Page 26 of The Me I Left Behind (Tuckaway Bay #4)

Fourteen

“Okay, kids. Listen up. I need everyone’s help after we finish dinner.”

The casserole and cornbread sat cooling on the stovetop.

Fortunately, she had a pantry full of staples and a stocked freezer.

She was actually very good at making the food budget stretch, and had always prided herself on her cooking skills, so they should be fine for a couple of weeks in the food department—although she only had forty-nine dollars in her wallet, and another few hundred stashed away in her jewelry box upstairs.

Still, that should be enough to get them through for a while, but she was going to have to figure out something else soon.

There were still too many unknowns. Would Max continue paying for the utilities? Insurance? What about the school tuition? Her car payment?

She’d talk more to Julia tomorrow.

“Tuna casserole, Mom?” Groaning, Jason stepped into the kitchen. “Ugh. I could smell it all the way upstairs.”

“Yum!” Chloe jumped up onto a bar stool, her eyes wide. “I love it!”

“Well, you can’t please everyone. Can you, Mom?” Carol grinned and nudged Maggie. “How long do you need us? Logan doesn’t have to work tonight, so we were thinking about catching a move.”

“Maybe an hour?”

“I have time to help before I go.”

“Don’t be late though,” Maggie warned. “It’s a school night.”

“Of course.”

The kids found their seats on the opposite side of the kitchen island from where Maggie stood. She placed the casserole in the center, along with a big serving spoon. “We have salad and cornbread, too.”

“Yum!”

Carol laughed. “Chloe, you’re eating like a little piggie lately. You better watch it!”

“Watch what?”

Jason nudged his little sister. “Watch your butt get bigger.”

Chloe punched her brother. “Jason! My butt isn’t big. It’s little.”

“Not if you keep eating like a pig.”

“That’s not true. Right, Mommy?”

Maggie enjoyed their banter—but she gave Jason a quick side-eye. “Only if you eat like a hog.”

It was all in good fun, she knew, but the last thing she wanted was to contribute to an eating disorder for her child.

Are you going to let her eat like that, Mary Margaret? Good gracious, she’s shoveling it in like a little orphan child who hasn’t eaten in days.

She suffered through enough of that herself, as a child.

Girls like you should never eat cookies, Mary Margaret . Or pancakes. Or ice cream.

Go away, Mother.

God only knew how many times she’d been told she was getting chubby.

And of course, Max hated it when she’d put on a few pounds. He would belittle her until she’d starve herself for a few days to get them off.

They all laughed. She grinned again at their easy-going banter. Not thinking about Max right now. Or my mother. She gave each child a small side salad, then set a basket of cornbread beside the casserole.

“Mommy,” Chloe said. “Can you dip me some?”

“Of course.” She did and then sat at the end of the island.

When Max wasn’t home, she and the kids always ate at the island.

When he was there, though, he insisted on having dinner in the dining room.

Suddenly, she was glad those days were gone.

The intimacy and casualness of eating with her kids in the kitchen was much nicer.

“So, Carol, to answer your question. I want to clear some things out of your dad’s office and store them in the garage. That room is going to become my art studio.” She glanced at Chloe. “Oh, and Chloe’s, too.”

Her little girl beamed. “I’m an artist.”

“Yes, you are. And we have a school project to work on this week.” She glanced at the others. “We can all use it for projects. Plenty of room there to store stuff on the shelves.”

Jason huffed. “Dad will have a fit.”

“Dad won’t even know,” Carol interjected. “It’s not like he’s coming back here, or anything.”

Maggie shook her head. “No, he’s not.”

“Mom…” Carol paused, apparently thinking. “You know that for sure, right? I mean, could he come back?”

She took a second to make eye contact with each child.

Carol just sat there, the question hanging in the air.

Jason’s glance skidded off hers. Chloe held her gaze with big, wide eyes.

“He’ll not be back. And you should know that I’m filing for divorce tomorrow.

Julia is coming in the morning. She advised that your dad not stay here if he comes to town.

He’ll have to stay elsewhere. Tomorrow, a locksmith is coming to change the locks on the doors, so we’ll have new keys. ”

“What about the security system?” Jason asked, suddenly rotating back to look at her. “And the garage door opener?”

She met his gaze. He really didn’t want him here, did he? “Good questions, Jason.” And ones she’d not thought of. “We may need to make some changes there, too. I’ll check into it.”

