The Gift (20 page)

Maggie thought of Tucker as sort of a musical father
figure. He had originally asked her to go on tour with him because she had an
excellent voice and looked good on stage, but he had noticed when they were on
the tour bus that she was always working on writing songs. A couple of times he
had sat with her on the bus and asked her to play some of her music for him. He
had liked her songs and encouraged her to get a band together and try to get a
recording contract. So when she told him that she would like him to sing on her
album, he was happy to help her out. After all, it had been his idea in the
first place.

Maggie didn’t know that one of the reasons that Tucker
liked her was that she reminded him of how he felt in the early days of his
music career. He had become jaded over the years about the music industry and
touring with his band, but sometimes when he talked to Maggie he started
feeling a glimmer of excitement again about the music. He could remember how
much fun he had in the beginning, writing his own songs, playing out on the
road at the small clubs where he could actually interact with the audience. It
had been the struggle that was interesting, and once his career had become
established and monetarily rewarding, it somehow became a lot less fulfilling
personally. Also, Tucker was attracted to Maggie, she looked a lot like his
first wife. He always regretted that relationship had been a casualty of his
success.

Maggie would have liked to go to Nashville to record
with Tucker, but she could tell that Zak didn’t like the idea. Although he had
been understanding about her one night with Justin, mostly because he knew his
own behavior had precipitated her indiscretion, he didn’t quite fully trust her
to be faithful after that. Maggie didn’t want to tell Tucker that though. So
instead she told him that it would be more convenient for her to record in Boston since she had to take care of Gabriel. She also told Tucker that she was pregnant
again, and wasn’t quite up to traveling. Tucker was always a gentleman, so he
agreed to fly up to Boston for a day or two to record the song.

By the time they finished putting down the vocal tracks
in the studio, Tucker decided that he was glad he had decided to record with
Maggie. Tucker had a good ear for a hit and he was pretty sure that “Truck Stop
Girl” had that potential. He was almost sorry that they weren’t recording it
for one of his albums, but he planned on asking Maggie to return the favor and
sing a duet with him on his next record.

Abbie and Jerry had sat in on the recording session so
when Tucker was finished recording the vocals with Maggie, he decided to speak
to them about it.

“Maggie is going to be quite the asset to your record
label,” he began. “She has a beautiful voice and writes a good song. I hope
that when I start working on my next album, that you will let her come record
with me.”

Abbie and Jerry looked very pleased with this idea, they
knew that if Maggie recorded with Tucker then it would boost the sales of her
album too. Tucker then asked them if he could listen to the rest of the tracks
from Maggie’s album. Tucker had grown up in Kentucky and had listened to a lot
of bluegrass music in his youth. He had always enjoyed it, but had gone into
country music because he felt it had broader appeal and he could make more
money in that genre. Now that he didn’t have any worries financially anymore,
Tucker thought that maybe he might be interested in making music with a
bluegrass influence. He was getting a little tired of country music, and the
idea of a new sound excited him. He especially liked the progressive bluegrass
on Maggie’s album. He thought he would talk to Maggie about this. Maybe they
could write some songs together for his new record.

Tucker recognized that if he wanted to work with Maggie,
then he would need Zak’s cooperation. So as he was leaving, he shook Zak’s hand
and said “I enjoyed your Dobro playing and singing. If you ever want work as a
session musician in Nashville, give me a call. I know a lot of people that
could use your talents.” 

The visit from Tucker left everyone feeling upbeat. His
comments to Abbie and Jerry reinforced their feeling that Maggie’s album was
going to do well in the marketplace. They were anxious to complete the mixing,
press the album and start distributing it to stores. Then they would see
whether they had a hit on their hands.     

.

