February 8th 2021

Chapter 39
Our Hopes For a Carpet

There were plenty of chances for Maya to get to feel like her life had gotten so very surreal, and today was definitely one of those. Waking up in her parents' 'home away home' in Los Angeles, where her mother was filming for one of the top dramas on television, so they would look after her daughter while she and her husband could attend an award show where she was up for a number of categories alongside none other than Ree Forster, who she'd toured with around the world over the summer, where she was likely to run into any number of celebrities, people she'd looked up to from afar, who would know her name and her music and possibly want to work with her… How was this not just one major hallucination?

No matter how many times she would end up in that place of disbelief, sooner or later she'd be shown, reminded, that it absolutely was real, and it was the result of everything she had done, everything she had lived, in the last several years of her life. From there, all she could do was breathe, and go forward, one step after another.

"This is going to give me nervous stomach all day, isn't it?" Maya breathed as she sat up in the guest bed with Marianne, while Lucas lay awake at her side. It was the morning of the award show. Soon it would feel like the whole thing had gone by in the blink of an eye, but right now… Right now, they were still on the outside looking in, and it was impossible not to go and get just a bit… queasy.

"That bad?" Lucas asked, reaching over to lay his hand at her back.

"I don't know, I'm probably just getting in my own head again," she shrugged.

"Once the day actually starts, you'll be alright," Lucas suggested.

"Yeah, probably," Maya agreed, smiling at the way Marianne stared back at her. If her little pumpkin could just be right there all day, staring at her the way she did now… There would be absolutely nothing wrong in the world, not for her.

She wouldn't be staying with them, of course. In no time, they'd be taken off for the start of this day, and she again would be left to her grandparents, both of them this time, as Katy wasn't working today. It would be a great little day for her and Shawn and their granddaughter, and Maya guessed that, if she couldn't have her daughter with her, the knowledge of her being out there with those two might just be enough to steady her.

Soon enough, it really got to feel like Lucas had a point. From the moment they were picked up to join Ree and get the ball rolling, there was no time to stop and wonder about this thing or that one. All they could do was to look on to what came next. For one thing, Maya and Ree had a few interviews lined up ahead of the ceremony, and once those were through, they had to get ready, which meant getting dressed, and then the hair, and the makeup, everything. Lucas had some of that himself, too, and by the time they ended up sort of split, with one here and one there and little more than their phones to keep in touch, Maya would tease how it was almost like their wedding all over again. Now they had to wait for the big reveal.

This was definitely on another level from wedding attire. They were still very much themselves, they could see it, but it was absolutely a transformation, bringing them on the other side of the screen, making them part of that world they'd only ever been spectators to until now.

"I am never getting over… all this…" Maya declared, when she saw Lucas come along. "You're like… Double-O Hee Haw…" she stated, in a tone that finished the sentence as 'and I am really, really into it.' It made him laugh, which in turn knocked him out of that stunned beat he'd been caught up in, from the moment he'd seen her. Matched to the completed look, the dress, everything, she was just… she was a star.

"Well, you're one to talk," he told her as she moved to join him, taking a slow turn as she did, the better to give him the full effect. He kissed her, and for a few seconds all that mattered was him and her. Still, it was impossible to forget what today was, what with them dressed in this way, and she pressed her hand to his chest, allowing them to look to one another and talk.

"Not going to lie, getting those jitters a bit now. All of this today, and yesterday, that was one thing, but somehow I kind of forgot the part where we have to walk through there, and the photographers, and…" she shook her head, unsure what to say next.

Lucas understood it though. Now that he thought about it, he had to admit he wasn't sure about how that would all go either. Of course, he was here, and he would be there with her, accompanying her, but he had even less of a clue about how to walk a red carpet than she did. He was just a guy, a vet or near enough to one. The closest he'd come to being a singer was the last three years, recording a song with his wife on their anniversary, and those certainly stayed between the two of them. All that mattered right now was that he would be there, supporting her, but at the same time… What if he did it wrong, and he embarrassed her in front of all those people?

