The Friends We Keep(73)

“Maggie?”

She heard her name from across the lobby, and squinting through the hordes of people, she saw a figure so achingly familiar, a prick of tears came to her eyes. Tall, as vibrant as ever, heavier than she remembered, but the smile was still the same. She would know that smile anywhere. As she watched Evvie walk toward her, the weight, the wrinkles, the years dropped away, and it was Evvie, looking just as she always looked, standing right there.

With a smile on her face, Maggie threw her arms around Evvie, squeezing hard, both of them pulling back to look at each other, both laughing, before hugging each other again.

“Oh, Maggie,” Evvie said, and she was crying this time. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Maggie knew she was sorry about Ben dying, about not showing up for his funeral, about losing touch; she was sorry for all of it but none of it mattered. What mattered was the overwhelming feeling of love she had for her old friend, and when they finally disengaged, they stood for a while, grinning at each other, each drinking the other in.

“You look amazing!” Evvie laughed. “Look at you! You haven’t aged a year. How do you do that? How do you look so fantastic?”

“Are you kidding?” burbled Maggie. “You’re the one who hasn’t aged. Your skin! You look twenty-five! I look terrible. Honestly, if you’d seen me this morning, I was an aging hag. I couldn’t inflict my gray hair on you lot so I dashed to the chemist and did a home dye job.”

“First of all, my skin is only great because I’m enormous.”

“Evvie!” Maggie’s face fell. “You’re not enormous. You’re beautiful. Are you really still hung up on your weight? We’re fifty. You need to get over it.”

“Honey, it’s okay. I’m learning to deal with it, finally. As my mama always said, once you hit forty, you have to choose face or figure, and I guess I chose face. Secondly, no way that’s a home dye job! Really? It’s amazing. I can’t imagine you, or any of us, with gray hair. The only one of us I can see with gray hair is Topher, who would probably look even more handsome and distinguished.”

“Topher! I’ve missed him so much. Do you see him often in New York? You must, you live so close to each other.”

“I should but I don’t, which is awful. Somehow life just gets in the way.”

“Oh, Evvie. I can’t believe we lost touch.” Maggie linked her arm through Evvie’s. “I can’t believe I lost touch with everyone. Seeing you makes me feel young again. I want to hear everything. What are you up to, how is your life . . . ? I know you went through a horrible divorce, but you must be doing okay now, you look so happy. Let’s go up and find the reunion. You can tell me all about it as we walk.”

“There’s something I have to say to you first.” Evvie stopped and looked at Maggie. “I’m so sorry about Ben. I should have come to the funeral. I wanted to come but . . . There is no excuse. I am so sorry and more, sorry that I wasn’t there for you.” She blinked away unexpected tears.

“Thank you,” said Maggie. “It means so much to me that you have said that. It was . . . complicated.” She stood still, wanting to tell Evvie about Ben. She hadn’t told anyone other than her mother, but she wanted to tell Evvie. And Topher. She didn’t want to keep his secrets anymore.

“Complicated?”

“It’s a long story and one I’m going to tell you, but not tonight. Let’s have this night and then I’ll give you the full story next time. Which means there’ll have to be a next time. Deal?”

Evvie wanted to know now, but she knew Maggie well enough to know she wouldn’t be pushed.

“Tell me all your news,” said Maggie, changing the subject. “Tell me about Jack!”

“No! I want to hear your news first. Topher said you lived in Downton Abbey. Girl, how did you manage that?”

“It’s not Downton Abbey.” Maggie rolled her eyes with a smile. “It is lovely, though, a very pretty manor house that is entirely too big for me. It was entirely too big for the two of us. If we had known that we wouldn’t have children, we would never have bought it, but I’m glad we did. We both fell completely in love with it as soon as we saw it. I think Ben could never believe that he could actually afford a house like that. It meant a lot to him . . .” She trailed off, a sudden image of Ben passed out in the hallway downstairs flashing in her mind.

“Anyway.” Her voice was immediately, falsely, bright. “Tell me about your son. Do you have pictures?”

Evvie paled. “I’m a terrible mother,” she lied. “Everyone always asks to see pictures and I’ve got nothing. I do have his baby picture as my screensaver, but that’s it.”

“Let me at least see that.” Maggie held out her hand for the phone as Evvie handed it over, knowing that with his face half-turned into his blanket, he was unrecognizable. “Oh, he was adorable. What a cutie. How old is he now?”

“Twenty-one, and entirely self-sufficient. He’s living in Oakland, just outside of San Francisco, working for a tech start-up. I can’t actually believe I have a grown son who fends for himself.”

“Does he look like you? I bet he’s gorgeous.”

Evvie smiled. “He is gorgeous, and he looks a little like me.” She didn’t say any more, couldn’t say any more.