Starting Over Pt. 02 Ch. 04

"Uh, Maggie, hi." John looked back and forth between the two. "You, too, Mary. You guys want to come in?"

The two of the entered and went straight for the sofa. John followed. Their mood seemed especially somber.

"It's good to see you two. Especially you, Maggie." John watched for some emotions to play across Maggie's face, but could not detect what she was thinking. She appeared very stoic.

They sat down and John could see that they both were very serious. "Okay, what's going on?"

Mary looked at Maggie, who nodded, then at John. "No reason for small talk or to beat around the bush. I'll just say it. Maggie found a lump in her breast and is going to have something called a Fine Needle Aspiration tomorrow. She is scared and knows that you went through breast cancer with your wife and wants to know if you'll go with her."

John looked at Maggie who was staring at her hands. "I will. Do you want me to pick you up and take you home afterwards?"

Maggie looked up. "Yes, please." Her eyes were rimmed red.

John moved over and knelt in front of Maggie. He took her hands from Mary. "You know that I care for you and would do anything for you. All you have to do is ask, okay?"

Maggie looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Yes, okay."

John looked over at Mary and back to Maggie. "Okay, tell me what time and where and I'll be there."

Mary handed John a piece of paper. "Here's the time and location. They said they'd have the results back by the next day."

John put the piece of paper on the table and returned his eyes to Maggie. "I'll take care of you tomorrow. Don't worry. I'm sure it's scary, but most likely it's not cancer. I'll help you get through this."

Maggie stared back. "Okay, John. I'll be ready by 9 or a little after, since the appointment is at 10. I really appreciate this."

"It's not a problem. I care a lot for you and will be there." He looked over at Mary and back to Maggie. He was wondering about Maddie. "What about Maddie? Does she know anything?"

Maggie shook her head. "I'm not going to tell her anything until after we get the results."

"Okay. I won't say anything either. We need to have a cover for me picking you up tomorrow, right?"

"No, she'll be in school."

"Oh, right. School. Okay, then, we're all set."

Maggie started to stand so John moved back. She stood up and gave John an awkward hug. John tried to hold it, but she backed away. He let her and looked at Mary who gave him an apologetic look.

They left as suddenly as they came and John sat down and put his head in his hands. All the feelings from the time with his wife came rushing back. He tried not to relive too many of them, but they were always close. He remembered the two different biopsies. He remembered the look on her face when they said cancer. He would never forget holding her through her heavy sobs that night. He couldn't forget how tired and sick she was during the chemo. Things seemed to get better, but they never improved to the point of her returning to normal. Marie had always appeared strong and upbeat in front of their daughter and in public. But he and Angelica watched her deteriorate. Eventually, she just accepted it and they went on a last vacation while she was still slightly mobile. But the last couple of weeks were seared into his brain so that he could never, ever forget.

John poured himself a scotch, and another, and another. He finally went to bed and dreamt of his time with his past wife and of a possible life with Maggie and Maddie.

-------------- Monday, 18 May 2013, John's house, Bainbridge Island, Washington.

John awoke at 7am feeling awful. He took a long hot shower and cleaned himself up. He made some breakfast and after all that, finally started feeling better. He left at 8:30 and got to the Bradford's about 8:50. He had a few minutes and when Mr. Bradford answered the door, he hesitated to say anything, just wanted Mr. Bradford to make some assumptions.

"Good morning, John." Mr. Bradford was happy to see him. "Are you here for Maggie?"

"Yes, sir, I am. We're going out."

"Excellent. She's been a little sad lately and I hope that you can cheer her up a little."

"Uh, I'll try, sir." John could tell that Mr. Bradford didn't know anything about the situation with his daughter.

"Okay, well, I'm heading for the office. Tell Craig that I said hello."

"Will do."

About that time Maggie came down the stairs. John was still taken by her beauty, but it was obvious that she was stressed and tired. She probably didn't sleep much. As she approached, she offered John a slight smile, but it didn't have any feeling behind it.

"Let's go." She wanted to get out of the house.

They managed to get in the car and to the doctor's office without discussing anything except the directions to the office. They got into the office and Maggie signed in. The receptionist didn't even respond, just kept doing whatever paperwork was so important to her.

