"I appreciate you going with me Riley," Maya tells her best friend. "And you too Josh. Neither of you have to do this. It's my responsibility and no one else's, but like I said, it's much appreciated." Maya has been out of rehab for two weeks now, and so far, everything's been going okay. She hasn't had an urge to drink even though she's been a little stressed. She contributes her not being tempted to drink, at least partly, to the recovering addicts' meetings she's attended, two so far, at The Zachariah Rehabilitation and Recovery Center where she did her rehab. And she knows she needs to get a job of some kind to be able to share expenses with Riley for the apartment they share, just like she did before. And even though Riley's told her several times she can cover all the expenses for now, and for her not to worry about that and just focus on getting back into a normal routine that doesn't involve alcohol, she still fills some pressure to start contributing. Also, Shawn gave her some money to use till she gets her feet back on the ground. Maya insisted it be a loan and not a gift because she intends to pay back every cent to him, "with interest," as she said.
But before she looks for a job, she wants to visit the art gallery where she once worked to make amends with everyone there. She wants to see for herself if they do indeed want her back. But before she does that, she's wants to talk to Riley's boyfriend, Brody. She wants to apologize to him for what she did when she was in his tavern, O'Malley's. And not just because he's Riley's boyfriend, but rather because of what she did and how she behaved when she was there. And that's where she's headed at this moment and that's why Riley and Josh are with her, for support, even though she told them both she can do it alone. Riley had given her the excuse that she wanted to see her boyfriend anyway and Josh said he was coming along to make sure Brody wouldn't mistreat her, despite what she did to him. Maya knows that what Riley told her was only half true and Josh's excuse wasn't true at all. She knew that while Brody might be upset with her, he wouldn't harm her in any way because she knew if he was that type of person, neither Riley nor Josh would be friends with him. Still, it will be uncomfortable for her to face him considering what happened between them while she was drinking.
Riley has told Brody that Maya wanted to come by O'Malley's to talk with him and he had agreed to that. As they approached the door to the pub, Maya stopped, took a deep breath, then nodded to Josh who opened the door for her and Riley to enter. He came in right behind them. After entering, Maya briefly looked around. Everything was vaguely familiar, but looked so much nicer that she remembered; likely because she was always drunk when she was in here before and only concerned about getting something to drink. "He's really got a nice place here Riles," Maya says; "I never really noticed before."
"He's worked really hard to turn this in to what it is today, and he's proud of it," Josh tells her. Josh has been coming to O'Malley's since it first opened. He was new to the neighborhood and was looking for a nice, quiet bar or pub to enjoy in the evenings and weekends with family and friends. And he certainly found it in O'Malley's. He's also become friends with Brody, the owner. On day while talking to Brody about his place, Brody mentioned that he was having trouble with his financial records and books. He'd told Josh that numbers weren't his strong point. Josh had given him a knowing smile, told him he was an accountant, and would be glad to help him with his financial records, which he did. Brody was thrilled with Josh's help and wanted to pay him for his work, but Josh refused. He told Brody that he wanted his pub to make it because he liked coming and bringing his family and friends with him. "A little neighborhood pub is good for the area," he'd told Brody.
A few minutes after they'd entered the pub, Brody approached them. Riley smiles as he approaches, gives him a quick kiss, and says: "Hey babe." This makes Maya smile. No matter what Brody thinks of her, she's vowed to herself she'll always be Brody's friend whether he wants her to be or not because he makes Riley so happy. After he returns her greeting, she turns to her companions and says: "You know Uncle Josh, and this is my best friend, Maya Hunter. This is the real Maya Hunter that Uncle Josh and I love and not the one you've met before."
"Hello Brody," Maya says to him. "I appreciate you giving me the chance to talk with you. I haven't forgotten that I've been banned from here. I promise I won't take much of your time and I'll leave as soon as I'm done. I would also like to talk to the members of your staff that waited on me when I was in here before; with your permission of course."
After thinking about what Maya's just told him, Brody says: "I'll talk to you Maya because Riley asked me to, but I don't know about my employees. We'll have to see about that." As much as he trusts Riley and Josh, he's still leery about Maya. The Maya he remembers was rude and obnoxious and not the person Riley and Josh said she was. But he's willing to talk to her to see for himself. He knows that alcoholics can recover from their drinking.
