Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time - Chp 18

She only took a quarter of a second to decide to go to Milton and see John. If he would not come down south then she would pay him a call. Actually, deciding took less time than that, but no one was keeping count of the seconds. The short note Margaret left for Tara was placed on the refrigerator door where she would immediately find it. Her friend would hardly be bothered at not having her around the rest of the day. After enduring the cuddling, sweet talk between Tara and Alec last night, Margaret finally admitted she was feeling decidedly lonely.

It had been hard, watching her friend, seeing how being in love transformed her in a split second. From being the head baker in their thriving business, as soon as Alec arrived, she was Tara, the girlfriend. She put as much effort into helping Alec relax from a long grueling day at work as she did putting together a wedding cake.

It wasn't just in her behavior, but also in the softness of her voice, the way Tara needed to touch Alec on the arm, the shoulder; a quick hug as they passed. Her whole body language spoke so loudly that Margaret wished she hadn't heard it so clearly. It was a blaring message that her life was empty and hollow.

From the start she had fought against liking John, but that was quickly taken out of her hands. The man was handsome yes, but she had never been one to be influenced by an attractive face. He had come out of the blue, plopped down into her life without so much as a by-your-leave, and became a fixture. It unnerved her that John slipped in so easily. They had not dated in the true sense of the word, but Margaret felt she knew much more of him than other couples who dated for years, except where his past was concerned.

That was the crux in her dilemma. Regardless of what she felt each time they were together, Margaret was still in the dark about most of the man's past.

The impromptu drive north gave her ample opportunity to consider all aspects regarding her changing feelings and views. As angry as she was at Henry for his interference, he offered a look into John's background that neither the book nor mirror supplied.

With alarm, Margaret noted how little of the book she had actually read. Not since that first dinner, after Edith's reception, did she really read through a full chapter. There had been quick glimpses, but nothing more. She had been fearful to look again.

The mirror's revelations seemed to be revolved around the proposed intimacy they would eventually share, or so it implied.

"After we're married..."

It was a suggestion, a proposal of sorts, on what the future would hold. Margaret's logical mind would accept nothing less and yet, the idea it was the blueprint of a future opened to her if she would just follow the path was an invitation she was hard pressed to accept. She balked it would lift free will from her grasp. That was something she could not allow.

Taking several deep breaths, she tried to focus on her driving, feeling comfortable with the light traffic late in the morning. Once again, she determined she would arrive in Milton in less than an hour's time. John would be at the factory. She would need to proceed there instead of his house.

The number of cars had thinned considerably and it was only the occasional car and the large tour buses, carrying hordes of tourists to yet another destination that passed her. Those dozens of faces, staring out from the tinted glass, looking down at her had their whole stay planned, down to the minute in some cases. They followed the schedule set for them, where in which alteration was frowned upon should it disturb the whole structure.

It was so methodical and punctual. And their set itineraries, in context, were not so different from what the book had written about her future.

Frowning at the thought, Margaret nodded without realizing, seeing the strange resemblance.