Chapter 81

Maggie finished her second-to-last semester in May and was giddy to only have one more to go. She was sitting at her desk, putting her papers in folders on her desktop, when her phone rang.

It was Ed, her former principal.

“Hi, Ed. How’s it going?”

“Hi, Maggie. Everything is going well. I just finished processing Patrick’s enrollment. Is he ready to be a kindergartener?”

“Oh, I know he is, I just don’t know if I am! It’s a big thing and I just don’t know how to let him go!”

Ed chuckled and they talked for a few minutes before he dropped a bomb in Maggie’s lap.

“I’m retiring, Maggie. Adam is going to be the new principal and we are looking for a new assistant principal. When are you done with your master’s?”

Maggie was stunned into silence for a few seconds. “I have one more semester…why?”

“Because I want you to interview to be the new assistant principal. School policy stipulates that you have to be within one semester of graduating to be eligible for the job.

“You would be perfect! You get to work on the curriculum piece, which you are so gifted at. Plus, you get to be the mentor to the new staff.”

Maggie sat with the phone to her ear, trying to process what she was hearing. Assistant principal? Her? How could that be possible? She had four kids! Could she really do this?

“Maggie, are you still there?”

“Ummm…yeah, I’m still here, Ed. I just don’t know what to say…”

“Just say that you will think about it and talk to Liam about it, okay?”

Maggie promised she would, hung up, and stared out of the windows, looking at the ocean waves.

It soothed her to watch the consistency of the waves roll in and crash to the sand, retreat, and repeat the process as another one came in.

She was knocked out of her trance when Isaac came running in and jumped into her lap with a book, begging her to read it to him.

She smiled and planted kisses all over his face as they settled in the chair to read about Brother and Sister Bear.

“Mommy, why don’t I have a sister?” he asked innocently.

Maggie was a little shocked at his question, but smiled and answered, “Well, it’s just the way that God wanted it to be. He wanted you to have only brothers.”

“But I want a sister. I could play dolls with her like Brother Bear. Let’s get a sister!”

“Well, honey, I’m not so sure about that. But I will think about it, okay?”

That seemed to pacify her second child for the moment, and they continued with the book. When it was over, he hopped down and went to the playroom where Patrick was playing.

“First Ed bringing up the job, and now Isaac with the baby sister! What the hell?” she fumed out loud as she went into the kitchen to help Tonya with dinner.

Liam came home and noticed how distracted his wife was. He had to call her name three times before she looked up at him while they were eating.

“Darling, what’s wrong? You seem out of sorts…”

“Oh, um, let’s talk about it later when the boys are down for the night, okay?”

He nodded even though he was worried about her. They finished dinner as a family, then Liam took the boys outside to the beach to run around with Rupert, chasing balls and playing in the shallow surf.

The boys had very strict rules when it came to the beach and being in the water. If the rules weren’t followed, they had to go sit with mom on the towels.

Noah and Trevor had learned that lesson the hard way a few weeks ago and didn’t want to miss out on the sandcastles and wrestling in the water with their dad.

Maggie loved watching her boys play with each other. She could see their little personalities shining through, even though they all looked like Liam.

They all had his insane intellect, and she knew they would have issues making sure they were challenged in school. Maggie had talked with Elizabeth about her fears and what she should do.

Elizabeth assured her that since she was already in education and had a handle on it, they would be okay.

“You just have to start looking at high schools a little sooner than you originally thought. A boarding school might be a viable option when the time comes. But don’t worry, it will all work out!”

Maggie nodded and hoped she was right.

The twins came over to Maggie and sat on her lap, getting her sandy and wet. She tickled and kissed them until they were squealing.

She took them inside for a bath while Liam stayed with Patrick and Isaac on the beach. They had finished their baths just as the others came in.

Liam kissed them good night as he got the older ones in the bath and calmed down.