The Sweetest Gift (The Gift) (11 page)

“We could get married Maggie,” Justin said quietly.

“I’m not sure I want to get married again after my
divorce.”

“Maggie, you should give me a chance. I would never hurt
you the way that Zak did.”

“I know that, Justin. Maybe I just need time to think
about it…”

Maggie’s voice trailed off and Justin could tell that
she didn’t want to discuss it any more. The drive back to Justin’s place was
somewhat subdued. Maggie had a slight headache from the champagne from the
night before and Justin was feeling hurt that Maggie hadn’t been more excited
about his proposal. When they got home, they thanked Justin’s parents for
watching the children. Justin accompanied his parents out to their car in the
driveway.

“So how did it go, dear?” his mother asked.

“I’m not quite sure. We had a great night but I’m not
sure that Maggie wants to get married again.”

“Maybe she’s not the marrying kind,” Justin’s mother
said.

“No, that’s not it. I don’t think she’s gotten over the
divorce. Zak hurt her, Maggie caught him cheating on her with the kids’ nanny.
There were a lot of other women too that she doesn’t even know about.”

“But you would never do anything like that.”

“I think that Maggie knows that, she’s just a little gun
shy.”

“Well, I hope that you can work it out because Jake
needs a mother and father and a stable home life. If you need me to sit again,
just ask.”

“O.k. Mom, thanks.”

His parents drove out the driveway and Justin walked
back to the house with a thoughtful look on his face.

.

Chapter 14

The next day, Maggie and Justin took the
children into Sausalito and took the ferry over to San Francisco. The ferry let
them off at Pier 1 which was near the bottom of Market Street on Embarcadero.
They decided to get tickets for the cable cars before the lines got too long,
and then they took the cable car over to Fisherman’s Wharf. Maggie noticed that
Justin had a bemused look on his face.

“Thanks for taking us around, Justin. I’m sure that you
aren’t thrilled with hanging out with the tourists.”

“No, it’s fine. I can tell the kids love it, especially
Jake.”

Jake was excited to ride on the cable car, especially when
the gripman rang the bell. The sound made Maggie remember the Rice a Roni
commercials that were on television. She started to sing the jingle, “Rice a
Roni, the San Francisco treat.” Justin joined her on the line “It starts when
cable cars play this song,” but then neither of them could remember how the
rest of it went. Gabe and Belle looked at Maggie and Justin like they were
insane, but they just laughed. Next Justin started singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” to Maggie in a low voice. The other passengers smiled, but Gabe and Belle
looked mortified. Justin started singing even louder in order to tease them.
Gabe and Belle looked away and pretended that they didn’t know him. When he was
finished, an older lady complimented Justin on his voice.

“Thank you ma’am,” he replied.

“Do you sing professionally?” she asked.

“Actually, I do,” he said. “You’ve probably never heard
any of my records though.”

Suddenly, the woman looked more closely at Maggie.

“You look just like Maggie Mae Williams, the country
star,” she said.

“A lot of people tell me that,” Maggie answered. “It
must be the hair.”

“That’s probably true.”

The woman wished them a good day as she got out at the
next stop.

Maggie whispered to Justin, “Maybe I should cut my
hair.”

“Mama, how come you lied about who you are?” Belle
asked.

“I didn’t actually lie. I just said that a lot of people
say that.”

“But why didn’t you tell her who you are?” Belle
persisted.

“Because I’m on vacation with my family and it’s nice to
have a little privacy sometimes.”

Justin took Maggie’s hand and patted it. He knew that
Maggie was basically a shy person and didn’t feel comfortable with the constant
attention that came along with fame.

When they got to Fisherman’s Wharf, Justin suggested
taking the children to the Maritime National Historic Park. He thought they
would be interested in going on board some of the historic vessels like the
three-masted schooner and the side-wheel passenger and car ferry. Then they
visited Pier 39 to see the sea lions basking on the floating docks. Justin
explained that they had started showing up after the Loma Prieta earthquake and
were becoming a popular tourist attraction. The children all clamored for
stuffed sea lions, which Justin was happy to provide.

