Synchronicity for Six Pt. 04

"Yes? May I help you somehow?" Maggie inquired politely.

At Maggie's words, David turned and smiled when he saw the girl.

"Katie! Wow, it's good to see you. How's your brother doing at school?" David asked. "Oops! Maggie, this is Katie O'Shea. She's the younger sister of my gaming buddy, Larry. Katie, this is my girlfriend, Maggie Lawson," David introduced the two to each other. "Excuse me, but I've got to get these to Dad and Momma." Katie's eyes widened a little at his use of 'momma', but quickly returned her focus to Maggie.

"His girlfriend?" Katie asked.

"Yes, indeed. I've been coming to church with him since before Christmas."

"You both seem really comfortable and happy," Katie commented.

"I think we are. It's a little hard now with him away at school, but he's coming back home frequently this semester. Pardon me for asking, but why haven't our paths crossed before?" Maggie charged ahead.

"Well, you snatched him up right after Thanksgiving and several of the high school girls hate you for that. I kind of hated you too, but I refuse to allow the herd mentality to dictate my behavior."

Maggie smiled broadly at Katie's words, and extended her free hand.

"Katie, I sense something of a kindred spirit in you. Come on, let's find some chairs and talk some more."

"Wow, you are just so nice! I'm sorry I've taken this long to talk with you."

The two girls walked across the hall to some chairs and began to talk. After he had handed off the coffee to Alan and Rose, he stood by Alan and watched the girls. Alan noticed David's attention and watched for a moment.

"What do you make of that, David?" Alan asked.

"If anyone was going to break away from the girls' clique, it would be Katie. I think it could be awesome for Maggie. Katie's a senior, too. I was wondering how I could try to get her a friend or two here. It looks like I won't have to do anything. I like those kinds of problems; the ones that work themselves out." Alan chuckled at David's words.

Jack Johnson took that opportunity to ask if Alan and Rose were available for lunch that day. He also included David and Maggie in the invitation, and aside from David having to return to school, there was no reason to decline the invite.

"I don't see any reason why we couldn't come. Let me check with Rose first though, please," Alan requested. Recent events had not been forgotten.

Maeve was asking Rose the same thing when Alan came up behind his fiancée and nuzzled her ear briefly.

"Alan, do we have plans for lunch? Maeve and Jack have invited all four of us to their house after worship."

"I was just coming to ask you the same thing. I have nothing on my agenda. We need to get David off to school, but he could delay that until 4:00 or so. Plenty of time for a lunch together."

"Excellent!" Maeve clapped her hands. "Oh, Rose, I think Mary would like a word or two with you. We should invite her and George as well. Susan and Gil are out of town this weekend." She scurried off in search of Mary Henderson. Alan pulled Rose aside and pointed at Maggie sitting with Katie. Rose's breath caught in her throat and a tearful smile crept onto her face.

"Alan, what do you know about that girl with Maggie?"

"Katie O'Shea is a senior at Middleburg High School. Her brother, Larry, is a good gaming buddy of David's. The family joined the church about ten years ago after some dustup with the Catholic church. I don't know much about her parents, though. They're mostly just here for the worship service and go about their business. I think it's a good thing for Maggie, don't you?"

"Oh, Alan, I've so wanted Maggie to develop a couple of friends here. But her working in the store instead of being in the high school keeps her apart from others her age. With David now being gone most of the time, this could be a really good thing for Maggie, especially since she's a sister of one of his friends."

The girls had pulled out their phones and were entering each other's numbers in their contacts when the signal to proceed to the worship space was given. Maggie gave Katie a quick hug, then hurried to David's side, taking his hand in hers and kissing him lightly on the lips. Katie watched, a little forlorn that David had been snagged, yet buoyed by the prospect of making a new friend. She trailed behind most of the group as they made their way through the hallway.

The Harrisons and Lawsons sat off to the right, as was their custom. Maggie looked up and saw Katie just standing at the rear, so Maggie went and grabbed her by the hand and led her to the family group. To Rose's eyes, Katie looked very grateful for Maggie doing that. As Katie passed by David, he softly asked about her parents.

