Page 29 of The Weekend Crashers
“No problem. Really. I understand. I mean, I’m not married. But if I were, I’m sure I’d get my signals crossed too.”
“How long have you been divorced, if you don’t mind my asking?” Belinda says.
“Oh—I’ve never been married. It’s just Piper and me.”
“Well, aren’t we flip sides of the same coin: I don’t have children. It’s just Max and me. Anyway, we typically have anagreement: On my retreat weekends, none of the other rooms are booked.”
Maggie feels terrible she made an issue out of it in the first place, and hopes she didn’t cause problems between Belinda and her husband.
“Really, it’s fine. In fact, I was talking to one of them earlier. Seems like a decent guy.”
Belinda looks happy. “Now, that’s nice to hear! I always hope the retreat members end up becoming friendly, but I didn’t dare hope for some cross-pollination with the bachelor party. Who’d you end up chatting with?”
Maggie tells her Aidan’s name, and Belinda nods. “I’ve known the Danby boys—Aidan and his son, Cole—for quite some time.”
“You have?”
“Well, yes,” Belinda says, as if it’s obvious. “He’s local. This is a small town. I know Aidan’s father-in-law, the cousins. Never met his late wife, though. That was before we moved here.”
Late wife.
“Oh. Well, we have a little friendly competition going,” Maggie says. “A bet.” She explains the challenge Aidan posed to her.
“I’d pay money to see one of those men with a set of knitting needles,” Belinda says with a wink. “Feel free to bring him to any workshop I’m teaching.”
Maggie smiles. Maybe it’s not the worst idea after all.
And maybe it will shake things up enough to keep Piper’s attention. She’s willing to chalk today off as a bumpy start. But tomorrow... let the bonding begin.
She can’t wait to tell Piper.
Chapter Sixteen
Aidan and his father-in-law, two out of the three “old” guys at the bachelor party, break off from the rest of the group and duck out, just the two of them. It’s been years since he’s had one-on-one time with Barclay, and the conversation while they walk a few blocks to a bar is superficial: the Eagles’ Super Bowl odds. Ballooning local real estate prices. The new duckpin bowling spot in Doylestown.
The bar is packed, a place that hasn’t changed since Aidan first snuck in with a fake ID when he was a senior at Central Bucks West. He used to go because it was the one bar he could get into. Now he chooses it because it’s the last of a dying breed: no flat-screen TVs, no craft beer and a bartender over the age of thirty.
Inside, the scent of decades of cigarette smoke and spilled drinks have seeped into the pores of the place. It has an old-school jukebox that still works, and tonight it’s playing Bruce Springsteen’sBorn to Run. Memories of his late wife set off a fierce wave of nostalgia.
The long bar is lined with wobbly leather stools. Shoulder to shoulder with Barclay, Aidan orders a Sam Adams on tap. He probably had enough to drink at the inn but can’t bringhimself to order a water. Actually, he might have had too much to drink. What had gotten into him, inviting Maggie Hodges to join them tomorrow? It had seemed like a fun idea in the moment, but that’s where it should have stayed: a passing moment. He was sure, in the sober light of day tomorrow, she’d feel the same. Aside from the episode at lunch, she seems pretty normal and chill. And he can relate to her frustration with her daughter. And yes, she’s attractive as hell, with luminous skin and flirtatious eyes.
“To young love,” Barclay says, raising his glass. Aidan is momentarily confused, as if Barclay read his mind about Maggie Hodges. Then, embarrassed, he realizes it’s a nod to Scott’s impending marriage.
“I’m glad we have this time together, Dad,” Aidan says. It feels weird to still call him that after all these years since Nancy’s been gone, but it feels weirder to revert back to calling him Barclay. Actually, he never had called him Barclay. It had gone straight from Mr. Cavanaugh to Dad.
“I am too,” Barclay says. “But I gotta admit I’m a little surprised you’re here.”
Aidan is taken aback. “Surprised? I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re family. But even so, I’d think you had better things to do over a long weekend.”
Aidan lowers his mug to the bar top. “You don’t want me here?”
“Of course I do. When I say you’re family, I mean it. And as family, I just want to be real with you. For your sake, and for that grandson of mine.”
“Cole? He’s fine. I don’t know what happened between him and Scott.” Aidan can only assume that’s what he’s talking about.
Barclay frowns. “They’ll work that out. No, I’m talkingabout Cole himself. I think it’s been hard on him without a mother all these years. Not that you haven’t done a fine job—that boy couldn’t ask for a better father. But there’s gotta be some reason Cole’s making bad choices with women.”
