Will gathered his things slowly, from Maggie�s tiny flat. He touched, lovingly, all of the things that she�d left behind. Her stacks of novels, arranged neatly in their bookshelves, he stroked carefully, reading aloud the titles of the ones he�d read. He pulled a few off the shelf and flipped through them. They were covered in ink and ruminations. Will�s hands were huge, holding those tiny trade paperbacks, knowing that Maggie�s own little hands had dog-eared these volumes, many times reading and re-reading the pages as if they were the only source of energy she had. Will remembered her vividly, always with a book in her banged up army messenger bag.

He wandered into her bedroom. There were hundreds of books. The bare shelves he remembered from years ago were full. It was a library with a bed.

�What are you looking for, Will,� he cautioned himself. He searched carefully. His heart beat quickly. Maggie had just walked away. From him, from everything. To another man, who maybe loved her � but Will didn�t know that.

He found what he was looking for under her bed.

+

�I left everything,� Maggie said to Adam. He was quiet for a moment.

�Why?�

�Because Will was there. Oh, shit.� Her voice raised an octave. �Oh shit. My journals.�

Adam stood carefully, dark against the darker night. He gathered her close. Breathed in the scent of her. �You loved this person, then?�

Maggie wilted a little.

�Once upon a time,� she spat. It was the first venom he�d heard from her. He took a step back and gestured for her to sit. Outside the veranda screen, fireflies danced against the night.

Maggie lowered herself to the porch swing and kicked it started, the chains groaning slightly in the dark. Her hands shook. She didn�t try to explain. Her anger was fading.

�Will is� he was my best friend, for years and years. We spent one night together. He had a sick father � things got complicated�� Maggie leaned against the swing back. �He lives in San Francisco. I called him� I didn�t expect him to come.�

Adam clasped her hands with his. �But he came,� he said. Maggie cautioned a glance. Adam seemed unperturbed.

�Yes, he did. And I left him in my apartment. God knows why.�

�What was there that you needed to get?�

�Oh. My books, some clothes.� Maggie closed her eyes. �My journals.�

Surprised, Adam asked, �You keep a journal?�

Maggie nodded. �I have since I was fifteen. It�s upwards of fifty actual volumes at this point.� She considered. �Maybe more. I haven�t counted in a while. I just finish them and chuck them in the box.�

Adam smiled at this. �I thought there was more going on there,� he said. He touched her hair. �You were so quiet, but seemed like so much more was happening.�

She leaned against his arm, suddenly comfortable with her stranger. �Yes. This is true. I gave up music for reading. But I wrote the entire time.�

Adam kicked the porch swing started again and the pair swung silently into the dark.

+

Will strode confidently through San Francisco International. Robert stood outside of Arrivals, his face impassive. Will chucked his duffel into the backseat and said, �Thanks for the lift.�

�No problem. How�d it go?� Robert adjusted his sunglasses on his head.

�Terribly. It was shit, actually.� Will bit at a hangnail. The car swung out into traffic.

�What happened?� Robert asked.
�She came to her place, and left without taking anything. She was happy to see me, but� I was too late. She kept saying I was too late. She wasn�t angry, just sad. She was right. I was too late.� Will looked out the window, and willed the lump in his throat to disappear.

Robert asked, �And?�

�I took her journals. Robert, I had to. I needed to know. Did she ever love me, really?�

�You stole Maggie�s journals?�

�Yes. I�ll mail them back. Maybe.�

Robert laughed. �You know, she knows you took them.�

Will turned in his seat. �What?�

�Maggie. She�s sharp. And those journals are famous. Everyone knew about them, no one knew where to find them � but she was so brilliant, so ahead of her time� I�m sure she reckoned that was the first thing you�d go for.�

Will felt disquieted. �Was I wrong to take them? I mean, obviously, yes, I shouldn�t have lifted them, but really.�

Robert considered. �Yes, you were wrong, but you felt wronged, so you feel justified.�

Will sighed. �I�m an asshole,� he said.

�Yup.�

+

Maggie lifted her head and shouted, �They�re gone.�

Adam came round the corner to her bedroom. �You weren�t kidding about your books. Wow. I think we can fit these into the third bedroom down the hall. I can build some shelves��

Maggie lifted the box from under the bed. There were four volumes left. She fought down the sense of panic. �He left a goddamn note. He took all but the first four. So� he now has my life, my thoughts, from when we met. That bastard��

Adam stood with his hands in her pockets. He was wearing all black. He regarded her thoughtfully. �Will it help, to call him?� he asked.

Maggie sprawled forward onto her bed. �No,� she said into her pillow. �He�s back home now. I don�t think it would help. He�s dear to me, but� he can be impossible, and stubborn��

Adam laughed. �You two must have been hellions!�

Maggie looked up, incredulous. �We were, actually��

Adam smiled and picked Maggie up from the bed. �You can tell me about it sometime. But let�s get some lunch and then head home. How about a hamburger?�

Maggie smiled hesitantly. �And maybe a movie?�

Adam walked out into the living room. �Sure thing. Anything you want to see?� He hefted the box of clothes onto his shoulder and Maggie, suddenly, happily, felt as if a weight lifted from her shoulders and she smiled while following him out of the apartment, to her car.