Chapter 23

Zak and the Bayou Blasters had decided to sign
a contract with Abbie and Jerry too, but when it came time for them to go into
the studio to record, Zak decided that he wanted to go back to the studio in New Orleans. He already knew the sound engineer and thought that he could help them achieve
the sound that they were looking for. Zak also wanted to ask some of the
musicians that he played with in Louisiana to contribute to his album. It would
be a lot more convenient to record close to home and his friends. So after
Maggie’s album was mixed to everyone’s satisfaction, Maggie, Zak and Gabriel
flew back to Louisiana. Maggie was happy to go home to their little house,
their family and friends and Chère. She had realized when she was in Boston that it didn’t feel like home to her anymore. Her home was in Louisiana now.

The Bayou Blasters practiced assiduously for ten days in
Maggie and Zak’s studio and then drove down to New Orleans to cut their record.
They had decided to ask several of their friends to contribute to the album,
Jesse the fiddler and Samuel who was the accordion player in the zydeco band
that they played with occasionally. The Bayou Blasters’ overall sound was
mostly rock and blues with elements of Cajun, zydeco, swamp pop and boogie. It
was a musical gumbo that really rocked.

Zak asked Maggie to help them out with harmonies on some
numbers, so she left Gabriel with Zak’s mother for a couple days so she could
record with the band without any distractions.

While they were in New Orleans, the band decided to go
out one night to a club in the French Quarter to hear Dr. John. The Bayou
Blasters had met him several times at some of the Cajun and blues festivals
that took place during the summers. Maggie had been familiar with Dr. John’s
music for a long time, but she had never seen him perform live. She immediately
loved his rollicking, boogie woogie piano style and his gravelly soulful
singing. His music had a great beat and was perfect for dancing.

She whispered in Zak’s ear, “Darling, please dance with
me.” Zak was only too happy to hold Maggie close and dance with her. She was
wearing the gauzy white dress that she had worn during the photo shoot for her
band, and even though she was now noticeably pregnant, she radiated sexuality.
Maggie hadn’t been out dancing in a long time and she was enjoying herself. As
the song ended, Zak told her that he was getting a little tired. Maggie wasn’t
ready to stop dancing so she looked at Justin who was still sitting at their
table and smiled at him. Zak asked Justin if he would mind dancing with Maggie
and he was happy to oblige. They danced to “Iko, Iko” and then Dr. John started
playing his big hit “Such a Night”. Maggie and Justin looked at each other and
laughed uneasily. The song was about a man who was trying to steal his best
friend’s girl, and it hit a little too close to home.

Everyone in the audience was singing along with the chorus.

“You came here with my best friend Jim

And here I am trying to steal you away from him,

If I don’t do it, somebody else will,

If I don’t do it, somebody else will.”

Maggie started to feel uncomfortable, the song reminded
her about the night she spent with Justin. Justin was thinking about that night
too, and he held Maggie tighter and pulled her a little closer to him. He
looked deep into her eyes and had to stop himself from telling her that he
loved her. Even though he was living with Bonnie, he had never been able to put
Maggie out of his mind completely.

Maggie flushed suddenly and told Justin that she had to
sit down. He took her back to the table where Zak was sitting listening to the
music. Maggie leaned over and kissed Zak briefly and sat down.

“You look hot, sha,” Zak said. “Let me get you another
drink.”

Zak motioned for the waitress and ordered two more cokes
and a beer for Justin. Maggie took Zak’s hand under the table, even as she felt
Justin’s leg press against her outer thigh. The tables were packed tightly
together, so it might have been accidental, but as Maggie glanced briefly at
Justin she knew that he was touching her intentionally. She found it
simultaneously comforting and arousing, and knew that she shouldn’t feel that
way.

Justin leaned over and told Zak that he was tired and
was going back to the motel. Zak said that he and Maggie were going to stay
until the end of the set. He was enjoying a fun evening with his beautiful
wife, something which didn’t happen often enough. Zak wanted to make the most
of it.

