Read Grimm's Last Fairy Tale Online
Authors: Becky Lyn Rickman
Grimm's Last Fairy Tale (15 page)
“It’s very late.”
“Did I miss dinner?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so, although you might go to the convenient store on the corner and get yourself some beef jerky to chew on. Maybe a grape soda to chase it down?”
“You’re in a fine mood, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just a little bored. Are you about ready to turn in for the night?”
“Yes, I think I need to. I’m wiped out.”
Maggie pulled down the comforter and crawled into it without even brushing her teeth. This night, she slept quite soundly and didn’t wake up until after 9:00.
Jacob put on his best grin when he saw her eyes open.
“I’m sorry I was so rude yesterday. Of course I’m delighted to see you writing. You take all the time you need.”
“No, I’m ready to shower and get on the road. I think I got most of it out of my system for now. I am anxious to see Rachel and her family.”
They packed and loaded the car, leaving the memory of the assault lying in the parking lot and her laptop on the dresser.
in which gloomy weather darkens a mood which is made even darker
by an awful discovery
The day was gloomy and drizzly and it made for a much less enjoyable journey. They had gone about four hours when Maggie got a distressed look no her face.
“Something’s wrong.”
“I know. This weather is awful.”
“No, that’s not it. Something’s missing.”
She spied her purse on the floor of the back seat.
“I don’t know what it is, but something’s definitely wrong.”
She pulled over and opened the trunk.
She saw her suitcase, her overnight back, everything but her laptop. She began to wail so loud that Jacob panicked.
“Maggie, what is it?”
“My laptop . . . my writing . . . it’s gone. All that work and all the family pictures and all the genealogy. Everything. Gone.”
“I’m sure it’s at the motel. We’ll call them.”
“If we call them, someone will be alerted that it is there and they’ll steal it.”
“That’s an awfully grim outlook.”
She cried harder.
“Look there’s nothing to do but go back and pray that it’s there. I wish I could drive for you. I wish I could blink us back there. I wish, at this moment, that I had the means to make this all better.”
“Jacob, go back. Go to the room and watch over it and I’ll meet you there.”
“I could do that, but they’ve cleaned it by now. I’m sure it’s at the front desk waiting for you.”
“Jacob, please! Go back and find it and then stay there and wait for me. I’ll hurry back.”
“Don’t hurry. Take your time. I’ll be watching over it.”
“Jacob, before you leave, do you think you could let me know that it is there and that it is safe and then go back and watch it. It would only take a second for you!”
“Of course.”
He disappeared and it seemed forever until Maggie saw him again. He simply gave her a “thumbs up” and then he was gone again. Maggie could hardly wait to have it back in her possession again. There were things on there so personal that she didn’t want the world to know. She tried to distract herself with the radio until her phone rang. It must be the motel letting her know they found her computer.
“Hello,” she anxiously responded.
“Maggie, it’s David. I just had a feeling that something was terribly wrong with you. I don’t know why I get these premonitions. It’s never been that way before with anyone else. I’m really sorry I continually bug you.”
“No, David, it’s alright that you care. It’s very nice, really. I’m just driving right now and can’t really talk.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I’ve got your number. Maybe I’ll give you a ring after my visits are finished and before I begin treatments.”
“As you wish, Maggie.”
“Take care, David.”
Maggie was so exhausted from all the traveling, the accident, the assault, the visit with Rhiannon’s family and now this. As she considered all that had happened to her on top of the news that she had cancer, she felt a thoroughly cathartic cry bubbling up from deep inside her. She pulled over and threw herself onto the passenger seat and brought it to fruition.
She wasn’t sure how long she sat there sobbing, but she was snapped back into the here and now by the flashing blue lights in her rear view mirrors.
“Oh, goodness, now what?”
She heard knuckles rapping on her window and rolled it down.
“Ma’am, are you alright?”
Through puffy red eyes and a runny nose, she managed to lie, “Oh, officer, I’m just tired and not feeling very well. I’ve had a rough couple of days, let me tell you. I just needed to pull over and have a good cry and get it out of my system. I’m fine now.”
“You don’t look so well; are you sure?”
“No, I’m absolutely . . . ”
That was the last thing she remembered until she awoke in yet another hospital and when she opened her eyes, there stood David.
in which Maggie confuses the real man not really in her life while
trying to explain the one that
was in her life but wasn't real
“What happened? Where am I now? I’m supposed to be at the motel getting my laptop!”
“What are you talking about, Maggie?”
“My laptop. I left it at the motel last night by accident. I have to get back there and pick it up.”
“You’re not going anywhere just now. I know it’s important to you, but . . .”
“You don’t know anything. I have to get that. There’s lots of my writing on it. Photos of family. Too much to ever replace and if I don’t get back there, it will walk away. Jacob is there watching it for me until I get back. He won’t understand if I don’t show up.”
“Does Jacob work there? I’m sure he’ll keep it safe.”
“No, he doesn’t work there. He’s sort of my traveling companion. He went back to watch over it until I could get there.”
