Linda laughed, and the sound was so light that it made Linda sound young again, and Maggie's caution faded into the background where it belonged.
"You always know what to say," Linda told her.
"That's what I'm here for," Maggie replied. “To talk you into doing crazy things but keeping your guard up.”
They talked a while longer. Linda told her a little about the beach walk, about how easy Darius was to talk to, about the way he'd told her his own divorce stories so she wouldn't feel alone in hers. Maggie listened and made all the right warm noises andpushed her small caution further and further down until she could barely feel it.
"How's the hotel?" Maggie asked eventually.
"A mess," Linda sighed. "But less of a mess now that Michael's here, picking it apart properly. He's been buried in the accounts since he arrived. We're waiting to hear back from the Wayne Group about a meeting in the next few days. Michael wants to look them in the eye and tell them no in person."
"Good," Maggie said. "Have you told him yet? That you've decided to stay?"
There was a small pause.
"Not yet," Linda admitted. "We haven't had a quiet minute. Between getting the medical suite ready for Uncle George, the hotel, and the hospital visits, there hasn't been a good moment to sit down and say it properly. But I will. Soon. I want to tell him when we can actually talk about it, not in the middle of everything else."
"He'll be thrilled for you," Maggie said.
"I know," Linda agreed.
“I’m thrilled about it,” Maggie assured her. “It’s about time you came home to stay.”
“Yes, I agree,” Linda said. “Especially now that Uncle George is getting older. He needs all his family here to support him.”
“Exactly,” Maggie said with a nod. “We both know how quickly life can change, taking the people we love away from us.”
“I wish Uncle George had remarried after his divorce,” Linda’s voice dropped and was filled with sadness. “I think she was the love of his life, and after she left, he just gave up on love.”
“Do you remember her?” Maggie asked, frowning. “I don’t.”
“I do,” Linda admitted. “She was the reason I became an archeologist.”
“That’s right,” Maggie said suddenly, remembering the woman. “She was petite and pretty.”
“Yes,” Linda confirmed. “They were divorced about fifty years ago.”
“Wow!” Maggie gave a low whistle. “And he never remarried,” Maggie noted with a sigh.
“No, he dated,” Linda reminded her, laughing. “Do you remember that one woman he dated just after you came to live with us?”
“Oh, yes, she was dreadful,” Maggie remembered. “Gaynor or something like that.”
“He was with her for almost three years,” Linda pointed out. “We were so afraid he was going to marry her.”
“We even planned on how we were going to break them up.” Maggie laughed, remembering their plotting.
“She was just after my Uncle’s money and the hotel,” Linda’s voice resonated with anger.
“Luckily, Uncle George realized that too and dropped her,” Maggie said.
“I’ve been thinking, if we can still date, why can’t he?” Linda stated.
“No one says he can’t,” Maggie agreed. “We could always make him an online dating profile.”
That made Linda burst into peals of laughter.
“Can you imagine,” Linda said with a little hiccup from laughing. “He’d be furious with us.”