"Of course," Maya says. So far, Brody's impressed with Maya. She seems to be more like what Riley says she is and not the arrogant, self-centered drunk he's known.
"Let's go into my office for some privacy," he tells the trio and leads the way.
Once in Brody's office, he turns to face Maya and indicates, with a nod, that she's free to say what she wanted to say. "I'm a recovering alcoholic Brody." Maya begins. "You probably knew that I had a drinking problem from when I was in here before. And my drinking almost killed me. But thanks to some wonderful friends," she looks at Josh and Riley when she says this, "and family, I was able to get the help I needed and I've been clean and sober now for a couple of months. Part of my recovery process is to try to make amends, as best I can, with those that I hurt or was unkind to while I was drinking. And that's why I'm here." She takes a deep breath, and continues. "I'm sorry for the things I said to you. None of it was true. I was angry with myself at the time, because I couldn't stop drinking and the booze just made it worse. I called you unkind names and said your pub was a dump. It isn't and you didn't deserve the verbal abuse I gave you. I apologize for everything I did while I was here. And I'm not saying this just because you're Riley's boyfriend and Josh's friend, but because you deserve an apology from me for what I did." She takes another big breath. "And someday, I hope you can forgive me for what I've done." She sees he's paying close attention to her as she speaks, which she's grateful for, because there's one more thing she wants to tell him, and it's the most important. "And please don't blame Riley or Josh for what I did and said to you. I was completely out of control then and I wouldn't listen to a thing they told me."
There's silence in the room after Mays's finished. Brody seems to be taking what she's said to him very seriously and thinking about what he wants to say to her. Finally Brody speaks to her: "I've had this to happen to me before," he begins. "People whom I've banned from my place because of their excessive drinking have come to me, apologizing for what they did while in here and hoping I'd forgive them. But I could see right through their ruse. All they really wanted was to be able to come into my place again and drink some more. So I just ran them off again. Down through the years I've gotten pretty good at recognizing deceit when I see it." Maya nods her head in recognition of his words while not taking her eyes off him to show him respect. She prepares to leave, believing he still doesn't want her in his place, which she perfectly understands. She just wants to leave now so as not to cause any conflict between Riley or Josh and Brody. He sees this and stops her. "Wait Maya," he says, getting her attention. "Like I said, I've gotten pretty good at spotting deceit," he pauses and smiles at Maya, "and I don't see it here. I can see the sincerity on your face and hear it in your voice." Maya looks at Josh and then at Riley, who give her knowing smiles, and then turns back to Brody. This gives Maya some hope that maybe she and Brody can come to some understanding and not cause tension between her two best friends and him. Brody continues: "I can see the person that Riley and Josh told me about; who you really are; who they both love. So…., I forgive you Maya, for everything, and I officially lift my ban on you."
"Really?" Riley asks excitedly.
"Yes Riley, really," he says to her. "It's purely for selfish reasons though Riley," he continues which confuses Riley because she doesn't see his connection. "You see," he says when he sees her confusion, "I want to see my girlfriend more often, so I figure if I let her best friend back into my establishment, then I'll get to see her more often." He gives Riley a big cheesy grin which causes Maya and Josh to grin because they see what he's doing; teasing Riley.
Finally the confused look leaves Riley's face and is replaced by a wide-eyed look. "Oh you," she says with annoyance and slaps him gently on his chest. "You're just teasing me. You're one of the most unselfish people I've ever known." The other three adults chuckle at Riley's reaction to Brody's explanation. Riley has to finally laugh with them, but when it subsides, she says to Brody. "Thanks Brody; thanks for forgiving Maya and letting her come in here again. And I guess you're right," she continues as she rolls her eyes, "I probably will be in here more often since Maya can join me now." Brody nods at her and grins with approval at her confession. Then Riley kisses him gently and says in a low voice: "And you'll get a reward for that later, I promise." Then she kisses him again.
