Devon tilted his head. “You got reprimanded?”
Maggie sighed, “Yeah, a formal verbal reprimand. And was told I’m lucky it wasn’t a formal written reprimand that would go in my personnel file.”
“I don’t get it. Why were you reprimanded?” Mike asked, as he poured more merlot into all three glasses.
Devon smiled, then asked, “So, start again. Start to finish, what happened today with the Dean and President?”
Maggie stiffened. “Stop sounding like a lawyer.”
“I am a lawyer. And knowing you, I may have to defend you in a labor lawsuit at some point, so I want to make sure I have my facts straight.”
Maggie took a sip of wine. “It’s a long story.”
Devon looked at Mike, who shrugged, “We’ve got time.”
She smiled, “Does it ever occur to the two of you that our social lives suck? That this is the extent of our social lives?”
Mike chuckled, “You mean that after almost twenty years of friendship, our big social event is getting together every month to eat pizza and drink wine?”
Devon’s eyes clouded with sadness, “It used to be the four of us.”
Maggie squeezed his hand, “And she specifically told us she’d come back to haunt us if we didn’t continue the tradition.”
Devon continued, “So explain what happened.”
“Oh, the whole day sucked. It started badly…”
***
The day had started badly. Maggie awoke in a fog, smelling coffee. She usually woke early to work out, her coffee pot set to start automatically while she showered. Smelling coffee clearly meant she was already running at least an hour behind. Damn!
Twenty minutes later, she poured the liquid java into a travel mug. As she stepped over the toys scattered across the rug, her heart constricted. It always felt so weird when the boys were away. But, at least this morning, she could probably still make her meeting relatively on time, since she wouldn’t have to stop at daycare.
Five minutes later, she pulled into the lot and grimaced to see another car occupying her normal spot. After three futile circuits, she finally pulled onto the grass at the side of the lot, hoping Security would ignore her car this one time.
She hopped out of the car and yanked her bag from the passenger seat, breaking into a jog toward the Commons Building. How could she be late for the most important faculty meeting of the year? With any luck at all, she could duck in the back door and find a seat without anyone noticing.
That One Small Omission Description:
Maggie Erickson-O’Brien always played it safe, always. That is, right up to the moment when she met the man of her dreams while on a work trip. A one-night stand led to dreams of forever, until the moment when she realized they could never have a future together.
Months later, fate thrusts them together again, and he has to decide if her one small omission will doom their relationship.
Can forever still happen?
