Page 120 of The Me I Left Behind

“Me, too,” Alice said.

Lia sighed. “Gosh. I wish Wren and Willow were here.”

“Yeah. Weed.” Alice took a drink of her margarita. “But tequila is nice, too.”

They all laughed.

“Willow could sniff out a weed dealer a mile away. Couldn’t she?” Maggie said. “I wonder where in the hell those girls are. It’s been way too long.”

Alice put her feet up, too. “What’s it been? A couple of years?”

“They’ve missed two August beach weeks,” Lia said.

“Holy shit.” Julia set up, reaching for a tortilla chip. “I guess I was too tied up with my own crap for a while to realize.”

“I’ll secondthatemotion,” Maggie echoed, and tipped her glass toward Julia. “And my shit has kept you busy for the past few months.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Mags.”

She tossed Julia a heartfelt grin.

“I wish we could get them to come to Tequila Sunrise this year,” Alice said. “That beach house is not the same without them.”

Lia nodded. “True. Let’s see what the next couple of months bring. Gosh, I can’t believe it’s June already.”

Maggie thought about that for a moment. So much happened this past year. What would next year bring? Obviously, it was going to be a different one for her and the kids. Would they set out on fresh adventures? Or face more challenges?

She didn’t want to dwell on it.

Time to switch direction. Not going there tonight. “Speaking of weed, I wonder about those cannabis drinks. Have any of you tried them?” She looked at Julia. “Are they addicting? Just curious if you could try those.”

“Good question. And my answer is that I have no earthly idea.”

“Might be something to look into.” Maggie swirled the lime in her drink.

“Perhaps.”

They all sat for a moment, soaking up the silence.

“Hey,” Alice said. “Remember last summer when Julia got really pissed at us for smoking pot on the back deck at the Gull Cottage? Maggie, you were super stoned.”

Maggie sat up. “And you, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, were just as guilty—and as high—I might add.” She glanced at Julia. “And yes, I made you mad. More than once that week, I think. I’m sorry.”

Julia waved her off. “Forgotten. Old news.”

Alice leaned forward. “Well, I guess it’s going to be up to me to bring up the elephant in the room.”

Maggie cocked her head. “Elephant?” She literally didn’t know what Alice was talking about.

“Max! He didn’t show. Do we know why?”

“I’m just thankful he didn’t.” Maggie laid her head back. “After the episode last week, I don’t care to see him again. I mean, I didn’t realize how much I truly despised that man until I turned around and saw him standing in my kitchen.”

“That had to be unnerving,” Lia told her.

“It was scary, coming totally from left field.” She stared off for a few seconds, looking over the backyard. “Man, I wish Willow were here. I could use a toke off a big fat doobie right now.”

Lia burst out laughing. “You sound like you just stepped out of the 70s.”