She felt herself melt
against him in a very sweet, soft kiss.
They drove back to town about thirty minutes
later, and the whole time, Maggie wondered at how quickly the world had become
such a beautiful, incredible place. Eric took them to his place so she could
get her car. Their good-bye kiss went on for a while, and ended with the
promise of more when they had time later.
Maggie got home and flopped into her brocade
chair. Then she started to giggle. She covered her mouth with her hand, but she
just couldn't stop giggling with delight. Finally she got up and went to the
kitchen to grab a drink of seltzer water from the fridge. She was filled with
nerves, anticipation, excitement, awe, and a lovely sense of confusion at the
thought of that night with Eric. What might happen after dinner?
Deciding to quiet her mind, she pulled out a box
filled with items she was using to make Christmas presents. Ever since high
school she'd loved doing arts and crafts projects. One of her favorites was to
decoupage. This year she planned to give several wooden boxes that she'd
decorated with decoupage to family members. Each was padded inside with velvet.
The outsides were covered in a variety of photographs. For Anna, she had a box
with photos of her son at various ages. She'd done the same for Julia with her
daughter. It had been tricky to sneak the photos out of photo albums, and in
one case off a hard drive, to make copies, but she'd managed it. Sam's decorated
box had photos of Anna, and Cody's had his wife, Julia, on it.
She loved the detail work of making crafts like
this. It gave her busy mind a place to settle and focus. This time as she
worked, she wondered just what to do for Eric for Christmas. He was yet another
person in her life who could afford to buy himself whatever he wanted. Maybe
she could do something like the boxes for him. Something to do with music would
be good.
When it was time to get dressed for her dinner
date, she couldn't decide how fancy to dress. On the one hand, she wanted to
have an effect on Eric, but on the other, it was just Sam and Anna. Eventually,
she broke down and called Anna to ask if it was okay that she dress up a bit.
Anna agreed to the idea, and Maggie took her new dress off the hanger. It was
made of Georgette material, in black with dabs of sparkly color in lime green,
royal blue and silver. Long-sleeved, it had a V-neck and fitted bodice that
flowed into a floaty short skirt. Silver earrings and a silver bangle bracelet
worked well and black high heels gave her three inches in height and made her
legs look longer. She'd smoothed her curls out into waves and done her eye
makeup so that it enhanced their color. Smiling in the mirror with pink lips,
she knew she looked good.
The knock on her front door had her pulse jumping.
She grabbed a heavy wool cape and gloves on her way to open it.
Eric stepped in and said, "You look amazing.
Do we have to go out?"
She laughed, and held out her cape for him to hold
as she put it on. "Yes, we do. If I can get down the stairs in these
heels, we'd better get going."
They held hands the whole way out to the beach
house where Sam and Anna lived. Maggie kept glancing at Eric's profile,
noticing his smile. He'd pulled his hair back again, and was wearing a black
sweater that felt like cashmere to the touch. Black pleated wool pants and a
black jacket completed the look. The black outfit made his eyes stand out even
more than usual.
When they arrived, he turned off the car and faced
her. "Ready?"
She nodded. He squeezed her hand and they got out.
She knocked on the front door and Sam opened it.
"Come in. This must be Eric."
Eric shook his hand and said, "Eric Stanton.
Thanks for having us over for dinner."
Sam laughed. "That should be me thanking you
for coming. Let me take your coats, and then you can head on into the living
room."
Maggie led the way and they ended up standing by
the large window that looked out onto the ocean.
"It's incredible.
against him in a very sweet, soft kiss.
They drove back to town about thirty minutes
later, and the whole time, Maggie wondered at how quickly the world had become
such a beautiful, incredible place. Eric took them to his place so she could
get her car. Their good-bye kiss went on for a while, and ended with the
promise of more when they had time later.
Maggie got home and flopped into her brocade
chair. Then she started to giggle. She covered her mouth with her hand, but she
just couldn't stop giggling with delight. Finally she got up and went to the
kitchen to grab a drink of seltzer water from the fridge. She was filled with
nerves, anticipation, excitement, awe, and a lovely sense of confusion at the
thought of that night with Eric. What might happen after dinner?
Deciding to quiet her mind, she pulled out a box
filled with items she was using to make Christmas presents. Ever since high
school she'd loved doing arts and crafts projects. One of her favorites was to
decoupage. This year she planned to give several wooden boxes that she'd
decorated with decoupage to family members. Each was padded inside with velvet.
The outsides were covered in a variety of photographs. For Anna, she had a box
with photos of her son at various ages. She'd done the same for Julia with her
daughter. It had been tricky to sneak the photos out of photo albums, and in
one case off a hard drive, to make copies, but she'd managed it. Sam's decorated
box had photos of Anna, and Cody's had his wife, Julia, on it.
She loved the detail work of making crafts like
this. It gave her busy mind a place to settle and focus. This time as she
worked, she wondered just what to do for Eric for Christmas. He was yet another
person in her life who could afford to buy himself whatever he wanted. Maybe
she could do something like the boxes for him. Something to do with music would
be good.
When it was time to get dressed for her dinner
date, she couldn't decide how fancy to dress. On the one hand, she wanted to
have an effect on Eric, but on the other, it was just Sam and Anna. Eventually,
she broke down and called Anna to ask if it was okay that she dress up a bit.
Anna agreed to the idea, and Maggie took her new dress off the hanger. It was
made of Georgette material, in black with dabs of sparkly color in lime green,
royal blue and silver. Long-sleeved, it had a V-neck and fitted bodice that
flowed into a floaty short skirt. Silver earrings and a silver bangle bracelet
worked well and black high heels gave her three inches in height and made her
legs look longer. She'd smoothed her curls out into waves and done her eye
makeup so that it enhanced their color. Smiling in the mirror with pink lips,
she knew she looked good.
The knock on her front door had her pulse jumping.
She grabbed a heavy wool cape and gloves on her way to open it.
Eric stepped in and said, "You look amazing.
Do we have to go out?"
She laughed, and held out her cape for him to hold
as she put it on. "Yes, we do. If I can get down the stairs in these
heels, we'd better get going."
They held hands the whole way out to the beach
house where Sam and Anna lived. Maggie kept glancing at Eric's profile,
noticing his smile. He'd pulled his hair back again, and was wearing a black
sweater that felt like cashmere to the touch. Black pleated wool pants and a
black jacket completed the look. The black outfit made his eyes stand out even
more than usual.
When they arrived, he turned off the car and faced
her. "Ready?"
She nodded. He squeezed her hand and they got out.
She knocked on the front door and Sam opened it.
"Come in. This must be Eric."
Eric shook his hand and said, "Eric Stanton.
Thanks for having us over for dinner."
Sam laughed. "That should be me thanking you
for coming. Let me take your coats, and then you can head on into the living
room."
Maggie led the way and they ended up standing by
the large window that looked out onto the ocean.
"It's incredible.
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