When she was with Aaron, in his arms, the answers seemed obvious. But when she was alone, when she could think clearly, without the distraction of his seductive eyes and charming smile, she wondered if that would be enough. Right now she didn’t want to spend a moment apart from him, but how long did that kind of love last?
Maggie suddenly realized that she’d come to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. She glanced around to see if anyone had noticed and her eyes focused on the storefront window beside her. There was an ad tacked to the window with a picture of a Jeep. The car was for sale and the flyer said to inquire within. Maggie found herself walking into the store before she’d realized that she’d even made a decision. If there was one thing she had learned from this summer it was that sometimes when life presents a path you should take it.
“Good afternoon,” the cheerful clerk greeted Maggie as she entered the small antique store.
“Hello. I was wondering about the ad on the window for the Jeep. Do you know who’s selling it?” Maggie asked as she approached the counter.
“Well, that would be me,” the woman smiled. “My name is Brandy Raulston, I own this little shop,” she announced proudly.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Raulston. My name is Maggie Overton,” she introduced as she extended her hand.
“Please call me Brandy, my mother-in-law was Mrs. Raulston,” the woman laughed as she shook Maggie’s hand. “So you’re interested in the Jeep?” she asked.
“Yes. Is it yours?” Maggie asked.
“My granddaughter’s actually. Just bought it for her as a graduation gift a few months ago and she went and got herself accepted into the University of Hawaii if you could believe that. You don’t even want to know what it costs to ship a Jeep from Georgia to Hawaii!” the woman exclaimed. “Anyway, she’s gone off and left me to sell it.”
“How much do you want for it?” Maggie asked.
“I bought it used for $5,000 just a few months ago and I was hoping to get that back out of it.”
“Oh.” Maggie only had half that. She’d known it was a long shot, but it had been worth a try. “That’s a little more than I have, but thank you for your time.” Maggie said politely as she turned to leave.
“Maybe we could work something out,” the storeowner said before Maggie could leave. “When my granddaughter left she also left me a bit shorthanded here at the shop. You wouldn’t be looking for work would you?”
Sometimes when a path presents itself, you take it.
~∞~
Maggie couldn’t stop smiling as she drove her new Jeep to the grocery store to show Andi, who immediately took her lunch break so that Maggie could take her for a ride. After a short cruise around Sweetwater, the girls stopped for lunch at what was quickly becoming Maggie’s favorite café.
After Maggie reluctantly returned Andi to work she continued her tour of Sweetwater, slowly driving up and down every street, exploring the residential neighborhoods and the outlying areas. She imagined herself living here with Aaron in one of the quaint little homes, raising a family, working at Ms. Brandy’s antique store. It was a happy life that she imagined and yet a far cry from the one she’d once dreamed of.
Maggie remembered with distinct clarity the night she’d decided she was going to be a doctor. It was her first sleepover at a friend’s house. She was ten years old and her mother had allowed the sleepover only because it was with the daughter of a wealthy businessman who her father was in negotiations with.
The motives didn’t matter to Maggie, for her it was her first taste of freedom from the rigid schedule her mother held her to. It had been a night of many firsts. Her first taste of junk food, the first time she’d ever broken her mother’s very strict 9:00 bedtime rule, and the first time she’d ever watched television for hours on end. Maggie recalled being amazed with the fact that Jennifer had a television in her room. The only televisions in Maggie’s house were in her father’s den, where she was never allowed, and in the housekeeper Mrs. Burton’s room.
Maggie had many fond memories of watching The Flintstones in Mrs. Burton’s room in the early morning hours before school, but she’d never before watched sit-coms and late night dramas. She was enthralled with everything that cable television had to offer.
The show that captured Maggie’s attention the most was the hour long series about emergency room doctors. Maggie was glued to the screen, watching with rapt attention as the doctors on the show handled one catastrophic event after another. It was an introduction to a whole new world. There were women on the show who were doctors, they were unconcerned with the state of their hair, or whether or not they dirtied their nails or ruined their make-up. They were self-sufficient, strong characters who did not define themselves by who they were married to.