Matthew opened the bedroom door, and with a great deal of trepidation, he, Janice and Sissy, the Wests and Elise walked inside.
Instead of a chaotic scene, however, they were greeted by the sight of Maggie having straightened up much of Joe’s mess, and the sound of a shower running.
“Wow,” said Matt. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Maggie replied with a weary smile. “For the most part, he’s cool.”
“Boy, he sure did some damage,” Elise said, wrinkling her nose at the scent that still hung in the air. “It smells like the morning after in here.”
Maggie chuckled, “The morning after what, Gramma?”
Elise raised an eyebrow. “Anything, honey. The morning after anything.”
“There are still a few folks downstairs, but pretty much everyone else thought it best to go home,” Janice said.
Maggie looked back at the closed bathroom door where Joe wasn’t so much showering as he was bracing himself against the wall under the running water. “That’s probably best,” she said. “I don’t think he’s in any condition to come down and talk to anybody.”
“Now hold on, Maggie,” Sissy interjected. “I know you were Grace’s best friend, but I think as Joe’s family, we know what’s best for him, and he needs to be surrounded by people who want to comfort him.”
The word ‘family’ was said with a degree of emphasis that resonated with Dexter, but shocked every else in the room as being unduly harsh.
“Sissy!” Janice said.
“Well, he’ll have plenty of time for all of that tomorrow,” said Elise firmly. She pointed her finger up at Sissy. “And that’s coming from his mother, who knows him better than anybody.”
Sissy was taken aback by Elise’s retort and said, “I’m sorry Gramma, all I was saying was…”
“Look, we’re all on edge,” Elise said. “I’ve never seen him this low, obviously, but he’s a strong boy. He just needs tonight to sleep it off and sort it out.”
She then turned her attention to Maggie, touching her on the arm. “You handled it just fine, dear. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
The apparent taking of Maggie’s side by Elise caused Sissy to burn within. Maintaining her composure, however, she turned to the others and said tersely, “Well, I guess that’s that then.”
“Come on, I think we all just need to go,” said Matthew. “Joe’s gonna need his rest.”
As they all exited, Lenore embraced her daughter. “I love you baby,” she said softly.
“Love you back, Ma. You too, Daddy.”
All Dexter could manage was a half smile, a nod and a gesture with his arm to lead the ladies out of the room. As to the effectiveness of Maggie’s actions that night, the jury was still out as far as he was concerned.
“Maggie, that dress looks great on you!” Grace exclaimed from the doorway of the dressing room.
Around Grace’s feet were several shopping bags, over her arm was a garment bag containing the spoils of her part of their Atlanta shopping weekend: a cobalt blue wool suit and a silk blouse, the barest whisper of lavender.
Maggie took in her refection in the three-way mirror. The chiffon of the dress felt like heaven, the darker shade of silver was perfection against her skin. The v-shaped neckline, gathered waist and full, flirty skirt were a true compliment to her shape.
“Look what I found,” Grace said to her in her sing-songy voice as she dangled a pair of pewter Armani pintucked leather pumps over Maggie’s shoulder. “These will go perfectly!”
“Oh, they are fabulous,” Maggie cried happily. “This is so funny. I feel like I’m your dress-up doll or something.”
“I prefer to think of you as my ever-evolving canvas,” Grace pronounced triumphantly as she sat down in a dressing room chair. She draped her leg over the chair’s arm and flipped her hair back over her shoulder.
“And you are a work of art, baby,” she laughed, pointing at Maggie.
Maggie slipped on the pumps and studied herself more intently. “It all works, doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does, honey,” Grace responded in dramatic fashion, hands flung high in the air. “Every woman deserves to be, at one point in her life or another, swathed from shoulder to sole in anything from Alexander McQueen to Zac Posen. If you don’t buy it, I’m buying it for you.”
…I’m buying it for you… buying it for you… for you…
The words echoed in Maggie’s head as her eyes slowly opened to the dawn.
Glancing at the clock, she realized that in two hours, a host of friends, family and colleagues would gather to remember Grace in tribute. In roughly three hours, Grace’s body would go to its final resting place.
For a few moments, however, Maggie decided lay curled up with a pillow, replaying what she could remember of her dreams of Grace over in her mind.
When she finally decided to rise, Maggie went straight to the closet and pulled out the same beautiful designer dress and matching shoes. She’d never worn the dress before, and after the service, she knew she’d never wear it again. There were no plans to throw it out or give it away. She figured she’d just place it, along with the shoes, in her closet back in the vinyl garment bag from which they came; their significance relevant to no one but her.
Matthew and Declan decided to try and help Joe get ready for the service. Armed with strong black coffee, a large bottle of water and some vitamin B, Matthew still found it difficult to wake him. The relief of getting sick and the hot shower afterward had a soporific effect on him, causing him to fall into a deep sleep.
“Come on son, it’s time to get up” Matthew said. Joe stirred a bit, his eyes not opening.
“Joe? You need to get up now.”
Joe let out a groan and put his hand over his eyes. “Ten more minutes. Please,” he mumbled.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Declan said. “You go on ahead, Mr. Hammond. I’ll get him there.”
Matthew placed the coffee mug on the nightstand next to the bed. “Thanks,” he said, shaking Declan’s hand. “He’s gonna need all the support he can get today.”