By this point, Maggie and Justin noticed that Jake was
getting tired from all the walking, so they decided a one hour bus tour of the
city would be a good bet. Jake sat in between Maggie and Justin and fell
asleep, but the other children enjoyed the tour and the lecture on the history of
the city.

After the tour, Maggie and Justin decided that the
children had probably had enough and it was time to take the ferry back to Sausalito.

“There’s so much to see here, I feel like we’ve barely
scratched the surface,” Maggie said.

“We could definitely spend at least a week seeing the
sights in the city, but I would like to take the kids out to Muir Woods and Mt. Tam. It’s kind of on the way to my friend Ray’s place in Mill Valley. We could go out
there on Saturday and stay overnight and then go to their barbeque on Sunday. I
would like everyone in my band to meet you and Jake, Maggie.”

“I’d like that too Justin. I’d like to meet your
friends.”

.

Chapter 15

On Saturday morning, they got up early and
packed a bag with a change of clothes for everyone and loaded the van with
snacks and toys for the children. They planned to see some sights on the way to
Ray’s, but first Justin wanted to make a brief stop in Tiburon. He said there
was something he needed to pick up at the guitar store.

They found a parking space near Schoenberg’s and then
Maggie and the kids followed Justin into the store. He went up to the counter
where Randy was ringing up some guitar strings for a customer.

“Hey, Justin. It’s ready, just as we discussed on the
phone.”

Randy went into a back room and came back out with a
small instrument case.

“Do you want to check it out?” Randy asked.

“I think that Maggie should have the honor,” Justin
replied and he smiled at her.

Randy put the case on the counter and Maggie opened it
up nervously. Inside was the Weaver mandolin that she had played on their
previous trip to Schoenberg’s. She noticed that Randy had changed the strings,
attached a braided leather strap to the headstock and installed an endpin jack.
She turned and looked at Justin.

“What’s going on, Justin?”

“I put the mandolin on hold the last time we were here
and then I called them up and told them that I wanted to buy it for you. I
thought you should have a mandolin that you could play while you’re here. Jake
and Gabe could play it too. I thought we could take it over to Ray’s and you
could play with us this weekend.”

“Are you sure you can afford it, Justin?” Maggie said in
a low voice.

Justin laughed.

“I’ve been doing quite well. You don’t have to worry
about that. I thought you might like to have the Weaver. It has a completely
different sound from your Gibson.”

Maggie put her arms around Justin’s neck and kissed him.

“Thank you, my love.”

She was obviously touched by his generous gift.

“Can I play it too, Mama?” Jake wanted to know.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

“What about us?” Gabe wanted to know.

“I’ve been keeping most of my instruments at Ray’s while
I was away,” Justin said. “I have a Les Paul you can play Gabe, and there is a
violin that Belle can use too if she wants. Now let’s hit the road, I thought
that we could stop at Muir Beach, Muir Woods and Mt. Tam before we go to
Ray’s.”

Justin shook Randy’s hand and Randy thanked him for his
business, and then they all went outside and got into the van. They had to
drive a little out of the way to get to Muir Beach, but Justin had a reason for
going there. He knew that Maggie was a big fan of Janis Joplin so when they got
out of the van at the beach he whispered in her ear that this was where Janis’
ashes had been strewn after she had died. Maggie felt tears come to her eyes as
she remembered the intensity with which Janis had performed her songs.

“What’s the matter, Mama?” Belle asked.

“Nothing dear, Justin just told me that this was one of
Janis Joplin’s favorite spots.”

Belle and Jake didn’t really know what she was talking
about, but Zak had been working on exposing Gabe to classic rock and roll, so
he knew some of Janis’ songs.

“She was a great singer, wasn’t she Mom?” Gabe asked.

“Yes, she was, Gabe. It’s too bad that she passed away
so young, but we will always remember her by her music.”