"They've gone to visit Larry up at Tech this weekend. He forgot a few things, and they also wanted some adult-time with just the two of them," she explained, then sat on the far side of Maggie. A couple of times throughout the worship service, David noticed Maggie holding both his and Katie's hands. He looked at Maggie questioningly, but all she would do was shake her head minutely. Any conversation would wait.

On their way out to the cars, Katie looked both lost and relieved. In a surprising show of empathy, Maggie pulled Katie in for a quick hug and promised to be in touch later that day. A tearful smile on Katie's part flashed across her face, and then she got in her car and slowly drove away.

"Magpie, is there something you need to share with the rest of the class?" David asked, somewhat teasingly.

"I think she needs a friend even worse than I do," Maggie observed. "Did you know that her birthday is the day after mine? We'll be communicating more over the coming days, I'm pretty certain of that." Pausing, Maggie snorted as she recalled part of their discussion. "Her given name is Kathleen Margaret O'Shea." Rose caught the connection before David or Alan did, and gave a bark of laughter.

"And your given name is Margaret Kathleen," David supplied, getting the humor of the inverted names. Even Alan chuckled at that bit of synchronicity. "Well, Mags, I hope this friendship works out for you both," David continued. "My experience is that the O'Shea family is good people, even if Larry has the worst luck with rolling dice." He entwined his fingers in hers as Alan drove to the Johnsons' home for lunch.

Because Rose felt the need to show up with something in her hands, they stopped at a grocery store and picked up a lemon Bundt cake. Maeve met them at the door.

"We thought you'd gotten lost or something," she teased. "Thank you, dear. This will go well with the after-meal coffee," she said, accepting the cake from Rose. "Come in, please. We're about to sit down."

When the meal was over, the guys clustered at one end of the long table, the women at the other end, and David and Maggie side-by-side in between. The guys were talking about college basketball, a subject that held no interest to David. Mary and Rose were having a tête‑� ‑tête quietly, so Maeve turned to Maggie who was seated next to her. Maeve saw the hands being clasped between the two, and smiled a grandmotherly smile of reassurance.

"You two look so good together," she observed. "Are you planning anything for Valentine's Day in a few weeks?"

"David's coming back home for the weekends of the 5^th and the 19^th. I've asked Jack for the 19^th off. I hope we'll do something special then," Maggie answered. David decided to be part of the conversation at this point.

"Momma and I," and Maeve's eyes widened in surprise at his use of 'momma' for Rose, "were looking into friendship or promise rings yesterday. Then we followed a link to Claddagh rings."

"Oh, Mrs. Johnson, I so wish we stocked something like that in our store," Maggie interjected. "But something with a gemstone is so far beyond what we're ready to do."

Maeve got a glint in her eye and asked Maggie to show her a Claddagh ring on her phone. Looking at the pictures that came up in the Google search, Maeve's expression grew thoughtful. She called out, "Jack, may I please speak with you for a minute or two?" She pulled him into the next room but still kept her volume low. Maggie could see them from her angle, and Maeve was gesticulating emphatically. Then she tugged something on a chain from between her breasts and flourished it before his face. Jack appeared to be considering her words, then nodded slowly. Maeve led the way back to the table, and only David noticed the up and down look that Jack gave his wife from behind.

Rose and Mary had not stopped their quiet discussion when Maeve had called Jack away. Mary seemed a little embarrassed about needing to have the discussion, but she charged ahead anyway.

"Rose, I wanted to give you some feedback on something that happened this week," she began.

"Oka-a-ay," Rose dragged out the word.

"What you did for John Riley to diffuse that situation was perfect. But we did not hire you to address those kinds of situations as a 'first responder'. Don't get me wrong here. Your actions are being held up to the rest of the managers and tellers as a near‑textbook case of how to de‑escalate a situation. Yet you should not have had to deal with that situation when you did. You are the 'last responder'. Yes, yes, I know you don't know the manager or the rest of the staff that well yet. What I want is for you to wait for the manager to bring the situation to you. It's a 'chain of command' thing, Rose. I've smoothed any ruffled feathers, so there's nothing more to be said. The end result is happiness."