John sat and after signing in, Maggie came over and sat next to him. He watched her carefully. She was antsy as the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof. After a couple of minutes, Maggie reached over and grabbed John's hand with both of hers. Maggie's were cold and clammy and John put his second hand over their combined hands to try to warm them. Maggie just took a deep breath and trembled.

John remembered how his wife had been when she had gone for tests. She was always an optimist and had been calm and reserved until the prognosis came back positive. Even then she thought she would beat it and had remained upbeat except for that first night. Maggie, probably due to her life and experiences, did not respond the same. She was petrified already. John didn't know what to say or do, he just held onto her hands and tried to remain calm and serene for her.

Maggie's name was called and she looked at John with the fear etched on her face. "I'll see you soon."

"Yes, you will. And don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing." John said the words, but knew they couldn't comfort Maggie.

John waited. It was only about 60 minutes later when Maggie reappeared. She walked straight to the door and just looked at John. He followed.

At this point, Maggie just wanted to get out of the office. She had gone into the office desperate to get it done and over with. There was no history of cancer in her family, but she was still overwhelmed at the idea. She tried to remain calm, but everything about her life told her that she was the one who would get it. She rushed to the door and John followed. She walked quickly to the car and got in. John followed her and got in after her. She buckled her seatbelt and slowly the tears came. It was just an emotional release of the last few days, but she couldn't stop it. She put her hands to her face, and when she felt John grab her by the shoulders, she let him.

John sat in the car and watched as she broke down. He grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her toward him, and pulled her into an embrace. She let him. She grabbed him tightly and cried into his right shoulder. He could feel her deep breaths between sobs and the tears wetting his shirt. He just held her.

After a while, Maggie calmed and pulled away from John. "Okay, John, let's go. I want to go to your place."

"Okay." John started the car and drove to his place. He parked out front and got out of the car. He assisted Maggie out since she suddenly appeared exhausted. He helped her into his apartment and then turned to close and lock the door. When he turned back around Maggie was gone.

He saw Maggie disappear into his bedroom and followed.

Maggie got undressed to her panties and climbed into bed. "Please, John, just hold me."

John quickly stripped and got into bed. He lay on his back and Maggie snuggled up to him. He just lay there, waiting for her to relax.

Maggie was exhausted and was going over what to do about things if she had cancer, but she didn't last long. Her energy was gone.

John let her fall asleep on him and then lay there thinking about this situation. He had lost his wife to breast cancer and now a woman he thought he saw as a potential mate might have to fight the same battle. He knew that he was attracted to her and wanted to try being with her, but could he take the pain of losing another woman like that? He had been an awful mess after Marie died. Fuck!

Finally, John felt that he could get up and not disturb Maggie, so he did. She didn't wake so he went into the kitchen to pull out some wide egg noodles. He put some chicken stock in a pot and prepared the egg noodles. He added some already prepared frozen chicken pieces and finished his version of chicken noodle soup. It had always helped him and hoped that it might help Maggie. When it was done, he sat and watched TV.

It was two hours later that Maggie wandered into John's living room. He looked up. She was still in just panties, with a small bandage over the location on her breast where the needle must have been used.

Maggie woke and just stumbled into John's living room. She could smell something cooking and was very hungry. She hadn't been able to eat much the last couple of days. She looked at John, who jumped up and came to her.

"Do you want a robe?"

Maggie looked down. She was so out of it she didn't think about that. "Yes, please."

John went a grabbed a robe for Maggie. He held it as she put her arms in the sleeves.

Maggie looked toward the kitchen and John explained that he had made chicken noodle soup with wide egg noodles and Maggie smiled. She liked it and they ate fairly silently. Maggie then went and sat on the couch. She patted the cushion next to her and John sat.

Maggie leaned against him and just sat there. John put his arm around her. She didn't say anything so John didn't either. He just held her. Finally, Maggie turned to him.

"Will you take me to bed?"

John leaned over and kissed her on the mouth lightly. "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to have sex with someone I love."

Maggie stood up and held out her hand. John grabbed it and they went into the bedroom. Maggie stood by the bed and dropped her robe. She was still a looker and John admired her form.

"Beautiful."

Maggie grinned and sat down. "Your turn."

John stripped in a microsecond.