“I’m a little confused. If he’s your traveling companion, how did he get there before you?”
“It’s very complicated. I just need to get there. What happened anyway? Was I in another accident?”
“Not this time. You just collapsed. They called me because I was the last number in your cell.”
“How did you get here so fast?”
“I didn’t. They brought you in yesterday afternoon.”
“Oh, no! I’ve got to get out of here!”
“Look, Maggie, do you want me to go and retrieve your laptop? I don’t know that they’d give it to me, but I would try for you.”
“I don’t know what to do. Jacob has got to be worried sick. I told him to stay there. He doesn’t have any idea what’s going on. How could he? I just found out myself.”
“Call him.”
“He doesn’t exactly have a phone.”
“So tell me how he got there before you?”
Maggie froze up and didn’t utter a sound.
“Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, I get it. You told me you were involved with someone, but you also told me you were traveling alone. Now you have this guy that’s able to, what, like hovercraft himself somewhere? I’ve offered to help. You can take me up on it or not. The offer still stands. I’m not trying to be rude. I just think you’re not being as straight with me as I once thought.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what? Yes, you’re not being straight with me? Yes, you want me to go back and get your laptop? Yes, he has a hovercraft?”
The last question was intended to make Maggie smile and it did, but only briefly. The worry came back and now it was compounded by the need to possibly explain things to Dave that she hadn’t told anyone.
“Look, if you’ll go and see about my computer, I’ll tell you what’s going on, but you will think me absolutely off my nut. I promise you that.”
“I don’t think that’s really possible, but give me the information and I’m on my way.”
Maggie gave him what he needed to find the motel and he was out in a flash. All she could think about for the next few hours was how Jacob would react to David being the one to pick up the laptop. What he must think about her not showing up. He would be out of his mind with worry.
Three hours later she heard his voice.
“Oh, Jacob, I’m so sorry.”
He had come as soon as David picked up the computer and of course, was able to get to her much quicker.
“What is going on?”
“I collapsed again, like the time you got me to the hospital from the bookstore parking lot. I guess it’s all just been too much for me lately.”
“I’m so sorry. What about David? What was he doing here? Did you call him?”
“No, of course not. He had just called me right before it happened.”
“Did he say something that caused this?”
“No, no, no! It’s not like that. He was just checking up on me out of some premonitory concern. He was the last number in my cell phone when the police officer found me and got me here. They called him. He was kind enough to offer to go pick up the computer for me.”
“Margaret, you have to know how worried I was! I didn’t know whether to come and check on you and risk losing sight of the laptop for even a second. I had to stay with it. I’m so sorry. I should have been the one here with you.”
“No, Jacob, you were right where I needed you. Believe me, everything happened as it should have.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It just means that things have changed.”
“Does this have anything to do with David?”
“It has everything to do with David.”
This was not the answer Jacob was anticipating, though it might have been floating around in the back of his mind. He was really fishing for a little reassurance when he asked the question and now stood utterly and completely stunned by the answer he got.
“Please explain.”
“I’ve begun to think that there is a reason that David and I literally ran into one another. It’s kind of like we were meant to. Like we were two souls wandering around waiting to finally meet up. How else do you explain it?”
“The world is full of opportunists, my dear.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that things aren’t always as they seem. Sometimes people see a prospect and seize the moment to take advantage. You and David only really bumped into each other once. After that it was he who managed to wiggle through the cracks into your life. He called again and again. I just don’t have a good feeling about this at all. Does he know about me?”
“Not exactly. I think he finds me a bit eccentric. I told him I’d explain everything once he retrieved my laptop. He’s really a very kind and generous man. I mean, he went all the way to get my laptop for me. Doesn’t that tell you something about his character?”
“It tells me that he wants for you to believe he is a kind and generous man and that he is willing to do just enough to make you believe it.”
“Jacob, this is a side of you I haven’t seen before. You are being very harsh and judgmental. I have not known you to be so cynical.”
“It’s just a gut instinct. I can’t back it up. I’m just warning you to be cautious.”
“Really, Jacob, how did I manage my life before you came along?”
“Margaret, you have seen a lot of ugliness in your days. I know that. But I am here to tell you that I have seen much more of it. You only have to review our stories to know that. I think I’m going to take off for a while. Just call if you need me.”
Maggie knew she had crossed the line with him, but she felt justified in her indignation. He was being a little presumptuous and uncharitable with regards to his assessment of David. She let him go without a word and closed her eyes and dozed off until she heard the voice of the other man who was suddenly in her life.
in which David surprises Maggie which perturbs Jacob immensely, Maggie swears off all men once more
and a bucket list is made
“How are you doing, Maggie? I have a little surprise for you.”
Maggie sat up in her hospital bed a little too quickly and the resulting wooziness made her plop right back down. He touched her forehead gently, running his the back of his fingers down her cheek and ending with a sweet tug on her chin.
“Take it easy, there, partner.”
He laid the gift on her lap and beamed with obvious pride in his conquest on her behalf.
“Oh, David, thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me.”