Maggie

Everyone tells you, as you move on in life, wait until retirement, you will have the freedom to do what you want, when you want again.

So, I probably over estimated retirement a little bit when the time actually came. I was lucky, my career was a good one, I had even made some wise investments along the way. Yea, there had been some bumps in the road, like my wife deciding that she wanted her freedom a little earlier than my retirement, like 10 years earlier. But by 55 years old, I was ready and able to hang-up the day to day work and settle into a semi-retired state. Sure, I still did a little programming on the side, as much to keep myself busy as anything.

Being a bit of an introvert and not ready to put my life online, I know, seems funny for a computer guy to not want his name and face all over social media, but I just preferred being a little more secretive than most. I did rediscover my love for hiking and biking and over the first year of retirement got myself back into pretty good shape. Sure, the hairline was, well, let's be honest, gone and my beard had become more salt than pepper, a 6'2" and 220 pounds I still stuck out in a crowd.

My home was in a quiet neighborhood with large lots, and my back up to the county easement. Neighbors came and went over the years and at this point, I didn't even know much about them.

I had even found that I had given up my truck for day-to-day activities. I was within a mile or two walk from grocery stores, a small hardware store, and a really nice park but my most frequent stop on my walks was the 7-11 just as I left the neighborhood. Nice people, easy place to get a bottle of water or occasional junk food splurge. It was there that I met Maggie and my life changed.

I had been stopping by for months on my daily walk when I first met the lady that would change my life. The manager knew me when I walked in and introduced me to their newest employee. She was a striking brunette, about 5'8" with shoulder length hair, doe-brown eyes and a wonderful athletic form. Definitely a pretty lady, but also, as I got to know her, almost 30 years younger than I was. So, I mentally checked off the "Not for you" box in my mind and went about life.

Over the next couple of months I learned that she had moved here when her boyfriend had changed jobs. As time went by we continued to chat about hiking, something we both loved to do, sports, and I quickly found myself looking forward to my stops by the store.

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It was a spring day. I had decided, screw the rain, if I did not go for a walk I would go crazy, so I put on a light rain coat and headed out with no particular direction in mind. I stopped by the grocery store and decided that I had everything I needed for dinner and on my way home stopped by the 7-11 for a warm cup of coffee and some conversation. Stepping inside I shook off my coat and looked around, the place was pretty empty, the manager was in the back and gave me a quick wave. Stepping over to get my coffee, I saw Maggie refilling the station.

"Morning, Maggie, nice day for a hike, don't you think?" I glibly commented.

"Only for ducks and men not smart enough to stay out of the rain!" I got back as a sharply back

"Ouch!" I laughed

Turning she shot me one nasty side-eye and I saw the red circles under her eyes, it was obvious she had been crying.

"Hey! Maggie, what's up?" I asked

"Men are idiots!" she exclaimed, on the verge of tears.

"Yea, it takes us 40-50 years to learn something. But we can be trained. Any particular man in mind?"

She sniffled and walked back to the counter. "Yea, my boyfriend....... Well, I guess my ex-boyfriend now. I caught him with one of his coworkers last night. Ends up he has been cheating on me for months now and she is pregnant......... So, all my stuff is in my car! I just walked out!"

"Jerk! I am sorry. What are you going to do now?"

"I have a couple of friends, I am hoping to couch surf until payday, then find a room to rent. Problem is, I found that he emptied our account and is planning on moving away with her, so I am broke until payday."

I don't know why I did it, but I guess my chivalrous nature got the better of me.

"Listen, Have a 3 bedroom/2 bath place a couple of miles from here. I rattle around in the place most of the time, but as long as you do not mind my dog, you could couch surf there until you get things settled"

She turned and raised by eyebrow, a hint of her smile returning and with a long drawl "Reallllyyyy..."

I guess I blushed a bit and stammered. "No,.... No strings...... but a single bed and your own bath and only until payday."

She laughed, "You blush easily! But I will find something."

I took my receipt and jotted my address on the back. "Just incase you change your mind"

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I walked home, made dinner, and sat watching the news. All I could think is what did I just do? I had invited a 27 year old woman to "couch surf" at my house. What was I thinking?