Justin put his arms around Maggie and gave her a hug and
then they all walked back to the car together. Justin then drove them to Muir
Woods which was on the slope of Mt. Tamalpais. Maggie and the kids were amazed
by the enormous coast redwoods. Justin explained that they were among the
tallest trees in the world and that some of them were approximately a thousand
years old. Justin parked the van in the lot and then escorted them along the Main
Trail which crossed a series of wooden bridges under the towering redwoods. The
older children wanted to hike the entire six mile trail, but Jake was getting
tired, so Maggie and Justin decided it was time to go back to the car.

“I think we have time to drive up to Mt. Tam, Maggie. It really has the best view of the area.”

“O.k. Justin,” Maggie said as she reached into the bag
of snacks and handed them out to the kids in the back seat.

“I’m thirsty Mama,” Jake said, so she handed him a juice
box.

Justin drove the van up the long ascent until they got
to a parking lot that was about a quarter-mile from the top of the mountain.
They walked up the steep and rocky path to the summit where they could see a
360-degree panorama of San Francisco spread out below them. Maggie looked at
the rugged terrain and she could see why earthquakes were so common in this
area.

“Were you here for the Loma Prieta earthquake, Justin?”
she asked.

“No, luckily I was on tour with the band. It must have
been scary, the devastation was incredible.”

“I’m not sure I could live here knowing that the big
earthquake could happen at any moment.”

Justin looked at her seriously and said “If you stay
here, you just have to make sure that you’re prepared in case something
happens.”

He looked down at Jake and noticed that he was listening
intently to them.

“It’s o.k., nothing will happen while you’re here,” he
said.

Jake didn’t look completely convinced. He took Justin’s
hand and held it tightly while they walked down the steep path to the car.

Maggie could tell that the kids were tired by the time
they got to the car. They began the drive to Mill Valley, and Jake was asleep
within ten minutes after leaving the parking lot. The other kids gradually fell
asleep too.

Justin reached over and took Maggie’s hand as he drove
down the road towards the town. They were grateful for some peace and quiet,
even if it was only temporary.

Suddenly, Maggie let go of Justin’s hand and pulled out a
piece of paper and a pen from her back pack and started scribbling.

“What are you doing, Maggie?” Justin asked.

“I had an idea for a poem,” and Maggie furrowed her brow
in concentration.

Justin remained quiet until she stopped writing.

“Will you read it to me, Maggie?”

“It’s only a first draft, I have to work on it some more.”

He waited in silence, until she gave in.

“O.k.,” she paused for a minute and then cleared her
throat.

“It’s called ‘Hikers’,” she said.

She waited another minute and then slowly started to
read her poem to Justin.

“We take the longer route
,

 
the gradual rise

 through hushed pines

 
voices low in the heightened quiet
.

 
As the path steepens and narrows
,

 
conversation ceases
.

 My footsteps echo yours

 
ascending through

 looming black boulders
.

 We stop on the ledge,

 
sneakers skidding

 across the crumbling rock
.

 
Above the tree line

 
but just below the peak.

 Consider how the earth is shaped

 by irresistible and inevitable forces
.

 
Hold ourselves in exquisite
     anticipation
.”

Justin thought about it for a minute or two.

“I like it, Maggie. Is it a metaphor for sex?” he asked.

Maggie laughed. “Everything is a metaphor for sex with
you, Justin.”

Justin laughed too, waking the kids in the back seat.

“I didn’t know that you wrote poetry.”

“It’s not that different than writing song lyrics,” she
said. “I did study poetry in college, you know.”

“I knew that, but I thought you just read poetry, and I
didn’t realize that you were still writing poems.”

“I guess you don’t know everything there is to know
about me,” Maggie said and smiled.

“Are we there yet?” Gabe complained.

The kids were obviously starting to get restless. They
had been in the car for several hours.

“We’re almost there, it’s only another ten minutes or
so,” Justin answered.