After watching her look into her boyfriend's eyes for a few minutes, Maya can't resist and asks: "And what reward will you be giving Brody later Riley?" She widens her grin at her.
"For God's sake don't answer that Riley!" Josh exclaims as he gets in on the teasing of Riley. "There's just some things an uncle doesn't want to know about his niece!" This causes both Maya and Brody to try and suppress laughs, but both fail.
But Riley is mortified at their reference. "Get your mind out of the gutter you two," she says to Maya and Josh; clearly annoyed with them. "I was simply telling him that he would get an appreciative kiss from me later."
This somewhat suppresses their laughter, but then Brody can't resist, and says: "Wait! What! I thought my reward would be more than a simple kiss!"
"Brody!" Riley exclaims in shock at what her boyfriend just said. "Don't encourage them!"
Everyone except Riley can't help themselves now and bust out laughing while Riley turns the brightest shade of red Maya's ever seen. Finally, Maya composes herself and says: "It's okay Honey. We wouldn't tease you if we didn't love you so much." This calms Riley somewhat, but she still folds her arms across her chest and looks at her companions in disgust; daring them to say anything else on the subject. She wouldn't be so upset if they were wrong. But they weren't. She was planning of giving Brody much more that a kiss as a reward for his good deed, but now she wasn't so sure she wanted to.
Brody puts his hands on Riley's shoulders and gently turns her to face him and says: "What Maya said is true Riley, especially for me." Riley's lets her arms drop by her sides now and relaxes as she looks into his eyes. Josh and Maya, in the meantime, give each other knowing looks and smile. It's clear to them that Riley and Brody's relationship has become more that just casual to them or even strong likes. And that makes them both happy.
After a few moments of comfortable silence in the room, Brody gives Riley a gently and loving kiss and she melts into his arms. Soon they turn around to face their companions while still keeping an arm around each other. Maya sighs inwardly and steals a quick glance at Josh. "That's what I want with Josh," she says to herself. "Will I ever have that?" She inwardly sighs again and brings herself back to reality. She has one last thing she wants to tell Brody. "Thank you Brody, for forgiving me and lifting my ban. And I want you to know something. It may not mean anything to you, considering our past, but because you make Riley so happy, you'll have me as a friend for life. And I don't make that commitment and what it entails, to just anybody."
Riley smiles at her best friend, then turns to Brody. "I know you don't know it about her honey, but Maya is a wonderful friend and she doesn't take friendship lightly." Now she looks back at Maya and says: "She's the best person I know and is fiercely loyal to her friends." Maya hears what Riley said and even though she's heard those words from Riley before, it still brings tears to her eyes and reminds her how much she loves Riley.
"That's high praise coming from you Riley," Brody tells her. She turns to Maya now and says: "I look forward to getting to know you better Maya, the real you." Maya nods her head at him signifying she wants to do the same. Brody continues: "Why don't we get that started tonight? Stay here and we'll have dinner together; just the four of us. We have great food here, even if I do say so myself." They all smile at his statement.
"Riley and I can vouch for that," Josh says. "He does have good food here."
"I'd love that," Maya says. "And I hungry too."
"Good, that settles it then," Brody says with a smile. "I'll get us a table in the dining area. And Maya," he says to get her attention, "if you like club soda, I have the best in the city." He's telling Maya this to let her know he understands that she can't have alcohol anymore, but he'll take care of her drinks for her.
"I love club soda, Brody," she says, smiling at him. "And I'd love to try yours."
"Good," Brody says and leads them back into the dining area of the tavern.
After getting settled at their table, Brody has one of the servers come over and wait on them. Maya recognizes the girl and remembers not being to kind to her as well when she's been in here before. She's polite, but she does give Maya a cold look. Maya thinks to herself: "She's probably wondering why this horrible person, me, is sitting here with her boss, his girlfriend, and one of his best friends." She makes a note to herself to talk to the young lady and a few others before she leaves, if Brody is okay with that.
