A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!


February 18th 2020

Chapter 49
Their Careers to Expand

By some miracle, the news of the wedding date had managed to remain a secret as the week drew to an end and the weekend kicked off. That was for the best, as the last thing they needed right now was to end up with more on their minds than the two big things happening, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday.

Maya woke up on Saturday morning, swearing that she could just make out… Was the shower running? The sun didn't even seem to be completely up yet… and there was still an arm wrapped around her that said that Lucas was still next to her, which meant if someone was in the shower, it would have to be Sam. But why now? What was he trying to do? His date wasn't even until…

On second thought, it made perfect sense. Sam would be up at the crack of dawn to get ready for something like this.

"Is that the shower?" Lucas mumbled, half asleep. Maya turned around just enough so she could touch his face.

"Go back to sleep, it's fine," she told him, kissing his closed eye before slipping away and on to her feet, walking quietly out of the room and down the hall.

The water was definitely on in the bathroom, and one quick peek into Sam's room showed that he wasn't there. The bathroom door was open, so… not the shower, unless he figured he wouldn't need to since they were asleep… No, he'd still close it.

It turned out not to be the shower but the sink, where Sam stood, his wet hair sticking up at weird angles as he examined his reflection. As soon as Maya spotted the 'instruments' set before him, she knew what he was intending to do.

"Have you ever given yourself a haircut before?" He jumped and turned around. "Pro tip, maybe don't try it on the day you're going out with a girl for the first time. Other pro tip, ask for help. Other other pro tip… Don't you think it's a little early to be playing barbershop of horrors in here? Your date isn't for another half day, give or take. It really won't take that long to get ready. Just… step away from the clippers and I'll make you pancakes?"

"I could have done it," Sam insisted as he followed her out.

"Sammy, you've got a big ol' smart brain in that head of yours, but you'd also have one less ear on it if I'd left you alone… or lost a couple eyebrows and ended up bald," she shook her head, running her hands through his hair. "It is getting a bit on the long side."

After breakfast, which Lucas had joined before long, possibly drawn by the smell of pancakes, the brothers had taken off together, so Sam might have a proper cut. Maya had employed this time by heading off to Cecilia's house, to keep her promise. First things first, she'd taken her to shop for an outfit.

As much as she could seem fully secure in herself most of the time, here some insecurity seeped out, and Maya could sense that Cecilia felt safe enough with her that she could be honest, for which Maya felt honored. She wouldn't let her down.

"What are you looking for? Skirt? Dress? Pants?" she'd asked, and immediately there had been hesitation in the girl. The way she shifted her weight around, Maya more or less knew what this was about, but she played it coy. "It's a bit cold out, a dress like that, some good tights to keep your legs warm…" she gestured toward one of the racks.

"That could work," Cecilia nodded.

They'd picked out a few options before making their way to the changing rooms. The girl there had offered to help Cecilia, looking at her crutch like she wasn't entirely sure how to proceed.

"I've got it, thanks," Cecilia had made her way into the room and shut the door.

Maya hadn't actually seen the winning outfit on Cecilia, not in person anyway. She didn't want to open the door and show her, or at least she wanted to, but she couldn't. She didn't want her to see the scars from her operations.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Maya had told her through the door. "How about… Can you take pictures? Just down to where the skirt ends?"

This had led to a series of back and forth exchanges between the two of them, as a picture would be taken, and sent on to Maya, who would then look it over and give her thoughts. She had also brought up this impression like maybe Cecilia didn't often take anything off a rack where she wasn't already a hundred percent sure that she would be okay with it. The fifteen-year-old had confirmed as much, saying that she usually bought clothes and tried them on once she was home.

"Oh, hey, hey!" Maya stood up from where she'd been leaning on the wall next to the changing room. "Oh, I like this one," she smiled. "And all I'll say is that going by the look on your face in this picture, you like it, too. Am I wrong?"

She wasn't wrong. Soon, the winning outfit was paid for and they left the store.

"Shoes, what about shoes, do you need any?" Maya asked, staring down at her feet like she might be able to find what size she was, in case they were the same and she could just lend her some.

"I have these boots, I don't get to wear them too much. Hang on." One quick search on her phone had produced an image of these boots.

"Yeah…" Maya nodded. "Check it out," she held up her own phone, with the picture of Cecilia in the dressing room, over the girl's phone, to combine it all. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Cecilia smiled.

"Tights?"

"Need them."

"Okay, let's go."

They had ended up back at Cecilia's house, and by the time they had done all their shopping, had lunch, went and experimented with hair and makeup, it was time to put it all together and get her ready for her date to pick her up… or at least to be driven over by his chauffeur/brother.

Whatever results his self-inflicted haircut might have produced, the one he got done by an actual professional was entirely worth it. None of the four of them there came away from this encounter without a reaction, whether it was Lucas discovering the final results of Maya's efforts, or Maya seeing her brother with his neat new cut, or Sam and Cecilia both getting a look at each other…

"I, uh… I was trying to decide what I could bring you, and then I saw that they had more of those little figurines you collect from the comic book store. There was one on display… That's one of the ones you're missing, yeah?" he presented her with the thing, no more than three inches tall, sitting in his palm. Cecilia confirmed she was indeed missing this one, and she picked it up as though it had gone and become her favorite one of the collection with no contest.

