive, or she only came to tell himgoodbye.
They would be necessary to take him down ifeither of those things happened.
• • •
Maggie paced back and forth in the waitingroom outside of the OR. Half the ambulance company was crowded intothe room, and more people spilled into the hallway or had wanderedto the cafeteria. Police and firefighters had also arrived to givetheir support. As gruff and stubborn as Roger was, he was alsowell-liked.
People talked in hushed whispers, or not atall. One group had arrived with coffee and donuts over an hour ago.The coffee was gone, the donuts barely touched.
Roger’s ex-wife had also come. Divorcedyears ago, they’d never had children together, but Roger talkedhighly of her, and Maggie knew they still exchanged calls andChristmas cards. The woman had remarried, and Maggie assumed herhusband was the man sitting next to her, holding one hand while shechewed the nails of her other hand.
Maggie glanced at the clock on the wall andgulped. It was already two o’clock. She had to call Aiden. Sheturned to Officer Harding to ask if she could borrow his phone whena doctor emerged through the swinging doors.
Maggie froze as the doctor walked over tospeak with Pablo and the ex-wife for a minute. Their graveexpressions made Maggie’s stomach churn. Then, the doctor slippedaway again. The ex-wife had paled visibly, and Pablo looked like hewas losing a battle against food poisoning.
“What did he say?” Maggie askedtremulously.
“It was definitely a stroke,” Pablo said ashe ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. “They’re doing thebest they can, but it seems a fair amount of time passed betweenwhen he had the stroke and when I found him.”
Maggie started at his words; she hadn’tknown Pablo was the one to discover Roger. Then, she recalled Rogertelling her yesterday he planned to get in some bowling practicetoday. He and Pablo were on the same team, the 7/10 Splints.
Tears burned her eyes as she thought of poorPablo finding his friend in such a way. They slid free when sherealized Roger had most likely been lying there for a while,waiting for someone to come. She couldn’t stand to think about howscared he must have been.
Maggie covered her mouth with her hand andchoked on a sob. She wiped away her tears. She refused to cry. Nothere. Roger would be so mad at her for that. Unable to remainstanding, she sank onto a chair.
“You must be Maggie.”
Maggie lifted her head and blinked Roger’sex into focus. He’d told her the woman’s name, but for the life ofher, she couldn’t remember it right now. “Yes,” she croaked.
The woman squeezed her knee, and Maggierealized she’d sat next to her. There was an almost surreal airabout the woman’s hand. Maggie knew it was touchingherknee, yet she felt as if she were outside of her body, watchingit.
“Roger has told me so much about you. Hethinks very highly of you,” the woman said.
“I think very highly of him too. I wouldn’tbe here if it weren't for him.”
“You’re like…” The woman’s voice broke, anda tear slid free. “You’re like a daughter to him.”
Maggie didn’t shy away when the woman leanedover to hug her.
And he’s like a father to me.
• • •
At three thirty, the doctor re-emerged totell them they’d done everything they could, but they’d been unableto save Roger. Maggie wanted to curl into a ball and cry, but shebit her tongue. If she fell apart now, she’d never be able to pickherself up enough to leave the hospital.
Around the room, she heard the tears of someof the others.
• • •
At three o’clock, Brian came to sit besidehim. At three thirty, Killean joined him. Amber liquid splashed inhis glass as Aiden spun it between his hands. He’d been so certainMaggie would come. A small piece of him had feared she wouldn’t,but deep down, he’d believed she cared for him too.
Lifting his glass, Aiden downed the rest ofits contents in one swallow. Outwardly, he remained amazinglycontrolled considering the madness steadily building within him. Onthe bar, he stared at the phone he’d set before him, but the screenremained blank. She hadn’t tried to call or text him.
