Love at the Christmas Table
A Josh & Maya Story
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Rated: T
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Chapter 1 the Beginning of the End
It had been 3 years since Josh Matthews had been to a Christmas party at his childhood home. He stared at the back door and into the kitchen. Maya Hart and his mom were the only ones there, making cookies and laughing with each other. He could hear the faint strains of Percy Faith playing on the CD player his mom kept on the counter near the sink.
But he only had eyes for Maya. She was even more breathtaking than he remembered. He had only watched her life through pictures on Instagram and Facebook for the past 1095 days. The real thing was so much better.
He slowly opened the door, so he wouldn't startle them and went inside. It smelled like sugar cookies and pine trees, just like it always had. He was assaulted with a 10001 memories of Christmas Eves past.
Starting with one of the very first ones he remembered, the first Christmas Eve he had met Maya.
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2005
They met when she was 4 and he was 6. She came in trailing his niece, Riley, looking less than thrilled to be there, there were traces of her tears on her cheeks and she was dragging her feet as she followed a more cheerful Riley inside the house.
His first glimpse of her was candy cane striped tights and a red Garanimals skirt. Almost Riley's twin, except the other girl was wearing a green skirt and sparkly red tights.
"Maya's a little upset that her father couldn't be home in time for the holidays," Topanga told Amy as she helped the girls out of their coats and handed them over to her mother-in-law. "She's with us because her mother had to pick up an extra shift at the diner."
Riley patted Maya on the back, too little to understand what was going on but understanding that her friend was really upset.
"You and Riley do your best to cheer Maya up, okay?" Cory told Josh, lifting the tablecloth and startling his younger brother so much that he almost hit his head on the table he had been hiding under.
"Okay!" Josh agreed making sure the red bow he had been wearing on his nose for a majority of the afternoon was still there. He crawled out from underneath the table and followed his brother over to the blonde and brunette girls.
"Uncle Josh!" Riley squealed, clapping her hands together with glee.
"Hi Riley," Josh said, smiling at her.
"You 'member Maya?" she asked.
He nodded, he'd met her in the summer when his brother, sister-in-law and niece had all come for a visit during 4th of July weekend.
"Hi Maya," he said, taking the silver bow off his chest and sticking it on her hand without thinking about it. "How are you?"
Maya shrugged and rubbed at the dry tear tracks on her cheeks. "Okay," she muttered, sniffing a bit.
"How 'bout we play pretend?" Josh suggested.
"Can we be Christmas princesses?" Riley asked.
Josh nodded. "I'll go see if mommy has some more Christmas bows," he said. "Hold on, girls! Be right back!"
They spent the rest of the night playing pretend, falling asleep three underneath the tree long before the party was over. Maya was so distracted she forgot why she was so upset.
.
2008
"What's wrong with Maya?" 9-year-old Josh asked his mother, after trying unsuccessfully to talk to Maya for a majority of the party. They'd eventually left him alone, ducking under the children's table and telling him to leave them alone. "She isn't talking to me tonight. . . and we usually spend all night playing. . . did I do something wrong?"
Amy knelt down so they were face-to-face and put her hands on his cheeks. "Oh no sweetie! It isn't you! It's just. . . well, Maya's daddy left for good and she's sad because she misses him."
Josh had only just finished his first semester of the 4th grade but he knew what for good meant. 3 of his classmates' parents had all gotten divorced over the summer and he had seen them struggling to make sense of what was going on.
He frowned. "But she gets to see him once a week, right?"
He and a bunch of his other classmates had spent the night at their friend's Sam Reed's house after his father had gotten divorced from his mother. They had been allowed to have ice cream sundaes for dinner and to stay up late watching an unedited horror movie on HBO.
"No honey, it wasn't that kind of divorce," Amy said, looking a little pained. "He's not going to be part of their life anymore."
Josh looked stunned. "He's not going to be her daddy anymore?"
"No," Amy answered. "Are you okay, Joshie?"
Josh, though incredibly smart, still didn't get the concept of abandonment. But he nodded, so he wouldn't keep his mother anymore. He cleared his throat. "Mommy, is there anything I can do to help Maya?"
"Just be compassionate," Amy replied, giving him a wine-colored kiss on the cheek. "She's going to need your friendship and Riley's friendship more than anything right now. You're a good boy, Josh. I can count on you."
When his mother went back to the kitchen to finish cooking the ham, Josh went to the dessert table and picked all of his favorite cookies. He arranged them on a paper plate decorated with gingerbread men. He hoped it would cheer her up.
He carefully placed it on the floor and slid it under the tablecloth a little bit. The next thing he knew, somebody had grabbed the plate and then him by the ankle and he was being dragged under the table.
Riley was nibbling on a cookie, careful not to get crumbs on her Cindy Lou Who sweatshirt and Maya was looking at him wearily. He smiled at her as encouragingly as he could but didn't say anything.
They all stayed together until it was time for the Harts and the other Matthews to catch the train home.
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2011
"Hey Josh!" Maya called, tossing her hair over her shoulder and smiling at him through the too bright lipstick she'd chosen to wear, hoping it would draw attention to her mouth.
Josh just smiled, totally oblivious to the fact that she was positioned directly under the mistletoe as he passed her with his older and cooler friend, Andrew.
"Come on Josh! It's a tradition!" Maya said, stamping her foot as she tried in vain to get his attention.
"He's not gonna notice," Riley told her.
Maya sighed. "Well, I think it's about time that he did kiss me. Don't you?"
"We're only 12," Riley reminded her.
"You won't be saying that when you meet somebody you like," Maya retorted, sighing as she pulled her hair out of her face and put it up into a ponytail. "Why are boys so dumb?"
"They're not dumb," Riley said.
"Trust me Riles, boys are dumb," Maya answered, glancing over at Josh and Andrew who were stuffing their faces with sandwiches. She sighed. "I bet he never notices me."
TBC. . .
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Author's Note:
I am so looking forward to sharing this story with you guys over the holiday season. I hope you enjoy it and you'll tell me what you think. I also have a couple of Christmas one-shots planned for the GMW fandom. I hope to hear from you guys, drop a review or something if you feel like it!
Until Next Time!
Lots of Love,
Holly, 12/3/2016