But as the night went on and she did not show up, my brain settled back down and things went back to normal for me.

The next day a small firm that I sometimes helped out with software called me up and asked if I would help test a new App. I always enjoyed trying to crash Apps and I had helped them with several successful launches in the past.

I got into the testing and a couple of days went by and I had all but forgotten Maggie and her situation. It was raining, well probably a little accurately, it was still raining. It was late, I had a scotch in one hand and was watching text scroll when a quiet knock came to the door. I was lucky that my dog had better ears than me and trotted over to the door.

I walked over and nudged Freya, my bull terrier, off to the side and opened the door. I was taken aback, Maggie was standing there, wet and obviously on the verge of tears.

"I am sorry," she whispered "I did not know what else to do"

"Well, getting out of the rain would be a good start!", holding Freya's collar, I moved her to the side and let Maggie into my front room. "So, tell me what is going on?"

She kept staring at the floor not making eye contact with me "Well, I started at Holly's but her husband tried to "accidently" walk in the bathroom while I was in the shower, than two nights ago, I crashed a Nanci's but her roomies are serious potheads and the place smelled like a dispensary. Last night I slept in my car, but I was freezing. Then I found your receipt and...... well........ Here I am. I promise, I get paid on Saturday........ I just can't sleep in my car."

"Easy, Maggie, I made the offer and I meant it. Go, get what you need from your car."

Bringing a small bag and backpack, Maggie continued to shyly keep avoiding my eyes.

I showed Maggie the small guest room and full bath across the hallway.

"What's up, Maggie?" I questioned as she quietly sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why?" She asked

"Why? What?......"

"Why did you invite me? What do you want from me to do to stay here?" She nervously asked

"Wait!?!? No...... NO! Nothing...... crap! No! I was just...... shit, NO!" I felt horrible, what had I done? Had I broken this woman down?? I backed out of the room and left her alone. What has she been through to think that because I was being nice I wanted sex from her? I returned back to my office, grabbed my scotch and tried to focus on my work.

A bit later, I heard the shower start and stop shortly thereafter. I fought the urge to go see if she was ok. If my simple invite and her thinking things like that, who knows what me showing up might cause.

Focusing back on my work, I lost myself in lines of code and after a couple of more glasses of scotch, I drifted off to sleep at the keyboard (not an unusual place for me when I am working). I woke up with a start feeling something being placed over me.

"Sorry..... " Maggie whispered, placing a blanket from my couch around my shoulders "for everything.... I am a mess and I know it! Thank you."

"You are welcome, now go sleep and I will see you in the morning"

----

For the first time in years, I woke up to someone else in my house. Quiet noises were coming out of my kitchen and Freya was nowhere to be found. I took a quick shower and got dressed, coming out into the kitchen, I found Maggie in gray sweatpants, black sweatshirt and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. I had to admit, even covered from neck to ankle, she did look amazing. Shaking my head to myself, I went over to the keurig and started a cup of coffee.

"Morning!" I greeted.

"Morning, Bill. Sorry about last night! I was just at wit's end and kinda lost it."

"These things happen, don't worry about it!" I laughed. "But, if this is going to work, I need you to be comfortable with the arrangement. So, I have a plan. First, the rest of this week is on me! After payday, I am thinking $125 per week, with this you get the bedroom and the hallway bathroom plus common areas. My bedroom and master bath are mine and I will leave the hallway bath for you."

"$125?? That's all?" Maggie's eyes start to tear up a little.

"Well, I would expect some help around here too, dishes and cleaning up a little. Also, I am going to have to say, "no guests."

"Deal! I do not think I will be in the guest mood for a long time, if ever."

"Done! Good! Now, I have a little work to do and I believe you need to get to work soon."

After she went to work, I went about my day as usual. I had finished the project late last night so found myself getting a little stir crazy and decided I would try to make Maggie's day a little more tolerable. Walking to the grocery store, I picked up everything I needed for stir-fry and not wanting to cause any issues, I avoided the 7-11 on the way home. When Maggie walked through the door my rice cooker had just finished the rice and my wok was full of my home-brewed shrimp stir-fry.

"Feeling like a little dinner?" I asked

"Ummm..... Sure. You didn't have to do this, you know?" She quietly responded.

"Heck, if I knew I had to I would have probably argued about it! I am a little stubborn that way. Here..." handing her a plate" "serve up some rice and come on over and add what you want."

Serving myself, I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat at one end of the table. I watched as she served herself and kept watching me out of the corner of her eye. She sat at the far end of the table and quietly ate.

"So..... " I carefully started "... You know, you can talk to me if you want. Nothing special, we do not have to sit in silence."

"I know, I am just struggling a little right now. Ends up, I check at my old apartment and everything is gone. Our joint account is closed and everything I thought we had been saving for the last five years is gone. Everything I own is out in the old car. Now, I have a guy who I have only known through work letting me crash at his place and all he just wants almost no money to stay. It is just kinda weird."

Smiling my best smile. "Well, let me alleviate a few things for you. One, money is not an issue, I have plenty and the house is all paid for. Two, Maggie, you are 28 years younger than I am, heck, you are only a year older than my daughter. I am a lot of things, but a creep chasing a girl half my age is not one of them. Three, I believe in karma, if I do something good, I believe the universe will find a way to pay me back. So, here we sit. I have helped you out and sometime in the future, I expect something good to happen in return."

For the first time, Maggie gave me a little smile and went back to eating.

When I was finished, Maggie came over and took my plate and headed for the dishwasher. "First step of Karma." Maggie smiled a little "You do not have to do the dishes tonight."

The next two days were really nice. I would work around the house, hike through the local park and come home in time to make a little dinner for Maggie and I when she got home.

-----

Saturday came, Maggie's Payday, also her day off. I noticed that she was a late sleeper too when she did not have to work and enjoyed hearing her sleep in a little. This time, I got up before her and was tinkering around in the office when she came in, still dressed in her sweatpants but this time in a Metallica t-shirt.

"And Justice for All! Nice album. I prefer Ride the Lightning personally" I commented

Stopping in her tracks she looked over, a little shock on her face. "Excuse me? You are a Metallica fan? Somehow I picked you for the Beatles or maybe Pink Floyd or something like that?" and for the first time with a little of the friendly sharp tongue I had grown to enjoy.

"How old do you think I am?" I quipped back

"Not that old, but old Metalhead was not what I expected."

"Hush you! I listen mostly to metal out of Europe these days, the American stuff is garbage!"

And this began an entire morning of sharing music and actually got her to laugh a little from time to time.

In the early afternoon she asked "I don't suppose you could run me to my bank? I need to start a new account and I do not want to park my car full of everything I own in the lot."

"Sure, we can do that. Oh, as for your belongings, you need your car, so I will clear out a corner of the garage, you can stack your stuff there."

"And what will that cost me?" She gave me a quick smile

"One dinner per week! From setting up to cleaning up!"

"Deal!" Maggie responded quickly

"Somehow I think I might regret that deal." I laughed. "How about Chinese tonight, we will be out, we can pick up some carryout?"

"Sounds great! And it is on me! Payday afterall"

"Deal."

After she set up her account and deposited her check, she handed me an envelope and smiled. "Here you go, roomie. Rent paid in full!"

"Roomie....... I like that! I have not had a roommate in 30 years, other than my ex. This could be interesting!"

The next month flew by. Maggie put her things in the garage and I found that she was a pretty good cook, although she liked things a little spicier than I did. Our banter began to return to what it was prior to everything blowing up in her life. She handed me an envelope every Saturday afternoon and I stuck them in a drawer in my office.

Sometime around this time, I noticed her behavior changing. It started simple enough, she would move to sit next to me at the dinner table. Her clothing choices start to be a little less conservative. Nothing drastic, but the sweatpants were gone and replaced with shorts and tighter fitting jeans.

We liked watching movies from time to time, and she started sitting on the couch next to me instead of curled up in a chair. We found a shared love of sci-fi/fantasy, classic comedy and horror movies. Late one rainy night we had settled in with the intent of watching Lord of the Rings, but it was obvious we were both tired because about the time the Fellowship reached Moria, I felt a warm body curl up next to me and shortly thereafter a head rest on my shoulder.

"This is nice." Maggie said

"I agree." pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and tucking it around her. "There, warm?"

"And safe." she quietly responded.

Before I knew it, she was sound asleep next to me. So, I let the movie finish, then carefully picked her up and carried her into her room. I could not help but to respond to your body against mine, especially when she curled her head against me as I walked. It had been way too long since any woman had been this close to me and I found myself stirring a little for the first time in a while. Tucking her in and heading for the door, I could have sworn I heard a light sigh from her, but chalking it up to my imagination, I went to bed.

That morning, I woke up to a very vivid dream and for the first time in years, morning wood. It surprised me a little, but I somehow felt spry and ready for the day. After a quick shower and getting dressed, I decided today was a good day for a long hike. I came into the kitchen to find Maggie in a pair of khaki pants and a men's plaid wool shirt.

Stopped in my tracks, it could be, I thought.

"Umm, interesting attire for your day off." I joked

"Why is that? I was planning on a day hike, wanna join me?" She looked over her shoulder and laughed. "Ok, that is just weird!" she laughed.

After packing a light lunch, we were both happy to see that although not a bright sunny day, there were patches of sunlight and it looked dry. We threw our daypacks over our shoulders and I took her to a state park about 30 minutes away that had a nice 10 mile hike through the forest and up onto a small ridge above a lake that many people like to fish.

We started our hike among many people. The lower part of the trail was popular with many people for short hikes and on the 5 mile loop there were always people visible around you. Maggie and I chatted about the forest and how the undergrowth had not yet been taken over the blackberries. She kept pace right next to when we could and after about a mile, she started taking the lead. It was nice to hear her laugh and pet the passing dogs. It was obvious that she was returning to the bright young lady I had met a couple of years ago.

When you got to the branch where you either turned back down the lower loop or went up to the 10 mile ridge loop she turned back to me and asked "Which way?"

"I am up for the long loop, if you think you can make it?" I smirked

"Watch it, roomie! I do not want to hear about sore muscles tomorrow."

"Ditto!"

As we ascended I commented about the fact that not many people were on the upper loop today.

"Yep, all to ourselves!" She commented with a smirk.

We reached the first of the overlooks and stopped for a short break. Sitting on the bench, overlooking the valley, Maggie turned to me "Bill, why have you never made a pass at me?"

"Umm...... Maggie, I told you, you are young enough to be my kid."

"Is that all? The age?"

"Maggie, dear, if I were even 20 years younger, I would have been trying to steal you away months ago." I laughed.

"Bill, what did I ever tell you about Mike?" Maggie stood with her back to me.

"Not much, he was an executive and moved here to step up the corporate ladder and you had followed him along. This is about it."

"Do you know one of the major reasons we fought?" She quietly asked with her back still to me. "He wanted kids really badly. I guess you could say his biological clock was going off and I am not ready. I wanted to go back to school and finish my art degree."

Pausing, she waited.

"You do not have to tell me this, you know? I am just happy I could help."

"I know," she continued "and you have been so sweet about it too. But I think you need to hear this. Mike and I met online when I was 21 years old and we hit it off right away, it was easy for him, he was 30 and a 21 year old girl was hitting on him. The older I got, the more he seemed to lose interest in me."

Turning back to me, a tear in the corner of her eye, "Do you know how old my replacement was?" without giving me a chance to respond "20...... would you believe it! She was 20! I was replaced by myself, she could have been related to me! Same color hair, same general build, but she wanted kids and I did not!"

Now angry she turned back quickly. "Bill, age means nothing to me. I have seen how you watch me sometimes and I really do not mind. I have always just wanted stability and love, or at least extreme infatuation, in my partner."

Quietly, we both looked out from where we were sitting, I took a minute to organize my thoughts "Maggie..." I finally said ".... you are a stunning young lady and I have to admit, our likes do tend to parallel each other. But also understand, like I said, if I were 20 years younger I would already be trying to take advantage of the situation, now, I just feel like I would be taking advantage of you, and I will not do that. So, roomie, let's finish our hike and we will stop and pick up dinner on the way home."