The next day Maggie felt awkward around Justin at the
studio. They had always been good friends, but now they both knew there was an
undercurrent of sexual attraction between them. Maggie had never been able to
remember what had happened that night when she had sex with Justin, she had
been too drunk to remember anything. Justin, on the other hand, could remember
every detail. He had tried to shake it off, but it haunted him. He wanted to
make love to Maggie again, but he knew he couldn’t ever let that happen.

The next morning, Maggie decided to drive home. She had
completed her vocal tracks for the album and wanted to get back to Gabriel. She
also decided that she was starting to feel dangerously attracted to Justin. She
couldn’t quite understand why this had happened, maybe his touch had awakened
some latent memories of the night that they had spent together. She only knew
that these memories were best forgotten.

The Bayou Blasters remained in the studio for another
week finishing recording and mixing the album. Zak missed Maggie and Gabriel,
so he returned home. Justin stayed in New Orleans for another couple days
making sure that he was happy with the way the recording engineer mixed the
album. Finally he was satisfied, and he went back to Bonnie’s apartment. He
tried to resume their relationship, but he was feeling restless. He knew he
didn’t feel the same way about Bonnie that he did about Maggie. Maybe he
couldn’t have Maggie, but he didn’t want to settle for a relationship that felt
like a compromise. So two weeks later, he told Bonnie that he was breaking up
with her and moved out into his own apartment.

Maggie was feeling upset about the incident with Justin
at the club and wanted to talk to someone about it. She obviously couldn’t talk
to Zak, so one afternoon when Zak was out, she called Vanessa. After exchanging
some pleasantries and catching up on what was going on, Maggie told her that
she had been feeling attracted to Justin lately.

Vanessa laughed. “Maggie, you’re married, not dead. I
can’t say I blame you, he’s very attractive. In fact, we ended up spending the
night together after your wedding reception.”

Maggie was surprised. “I thought you didn’t like him.”

“I never said that,” Vanessa replied. “I just didn’t see
the point in getting involved with a musician who didn’t have much in the way
of financial prospects.”

Vanessa continued, “Maggie I’m wondering if you are
starting to regret getting settled down so early. You’re only 26. How many men
have you been with?”

“Well, basically just Zak and Doug. There was that one
night with Justin, but I really don’t remember much about it.”

“Maybe it’s too bad that you didn’t sleep with him just
one more time, and then you could have put it out of your mind. Now you’ll
always be wondering what it was like.”

“It’s too late now,” Maggie said. “We just have to put
it behind us and forget it ever happened. I’m lucky to have Zak, I don’t need
anyone else.”

“Sometimes it’s nice to have someone remind us that
we’re still attractive,” Vanessa said.

Maggie realized that there was some truth in that. Even
though she loved Zak and Gabriel, sometimes she longed to be carefree and
unattached again. The fact that she was expecting another baby made her feel
even more tied down sometimes, but there was no point in thinking about that.

Several days later, something happened to take Maggie’s
mind off of her brief attraction to Justin, a heavy box arrived at the house
from Abbie and Jerry with copies of Maggie’s album in it. Maggie was so nervous
that her hands started to shake and she couldn’t open the package. Zak kissed
her, and then took the box from her and opened it up. There was a stack of
about 50 records inside. Maggie picked one up and looked at the front cover.
There was the group shot of the band with their name Little Maggie and the
North-South Coalition. LITTLE MAGGIE was in large letters across the top, And
The North-South Coalition was in tiny letters across the bottom. As Maggie was
looking at the front of the album, Zak was looking at the other side of the
album and suddenly he whistled softly when he saw the photo of Maggie that was
on the back. It was the photo of her standing in the open barn door with the
sun shining through her dress. Zak thought that he had never seen her look so
beautiful and sexy. He laughed and said, “Every 14 year old boy is going to be
drooling over this album.”

Maggie turned the album over and was shocked by the
photo. She hadn’t seen it before and wouldn’t have approved of it going on the
album cover. She was embarrassed to be the focus of the album cover and hoped
the rest of the band wouldn’t be angry about it. Zak saw her distress and told
her to relax.