Soccer Women Ch. 19

"Honestly Angelina, I didn't mean to make her feel bad or hurt her."

"Didn't you sweetheart?" This was met with silence because Margaret knew what she said had not been true. She had very much wanted to hurt Jo with her comments as she left. Fortunately, Mama Napoli let her off the hook. "Dear, over the years, don't you think I've said and done things to Vito to make him angry; to make him upset; to make him feel guilty? We're human beings, Child. But I've also said and done things to make him happy; to make him joyous; to make him feel loved.

"What you don't realize is that it's not that you made her upset. She's already over that. It's that you made her scared."

"What do you mean?"

"Sweetheart, you are an exceptionally smart and exceptionally beautiful woman. You have people throwing themselves at you all the time, more than you probably realize. Josephine is worried because what you said makes her think that you don't think she's good enough for you anymore."

"But that's crazy. I love her more than anyone else in the world."

"Anybody?"

"Yes, Mama Napoli, anybody. Everybody. Well except Maisie."

"I know sweetheart. And Josephine should know it too. But we both know my bambina can be a little thick-headed sometimes, huh? She is afraid to talk to you because she thinks you're going to tell her your leaving her for someone better."

"Well how do I convince her that I would never do that?"

"You know where she is. Go to her. Go to Pennsylvania. Show her that wherever she runs to, you are going to track her down so you can be with her. Let her see that she'll have to work much harder to get away from you. If you're working that hard to be with her, how could she keep thinking you're thinking about leaving her? I think they call it reverse psychology." As fate would have it, Angelina Napoli's plan was better than anyone could know.

Margaret decided she would do what her mother-in-law had suggested. The next morning was to be the last day of the conference. Every year, there was a breakfast and after that, everyone from the team would go back to the office for a conference debriefing. She called her supervisor's room and said she had a family emergency and got permission to miss the breakfast and debriefing. She would have to do a memorandum with her own thoughts and circulate it when she got back the following week, but she was free to leave.

The next morning, she was up bright and early and on her way to the airport. She decided she wouldn't call anyone and wanted her arrival to be a surprise. She thought it would have a more dramatic effect that way. She had to transfer in Denver.

She had the window seat and the young man next to her was on the aisle. There was no one in the middle and they both took advantage of the extra space. Margaret put her phone in airplane mode and the plane taxied toward the runway for takeoff. She was very tired and drifted off right to sleep. Thus, she was completely unaware that as they were still just climbing away from the tarmac in Denver, the "Big One" finally came. A massive earthquake hit Northern California.

***************

When the news reached the East Coast, Katie and Melanie were at work and Jo was at their house watching Joe and Maisie. The first thing Jo did was call Margaret. Her phone went right to voicemail. Jo did not panic immediately. Cell traffic would likely be disrupted by something like this. But she glued herself to the television, switching back and forth between various news channels trying to find out what she could.

Jo kept trying to call but it kept going right to voicemail. Now she started to think about timelines. "Margaret was at the conference which was outside the city. So, she should be fine. But today was the last day. And they go back to the office. Would they have been there yet? They are in a newer building. Those were supposed to be able to withstand a big quake."

She texted Katie and Melanie "Big quake in Cali can't get a hold of M." Both Katie and Melanie immediately went to their bosses and got permission to go home. They knew Jo was going to need them.

Katie was the first one in the door and she got immediately bombarded with everything Jo had heard on the news. The quake had been really big. There was all sorts of devastation. The new high-rise buildings in the city had fared well, but inside them, things had shaken loose and fallen over. Jo knew that the building where Margaret worked was still intact. But she had no idea what might have happened inside the building. Nor did she know if Margaret had even been in the building.

When the panic had started to set in, Jo was calling constantly and it just kept going to voicemail. She even asked Katie to call to see if she had any luck. When Melanie walked through the door, she got the same rundown and Jo asked her to call as well. At this point none of them knew Margaret was safely on a plane heading to Pittsburgh with her phone on airplane mode.

Jo was so visibly shaken that it began to affect the children. Melanie volunteered to take Jo and Maisie to the local park to get them away from the palpable tension in the home.

After Margaret's plane landed, she put her phone back on regular mode and almost immediately all the missed calls and messages popped on her phone. Margaret panicked because her first thought was that something must have happened to Maisie.

The last message on the list was a missed call from Melanie and she just hit that button first. When Melanie answered she started right in before Margaret could say a word. "Margaret, are you alright? Are you safe? Where are you?"

"Am I safe? Are Maisie and Jo okay."

"They're worried sick about you."

"Why?"

"The quake!"

"What quake?"

"What do you mean what quake? Where are you?"

"I'm at the airport in Pittsburgh. What's going on?"

"Oh, thank God. There was a huge earthquake near San Francisco. Really big. How are you in Pittsburgh?"

"I had to talk to Jo, face to face. I hadn't heard anything about the quake but I was flying. I changed in Denver and have been in the air for the last two and a half hours."

"Jo is worried sick. I actually took the kids out of the house. You must call her."

"I didn't want her to know I was here until I was at your door."

"Well, whatever your plan had been, you'll have to alter it. You have to at least let her know you're safe and once you talk to her, you'll have to tell her you're here."

"Okay, I'll call. But I am not going to talk to her on the phone about this. And I'm sorry to come unannounced but this has to be done. Let me call her and I'll see you in half an hour.

Jo's phone had not left her hand and when the call came in, she answered it talking a mile a minute. "Margaret, Babe. Are you okay? Are you safe? I've been worried sick about you. I freaked out when I heard and I haven't been able to get in touch with you for over two hours and I didn't know if you were okay. Where are you?"

"Jo, I'm fine. I wasn't even there. And the reason you couldn't get a hold of me was because my phone was in airplane mode. I was flying to Pittsburgh and right now I'm on my way down to Katie and Melanie's house."

"Thank goodness for that. It's such a relief that you're safe."

"Jo I was already on my way here because we have to talk and I was not going to do it over the phone."

"About what Margaret? What do we have to talk about?"

"Us Jo."

"What about us Margaret?"

"Not over the phone Jo. I'll be there in about twenty minutes and we can talk then. I will see you then."

Jo paused for a moment and said, "I love you, Margaret." Jo's words were met with silence as Margaret had already hung up. However, Jo thought that Margaret had hung up as her reply.

When Melanie came in the door, it was to see Jo sobbing in Katie's arms. She quickly got the children into Joe's room and asked him to stay with Maisie because she had to talk to Mom and Aunt Jo.

When Melanie came back out, she said to them, "She's alright. She's coming here. She'll be here soon."

"We know." said Katie. Melanie could tell though that these were tears of sadness, not tears of joy or even relief.

"So why are you upset, Jo?" But Jo just kept sobbing and Katie had to answer for her.

"She's convinced Margaret came her to tell her she is leaving Jo."

"Well, that's preposterous."

"Is it?" Jo finally pulled away from Katie trying to talk through the sobs. "She wo...wouldn't say wh...what she wanted to say over the ph...ph...phone. It has to be something big. And wh..when I said I love her, she hu...hung up the phone." Jo started sobbing again and fell back into Katie's arms.

Melanie said, "Look Jo. I don't know what to tell you other than I know how much Margaret loves you. And if somehow, she forgot it, I am sure her coming here is because she remembered how much she loves you and she needs to tell you."

Jo finally got herself under control. She looked at Melanie and said, "Eventually everyone gets tired of me or sees too much of me and they leave. No one loves me."

"I love you." Katie shot right back. "And at first I recall you calling me Butthead and trying to steal my fiancée." This made Jo laugh a little.

Melanie added, "Jo, Katie and I both love you. We know you as well as just about anyone. And you are actually an easy person to love. And I know Margaret loves you. The two of you will fix this and you'll look back on this years from now as just a little bump in the road. Trust me."

Melanie went over and gave Jo a big hug. Then she said, "Now, you don't want her to see you like this though. Come back with me and let's get you all dolled up."

Jo asked, "Why?"

"Well, in case I'm not completely right, let's have you looking your best so we tip the scale a little more in your favor."

When they heard the car pull up Melanie went in to stay with the children. Jo had asked Katie to stay out with her for moral support, just in case. When Margaret knocked on the door, Katie went and let her in. They hugged and Katie said, "I'm glad you're here and that you're safe. Jo was so worried about you."

Margaret followed Katie into the living room where Jo was sitting on the couch. Jo stood up to say hello and Margaret darted around Katie and with three quick strides jumped into Jo's arms, knocking them both onto the couch.

Jo was so caught off guard that her first reaction was to say, "So what couldn't you tell me over the phone Margaret?"

Margaret had hoped that after worrying about her and now her being safe, Jo would have forgiven her and that their embrace would put them right back on track. Jo's rather brusque greeting brought her back to reality. She had really screwed up and she was ready to do what she had to do to make amends.

"Jo what I had to say was that I am so sorry about being so terrible to you the day I left for the conference. I am supposed to be the smart one, but does a smart person hurt the person she loves the most in the world? So, I was not very smart that day. I just hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and let me keep being a part of your life."

Jo looked at her confused and said, "Wait, you thought I wanted away from you?"

"Well after I'd been so mean and cruel and then you flew to your folks house with Maisie and...Why? Did you think I was coming here to say I was leaving you?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't be that stupid twice in the same week. What would make you think I would want to leave you?"

"Well, you're just so beautiful and so smart and I just thought you finally realized you could do so much better than me."

"Oh Babe. I am pretty enough that I chased off all the competition. I'm smart enough to get married to you so you'd be all mine. Well, mostly." She looked over and gave Katie a quick smile.

Jo responded, "You were so mad at me that morning."

"I lost focus. I got fixated on something I didn't have instead of all that I do have. And it threw me. And I guess it made me temporarily insane. But I'm better now. And I am focused. The only one I am mad at is myself for being so thoughtless that you doubted my love for you. That's not your fault, that's mine. But please believe me when I say I love you with all my being. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. And I will do everything I can to make sure you never doubt my love again. Do you forgive me?"