Later, as they're finishing their dinner, Maya asks Brody if she can speak with some of his employees who she's been mean to in the past, and he gives her permission. But he warns: "Be ready for some pushback with Liz, who waited on us. She doesn't take kindly to rudeness and she knows that I banned you from here, so she might be a bit difficult." Maya nods her head in understanding. She spends the next hour talking to some of the wait staff she's been mean to, telling them each she's sorry for acting the way she did and asking for forgiveness. To her surprise and joy, they all do, including Liz who she was the ruddiest to. Liz even gives Maya a hug. She also tells Maya not to be surprised at their reactions, because Riley had already spoken to all of them about her drinking problem and the "real Maya," as she put it, was nothing like the one they'd known. Liz went on to say that she sees that now with the sincerity in which Maya apologized to each of them, just like Brody did.
As they're getting ready to leave, Riley informs them that she's staying and Brody will bring her home. That gets two knowing smiles from Josh and Maya. "Okay Riles," Maya tells her, "but don't get carried away with Brody's reward this evening. He has to work tomorrow." This gets suppressed laughter from the other three.
"Oh God Maya!" Riley exclaims. Letting her best friend fool her again with her teasing. As the three continue to laugh at the joke, Riley turns to Brody with blood in her eye indicating she's not pleased at this continued insinuation.
Brody stifles his laughter, but can't stop smiling and says: "What?" When Riley continues to stare daggers through him, he takes her in his arms and says: "even when you're mad, you're still absolutely adorable." This causes all her irritation to melt away as she relaxes in his arms. She knows that Maya and Josh are just teasing her and are happy for her, but she's just not ready to admit what's been going on between them to anyone, not even Maya.
They say their goodbyes and Josh and Maya leave O'Malley's. "I'll go with you back to your apartment," Josh tells her as they head to a train station. And even though Maya can make it safely back on her own, she's happy to spend more time with him. And a little bit of hope springs up in her, that maybe Josh has something he wants to ask her.
When they reach Maya's apartment and she opens the door, she asks Josh if he'd like to come in for a little while. To her delight, he says he would. "Can I get you anything?" She asks.
"No thanks," he answers. "But I would like to ask you something."
"Okay," Maya responds as she swallows hard. "Is this it?" She asks herself. "Is he going to ask me for a date?" Her heart is about to beat out of her chest now.
"Would you like me to go with you when you visit your old art studio?" Maya's heart sinks and all the air goes out of her lungs. But she doesn't flinch. She doesn't want to seem disappointed. "You've told me it's the last place you need to visit to make amends," he continues, "and the last people you want to talk and apologize to. I know how important they are to you."
Maya tries her best not to show disappointment on her face, but Josh knows her so well, he catches a glimpse of it on her face. "I know you can do this on your own Maya, so if you'd rather I didn't, I won't. I just wanted to make the offer."
Josh did see the disappointment on her face, but assumed it was caused by something completely different than what really caused it, but Maya didn't want him to know that. So, she manages a smile. "Thank you Josh," she says. "I can do it by myself, but you being there with would be great."
"Okay," he says, returning her smile. "Do you know when you'd like to go?"
"I want to go soon," she answers. "Maybe one day next week?"
"Perfect," Josh tells her. "Just let me know when and I'll arrange my schedule so I can meet you here and we can go together." Still keeping a happy face on, Maya nods her agreement with him.
A Few Days Later…..
Maya opens her apartment door and finds Josh standing there smiling. She knew it would be him because she'd just buzzed him into her building. "Ready to go?" He asks pleasantly.
"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be I guess," she answers.
Josh can sense some apprehension in her voice and wants to assure her things will be okay. He gives her a smile and says: "It's going to be fine Maya. I've talked to them about you, remember? Are you forgetting all the art supplies they sent you? And that beautiful card they made just for you? I'm sure they'll be happy to see you."
"I believe you Josh, I do," she answers. "It's just hard for me to comprehend how they'll be happy to see me after me telling them all that they had no talent or love for painting and art. I was awful to them before I left."
Josh can see the worry on Maya's face and wishes her could remove it, but he knows the only way for that to happen if for her to talk to them herself, fact-to-face. Which is what she's going to do today. "Then let's leave now," he tells her. The quicker we get there, the quicker you can talk to them, and then the quicker you'll feel better."
She gives him a worried smile and nods her head, agreeing with him. "Thank you Josh," Maya suddenly says as they begin to leave the apartment. "You've been with me, right by my side, through this whole mess and I'll be forever grateful for that. And I'm especially grateful that you're with me today."
Josh smiles at her, which makes her stomach turn flipflops and helps her to feel a little better. "Of course Maya," her says. "This is what friends do for each other. And I know that if our positions had been reversed, you'd be there for me to."
She looks at him in surprise. "I think you have more faith in me that I do in myself Josh."
"Well, then it's time we renew your faith in yourself," Josh tells her with a smile, which causes her look at him. When she does, she sees the sincerity on his face.
"Thank you Josh," she answers him shyly but sincerely.
His smile gets bigger and he ushers her out the door and says: "Let's get going. I'm sure they're waiting.
About 45 minutes later, they're approaching the entrance to the art gallery where Maya used to work. As they get close, they notice a sign has been hung on the inside of the glass entrance door. When they get close enough, they see it reads: "Closed until 2:00 this afternoon for a private meeting."
"Didn't they know I was coming this morning?" Maya asks Josh. She'd asked him to find out from them when would be a good day for her to come to see them and she thought this was the day.
"I'd say that the 'private meeting' the sign refers to, is a meeting with you Maya," he tells her. "They want to see you and I'd say they don't want any interruptions while you're here." She nods her head in understanding and swallows hard, still not knowing what to expect. He gives her a reassuring smile and opens the door for her to go through.
After Maya's eyes adjust from the bright sunlight outside to the well-lit but dimmer inside light, the first person she sees is Jessica McClain, administrator of the gallery and the person who hired her. "Hello Miss McClain," she says to her tentatively.
Jessica frowns slightly and gives Maya a bewildered look. "Miss McClain?" She asks. "Maya, you haven't called me that since the first day you came to work here when I told you to call me Jessica."
"I know," Maya says, "but considering what I did and said to you during the last weeks I was here, I didn't think I deserved to call you Jessica anymore."
Jessica warmly smiles at Maya now. She remembers, in talking to Josh the past few days, he had told her that Maya was ashamed of everything she'd done while she was drinking and it was hard to face the people she thought she'd wronged. And now she can see what Josh meant by the look on Maya's face and the timidity in her voice. "Maya," she begins. She searches for just the right words to say to her, but can't find any. So instead, she just pulls Maya in for a long, loving hug. "I'm just happy that you're alive and well Maya. And those dark days of the past are already forgotten. Okay?" She finishes as she releases her hug on Maya.
"Thank you Jessica," Maya begins, "I appreciate your kind words."
After a moment of slightly awkward silence, Jessica says: "Now, it's my understanding you had something you wanted to say to all of us." Maya nods her head in agreement. "Well, we've all gathered in the conference room and I can tell you there's a lot to anxious people who are dying to see you again. So let's not keep them waiting." Maya nods to Jessica and follows her in the direction of the conference room. Josh can see that Maya's still very nervous, so he gets in step beside her and takes her hand is his letting her know he's there for her. Maya looks up at him and smiles, then mouths a silent "thank you," as her nerves begin to subside. Josh's touch, she has learned, always tends to calm her if she's nervous or upset.
As they enter the conference room, Maya sees everyone she worked with at the gallery there and maybe a couple of new faces as well. They're all looking at her anxiously; especially Kim and Justin who she shared a work room with and had begun to develop a friendship with before her drinking. She sighs deeply to further calm herself before speaking and then feels Josh squeeze her hand, he hadn't let go of it, and then release it so she can talk. She gives him a quick glance and sees his reassuring smile. Now she's ready to talk to them. "Hello everyone," she begins. "I want to talk to each of you individually before I leave here today, but first I wanted to talk to all of you as a group." She sees she has their complete attention and there is complete silence in the room with the only sound coming from street noise outside. "I'm an alcoholic," she begins, which brings a few gasps from the assembled group. "But I'm a recovering alcoholic, which means I can never drink alcohol ever again. My drinking almost killed me." Again, there were some small gasps. "But thanks to my mom & dad and some wonderful friends who are like family to me," she looks at Josh and smiles when she says this, "they got me the help I needed and I have been clean and sober for over two months now and I expect to stay that way for the rest of my life." This causes the group to erupt in applause and some cheers.
She and Josh exchange looks while this happens, then Josh leans over and whispers in her ear: "I told you everything would be fine." They exchange another look between them, a very warm and tender look, which a few in the room notice, especially Kim and Justin, her old work mates. And what they see is something more, much more, than a look between close friends. They're intrigued by this. Maya had mentioned she had close friends, but she'd never mentioned to them anything about a boyfriend and any kind of romantic relationship. Kim vows to get to the truth about this when she is able to. She though they made a cute couple if there was something to them.
Maya continued: "One of the things that's part of my recovery, an important part, is for me to confront the people I'd harmed while I was drinking." She sees that some are about to say something, probably to tell her they weren't hurt by her outbursts; but she knew different. She continues before that have a chance to say something. "I was horrible to you all. I said horrible thing to everyone in here, and none of what I said was true. It was the alcohol that was talking. Now that was the reason, but not an excuse. There is no excuse for what I said and did. I called you all a bunch of untalented, worthless excuses for artists. And nothing could be further from the truth and I'm so ashamed for saying that and being so cruel to everyone." Maya was beginning to tear up now and she saw many of those in the room tearing up as well, especially Jessica, Kim, and Justin, who she was the meanest to. "This was my dream job. Every day I came to work, before my drinking, was a pure joy to me. I actually loved getting up in the morning and coming to work; and I'm not a morning person usually." This got some soft laughs from the crowd. "Even my roommate and best friend, Riley, who is a school teacher and loves her work too, couldn't believe how lively I was in the morning. It certainly wasn't that way when we were in school together." More laughter from the crowd. Maya gets serious again and continues. "So I want to apologize to everyone here for the things I said and the things I've done. And it's my hope that one day, you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me." As Maya ends what she wanted to say to them, she summons all her will power not to break down and start crying. This was very emotional for her; more that she thought it would be. While she's struggling for control, she again feels Josh's hand in hers and as she looks at his smiling face, her nerves calm, and she begins to relax.
After a few moments of silence as everyone regains their composure, it was emotional for everyone, Jessica walks up to Maya to speak to her. "Maya," she begins, "I think I can speak for everyone in this room. We all forgive you. We've actually discussed this several times amongst ourselves while you were gone. Everyone deserves a second chance; a chance at redemption. So, yes Maya, we forgive you completely. We want to put those dark days, as I call them, in the past, learn from them, and then look to the future. I can already see brighter days for you ahead and we're all very happy about that."
"Thank you Jessica," Maya says as tears form in her eyes again. Then she turns to the rest of the crowd and says: "Thank you to all of you. This reception, the kindness you've all shown me, was completely unexpected, and it means more to me than you could ever imagine. Thank you." Maya tries to hold back her tears, but fails, as the emotion of what has just happened overwhelms her. She begins to cry, but is so embarrassed by it that she turns toward Josh and buries her face in his chest and lets all her feelings out. Now she was so glad he was here with her. If he hadn't been, she doesn't know what she'd do. It was like the night she called him when she was stranded and alone. He was there for her, liked he's always been.
Josh is startled by this, at first, but quickly puts his arms around her to comfort her. As Maya continues to cry into Josh's chest, she feels the others crowd around her and she quickly realizes that, like Josh, they want to comfort her as well. "These are such good people," she silently says to herself. She feels arms close around her shoulders, and hands patting her on the back. And she hears words of encouragement: "your welcome Maya; it's okay Maya; we're here for you Maya; you're part of our family Maya."
After a few minutes of this, she finally composes herself enough to release her tight hold on Josh and looks up at him. "Sorry," she says softly, hoping he doesn't think she's reverting back to her old "ferret" days.
"Nothing to be sorry for Maya," he answers. "Tears of joy are nothing to be ashamed of. I'm happy for you." She nods her head at him and smiles at his words of encouragement.
She turns around to face the others as Josh releases her from him arms. "I'm sorry for that little outburst everyone," she says as she begins to wipe the tears from her face.
"Oh for God sakes Maya," comes an energetic response. And Maya knows that voice very well, Kim, one of her closest friends here. "Didn't you hear what Josh just told you?" she continues. "You have nothing to be sorry for." Kim looks around the rooms and then says to her: "You're not the only one with tears in their eyes in this room." This causes Maya to look around the room as well and she sees others wiping their faces as well."
"Thanks Kim," she tells her. This brings a bright smile to Kim's face. She was just out of art school when she met Maya and is a few years younger than her, and she admires Maya for her talent and passion for art. As she looks at Maya and then Josh, who hasn't taken his eyes off of her, she again sees a special connection between the two. And she again vows to herself that she'll get to the bottom of their relationship; but not today.
Jessica hands Maya a tissue so Maya can dry her eyes and face. "Thanks Jessica," she says as she finally begins to relax a little around her former colleagues. If it's okay with you Jessica," Maya says to her former boss, "I'd like to talk with everyone individually now."
"Oh course Maya," she responds, "take all the time you need. Jessica turns to the others and says: "Everyone, go back to what you've been working on. Maya wishes to come by and speak with all of you individually, and give her all the time she needs." Jessica understands how important this is to Maya and lets her know she has all the time she needs.
After the group disburses, Maya spends the next several hours talking with them all, one-on-one. This turns out to be much more enjoyable that she first thought it would be. Her talks with some are short while others are more involved, but all are warm and cordial as each of them forgive Maya for how she acted while she was drinking. Most of the talks are mostly about what each is working on now. And Maya finds herself easily falling back into the person she was when she worked there: encouraging, thoughtful, hopeful, and a mentor when she felt it proper. She saved Kim and Justin, her two workmates she was closest to and shared a work area with, for last. When she enters the room the three once shared, she's stunned by what she sees. There's the usual clutter present when artists are working, but what caught her eye was her former work space. It looked almost as if she just left it yesterday, even though it's been over a year. "Kim, Justin," she exclaims, "My old area looks like it's hardly been touched since I left."
Kim and Justin smile at one another upon seeing Maya's reaction. "Maya," Kim begins, "you taught us to always have hope. That with hope, even during hard times, all things are possible. We believed, hoped, Maya, that we'd see you again and would work with you again. So we didn't move any of your stuff and wouldn't let anyone touch anything unless absolutely necessary."
Maya is once again moved to tears by this devotion and faith in her return. Kim and Justin look at each other in dismay. Had they hurt Maya's feelings somehow? "Maya if this was a bad idea; if this upsets you somehow," Justin begins, "we're sorry. We thought it would make you happy, because it gave us hope, but we can move everything into storage or use it ourselves if you'd like."
"No, no," Maya answers quickly, "I can't believe you guys did this. I've found out over the past few months, that everyone I know and care about: my family, my friends, and everyone here, had more faith in me than I did. I'm so lucky to have you all in my life and I'll be forever grateful." This moves Kim and Justin to near tears themselves and the three share a warm, happy group hug. Josh, who's standing nearby, and has been with Maya while she's talked to everyone, is also moved by this and the obvious affection they have for Maya. And he knows how good this is for Maya. Good for her self-esteem which will aid her continued recovery. After the three separate, Maya goes through with what she came to do: apologize to her two young colleagues. They forgive her instantly and tell her they're just glad she's okay and getting well. For the next little while, Maya asks what they're working on now and what they've done since she left. She tells them how impressive their work is and how happy she is for them.
When she's finished talking with Kim and Justin, her last ones, she goes back out into the main lobby. She's asked Josh to ask Jessica to get everyone together again one last time before she leaves. As they all gather around her, she begins: "It was so good to see everyone again and make restitution for what I've done to you all." She looks at everyone one more time and then to Josh, before turning to Jessica. "I have one more thing I'd like to say to you Jessica." She gives Maya her full attention. "Josh told me that you said if I wanted to, I could come back and work again. If that offer is still good, I'd love to begin working here again." Maya barely got the words out of her mouth, before a loud cheer erupted for everyone. They all rushed toward her and nearly knocked Josh down as they all wanted to get to Maya for a celebration hug. Above all the noise, Jessica says with a laugh: "Well, I guess you got your answer Maya." Maya gives her a wide smile as the accepts the hugs and congratulations of them all.
