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“You know I haven’t,” Maggie replied. “I may have stupidly bet all my money on this president’s job, but I kinda got used to not being distracted.”
Bailey covered her face. “Girl,” she groaned. “You need to see.”
“I’m not logging on,” said Maggie with a shake of her head.
“Well, I don’t think reading what we printed out is partaking in social media,” said Erin. She reached into her oversize black pocketbook and extracted a series of papers. She slid them across the silver top of the round table.
Though it had been over ten months since Maggie was on Twitter, she felt a calmness at the sight of the blue bird icon. Nervously she ran her fingers over the paper. When she’d decided to take this challenge seriously, Maggie had deleted the majority of her social media accounts. So since there was no account to link to, her name had become a hashtag: #MaggieSwayne.
Under it, a post by Gossip with Gigi, she’d reposted a video from her friend Rochelle, or at least her former friend. There was an arrow where if online, one could watch the video. Instead, Maggie read the comments.
Hot for him then, hot for him now #MaggieSwayne
#MaggieSwayne Foul Mouthed Beauty Queen
#DoubleStandards #MaggieSwayne
#Haute tips to sack a bachelor
There were three pages of this. Rochelle had taken their private conversations from eleven years ago and posted them now? A tweet from Rochelle’s account said, I was so excited to meet up with my friend after so many years but she never responded to my FB request #SoMuchForFriendship #FakeFriends.
“I haven’t been on social media in forever.” Maggie looked up from the papers.
Bailey’s hazel-green eyes welled. “I’m so sorry this is happening.”
Taking the documents away from Maggie, Erin shuffled them together and cleared her throat. “See why you need to go down there and be at the pageant?”
“So these people can say this to my face?”
“No.” Erin shook her pixie haircut. “You’re going to show your face and kill them with grace and kindness. Like I’m doing with my latest client.”
“Who is your latest client?” Maggie asked.
Erin frowned her freckled nose. “Just some know-it-all surgeon whose godson is a budding one-and-done basketball star. The kid needs rehab in a quiet place.”
“Welcome to Southwood,” Bailey moaned.
“But we’re talking about you,” Erin said, refocusing.
Just as Bailey said the word, the bells over the door jingled. Maggie’s heart raced at the sight of the former Miss Southwood, Waverly Crowne. She had almost been Miss Georgia. Lexi Pendergrass-Reyes followed close behind with Kenzie in tow. They all wore custom-made shirts from Grits and Glam Gowns with the words Team Maggie bedazzled in glitter on the front. All of them wore tiaras in their hair.
“Oh, look,” Erin said with a sarcastic eye roll, “It’s the entire tiara squad.”
“Not now, Erin,” Kenzie snapped. “Maggie, we need to talk.”
“Too late,” said Maggie, reaching for the papers Erin had. “I’ve already read what’s being said about me.”
Lexi pushed her naturally blond hair over her shoulder and placed her hand on her hips. Maggie always liked Lexi. Before becoming such a local star, the beauty queen made a lot of waves back in her college days. Beside her stood Waverly.
“Richard sent us a text,” said Kenzie. “He said you’re not going to the pageant after all.”
Through the windows Maggie spotted her brother shaking hands with Waverly’s husband, Dominic. Dominic held a long red leash with a small toy pig attached to one end and a toddler over his shoulder.
“I’m not,” replied Maggie.
“Maggie, honey,” Lexi began. “Do you know what all of us here have in common?”
Slowly Maggie glanced around the table, then shrugged her shoulders.