"I will if you forgive me for doubting something I should have never doubted. You've shown time and again how much you love me. I should have known that our fight was not a sign that you didn't love me anymore. So, if I'm forgiven, then you're forgiven."

"Agreed." And they threw their arms around each other and gave each other a tender kiss. When they broke the kiss, Margaret said, "I love kissing you, but could I also get to hold Maisie for a bit too."

Katie said, "Kiss her again. I'll get Maisie."

As Katie went to leave the room, Jo looked into Margaret's eyes and said, "It's her house so we have to do what she says." They began to kiss. However, Melanie came out at that moment with Maisie in her arms. She'd obviously been listening to the whole conversation.

Joe ran out and screamed "Aunt Margaret!" and jumped up on the couch with Margaret and Jo.

Melanie came up and said, "Joe, Aunt Margaret has been away and hasn't seen Maisie in a week so let her give her a hug first." Melanie put Maisie into Margaret's arms and then Jo put her arm around Margaret and pulled them both in. And with that, their fight was officially over.

This was not the worst fight in their marriage, but it was up there. And because of the historical nature of it happening around the big earthquake, it always seemed to come to mind. But when it did, it reminded both of them how much they loved each other and how they could work through just about anything.

Melanie now looked at Jo and Margaret and said, "Now that you've made up, you know what comes next. Katie and I will take the kids out for a bit and then we'll take them to dinner. We'll bring you two back something so you can replenish your energy."

Margaret asked, "What about your two? When I hurt Jo I kind of hurt you two as well?"

"We'll have time for that later. Come on Katie, help me clear the decks here." And with that, they gathered diaper bags and carried the children to the car.

Once they were gone, Margaret looked at Jo and said, "Babe, I really should make some phone calls and so should you. And I know what Melanie wants us to do. But if it's okay with you, I'd like nothing more than for you to take me in your arms and hold me and just whisper sweet nothings in my ear for half an hour first."

Jo looked at her and smiled. "You are a genius. That is exactly what we need to do right now. Come here." Jo sat up straight on the couch. Margaret climbed up with her feet on the couch, her head against Jo's chest and her arm wrapped around her. Margaret cuddled against Jo as tightly as she could. Jo used one arm to hold her close. Jo used the hand on her other arm to stroke Margaret's arm and her hair and her cheek.

After about five minutes of this, Margaret said, "Jo, I am so sorry I hurt you that morning. That is the last thing I should ever want to do. It just shows you that even a smart person can be dumb sometimes."

"Let's face it, Babe. I do a lot more dumb stuff than you do. And you put up with me. The least I can do is let one of your's slide. I don't forget how lucky I am. You could have had anyone you wanted."

"I got exactly who I wanted. And I got her two sexy friends as a bonus."

"Smart and great taste. That's quite a combo." Margaret snuggled in just a little closer and Jo pulled her in with her arm just a little tighter.

Eventually they got up to get their phones and make a few calls. Margaret called her dad. He was far enough away that he didn't have any damage and he was so glad to hear Margaret, Jo and Maisie were not at home that he didn't bother to ask why. He said he would call the rest of the family. So far, the word was everyone was okay but there was property damage.

Her next call was to her office. Their building had been built to withstand the next "Big One" and it had. But the shaking still caused things to crash and ceiling tiles to fall. There were a few injuries but most people only had minor cuts and bruises.

Jo called Coach Quincannon and got the scoop at the University. They were not close to the epicenter, but they were closer than Margaret's father. Some of the older buildings had some major damage, and they too had a lot of shaking which caused a lot of chaos. Coach Quincannon did say, "We were trying to assess the damage in your office, but it pretty much looked like it always does, so we're not sure." Jo laughed along with her and was glad to hear it. Not that everything was okay, but if Coach could make jokes, it all seemed manageable.

Melanie called to say that they were on the way back with some food and to make sure they were decent when the kids arrived. Not wanting to disappoint her with the fact that they did not have sex, Margaret rubbed her cheeks to make herself look flush and Jo ran in place a little so that she was slightly out of breath. Melanie seemed very happy as she handed them their dinner.

Jo, Margaret, and Maisie ended up staying a week before they could travel back home. There were four sets of misty eyes when it was finally time for the Napoli's to go home. Melanie said, "I don't want you guys to fight, but in this case, I am glad you did."

Katie added, "Yeah anytime you fight please feel free to come here and we'll help you fix things."

Jo said, "I don't know about fighting, but I do recall someone saying they would make things happen to make sure we stay together. So, we shouldn't have to fight."

"Understood, Jo. I promise I'll work on something so we don't have to go too long again before we get together."

When all the hugs and kisses were done, the Napoli family got in the car and the Smith-Rogers family waived good-bye. As they started to walk back inside, Katie felt a little kick in her belly to remind her that there would be one more variable in her planning come the end of September, but she knew if she worked hard enough, she'd find a way.