“But if we change the locks,” Carol said, “then his keys won’t work and he can’t get in anyway, right? So the security system should be good?” She glanced away.

“Probably…” She’d talk to the locksmith about that. “I am concerned about the garage door, though. If he has his clicker, then he’s inside.”

“Right. But his car is in the garage and the clicker is in it, so he can’t get to the garage door.”

“There is the keypad, although we rarely use it.”

Jason thought about that. “I think he has the app on his phone, too. There probably is a way to change the frequency, or something. I’ll look online.”

Maggie smiled. “That would be great, Jason.” She studied her son, who was actually eating his casserole. “And speaking of phones, Jason, no communication with him. Okay? Has he texted or called you lately?”

“Not since early February.” He looked at Carol. “You heard from him?”

“That’s about the last time he called me, too.”

Maggie wondered if they were both telling her the truth.

“Well, let me know if he calls or texts, okay?” She let go of a breath and then said more quietly.

“Look, you all. I know it’s not a great thing to tell you not to be in contact with your dad, but it would just make things so much simpler if you wouldn’t.

I know him. We all know him. And right now, he’s angry and he’ll try to manipulate us into getting what he wants. ”

“And what does he want?” Jason peered into her eyes.

What he always wants. Having his cake and eating it too. “Basically, Jason, he wants it all. Us, his family in Australia, everything. But I do not agree with that, so here we are.”

After a moment, Carol asked, “He actually said that, Mom? That he wants both families?”

“He did.”

Jason mumbled. “That’s some kind of fucked up.”

Maggie didn’t know if she’d ever heard her boy drop the F-bomb before. “It is. But enough of all that. Let’s talk about something else.”

Chloe picked up a table knife and started buttering a piece of cornbread. “Let’s talk about my selfie project! I get to paint and use glitter!”

Maggie smiled. Indeed you do, darling.

Carol’s phone buzzed. She read the text, then turned her phone over.

Waiting a moment, Maggie said, “Everything okay?”

“It’s just Sophie.”

“Oh? I’ve not seen her around lately. How is she?” Ever since Logan came into the picture, Maggie had noticed her girlfriends were not hanging around as much. “You and Sophie have been friends a long time. She okay?” Are you two okay?

Carol tossed a shrug. “She’s fine. She wants me to come over tonight. I’ll tell her I’m helping you.”

But Maggie noticed she didn’t pick up the phone and text back. “Sweetheart, if you want to go to Sophie’s, that’s fine.”

“No. I’m good, Mom. Besides… Logan.”

“Oh, right.”

Chloe jumped down from her seat. “Done! Let’s paint!”

Looking down at her plate, Maggie realized she’d not taken a bite of her dinner, yet. In all honesty, she wasn’t hungry. “Let’s clear some shelves first.”

“Aren’t you going to eat, Mom?” Carol asked.

She smiled at her. It was nice when someone noticed such things. “I will later. You two join us when you’re ready.” She put out her hand for Chloe.

The door to Max’s office had remained open since January. Maggie stood and stared at the thing, silently marveling that none of the kids had mentioned going into the room. She supposed it was because the notion was ingrained in them, the space was hands off—no kids allowed.

Even with the door wide open.

“Well, none of that now,” she whispered, stepping over the threshold.

The first thing she did after entering the room was tear down the heavy draperies hanging in the large window. Dust flew as the brocade fabric fell to the floor in a heap. Maggie stood back, a rather cathartic feeling rushing over her, and stared out the sun-streaked windows to the front yard.

The room faced the street and east. She’d put lighter curtains up soon—something airy and gauzy perhaps—to let in the sun and provide a bit of privacy. But for now, she wanted the depressing ugliness gone.

The morning sun would warm the space and allow in tons of light.

“Exactly what this room needs,” she muttered. There wasn’t a lot she could do about the equally dark wood bookshelves and Max’s massive mahogany desk at the moment, but she had plans to paint the walls and shelves as soon as she could spare the cash to do so.

“I wonder if there is paint in the garage?”

“Who are you talking to, Mommy?”

“Oh, just myself.” She glanced about the room. “What do you think? Can you work in here tonight?” Honestly, I can’t wait to find my easel and get my stuff set up here, too. In all honesty, she was probably just as excited as Chloe.

“Yes!” Chloe grinned wide, her eyes echoing her pretty smile. “I’ll get the supplies. You buy glitter?”

“I did. It’s in the box. Have Jason bring it in, won’t you?”