“Yeah, best to ditch that plan,” Maggie had second thoughts. “Let’s set him up with Rosa.”
“No way!” Linda rejected that idea. “Rosa is like fifteen years younger than Uncle George, and besides, she’d never put up with him.”
“Then we’ll just let fate decide if any of us will find love and a partner again,” Maggie reasoned. “Including Uncle George.”
“Do you realize how many of us are single again at our age?” Linda asked.
Maggie’s brows rose. She hadn’t actually put much thought into it, but now that she was thinking about it, Linda was right.
“You’re right, it’s you, me, Michael, Martin, Owen, Penny, Isabel, Darius, and even Uncle George,” Maggie counted out. “I think Mrs. Swanson from the ice cream shop is recently single.”
“Maggie!” Linda half-laughed as she berated her friend. “No. Stop now.”
“I’m worried about his love life now,” Maggie admitted. “It’s your fault for bringing it up.”
“I think we shouldn’t interfere,” Linda advised. “But… if we meet a nice single woman in his age group…”
“We can introduce them,” Maggie realized where Linda was going with this.
“Exactly!” Linda said. There was a pause. “Oh goodness, is that the time?”
Maggie glanced at the clock on the wall, and her eyes widened. “How long have we been talking for?”
“More than I thought we’d be,” Linda answered. “I’d better go. Good luck with the divorce stuff tomorrow. Let me know how it all goes.”
“I will,” Maggie promised.
"Goodnight, Maggie. Love you," Linda said.
"Goodnight, my best friend. Love you too," Maggie replied.
Maggie set the phone down on the cushion and let out a long, slow breath.
She sipped her wine and thought about the phone call. Linda had a date. Maggie couldn’t help but smile. She was so happy for her friend, but a little skeptical too. They knew nothing about Darius. Not even his last name. Was it Graham perhaps? That was Isabel’s last name. Or it could be her married name.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone buzzed beside her.
Maggie glanced down to see Michael's name on the screen.
Her heart skipped, and she hated that it did, but she picked up the phone anyway.
Maggie, I've been thinking about tomorrow. One o'clock cuts the afternoon in half, and I'd rather not rush through our talk. Could we meet for breakfast instead? Would 9:30 at the Bay Café be okay? That gives us ample time to go through everything and to reach your current attorney, should we need to.
Maggie read it twice. Her breath caught at the thought of meeting with him earlier.
Then she typed back, amazed at how steady her hands were right now.
Hello, Michael, 9:30 suits me much better, actually. I'll bring my whole file.
The reply came quickly.
Perfect. We'll go through it all, and if we need to, we'll go straight to your lawyer's office afterward and start the handover.
Maggie smiled despite herself.
Thank you.
She watched the dots bounce as Michael typed.
