Page 53 of Songs of Summer

“Too spicy?” Beatrix asked at the sight of Maggie’s watery eyes.

“It’s perfect,” Maggie replied.

She thought about this crew she had landed among. Individually they were great, but there was no denying that together they were complicated. Even though her birth mother had just fed her paella off a wooden spoon, she still was not sure what to do.

“Great. Let’s put the salad and the rolls on the table. Then we will muscle up and bring out the main course. You look strong enough!”

Maggie flexed her biceps, and they laughed.

Soon the hungry guests appeared. Matt took a minute to check in on Maggie, covering her eyes from behind and saying, “Guess who?” in a funny voice—maybe Elvis. She put her hands over his, and it made her heart jump. The feeling surprised her, but she quickly pushed away any concern. She was crazy vulnerable right now and this stranger had quickly become her person. Of course, she was feeling all kinds of emotions.

“Let’s eat outside,” he said when she spun around to face him. “You can meet some of my old friends.”

•••

Matt’s friends weregreat, laughing and reminiscing and teasing one another in between bites of the scrumptious paella. Her mom’s scrumptious paella. Maggie beganfantasizing about visiting Bea in Gambier, being introduced at some professors’ mingle. “This is my daughter, Maggie.”

She smiled at the thought for a second or two before her real mother’s image ran through her head. Maggie pictured her face hurt by the betrayal. But was it really a betrayal? She debated the possibilities in her head. There was no doubt that her mother would want her to have a family of her own. Though marrying into Jason’s would have the same result.

“You OK?” Matt whispered in her ear.

She nodded, shrugged it off, and smiled at the group.

She felt Dylan’s eyes on her, checking her out on more than one occasion. She could picture Matt and Dylan as a couple, were it not for the circumstances. Though both New Yorkers, they each had a California vibe to them—Dylan with her cropped blond hair and lithe build, and Matt with his laid-back style and Ryan Gosling crew cut. Matt looked like a better match for her than Sunburn Steve back at the guest house.

“What do you do?” a guy in a Wesleyan T-shirt to Matt’s left asked.

“I own a record store.”

All eyes turned to her in complete amazement. The reason soon came tumbling out of their mouths.

“Oh my God, Matt, you hit the lottery!”

“Matty always dreamed of owning a record store.”

“Are you just using me, Matthew Tucker, to fulfill some childhood fantasy?” she teased, messing with Matt’s hair.

“You got me.” He smiled back, messing with hers. The conversation turned away from them, and Maggie half whispered to Matt, “It’s so cute how some people call you Matty.”

“Well, some people call me Maurice,” he joked.

“That’s funny, becausesome call me the gangster of love,” Maggie countered, literally without missing a beat.

They cracked up over their consecutive references to “The Joker” and Steve Miller’s lyrics, laughing too hard and too privately. When they were through, five sets of eyes were staring at them.

Dylan had no problem voicing her objection.

“Hello, we’re here too! You guys see each other all the time.”

Maggie wasn’t sure whether Dylan was a little jealous or just wanted a share in the fun. She and Matt both gazed downward, their cheeks three shades of red, before peeking up at each other and laughing again.

The five pairs of eyes looked back at them. It was clear they agreed on something: Matt and Maggie made a very cute couple.

Track 25

After Midnight

Beatrix

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