CRASH!
“DANGIT!” She exclaimed as the storm door fell off its hinges.
Kevin reached a hand out, tossing the books to the ground and quickly grabbing the door before it completely fell on her.
“Are you all right?” He asked, getting the door balanced enough to prop it against the house.
“Yes,” she said, glaring at the door. “I knew that was going to happen sooner or later.”
Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and was greeted with ferocious sounding barks.
“Shut up,” she called into the house. “It’s just me. I swear, if anyone were to actually try and break in, they’d just lick their hands and say ‘Follow me. She doesn’t have much, but I’ll show you where the good stuff is!’”
Kevin laughed at her, reaching down to pet the big black dog.
“How’s it going, Thunder? Dusti keeping you in line?”
“Oh, please. A stuffed bird could keep Thunder in line. He’s such a pussycat!” Maggie called from the living room. “Come on in!”
Kevin followed the sound of her voice. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the red walls.
“Cool, huh? That was one of the reasons I wanted this house. I used to love driving by at night and seeing this room lit up. I thought it was the most beautiful shade of red ever.”
“Well, it certainly is red. Not the color I would have picked, but if you like it,” he said, looking around.
“I do. I guess it’s the wild side in me. That’s funny,” she told him, laughing at the thought. “Go ahead and have a seat. Don’t let them wallow all over you. They’ll never leave you alone if you start.”
Kevin sat on the couch and was immediately joined by the brown dog.
“What kind is she?” He asked, rubbing her ears.
“Dusti? I think she has some shepherd in her. Look at her mask and markings on her back. Honestly, I believe the correct breed of both is Heinz.”
“Heinz?”
“Yeah, Heinz 57. Got a little bit of everything in them! Dust-dog, come on with me. Let’s go outside!”
The dog jumped down and followed Maggie, the fuzzy tail thumping loudly on the wall. Kevin waited, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.
“All right,” Maggie said, startling him by her reappearance. She had changed out of her jeans and blouse and was now wearing sweats and another oversized shirt. “You’re hungry, right? Come on with me.”
He stood up, walking behind her as she led the way to the kitchen. He sat at the table as she opened the old-fashioned refrigerator and began rambling through it.
“Ah-ha!” She exclaimed, holding up the container. “I knew it was in here somewhere. I’ll put it on to warm, then we can have some.”
She poured the chili into a pot and put it on the stove to heat. Noticing the light was blinking on her answering machine, she walked over to play it.
“Maggie? Maggie? Magnolia, it’s your mother. Where are you? Oh, that’s right. It’s Friday, so you’re at the game. Sorry. Daddy and I came by earlier to leave you some dressing. The stove’s gone out, again. Your daddy said he’d be by sometime soon to fix it. Guess you’ll have to have sandwiches till then. You should have listened to me when I told you to get that microwave. You…BEEP!”
Maggie gave a thankful glance at the answering machine for cutting her mother off. She went back to the stove and put her hand over the eye. Nothing.
“Shoot!” She muttered.
“You never swear, do you?” Kevin asked, amazed.
“It’s a gift. Actually, I’ve learned not to say them. In the classroom, you’ve got to be careful. I find if you don’t even think them, you won’t be tempted to say them. Would you like a sandwich, then?”
“No, I’ll be all right. Magnolia?”
She blushed and smiled sheepishly at him.
“I thought you were a Margaret.”
“Nope. Magnolia Maysie. Please to make my acquaintance, aren’t you?”
“Where did that name come from?” Kevin inquired, intrigued.
“My mother. I think she was given too many drugs when I was born. She said she liked the way it rolled off her tongue. That was put on my birth certificate before my father even had a chance to see me! He got back at her, though. He calls me ‘Maggie May.’”
“Like the song by Rod Stewart?”
“Yes. She can’t stand him, so of course Daddy had to call me that. It’s great to be a pawn in parents’ torture of each other.”
Kevin was trying not to laugh out loud. Maggie noticed and kicked playfully at him.
“Hey, it’s not that funny,” she giggled.
“I know it’s not,” he said, studying her. “Yep, your dad’s right. You look like a Maggie May as opposed to a Magnolia Maysie.”
“Hey, only my daddy’s allowed to call me Maggie May. Magnolia is only when I’m in trouble. But, I’m grown now, so I can’t be in trouble anymore, can I?”
Kevin thought about his own life.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” he told her. “Is your dad going to fix your door?”
“I doubt it. He’ll probably pop over in the morning to adjust whatever it is on the stove and I won’t see him again for the rest of the day. Saturday, you know.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot. I’ve gotta be going, Maggie. Thanks for…,” he paused.
“Nothing. I’m sorry about that. You had to drive all the way here. Where are you staying, anyway?”
“At the motel.”
“Here in town? McCaig’s?”
“Is there more than one?” He asked hopefully.
“No,” she told him, showing him to the door. “Gee, how awful to have to stay there. I used to think it would be so great to live in a motel.”
“I did too,” he admitted. “But after a while, it gets really old. No sense of stability.”
She tilted her head at him. Her face had a puzzled look on it.
“I travel a lot in my job,” he explained, trying to play it off. “Well, have a good night. See you soon, huh?”
“Yeah. That would be nice.”
Maggie again waved at her neighbor across the street. The woman quickly closed her curtain and turned off the porch light. Maggie laughed to herself as she shut the house up for the night.