"But, but, but he was right outside my door and Marilou wasn't around," Rose tried to explain.

"Rosalie, you've skipped over a level. It's time to pull up your big girl panties. What you should have done was escort Mr. Riley to Marilou's desk and wait with him for her to return. Once again, you diffused the situation perfectly. You just should not have had to handle the situation when you did. It's okay, dear." Mary patted Rose's hand reassuringly.

"But everything else is acceptable, right?" Rose was seeking validation.

"For being in a new position for less than a month, yes. You may not realize it, but you are having a positive impact on everyone you come in contact with."

Rose sat back in her chair and exhaled as Maeve was taking her seat once more.

"Rose," Maeve asked, touching Rose's arm. "Rose, I have an idea I'd like to float past you."

"Oh?"

"It's about David and Margaret. I think they each need a little token of something from the other for the times when they're apart."

"Like a 'friendship ring or a promise ring'?"

"Exactly."

"But Maggie assures me there's nothing in stock in the store that wouldn't be excessive."

"Ah, but we own more than one store in the downtown area."

Rose's eyes widened in realization, and her imagination began to lift off. Only to be grounded by reality.

"But David's got to go back to school and he won't be back for two weeks," Rose explained.

"All the more reason for a little trip downtown right now, don't you think?"

"But the stores are closed," Rose replied, lamely.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm on a first name basis with an owner then, isn't it? Now stop inventing roadblocks, Rose." Maeve turned to Maggie and David. "Would you two like to get and give rings to each other today?"

= = =

By the time Tom and Julie returned from church, Dawn and John had completed their 'worship' of each other. They had had their showers, separately, and had tidied the room, trying to be good guests. Dawn and John were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and eating bagels when their hosts entered the apartment.

"We're in the kitchen," Dawn called out.

"So, you found breakfast? It looks like you've had your showers," Julie remarked, noting their damp hair.

"Yeah, and sorry about not getting up to go to church with you two," John contributed.

"Don't worry about it, John. While it's important to me, I'm not about to force it on you. We each have our own path to travel. I will, however, be praying for you," Tom commented. "You did get that request form submitted yesterday, right, Dawn?"

"Yeah, I did, Tom. Thanks for looking that up for me. Jules, we've impinged upon your hospitality enough already. John and I are going to head out now."

"Well, Dawnie, we still have taco leftovers." Julie looked at Tom, who nodded. "Wanna come back for supper, say 5:30 or so? I think Tom and I both have homework to address, but we'd enjoy your company for a meal again."

"That would be awesome, Jules! John, does that work for you, too?" Dawn gushed.

"What, and give up crappy dorm cafeteria glop for something delicious and homemade? Get real, Dawn." John tried to allow a dramatic pause, but he just couldn't quite pull it off. "Of course, we'll be here for supper!"

The guests had already set their packed bags by the door and, with hugs and handshakes, left Tom and Julie to deal with the aftermath.

Julie gathered up the towels and Tom stripped both beds as they set about to do the laundry. While adding the detergent, Julie glanced at Tom and asked, "You don't have any homework to do, do you?"

"Not really. You?"

"Nothing that needs to be completed for tomorrow. Okay, let's get this over with," Julie said, resignedly. Holding his hand, she led him to the sofa where they sat facing each other. Julie tucked her legs under her and scooted forward to remain in contact with him. They sat there for a couple of minutes, each one waiting for the other to begin. Tom finally reached out his hand to cup Julie's face and he stroked her cheek with his thumb. Her level of dread began to rise.

"Julia Ann Lawson, I love you so much. I love you so much, it hurts. I don't like it when we are at odds. I'm sorry you looked at this as something to 'get over with'. I never meant it to be so. I just wanted to talk with you, to talk some things out."

She turned her face into his palm and kissed his hand before nuzzling it.

"Thomas Richard Harrison, I love you just as much. I'm scared, Tom. I don't do well with confrontation. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry if I've hurt you. You were correct to decide which path to take for your future. While you pretty much decided on which job offer to pursue, I want to thank you for presenting how you arrived at your choice. Thank you, also, for not finalizing it before talking about it with me.

