Chapter 7

"Had yourself a little laugh back there at my expense, didn't you?" Jamie snapped. Nicole leaned against Jaime's car and looked at the ground.

"Get the hell out of here before I call the cops," I said. I knew I told Stacy I wouldn't get the cops. But I decided to do it anyway, since I can.

"On what charge?" he asked. Who was he kidding?

"Stalking," I replied.

"What evidence do you have?"

"Let's see, I saved your message and I have witnesses. Oh, and that cop who told you to move on last night when you camped out here? He's a friend of my dad's."

"Boy, you have the world at your fingertips, don't you? You can call in favors to the cops, and even get your tired old ex a gig. But you can't do a thing for Jaime."

"How do you know about me helping Maggie get work?" I really wanted to know this.

"A little bird told me," he said, looking at Nicole. She was still looking at the ground.

"For your information, Jaime...and Nicole...Stacy got her that job, not me."

"Oh yea, hi Stacy. Steal any Baby's Daddys away lately?" he sneered.

"You're wrong there too, Jaime," I said.

"How do you know so much, Jaime?" she demanded. She stood there glaring at him.

"Well, I have reliable sources, Howie. Your ho is one of them," he said, pointing at Stacy. She slapped his hand down.

"I never talk to you, so how could you be getting information from me?" she screamed at him. I put my arm around her to get her to calm down.

"Stacy, it's not worth getting mad. That's just what he wants from you," I told her. She sighed deeply and nodded.

"You might as well hear the truth, Howie," Nicole suddenly blurted out. Stacy, Jaime and I looked at her in amazement.

"This jackass and I have been going out for a while. Too long, if you ask me. Ever since I mentioned that I saw you at the hotel with that woman and little boy, he's been on me to dig up as much dirt as I can."

"Did he know about the reporter?" I asked.

"Yes, he did. That day at the pool, I called him and he called her. He knew the woman with you was Maggie because I gave him her description. He deducted that the little boy was yours and hers."

"And how did you find out I would be at that church? How did you find out my cell phone number and home number? And where Stacy lives?" I figured since she was spilling, I might as well get as much as I could.

"That's where Stacy comes in," said Nicole, looking at Stacy apologetically. Stacy stared at Nicole.

"I also work at the club Stacy and her friends sometimes hang out at. I work the coat check." I knew the one she was talking about. Stacy goes there with her friends, but I won't be seen near the place. The atmosphere is all wrong for me. I guess if I did go there, I'd have seen Nicole.

"Jaime works as a bouncer there, when he's not trying to schmooze with insiders," she glared at Jaime, he just shrugged.

"Anyway," she continued, "he pointed Stacy out to me. He told me to eavesdrop on conversations and go through her pockets whenever she checked her coat or jacket. Now, I feel like slime for having done it. I thought this bozo was worth it." She looked down at the ground again.

"Thing is, Howie, I still work at the hotel, too," she said, still looking down, "I didn't need a job from you. Jaime saw your ad and pressured me to apply. If you hired me, I would have quit one of my jobs." Jaime stood there looking at Nicole in disbelief.

"I can't believe you told him everything, you bitch!" he screamed at her.

"Jaime, it's over. This whole thing has consumed you. It's become more important than our relationship. If we even had a relationship," she said, looking straight at him.

"I'm sorry Howie...Stacy," she said to us, "whatever you decide to do to this loser is fine by me." We both nodded.

"I'm walking to the corner to hail a cab," she told Jaime.

She walked down the block without looking back.

"Jaime, do I have to file a restraining order on you, or have you learned your lesson?" I asked. He looked down at the ground and shook his head.

He got into his car and drove off in the opposite direction that Nicole went in. Stacy and I went back across the street and upstairs to her apartment.

Once we got inside, I flopped onto the sofa and put my head in my hands. I should have felt good about how the whole thing turned out, but I felt awful. Stacy sat down next to me and put her hand on my back.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"No, Stacy, I’m not okay," I replied. I sat back up and looked at the ceiling.

"Why? You got rid of Jaime," she said.

"I know, but seeing him again brought back painful memories."

"Of how he treated your sister?"

"My sister can take care of herself as you well know. But do you realize that right before Jaime was fired, was when Maggie left?" Suddenly I realized what I said and I felt bad. I looked over at Stacy, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Howie, you don’t want me. It was always Maggie," she said, her voice cracking.

"Well, Maggie didn’t want me and she said I could see who I wanted."

"Maggie does want you, she’s just scared. Don’t believe that front she puts up."

"How do you know?"

"She’s my girl, I know her well. Look, Howie, we talked on the phone last week. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it. I told her about how happy I was with you and she admitted that she misses you."

"She can still miss me without being in love with me."

"You don’t get it. Even over the phone I could sense the vibe that she wanted you back. She thinks because you’re with me she can’t have you back."

"And this is all from some ‘vibe’?" I asked. I wanted to believe her but I wasn’t sure if I could.

"Okay, she told me straight up that she made a mistake rejecting your proposals, all right? She said she had her chance and she blew it. I didn’t tell you about the conversation because I was afraid you’d go running back to her. I didn’t want to lose you." By now, Stacy was sobbing. I reached out to hold her but she pushed me away.

"Ask her again, Howie, it’s what she wants. I should have never believed that you and I could have something. You and Maggie belong together. For Danny’s sake and your own sake," she said, calming down a bit.

We both stood up and hugged. She knew all along that I still carried a torch for Maggie. I felt like a jerk for trying to hide it.

"Goodbye, Stacy. You take care of yourself."

"Goodbye, Howie. Stay in touch," she giggled nervously. I smiled at her and kissed her forehead. Then I left for home.

I slept until noon the next day. After a lot of pacing and rehearsing in the mirror, I decided to call Maggie in Chicago. She lived with her parents but she had her own phone line. When I called, I got her voice mail. I should’ve known she’d be at school at this time. I left a message.

"Maggie? Hi, it’s me. Listen, I…Stacy told me everything. I want you to know that I never stopped wanting you. I want us to be together always. I want our son’s hyphenated last name to be more than just an afterthought. I love you, Maggie and I want you to marry me." I hit the pound key, hung up the phone and contemplated what I had just done.

That was the first time I recall saying that I loved Maggie. I never knew I’d propose to someone on their voice mail. I always thought I’d be the guy to get down on one knee. But it was done. Now all I had to do was wait until Maggie heard it and hope she returns the call.

I went out and ran a few errands and when I got back, I had a message. It was from Maggie:

"Howie, the answer is yes. I love you too, baby. We can make this work, I know we can." I took a deep breath and played the message back two more times.

We can make it work, I thought. We can work out the details later. It’s not like we’re doing this tomorrow. We need to choose a day that’s right for both of us.