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Lord Jesus, please. I don’t know where Maggie is. She’s not answering her messages. I will call her in a minute. Where is she? I am worried about her, so please take my every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The more I think about her being missing, the worse my thoughts get.
Levi went outside the restaurant so he could make a phone call. It was a useless exercise since Maggie simply didn’t pick up. He left a brief message for her, trying not to sound panicky.
He regretted not carpooling with Maggie this evening, but she had texted him on Friday afternoon sometime to tell him not to because she didn’t want to depend on him for transportation home after dinner. She also might have to leave the dinner party early, although she didn’t say why.
Friday afternoon had been the last time Levi had communicated with Maggie at all. After that, no text or voicemail from her. Not that it was unusual. Sometimes they were both busy and didn’t call or message each other for days.
He returned to the restaurant and saw Alden waving to him from a corner table. Alden pointed to two empty seats between himself and Forsythia.
When Levi got closer, Alden put a palm down on the seat next to his. “I’m saving this seat for Maggie. That one is yours.”
“That one” was the seat next to Forsythia.
Wasn’t this when Levi should feel a tingling in his chest because he was finally sitting next to his elusive dream date?
He felt nothing.
As though his chase was coming to a close and there was no medal to speak of. Perhaps he was in the wrong race to begin with.
Wrong race?
Wasn’t Chef Forsythia McDevitt the best prospect for a girlfriend? Sure, Levi had been watching her from afar—she in the kitchen side and he on the other side of the buffet line at Wednesday night supper.
Perhaps he had been living with an illusion.
Perhaps his dreams had been interrupted by reality: Maggie.
He sat down. To his right was his dream date, Forsythia. To his left was an empty seat reserved for his best friend, Maggie.
Levi took a deep breath.
If I made a mistake, Lord, can I backtrack now?
Forsythia was busy talking to a man seated on the other side of her. Levi didn’t know who that person was and didn’t care.
Maggie’s seat was still empty. Next to it, Alden tapped on his phone.
“You happen to know where Maggie is?” Levi asked.
“I’m trying to find out.” Alden lifted his phone. “I texted her. No reply.”
Of course Alden had Maggie’s phone number. They worked together on the Village tiny homes. Eventually, Maggie might not need Alden’s number because Erika was taking over Maggie’s job at the Village.
“Do you think she’s sick?” Alden asked.
“Why do you say that?”
“Hope she didn’t get food poisoning from last night.”
Last night? What was Alden talking about? “What about last night?”
“Oh, we finished our meeting late, so we went out to dinner at a seafood restaurant. Maggie ordered grouper and thoughtit smelled, and she didn’t like her fish to smell, but she ate it anyway. I had grouper too but I’m fine.”
We?
“What about the others?” Levi asked.
“Just me and her. I asked my colleagues but they were too tired to go.”