Maggie grinned again and reached for his cock. "Beautiful." John chuckled.

She stroked it and then crawled back on the bed, opening her legs.

They kissed and ran their hands over each other. They made long, slow love, and both enjoyed it immensely. When they finished, they lay there and relaxed. Maggie rolled over onto her side and propped her head on her hand. She looked down at John, who continued to lay on his back.

"I need to discuss something with you, John."

"Okay."

"This may sound a little strange, but I'm going to ask you to do something for me. I am going to move out of my father's house. I have a house picked out and Maddie and I will move in there next week."

John looked at her a little confused as to how this would lead to a favor. "Okay, that's great."

"I want to be on my own for a while. I need my independence so that I can prove to myself that I can do it. I've never been on my own and I need to do it for me - and for Maddie."

"I understand completely. I have no problem with that."

Maggie stared at him. "It also means that I want to experience that independence - and it has to be without you."

John started to sit up. "But ..."

Maggie put her hand to his lips. "I don't mean that we can't see each other, but I can't have you taking care of me in any way, except, well, I mean it's okay in bed." She grinned briefly and then got serious again. "I need to be on my own and that means that we can't still seem to be living together at one place or the other. I have to do this."

John knew what she was talking about. He knew he had to let her do this. "Okay, I understand. I still want to see you and that lovely daughter of yours often."

"You will, I promise. It just can't be an every day thing. It's got to be like we're dating on the weekends or something like that."

John leaned up and kissed her. "No problem. I just hope that I can continue to have unfettered access to this." He ran his hands down her body and over her hip.

Maggie giggled. "God, I sure hope so."

Maggie got up and John followed. They cleaned up and Maggie went home via Uber. John cleaned up the kitchen and living area and then read for a while before going to bed.

-------------- Tuesday, 19 May 2013, John's house, Bainbridge Island, Washington.

John woke the next morning and thought about what Maggie said. He was a little sad that he couldn't make their arrangements more permanent, but knew it would be good for her.

He was puttering around the apartment making sure there wasn't a large buildup of dust when there was a knock at the door. He peeked out the peephole and found it was Maggie. He opened the door and she immediately rushed and jumped up on him, leaving him no choice but to hold her.

"No sign of cancer!" Maggie screamed, almost deafening him.

John held her tight and felt her start to cry. He put her down. "That's great news."

Maggie laid a big kiss on him and John responded. He put his hands on her ass and pulled her close. Maggie backed up. "Settle down, buster. Mary and Juliet will be here in a minute with Maddie. We are going to celebrate."

"Does that test mean that there's nothing to worry about?"

"For now. I have to keep an eye on it, but the doctor said there was no evidence of any bad cells. We are going to discuss if we need to remove the small lump at my appointment next month."

"That's so great!"

At that moment Mary and Juliet came in with Maddie trailing and smiling big.

"Mr. Jackson!" Maddie ran to John and he picked her up and raised her over his head. She squealed in satisfaction and John put her down.

John knelt in front of her. "You know, I think there's a Pooh in the next room that is rather lonely."

"I got it, Mr. Jackson." And Maddie scampered into the other room. The other three ladies laughed.

Mary came over to John. "You know, she thinks of you in a 'Daddy' sort of way, right?"

John smiled. "I don't mind that at all."

They popped open champagne and celebrated both the absence of cancer and Maggie's move to her new house. It was the happiest moment for everyone in a while.

-------------- Tuesday, 19 May 2013, Pocatello, Idaho.

Harold Johnson, formerly Max Meridian, was enjoying his meatloaf dinner at Denny's. Some people didn't like Denny's, but he was a fan of the unpretentious version of meals they served. He ate slowly and thought about what to do and where to go next. He went out to his car and got in. He headed east. He was going to go to Florida for a few weeks. Then, once things cooled off, he thought he might have to come back and take care of that John Jackson. He had plenty of money stashed and wanted to retire, but this was personal. He didn't like how that job turned out and how he had to burn a very good identity. He might feel differently in a few weeks, but for now, he was miffed. Well, let's get somewhere nice and hot and play some golf. Oh, hell, he didn't play golf. But he did have enough money to impress some young ladies around the beach towns and have some fun. Yeah, it was time to relax and think about this some more.

The end .