"That may have been the cutest thing I've seen in a while, and I say this having several siblings and friend-nieces and nephews of a very cute looking age," Maya declared, as she and Lucas sat to dinner at Ma Maggie's that night. They were sticking around to pick up Sam and Cecilia when the night was through, so there was no reason for them not to have a night out of their own, right? Lucas told her how he'd taken Sam to get his haircut, before putting him in the hands of Dylan and Zay once he had to go to work. When he'd gotten home again, he'd picked up the nervous Sam and driven him to the house.

"The whole time, I was expecting him to call or just show up," Lucas chuckled.

When they'd picked up the two of them outside the movie theater, they were just sort of huddled on a bench together, talking along, as he held her hand in his. They smoothly let go and played it cool as they stood up, but Maya caught her brother's eye and oh, he knew he would be hearing all about that from her when they got home, and it would be delicious or awkward, depending on which side you stood on.

"How was it?" Maya asked Sam, climbing into the back with him after they'd dropped off Cecilia. "Tell me. Tell me!" she tapped at his arm repeatedly.

"Stop, stop!" Sam tapped back until she 'surrendered.' "All I'll say is that it went really well. Can you let me have the rest to myself a little while longer?" Maya smiled.

"Take your time… just not too much… Yeah, okay, leaving it alone."

The whole thing had kept her in a good mood all through to the next morning, which was good. She wasn't about to say no to a boost to send her into her first day of the officially rolled out Stage Ready.

She'd woken up at about three in the morning. After that, she couldn't go back to sleep even if she tried, so she'd slipped out of bed as discreetly as she could and climbed up into the attic. She tapped the telescope on the way to her desk, pulling her robe a little tighter around herself to ward off the slight chill in the air. She'd remained here, drawing this and that, whatever came to her mind, hoping maybe to get sleepy again but expecting very little of it.

She wasn't sure when the guys had gotten up, or when they'd gone and started making breakfast, but then much like the day before, the smell of food had found its way up from the kitchen, and Maya had gone in search of it like a floating cartoon character.

"Did you even sleep?" Sam inquired.

"Did you kiss her?" Maya countered with a smirk, knowing he'd redden like a tomato and retreat.

"I really wish I didn't have to work today, I would so sneak in to have a look," Lucas told Maya, later on, as he dropped her off at the theater.

"What do you mean, 'sneak in?' No, no, sir, you come in, you participate," she pointed her finger at him, only managing to keep a straight face for a second more before bursting into giggles.

"Okay, just go in there and do your thing," Lucas smiled on, waving to the building. She kissed him and she was on her way.

Already there were a few people in the lobby, and she recognized a few from their profile pictures where they'd sent in messages and questions. Continuing on through to the back, where the offices were situated, she ran into some of her team, who all looked as eager to begin as she did. She also saw her mother, standing off in her office and looking sort of far off in her thoughts.

"Morning, Mom," she went up to her door. Katy turned to look at her.

"Oh, morning, baby girl," she smiled. "Today's the day, huh?"

"What's the matter?" Maya asked, seeing through that smile.

"They, uh… They finished the auditions."

"Oh?" Maya asked tentatively. Had she misheard? Did her mother not get the role? Had they gone for someone else?

"I got the part," Katy informed her, like she didn't quite believe it herself.

"What?" Maya blurted out, a bit louder than she'd intended. "Sorry!" she called out into the hall before going into the office proper and shutting the door. "You got it?" she sped up to her mother. Katy nodded rapidly. "Mom!" she pulled her into a tight hug at once, and Katy hugged her back, finally coming out of her stupor, finally realizing it.

"Okay, you and Lucas and Sam are coming to dinner tonight, we can celebrate that and we'll do the same for your day. You just focus on that right now, deal?"

"All those breathing exercises you did, any chance those are good for nerves?" Maya asked with a small smile.

She'd gone off into her office. The moment she stepped back out, she knew, she wouldn't get to stop or be by herself again for very long until the end of the day. She psyched herself up by untying and retying her hair, then untying it again and switching from a ponytail to a bun. It was good and solid, and something about having her hair out of the way always worked best to make her focused.

Deep breaths, couple ones, and then the moment she walked out that door she had to be Maya Hart, Stage Ready Coordinator-slash-Mentor. Slash teacher. You are an art teacher. Nadine's words mingled with her own inside her mind, and they made her smile.

Maya walked out of her office, and she followed the weaving hallways that would lead her out to the stage. Out here, the rest of her team was already chatting with a few of their attendees for the day. There were a few kids, few teenagers, adults… There was one man and woman who looked like they were anywhere between sixty-five and seventy-five, both with plenty of motivation in their eyes. They'd come to learn, just like the others.

Siobhan had come out to attend this first session, to get a look at how it all worked out. A few others had done so, including Katy Hart. It could all have thrown Maya off her loop, but… no. She was alright. She might not have been in the place she expected to be, but there was no doubt whatsoever that she belonged here. Some of their students that day may have had doubts going in when they were put in the hands of a girl of not quite twenty-four years, but she was determined to make it so that by the time they left here today her age would mean nothing and would practically have been forgotten.

Not too far away, in the backroom of the bookstore, Lucas took a few minutes off his floor, sitting in a corner with his phone in his hands, watching the screen as he remained connected on a Skype call with Katy Hart. From where she sat, and where she kept her phone, he could see Maya standing on the stage, addressing the people in the audience, welcoming them and telling them how the day would go. He may not have been able to be there in person, but he could still sneak a few looks with the assistance of his future mother-in-law. One way or the other, he was able to look on and smile, bursting with pride as ever for his bride to be.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners