Shawn had been travel writing for a long time now, so he could tell when an assignment was going to be harder than usual. He had just hung up with his boss. The editors wanted a photo-essay about a $100 weekend in New York City. Shawn knew it couldn't happen. New York was one of the most expensive places. He'd written a whole article about it a couple years back- Top 10 Most Expensive Cities. It was one of the most useful articles on the website that year.
But Shawn knew he'd figure something out. Even though he wasn't a poor kid anymore, he lived his life frugally. He knew how to make the most of his money and that's how he had become an adult with a little bit of savings. He could find a million free and low-cost things to do in the city. He wasn't worried about that. He just needed to figure out where he was going to stay. Even the cheapest motels were going to run his budget. For the sake of the article, he'd find the cheapest place and say that he stayed there, but he had come up with a better idea for himself. He hadn't seen Cory in a few weeks, and he could use this as a good reason to see everyone again.
It was an unusually bright Saturday for the end of January. He was happy that it wasn't snowing or below freezing. It would make for great lighting for his photos.
When he arrived mid-morning, he found that no one was home. He let himself in but wasn't alone for too long. Riley and Maya arrived, and he was surprised when he felt happy to learn that it was Maya's birthday. There wasn't any real reason that he should care so much about her birthday, but he found himself glad that the universe brought him here this weekend.
It wasn't long before Cory and Topanga walked in. Cory's back was turned so he didn't see anyone else was home yet and he seemed caught up talking to Topanga.
"Honey, you know what we should do, I should bring this over to Maya's mom, just in case she forgot to get her own kid a cake?"
"Oh, you don't really think that would happen." Topanga said wide eyed. She didn't want Cory to say anything else. She could see the others in the room.
Cory laughed a little. "Topanga, I grew up with Shawn Hunter. Remember his mother? She forgot where she lived."
Shawn kept a laugh to himself. When Maya looked at him, he just nodded. He was used to Cory putting his foot in his mouth, saying the wrong thing when he didn't know anyone was around. He just hoped nothing Cory was saying would bother Maya on her birthday.
"See my biggest worry is that forgetting to get your kid a cake is the first step to forgetting where you live."
"Oh, that's not your biggest worry anymore," Topanga laughed nervously.
"Oh, Maya's right behind me, isn't she? Why are people always behind me?" Cory took a breath. "Okay Maya, I'm not going to turn around, because I'm all embarrassed. But you know how much I like your mother."
"I know you do. You always defend her," Maya replied. She honestly didn't mind what Cory had said, he was right after all. Her mom did forget.
"Because at least she's not Shawn's mother. What a cuckoo!" Cory laughed. "Ah, it's Tuesday, better run away again," he mocked.
Topanga cringed. "NO, Everything's fine, stop talking!"
Cory took a second to read the look on his wife's face. He had done it again.
"How ya doing Shawn?" Cory asked, not wanting to face everyone.
"Well, it ain't Tuesday, so pretty good," Shawn replied.
Cory finally turned around and hugged Shawn. Shawn wasn't mad. He made jokes about his mother so much over the years that he didn't really care what Cory said. Jokes helped make things feel less heavy. He's just glad Cory didn't say anything worse.
They sat on the couch and he explained his new assignment. He asked to stay for the weekend, knowing it would probably be okay. Cory had already given Shawn a key to the apartment back at Christmas, telling him to stay whenever he needed.
Topanga agreed Shawn could stay. Cory and Topanga went into the kitchen, making a comment about Topanga having the key to Cory's heart. They had birthday preparations to make, and they were happy their friend was in town again.
"So," Riley started, climbing over the couch to sit with Shawn. "Who has the key to your heart?
"Yeah, you even been in love, or what?" Maya added, sitting on the other side of him.
Shawn took a breath. He looked at the girls and raised his eyebrows. He wasn't really sure why they would care about his love life, but he chalked it up to the teen girl stereotype. From what he remembered, at their age they liked to think about love and romance.
He looked over to Cory and Topanga. "Angela time?" He asked, wanting to make sure the parents approved before he dove into the story.
"Seems unavoidable," Topanga replied.
Riley's interest peaked. "Angela… spill it."
"Yeah, was she all tortured-poet-wanderer, female-you type?" Maya asked.
Shawn held in a laugh. He couldn't imagine Angela being the female version of himself. He had dated the female version of himself and that didn't work out very well at all. She had been part of his relapse into alcohol at 27. He met a woman outside an AA meeting. Instead of going into the meeting, they flirted and hit it off really well. In hindsight he realized they were both looking for a reason to not go into the meeting, to not follow through with recovery. They dated for about 8 months. If you could call it dating. She was just as damaged as he was, maybe even more. They had a lot in common but were terrible together as they enabled each other's addictions. He pushed aside the memory of her and thought back to Angela. They wanted to know about his love, not his fucked-up, half relationships.
"You guys wanna know how they fell in love?" Cory could see Shawn was a bit caught off guard by Maya's question.
"He went through her purse!" Topanga said before anyone could respond. She knew the girls would get a kick out of the beginning of Shawn's love story.
"What?" Riley was very surprised.
"I can explain that." Shawn hoped he could focus mainly on the high school part of the relationship. Before things got complicated.
"Girls, trust us, it was very romantic in high school." Topanga loved telling the girls stories about their high school days.
"So where's Angela now?" Riley asked.
"I don't know. I tried to make it work." Shawn answered. He hadn't seen or heard from her in about 10 years. It hurt for quite a while, but he didn't think of her as often anymore.
"But you couldn't commit?" Maya assumed, catching Shawn slightly off guard again.
"No." Shawn answered a little defensively. "You know, people have it all wrong about me. I… I was all in. She's the one who left, twice… I got left. A lot actually."
"Yeah, I get a lot of that too. Who's on your list?" Maya asked bluntly. She knew this was supposed to be about his love life and all but once again, the similarities between her and Shawn were stacking up.
"Mother, father, girlfriend… brother for a while too." Shawn started counting up in his head.
"Wow, what is it with us? Maya wondered out loud.
Shawn chuckled. "Yeah, what is it with us?" He didn't really know what to say to her.
Riley stood up abruptly, a scheme running wild in her head. "Window! Window right now!"
Maya stood up to follow Riley, but Riley told her no. It wasn't her who needed the heart-to-heart. She took her parents and they left for her bedroom. Leaving Shawn and Maya to sit on the couch kind of awkwardly.
Shawn knew he wanted to somehow be here for Maya. She knew what it was like to get left behind by the people that are supposed to care about you. He hated that this bright and determined teen knew that pain. He was still trying to sort it out for himself. The years of abandonment and abuse aren't easy to overcome and he didn't want her to have to struggle like he did.
He knew that if he were Cory or Topanga, Feeny or Jon, Amy or Alan, he would have a good satisfying conversation with Maya and be able to give her some great advice for getting though some rough teenage years. But Shawn didn't know what to say, how to begin.
"So…how's your birthday going so far?" He decided to ask.
Maya gave a small laugh. "Well, my mom forgot about it. So, there's that."
Shawn just nodded, remembering all the birthdays his parents either forgot about or remembered and seemingly decided to beat him for being born.
"I know how that is. My parents almost never remembered. And if they did, I always wished they hadn't." He rubbed the back of his neck, reminding himself not to talk about his past too much. "That must have really sucked this morning. I'm sorry."
He knew he couldn't take away the hurt she felt but having someone who knows what it's like might help.
Maya gave a small smile. "Yeah, but it's not like I actually expected her to do anything. So, it sucks, but it's not like it's the first time."
"Have you ever had a good birthday at home?" Shawn asked. He knew that he needed to get more information about Maya's home life. Just because she had told him no one ever physically hurt her, didn't mean things were good.
"I mean, probably when I was really little. I don't remember much about the time before my dad left," Maya admitted.
"How old were you?" Shawn asked.
"Five," Maya's voice sounds small. "When did your parents leave?" She asked, not wanting to talk more about her painful memories.
Shawn sighed. "My mom had run out a few times over the years. But I was 13 when they left for good. My mom, well, stepmom I guess, left first. Then dad… Mom came back for a day when I was 16. That didn't go well. Dad came back when I was 18. But he died that day…"
"You're complicated, aren't you?" Maya observed out loud. She hadn't really meant to ask; she just could see how heavy things got when Shawn talked about his life.
Shawn laughed and picked at the end of his sweater sleeve. "Yeah, I suppose I am… Look, we don't need to get into all of that. It's your birthday and we should be talking about you."
"Well what else you wanna know? I was so young. I never knew what happened between my mom and dad. She just tells me not to be upset with him and never wants to go into details." Maya wishes she knew more about what happened, but she knew it pained her mom whenever she asked, so she learned to stop asking.
"Why not?" Shawn couldn't help but want to know more about Maya's situation.
"Because she did something to make him leave." Maya couldn't hide the anger in her voice. "You and I are the ones that get left. Not like her. She drives people away. That's why we understand each other, right?"
Shawn contemplated what she said, but he didn't know how to reply. He could see how much Maya was hurting but he knew she couldn't possibly have the whole picture on her own life. He knew from his own experience that not knowing what was really going on in your own life was confusing and painful. It led you to finding your own conclusions and forming stories about yourself based on things that may or may not have been true. He wanted the help he gave to Maya to be useful and meaningful. He didn't want to just spout off the same phrases that therapists had told him over the years.
He was slightly relieved when everyone finally came back into the living room, it seemed like Maya was too.
As Maya got distracted with her friends, Shawn went to talk to Cory and Topanga.
"Hey, Cor," he motioned to Cory as he got off the couch. "Do you know Maya's mother missed her birthday?
"I do. I do know. That's why I bought Maya a cake." Cory told him.
"What, that's it? That's all you did?" Shawn looked on in disbelief. He remembered the parties the Matthews family would have for Shawn when his parents didn't give a shit about his birthday. He would have expected they would do so much more for Maya.
"Well, you know me Shawn, I don't like to meddle." Cory chuckled.
"What?! What's become of you?" Shawn couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cory was the king of meddling. If he were honest, he had wished so many times over the years that Cory would meddle just a bit less, but this was ridiculous.
"I'm retired, I'm out." Cory knew he had to make this believable.
"What? You two, window!" He figured he'd take a move out of Riley's book and talk to his oldest friends.
"The Cory Matthews I knew would have immediately taken this little girl under his wing and become kind of a father figure to her." He said as they all sat in the bay window.
"I'm old." Cory shrugged.
"He's tired," Topanga added.
Shawn couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Come on man. We used to be kings. This could be the return of Cory and Shawn. Let's you and me fix things between Maya and her mother." He couldn't do this on his own. He didn't know Maya very well and he'd never met her mother. He hadn't tried to fix anything for anyone else in a very long time. This was over his head.
"Don't you think we're too old for high-jinks and shenanigans?" Cory asked.
Shawn couldn't understand how completely uninterested they both seemed in helping Maya. "Is Maya not worth it to you?"
"Is she worth it to you?" Topanaga asked honestly.
"Yeah, I like her very much. Doesn't she remind you of someone?" He smiled, knowing they understood. "Yeah, what can I say. I like people that remind me of me."
"You know if this were the old days, I probably might consider visiting Katy, Maya's mom, in the diner where she works." Cory told him.
"The Nighthawk Diner over on 17th street," Topanga added.
"But again, I'm too old." Cory put his head on Topanga's shoulder.
"Well, I'm not, and I'm disgusted with you. I can't believe that you wouldn't be doing more for Maya after everything you saw my life was growing up. She may not be in the same situation, but she clearly needs someone in her corner, and I would have thought it would be you two." Shawn got off the window seat and could feel that he needed to get out of the apartment. He decided to take a walk and think about how the day had taken a turn.
He wasn't prepared to talk about Angela, and then he wasn't prepared for a heart-to-heart with Maya. He didn't know that he was going to get so upset over Maya's situation. Seeing a kid in the same situation he had been, a parent forgetting the day you were born, it hurt Shawn more than he thought it would. It brought back the feelings of worthlessness he used to get as he waited anxiously in the trailer, hoping that maybe once, one of his parents would say they were happy he was born. He hated that Maya knew that feeling.
Shawn walked for a while and thought about how he could help. He had to keep his emotions in check. He had to remember that as similar as they were, Maya was not being hurt in the same way he was. He couldn't get wrapped up in the pain he felt about his memories and project them directly onto Maya's situation. He stopped to get a coffee and try to refocus. He had to get a little bit of work done. He couldn't just walk around the city and worry about something that was out of his control. He took a few photos of the city while he walked, taking advantage of the late afternoon light.
It was finally starting to get dark when he found himself outside the Nighthawk Diner. He wasn't sure how this was going to go. But he figured that Maya deserved someone to stand up for her and he had to try.
He walked in and spotted Katy immediately. If he weren't so angry with her, he would have stopped to think about how beautiful she was, but all he could think about was how to get this woman to care about her daughter.
He sat down and the counter as she asked what he'd be having.
"Oh me, I'll have some birthday cake." He knew he wasn't hiding his anger very well. But why should he? He was looking at the neglectful mother of a wonderful kid and he was here to fight for Maya.
"What?" Katy looked confused.
"What kind of mom are you, Katy?" Shawn knew it was hurtful to say, but he just kept seeing the way Maya had looked today during their conversation. The way a 14-year-old could suddenly look 5 again as she just seemed to miss her mother.
"What?" Katy backed away from the counter, confused. She quickly got over her initial fear of the man in front of her and the drive to protect herself kicked in. "Unless your business with me is tuna melt, meatloaf, or pie, you can walk your nosy little butt right out of here. Who are you buddy?"
"My name is Shawn Hunter." He was ready to explain himself, but Katy cut him off.
Whoa…" Katy backed up again. This was the last thing she had expected today.
"What do you mean, whoa?" It was Shawn's turn to be confused.
"You're the guy Maya doesn't stop talking about. The Matthews' friend." Katy sighed. "You guys all went on a family weekend together. She had a really good time and I appreciate it… Thank you very much."
Katy knew she wasn't around for her daughter. She knew she couldn't give Maya everything she deserved. She was so grateful for the Matthews' generosity over the years, but it was surprising when Maya had started talking about Riley's Uncle Shawn right after the holidays. The man in front of Katy now was not what she thought Uncle Shawn would be.
"You're welcome." Shawn replied.
"But if you ever question my motherhood again, I will smash a plate over your head." Katy knew she could be grateful to this mysterious man who the Matthews trusted, but she wasn't going to stand for him to walk into her life when he knew nothing about it.
"You know what lady, you already don't like me, so I'm just going to keep talking, okay? Today is Maya's birthday. What are you doing here since first thing this morning?" Shawn had dealt with people worse than Katy before. He wasn't here to make friends with her. He was here to make sure Maya was taken care of.
"You're right," Katy admitted. "I don't like you at all."
"Do you think I would walk in here and talk to you like this if I wasn't so fond of your daughter." Shawn wanted to defend himself, knowing this conversation wasn't going the way he thought it would.
"Oh, you're fond of my daughter. Why don't you tell me about your vast experience raising a child?"
That cut Shawn deep, but he'd cut himself deeper over the years and he wasn't going to back down. "I don't have any. But I know you don't work an extra shift at a diner and miss your daughter's birthday."
"And you know this because you know so much about relationships?" Katy countered. Who was this man to question what she had to do to provide for her daughter?
"I'm terrible at relationships." Shawn admitted.
"I'm worse."
"I don't wanna be," Shawn didn't really know why he was telling her this, but there was a heat in the conversation that kept them argumentative.
Katy felt a little defeated. "Neither do I."
"Well, then we've got something in common," Shawn realized.
"Look, my daughter likes having you around. But how can you stick around when every weekend she tells me you go somewhere else?"
"I write about places. That's my job," He explained. He loved his job. He had no idea what he'd be doing if he didn't have that.
"I can't let Maya get close to somebody else who just leaves." The last thing Katy was going to do was let men treat her daughter the way they've treated Katy over the years.
"Okay, first of all, I'm not a leaver. All right. I'm a stayer. I'm the one who gets left," Shawn hadn't realized that this is what he'd end up talking about with this woman. He thought he was here for an entirely different conversation.
"Well, we got that in common too." Katy looked tired. This was the last thing she'd expected to be talking about tonight.
Shawn looked confused. "What do you mean? Maya thinks that you chased away-"
Katy cut him off. "I know what she thinks. It's her father. A girl should think well of her father. He left because he just wasn't ready for a wife and kid. He wouldn't keep a job and when he did have one, he'd blow the paychecks on alcohol or gambling or some other bullshit that wasn't his family. He seemed so uninterested in the both of us. I can't tell Maya all of that. I have to make sure she doesn't think it's her fault. He and I fought so much because I just wanted him to be with us, but he didn't seem to care."
Shawn stared at Katy trying to think of what to say. He realized the piece Maya was missing.
A woman walked into the diner and took Katy's attention. The woman delivered a beautiful locket. Shawn put the rest of the pieces together. It was for Maya. Katy needed to work so much to afford such a wonderful gift for Maya. He took out the extra $50 Katy needed to pay for locket.
"Really?" Katy looked surprised but relieved.
"Yeah. Today's her birthday. But you knew that." Shawn was glad he got it wrong. He came in ready to fight a neglectful mother and instead found a hard-working woman who was trying her best for her daughter.
"I'll pay you back," Katy said, she really wasn't big on accepting charity.
"You will. You'll let me take the photo." Shawn told her. He didn't need the money. He just wanted Maya to be happy. He just wanted Katy to be able to be there for her daughter.
Katy smiled. She agreed he could take the photo.
"So, when does your shift end? I think you really need to talk to Maya today." Shawn could see how all of this happened because Maya isn't being told the truth about her own life. Her mother needed to be honest and she needed to make sure Maya knew she hadn't forgotten her own daughter's birthday.
"I'm off in a few minutes." Katy replied.
"Well, I'll wait. I'll get us a cab back to the Matthews'." Shawn gave a nod towards the door. He let Katy finish up what she needed to while he waited outside. He needed some fresh air after all of that.
"Happy Birthday." He said, walking into the Matthew's apartment. He looked at Maya as she got up from the couch. "Everything you think is wrong."
"I asked you not to tell her. Why would you do this?" Katy looked furious as she walked in behind him. They had argued almost the entire way back in the cab. Katy believed Maya shouldn't know the whole truth. It was a painful truth.
Shawn knew better. He knew that secrets and half truths like this only caused more pain.
He looked back at Katy. "Because she deserves to love the parent who stayed."
Maya looked confused. "What?"
"Your mother had nothing to do with your father leaving. All right? All this time she's just been protecting him for you," Shawn explained.
"Mom? You got left?" For the second time that day, Maya seemed 5-years-old.
Katy just looked back at her daughter. "I'm sorry."
"She's one of us." Shawn assured Maya. His job for the night was done. He let Katy take his place in front of Maya and he felt relief for them as their truth was finally out.
They gave Maya the locket and Shawn took the chance to take Maya and Katy's picture.
He still didn't know what role he was truly playing in Maya's life, but so far, following his gut was working out pretty well.