Josh is standing and talking with Jessica while this is going on when Kim extracts herself from the other well-wishers and walks over to them. "Well, I think the girl's happy to be coming back. I know I am," she says with a smile.
"Yes," Josh returns, "I think that's the happiest I've seen her since her whole recovery process begin. She's finally realizing that she's deserving of the love and support from everyone she knows. And that's the best thing that could happen to her."
Kim looks at Josh while he's saying this and notices he hasn't taken his eyes off her the whole time. "You really care about Maya, don't you Josh?" She asks.
"Yes, very much," Josh answers immediately. Kim's eyebrows raise at the way Josh just said those three simple words. She hears much more meaning in them than one would normally think. Josh suddenly realizes what he just said and how he said it and looks down at the floor, somewhat embarrassed and begins to clarify what he's just said. "I mean, Maya and I have known each other since we were kids. She's my niece's best friend and the two have been inseparable since they were six years old. My whole family cares about her," he finishes.
"Uh-huh," Kim says sarcastically which causes Josh to give her a quick look and it causes Jessica to smile. Jessica knows what Kim is getting at and agrees with her. Kim, for her part, just smiles at Josh and says nothing else. She doesn't know Josh that well, but she does Maya, and decides to pursue this with her when she returns to work.
After the little mini-celebration is over, Jessica asks Maya when she would like to start. Maya says: "If it's okay, I'd like to start in a couple of weeks. I still have some things to sort out before I'd like to come back."
"That'll be fine," Jessica says." That will be a happy day for all of us here. And I look forward to seeing what you create next. I feel that you have some wonderful art cooped up inside you just bursting to get out because of the bad and good things you've been though the past year or so." With that, Jessica bids her goodbye and returns to her duties.
Maya and Josh leave the little gallery then. Maya pauses and takes a big breath once they're out side.
"You okay Maya?" Josh asks, a little concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine Josh," she answers. "It's just….that was a little overwhelming and unexpected."
"Well, I hate to say it," Josh begins, "but, I told you so."
Maya's head snaps up to looks at him and she sees a smug look on his face. He's clearly teasing her. Not to be outdone, Maya retorts: "Don't let that go to your head Matthews, you're wrong a lot too." She gives him a playful slap on his chest which causes him to laugh. While slapping his chest she notices some stains on his shirt about eye level to her and realizes what caused them. "Oh shoot Josh," she says. "Looks like I stained another one of your shirts."
He looks down at his shirt and sees the tear stains for the first time. He looks back to Maya and says: "All right Hunter," he begins. "This time it's gonna cost you. I'll be expecting a new shirt within the week."
She looks up at him again with a startled look only to see his sly smile again. "In your dreams Matthews," she quickly retorts. "You know how to use a washing machine." The two try holding straight faces for as long as they can, but finally burst out laughing.
When they finally stop laughing, Maya looks at Josh more seriously and says: "It's good to have this banter back with you Josh; I've missed it."
"Me too," he says quietly but sincerely. The two look into each other's eyes for a few short moments and then come together for a mutual warm hug. "I'm so happy for you Maya," he says. "And I'm glad I got to share today with you."
"I am too," she says quietly as she continues to hold his warm hug. She knows she's developing feelings for Josh again, but doesn't know how to pursue them. She sighs. "I'll worry about that later," she says to herself. Right now, she just wants to enjoy the moment, which feels so right to her.
Josh is the first to release the hug; much to Maya's dismay. But she doesn't say anything. "How about we celebrate a little," he says. She looks at him curiously. "I'm starving." It's almost 2:00 and I haven't had anything to eat. "How about tacos. I know this great little Tex-Mex place not far from here."
"You know my weakness Boing," she says with a smile, using her old nickname for him for the first time in a while. "I knew there was some reason I kept you around. Lead the way." Josh laughs and points Maya in the direction toward the of the restaurant.