"I have to slow down. I'd like to say that this is all your fault. Yes, your fault," she remarked on his surprise at her words. "I get caught up in my love for you, and then things just start rushing ahead. I will need your help, Tom, to slow down and take a breath. To stop and talk with you. To make decisions with your input. Will you help me, please?"

Tom's hands came up to cradle her head and pull her into a deep, sensuous kiss by way of his answer. Sucking gently on each other and rubbing noses led to the inevitable: Julie leading Tom by his hand to their bed.

"Oh, crap! We need to make the bed first!"

= = =

George and Mary Henderson begged off from the journey downtown, so it was just the two Lawsons, the two Harrisons, and the two Johnsons who trekked down to Jack and Maeve's other store. Unlocking the door and quickly disabling the alarm, Jack led them all into the showroom. Steering them away from the watches and other non-ring jewelry, Maeve guided Maggie, David, and Rose to the three display cases. Alan just leaned back against the wall, watching the excitement on David's and Maggie's faces.

"Do you have any guidelines for what you would want?" Maeve asked.

"Silver," David and Maggie answered, then looked at each other in awe. "Celtic knots," they again echoed each other.

"You two have already discussed this, haven't you?" Rose accused.

"No, mom, not at all. Not one word," Maggie defended while David just shook his head, denying any collusion.

"Okay, so why silver and Celtic design?" Maeve asked.

"Silver because it's less expensive than other precious metals," David supplied, then Maggie chimed in with, "And Celtic knots because the Claddagh rings stem from Irish traditions."

Letting out the breath she did not realize she was holding, Maeve just stood there in disbelief at their synchronicity. Realizing a memorable event was soon happening, she pulled her phone from her purse and began recording. Alan was smiling at their logic while Rose was beginning to tear up at how perfect these two were for each other. 'Even better than Tom and Julie are', she thought. Jack stepped forward and directed their attention to the one pair of silver rings with Celtic knotwork, one woman's ring and one matching man's ring. At their nods, he extracted them and placed them on the display mat.

"How much for these, Mr. Johnson?" David asked with a slight tremor in his voice. David held the woman's ring in his hand, turning it over and around, examining the pattern,

"I'll work that out with your parents, kids. Are these what you really want?"

Deciding, David pulled Maggie's right hand to him and slid the ring onto her right ring finger. Nearly sobbing, he choked out, "Margaret Kathleen Lawson, I hereby pledge to you my eternal friendship. You mean the world to me. Please accept this token of my promise to return to you, always. Wear it in good health and know that I'm always thinking of you while we're apart." He slid the ring into place on her slender hand and commented, "It seems a little loose."

"We'll get that resized on Tuesday, David," Jack answered, his throat choked up with his emotions.

Maggie tried to lift the matching man's ring, but was so overwrought with her own tears that she had to pull David's shoulder to her eyes to stanch the flow. Rose put her arm around her daughter's shoulder in support, and Maeve snuggled under Jack's arm, her face awash with her own tears.

"David, did you rehearse that at all?" Alan asked, his voice equally clogged.

"No, Dad, it just came out that way, somehow."

Getting her emotions under some small semblance of control, Maggie picked up the ring and slid it onto David's right ring finger, snugging it up against his knuckle, a perfect fit. "David Michael Harrison, I hereby pledge to you my eternal friendship. My world is nothing without you in it. Please know that you are ever in my thoughts, and may it bless you."

David lifted her chin with his right hand and gently kissed her and very lightly teased her with the tip of his tongue. The four adults, now smiling through a few tears, gave a soft cheer and clapped their approval.

"Now, get this young man on his way back to school!" Maeve ordered. Rose herded the younger pair out the back door to their car while Alan spoke softly with Jack.

"How much do we owe you, and I'm not accepting 'nothing', Jack."

Sighing, Jack bowed his head and replied after a few seconds. "$100 for the pair. List is $89 each. I just knew they would not last the weekend. I just got them in on Friday."

"I'll send the payment with Maggie on Tuesday, if that's acceptable."

"That will be as perfect as this little scene was. Thank you for sharing your family with Maeve and me, Alan."