Saving Maggy Grace

Six

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since I had heard Maggy's voice. She withheld it from me.

She walked around the house like a ghost: you knew she was there but you never saw her, only the evidence of her existence.

"You told her? What do you mean you told her?" Rose had to close her eyes and take a deep breath to keep from raising her voice at me, "David, we agreed that we shouldn't be the ones to give her that news."

She sat across from me at the small cafe in town. Her face was laced with concern and frustration. Her eyes, when they met mine, flashed with worry.

"I know, Rose. You didn't see the way she was looking at me."

She sighed. Her frustration was fading, and now she looked at me with pity.

"Two weeks?" she asked.

"Two weeks." I repeated.

"Do you want me to come over and try to talk to her?"

"I'm not sure what good it will do."

"I think it'd be worth a try." She spoke softy and slowly, "Invite me over."

She didn't have to ask twice.

To my surprise, Maggy let Rose into her room. I stayed outside the closed door to try and interpret their hushed tones, but had to step away when I heard Maggy's faint sobs. This was my fault. I was the one who was causing those tears. I could barely live with myself.

I was sitting on the front porch steps when Rose finally came out. She gently opened the door and quietly placed herself next to me. She looked ahead, as I was, and spoke quietly.

"She'll be okay," she assured me.

I didn't respond. I watched as a car slowly rolled down the street. I could hear the music coming through the open windows. Any other night, Maggy and I would have taken advantage of the slow setting July sun. We would have caught fireflies in the backyard while she told me stories about fairies and gnomes. We would have walked further up into the woods until we reached the clearing, and we would have star gazed. She would point out constellations, and I would try to make up my own. She was always better at that, though. I thought about the rainy night that we made smores over the stove, and pitched a tent in the dining room with an old sheet. I thought about the day that I had taken her to the lake and taught her how to skip stones. She was better at that than me, too. She was better than me at a lot of things. She was better at looking at the bright side of things. She was better at making friends. She was better at speaking her mind. She was better at being honest with those she loved...

The touch of Rose's hand on mine stirred me from my thoughts. The touch was soft, gentle, barely there.

"She'll be okay," she said again, looking at me this time before taking her hand away. My hand suddenly felt cold, missing her warmth.

"Thank you," I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper.

She stood, "It's my job," she said. I wasn't sure if she said it to remind me or herself.

I stood, "I know. Thank you."

I looked down at her.

"Goodnight," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

She looked up at me. Even in the dark of the evening I could see the piercing blue of her eyes. I wondered what she was thinking.

"Goodnight," she replied, a hinge of hesitation in her voice. She looked away from me and walked to her car.

I watched her get into her car and pull away. I watched her car as it rolled lazily down the street. Once I couldn't see her tail lights anymore, I went inside the house. I went to the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge. As I closed the refrigerator door, I noticed Maggy. She was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She looked like a phantom in her white nightgown. Her blonde, stringy hair fell over her bare shoulders. She looked at me through red and puffy eyes.

I had done this to her.

"I forgive you," she quietly stated.

The words hit me in my chest and almost knocked me over. I wanted to run to her, to hold her, to kiss her head and tell her I was sorry. Instead, I stood there, frozen, unable to utter a single word.

"I promised you that I would love you even if you made a million mistakes."

Tears stung my eyes.

"I don't break promises."

A took a step towards her.

"You made a big mistake, David. A really big one."

"Maggy, I know. I know, Maggy." I choked.

"I decided that your mistake was worth a million minus one."

She was crying now. The tears silently fell from her eyes on to her pale cheeks.

I nodded, "I deserve that."

"But since it's a million minus one, I still love you."

I couldn't stand still any longer. I rushed forward and fell on my knees in front of her. She sobbed as I wrapped my arms around her small frame and brought her closer to me. She clung to the collar of my shirt and cried into my shoulder as I held her tight, crying my own tears now.

"I'm so sorry, Maggy," I kissed her head, "I'm so sorry."

I kissed her head a second and a third time.

"I thought that I was protecting you," I cried, "I'm so sorry."

After a few more moments of holding each other, her crying began to quiet. She slowly peeled herself from me, and I loosened my hold on her.

She looked at me. She looked over every inch of my face with her blue-green eyes. Her small, thin fingers reached to my face. She wiped my tears with her thumbs. Her own small face was still wet with tears. Her eyes and nose were red from her sobs. Still, she looked at me with grace.

"I still love you, David," she whispered reassuringly.

"I love you, Maggy Grace." I whispered back.

Her smile, though small, lit up the whole room. It was as if the ceiling had been lifted, and the stars shone just for her.

I would never hurt her again. I would do anything to protect her. I would bring down the moon from the heavens if she asked me to.

My Maggy Grace.