Maggie Keegan was the only daughter of Tom and Rona Keegan, both second generation Irish-Americans whose forefathers came to America to improve their lot in life. From Tom and Rona, Maggie learned that the opportunity offered by America was only limited by one’s own ambition and willingness to work. So, from the time that she was old enough to be of any help, Maggie Keegan could be found working in Keegan’s Bakery alongside her father and mother. She learned the skills of a master baker. She learned the art of dealing with customers. She learned how to turn a profit in a small business. But most of all, she learned the value of hard work and the satisfaction of fulfilled self responsibility.
Maggie graduated from high school with respectable grades. She certainly could have advanced her education by attending any of the numerous colleges or universities in the area. But with no argument from her father, Maggie elected to stay with the family business, knowing that it would be her life’s work anyway.
Maggie’s chestnut hair, startling green eyes and hourglass figure captivated many a young man. She was a typical fun loving young woman and enjoyed the attention of those who pursued her. Two years after graduating from high school, Maggie decided that she should move into her own apartment and out from under the watchful eye of Tom and Rona. Anyone who has been to Boston knows that it is really just a big college town. Though she was not a student, Maggie mixed easily with those who were and could be found, on most nights, in their company. She lost her virginity soon after moving into her apartment in the Coolidge Corner section of Brookline. The young man was a pre-med student from Boston University. Though they were fond of each other, both realized that their relationship was only casual and probably headed nowhere. She dated other young men and never entered a committed relationship with any of them. Maggie was learning about life. It was a time of fun, recklessness, and except for the bakery, no responsibility.
Maggie’s life changed when, at the age of twenty one, she became pregnant by a Harvard law student. Again, the relationship was not love. And both Maggie and the boy knew it. The young man was not one of the wealthy blue bloods attending Harvard as a legacy. No. He was a bright young man from Paducah, Kentucky who had been lucky enough to get into Harvard Law School but had to work two jobs supplementing student loans in order to stay there. It was on a Sunday afternoon, one rare that he wasn’t working. Mike had asked Maggie to a Red Sox game with the despised Yankees. The Red Sox won a close one, 7 – 6. Mike and Maggie celebrated the win with a roll in the hay back at her apartment. The consequences would arrive nine months later.
Mike made all the offers and overtures of one who clearly thought the pregnancy should be terminated. Maggie would not even entertain the thought. She released Mike from any further or future responsibilities of the baby and bid him good-bye. Whether it was guilt, affection, or a sense of obligation, Mike continued to pursue Maggie hoping to sway her, or, failing that, offer a life together. It took months for Maggie to convince Mike that she would handle things her way. But when she did, he backed off, leaving her to fend for herself, and the baby.
To say that Tom and Rona Keegan were pleased with the situation would not be accurate. In fact, it would be downright absurd. But the Keegans loved their daughter as life itself and helped Maggie move back in with them. They knew nothing of the situation or the father and didn’t ask more than once. Rona was a constant attendant to Maggie during the pregnancy and when Thomas Mitchell Keegan was born at Beth-Israel Deaconess Hospital, prouder grandparents you couldn’t find.
Learn more about Maggie Keegan, and her son “Mitch” in “Following Claire.”
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