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To Lighten the Soul
Maggiemadeherway quickly to the door of the café when she heard a noise like someone was trying to kick it in. The café wasn’t open yet and she had been in the back prepping silverware and menus for the tables. When she looked through the glass, she saw a huge bouquet of pink roses in a large crystal vase standing on a pair of skinny legs in holey jeans and black Chuck Taylors.
“Well, what in the world?” she mumbled as she opened the door. With the tinkling of the bell, the flowers suddenly grew a head.
“Hi there, Maggie!”
“Junior? Junior Garcia, is that really you?” Maggie asked, her eyes wide. “Last time I saw you, I was babysitting you and now you’re all grown up!”
Junior’s tawny skin bloomed pink. “Uh, yeah. A little. I think I was 10 when you and Cheri graduated. I’m delivering flowers for Mr. Anderson while I’m home on break. His regular delivery guy broke his leg on a skateboard, so no driving.”
“Well come on in! Here, you can just put those down on the counter. They look heavy.” Maggie pointed to the bakery counter to the left of the door.
“They are! Who knew a dozen roses could weigh so much!” Junior put down the crystal vase carefully on the glass counter. “They’re for you, by the way, in case you hadn’t guessed. The card’s in there.”
“Oh! For me? Who are they from?” Maggie asked, caution entering her voice.
“Dunno, we’re not allowed to read the cards. Mr. Anderson takes the orders himself. He tells us it’s none of our business,” Junior shared, rolling his eyes a little.
“OK. Um, how about some pastries and coffee? I just fired up the expresso machine and we have kolaches and chocolate croissants fresh out of the oven,” Maggie offered, trying to avoid confronting the small card glaring at her from the florist pick in the giant bouquet.
“I wouldn’t say no to some sausage kolaches and some coffee to go,” Junior answered as his stomach gurgled loudly.
Maggie laughed as the crimson traveled back up Junior’s face and into his hairline. “Let’s feed that monster before he gets away from you! Come on, I’ll let you pick out which ones you want.”
After Junior left to return to his deliveries with kolaches and coffee in hand, Maggie took the flowers to her office and set them on her desk. She wondered if they could possibly be from Zane. She avoided reading the card for another few seconds, enjoying the anticipation. They were so pretty. Pink roses were her favorite.
“Darn it!” she exclaimed, ripping the card off of the pick and opening the little envelope.
“Maggie,” it read, “Sorry I couldn’t make it to the coming home party. I miss you. Zane”
Maggie beamed to herself. She had been sorely disappointed that Zane hadn’t been able to come back when Lu was released from the hospital because of a change in his schedule, but he had called her almost daily over the last few weeks. Now her favorite flowers. He’d remembered and she thought she’d only mentioned it once when they were talking about someone’s engagement party. She had to admit, he gave her a warm feeling down low in her belly, and she had promised Dani she would give him a real chance. She knew her friend had told her he’d been somewhat of a player and his ‘type’ had not resembled her at all, but just maybe Dani was right. Maybe he liked her because she wasn’t like those other women. Maybe this time would be different and he would appreciate her, want more than just a quick fling and to be done. Maybe he could understand her drive for success. So many maybes.
Zane sat at his desk reviewing the latest scans on one of his favorite patients, Candace Murphy, trying to make them say something different. She had MS and it looked like it was progressing. Damn. Just damn. He liked Candace and it was going to kill him to have to tell her the treatment wasn’t working to slow down her disease like they’d hoped. She had small children as well. This was when he hated his job. He turned from the computer screen to take in the view from his office window, such as it was, trying to distract himself. He could just see the park at the end of the block. It was winter though and the grass was all brown. The trees a skeletal contrast to the blue sky. He needed to think of something pleasant to distract himself, so he thought of Maggie.
He felt an unanticipated pang of guilt that he hadn’t been able to make it back down to Gladewater like he had planned. Normally, the women he dated stayed in his mind just long enough to get their numbers so he could call them later when he got an itch. Not this woman. She kept popping up when he least expected it. And, surprisingly, he didn’t mind at all. He hoped she had received the flowers he sent by now. He would have liked to be a fly on the wall to see her reaction to the delivery of the roses. He knew the pink ones were her favorite. He already missed the way her face lit up the room when she smiled. It had been too long since he’d seen that smile. Talking on the phone like they were teenagers wasn’t enough anymore. He decided he would give Candace the bad news, then head to Gladewater. He was sure Maggie could lighten his soul after that conversation, if anyone could.
Zane left his office and strolled to the reception area. “Hey, Carol,” he greeted his office manager. “After Candace Murphy, I don’t have any other appointments, do I?”
Keys clicked as Carol checked his schedule. “No, sir. Looks like you’re free for the rest of the afternoon,” she told him. “But don’t forget you have that speech to finish for that fundraiser in just two weeks. You told me to keep reminding you.”
Zane gave an inward groan. He was really regretting agreeing to give this speech, even if it was for a really good cause - the Brain Injury Institute. It was just one more thing on his plate. “I did. Thanks, Carol. I’m working on it. Bill Daley agreed to trade me on the on-call schedule, so I finally get two nights in a row off. I’m going to take off a couple of hours early today, too. Why don’t you do the same?”
“Really?” Carol asked, her voice brimming with excitement. “Thanks, Dr. Savage! That would be great!”
After a difficult conversation with Candace and her husband, he jumped in his Audi to drive to Gladewater. Once he was clear of the city, his brain went on autopilot and his thoughts locked on the woman he was going to see. He’d only been on a couple of short dates with her, and she already consumed his thoughts. Maggie’s rose petal skin and big brown eyes. Her intelligence. Her supreme level of competence in every move she made. There was something indefinable, though, that made her Maggie that he had come to appreciate. As best he could tell, it was her warmth and thoughtful, caring nature. She cared for her family, her friends and even her customers with an easy grace that seemed to come to her as naturally as breathing. She also had an almost naivete to her that was refreshing. She was everything he imagined a true Southern belle was and nothing like the overly polished, almost plastic women he had dated over the last few years. He’d also come to admire her keen intelligence and quick wit he had discovered over their phone conversations the last few weeks. She had as many layers as one of her favorite pink roses and it excited him to keep learning more. Maggie was real and he missed her more and more the longer he was away from Gladewater.
