Maggie and Mr. Middleton

Chapter Four - An Old-Fashioned

Chapter 4

Song: Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please by Julie London

Maggie awoke the next day and grunted in pain. Her back hurt from the bizarre event of the previous evening. She turned gently, so as not to cause any more pain and looked at the time on her phone. 9:45. Maggie made an audible gasp and moved as quickly as she could, considering the fragile state she was in. She slept in an hour and forty-five minutes! Surely Diana would not be happy about this. And after her interaction with Mr. Middleton last night, she guessed she may as well pack her bags right now. She was supposed to be doing reading lessons with Emily right now. As hurriedly as she could, she threw a black dress over her head, with plaid accents on the sleeves and a plaid belt around the waist. She brushed her hair and applied mascara and a light touch of lip gloss and made her way downstairs.

She entered the kitchen and found Diana tidying up from breakfast, washing dishes.

"I was beginning to think you'd never wake up dearie!" Diana chuckled.

Maggie cheeks blushed. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how late I'd slept. I...I can pack my bags...I know this was wrong of me..." Maggie trailed on aimlessly chattering, feeling shy and embarrassed.

"Oh dearie," Diana cut in, chuckling again. "I was only kidding. I'm glad you slept in. We sure want you to get all the rest you need so you heal from that injury." She dried and juice glass and returned it to its place in the cabinet. "How are you feeling?"

Maggie hesitated, "Better," She said, trying her best to sound optimistic, while in reality, her back was still sharp with pain. "Is Mr. Middleton still here?" she asked hesitantly, unsure what she wanted the answer to be.

"He left just a few minutes ago. He was going to drive a couple towns over to meet with a couple of former business partners. He'll be back later this afternoon."

Maggie nodded. "Where is Emily?"

"She's in her room playing.... don't feel like you have to do any lessons with her today," Diana said, taking on a more serious tone. "I don't want you to wear yourself too thin, dear."

But, Maggie politely ignored Diana's advice, and insisted on looking after Emily as usual and continuing her lessons, although they were not as extensive this time.

***

That afternoon, Maggie watched Emily as she played, watched a movie with her and listened to her as she practiced reading her sentences. They finished dinner, Maggie helped Diana clean the kitchen, and Maggie bathed the child, and read her three bedtime stories that Emily had insisted on. Maggie smiled as she watched Emily's sweet blue eyes flutter closed, as she tried to stay awake to hear the end of the book but was inevitably overcome by sleep. Maggie fluffed her blonde curls and pulled the covers over her.

Maggie left the room and closed the door behind her, about to retire to her own room for the evening when, Diana came up the staircase. "Mr. Middleton's home," she said, nearly out of breath. "He's in the den and he wants to see you at once." Maggie nodded and took a deep breath. Her first interaction with the man last night had not gone well to say the least. She'd been hit by a car, had sharp pains in her back and was glared at by the harsh man. As Maggie walked downstairs, she heard her mother's words in her ear: "Don't judge a book by its cover, Maggie. You never know what's inside". Maggie took the words to heart as if she'd audibly heard her mother say them and walked down the grand staircase, mentally preparing to face Mr. Middleton again.