"I mean…" he scratched at the back of his head, feeling like a kid again for a moment. "We've seen people do it before, right? You just sort of… walk out there, and then you stop and… Alright, I've got nothing," he finally had to sigh. Maya just let out a laugh, kissing him again.

"Well, I wouldn't say that," she reminded him. "Okay, we're going to have to go to the pros."

As strange as it could possibly sound to anyone they'd tell later on, one of their favorite parts of this whole wild award adventure involved the two of them getting a veritable crash course in carpet walking from the Sutcliffes. This involved Ree and her husband walking along, as though they were out there, while their daughter cast herself in whatever role necessary, usually a photographer, calling out to them.

"Now you go," Christina insisted with a grin. She'd been snapping pictures of her parents with her phone, and now she would do the same for Maya and Lucas. It was hard not to just laugh at first, but in time they worked it out, and with some additional pointers from Ree, they got the seal of approval from their young photographer that they were all set to go. She showed them the last pictures she'd taken, and it was almost uncanny how much they appeared transformed.

"Can you send those to us?" Lucas asked her, and the girl happily nodded.

Before they knew it, they were in the car, on their way to the venue. As they went, Maya checked in with her parents and the baby. Her father assured her that they were having a grand time, the three of them enjoying a wild day of sitting on the couch, with kid-friendly programming. He promised her that they would be right where they were that evening, too, all the better to catch the show and cheer her on. That was as good as him telling her that everything would be fine, and her own response of thanks would serve to pass her awareness of that covert message.

After hanging up, she was left to look at her phone, finding so many messages from friends, from followers and fans… Lucas may have been the one to walk at her side tonight, but there were so many more people out there, walking with her in spirit, and they filled her with a new breath. She could do this.

"Got that little pocket of yours?" Lucas asked as they were nearing their destination. She looked back at him and chuckled, nodded. When she'd put on the dress for the first time, the stylist had pointed it out to her, and she'd been amused by it. It could not be seen, not if it was left alone. Here though, she pulled it open, almost knowing already why he'd asked. She watched, and he slipped his pocket watch in the hidden space. It disappeared in there, and then she smoothed out the fabric.

"I could have kept it in my bag, you know?" she smirked back at him.

"Yeah, but when you go on stage, you're not going to have that with you, are you?" he pointed out, and he had her there. She wanted to reply that they didn't know whether she'd be going on stage, but it would have been pointless. All that really mattered was that she had the watch, and it would follow her wherever she went.

"Thank you," she told him, one more kiss shared before they had way too many eyes on them. They looked on to one another now, deep breath. It was time.

For having been in the middle of a ridiculous amount of packed concert venues all through the previous summer, the press of sound and activity here felt different. It was as strange as ever to find themselves in this place, to recognize how it looked like the carpets they'd seen time and time again over the years. This time, they were actually going to be walking out there themselves. They almost needed to pinch themselves.

Later, both Maya and Lucas would decide that they had been so caught up in being here, in being swept along by the whole process, that they didn't even realize they were getting through it until they were on the other side, and it would all be over. Ree would tell them that they'd done great, and they'd have to believe her for now, only seeing for themselves once they had the chance to check out photos and videos out on the internet. How was this even their life right now?

Lucas would proudly play his part that night, as his wife's date to the award show. He got to see her in the middle of this world, with all these people. As nervous as she'd been, once they actually got her talking, he didn't see her being anything but the rock star she'd always been to him. Of course, she was still herself under there, all the time, and he would see a flicker in her eyes, when one conversation would end and before another could start, where she would realize who she'd been talking to. She'd look back at him, and he would only be able to smile back, showing all his pride and love for her. It went on and on, until they were finally on their way to take their seats.

Maya wished with her whole heart that she could draw right now. Was that weird? Here she was, in the middle of this place, with all those people she'd known from a distance, in a crazy fantastic dress she would never have imagined herself wearing, and what she felt was that familiar itch in her fingers, begging for a pencil, for paper, so she could just capture… everything. Would that be too weird? More importantly, did she care? She did have paper in her little bag, and she had a pen… She never dared to leave home without that, just in case, so, why not, right?

"I know that look," Lucas whispered at her ear, and she squinted over at him. Of course, he knew.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners