January 12th 2020

Chapter 12
Their Year to Yearn

Maya had not gone to her parents' house today. It would have been easy, like escaping, but that wasn't what she was going to do today. Today, she was determined, and one way or another she would have taken steps forward, or a single step at all, by the time Lucas came home.

After Lucas and Sam had gone on their way, Maya had taken the dogs out for a walk, the better to clear her head before doing… whatever she was going to have to do to get the ball rolling on this day. When they came back in, Trix and Lou went shooting for their favorite spot. Back in Houston, that had been the landing in the stairs. Here, they had adopted, after much deliberation and days of getting to know the house, the floor beneath the kitchen windows. If they stood up there, they could just see the land out far ahead. Well, Trix could see it. Lucas had set a small bench beneath the window. Lou would climb on top and she'd be good to go.

"No, yeah, you're totally welcome, that was a great walk… Okay…" Maya sighed. So… What to do first?

Climbing upstairs, she went and got her laptop from hers and Lucas' room and brought it down into the living room. She sat on the couch, her own tiny motivation parade going on in her head as she started to hit all those usual suspects, seeking new listings she could apply to. It was as tedious as one might expect, and it didn't take long that it started getting her foot on the twitchy side. After a while, it really got to feel like she was running around in circles more than anything.

When Lucas had texted her, she'd been all too easily convinced to put her search aside and talk to him instead. That picture, him with that smile all over his face, it was the best thing she'd seen all day. Her respite was short lived, as soon enough he had to let her go because his class was going to start. She picked up her computer and set it on her lap again, pinching the bridge of her nose as she looked forward to another bit of browsing. Before she could even start, her phone rang. The laptop was set aside again.

"Hey, telemarketer guy, today is your lucky day…" she mumbled, pulling out her phone. It wasn't a telemarketer though. No, it was so, so much better. "Why, if it isn't Miss Shayla Blake," Maya beamed as the girl's face appeared on her screen.

The twelve-year-old had been so broken up at the discovery that her idol and mentor was leaving Houston, but Maya had promised her that, even though she was moving back to Austin, they would remain everything they'd been before the move. She'd kept that promise. They'd talked or written almost every day, and Shae had come to visit a couple times since they'd moved into the house.

"When are you starting school again?" Maya asked.

"Monday," Shae replied.

"What are you doing until then, just hanging out at home?" The girl nodded. "Well, that's no fun… Maybe I'll drive up, tomorrow, day after, sometime. Weren't you talking my ear off about wanting to go see that movie again, like two, three times in a row? I know your dad's probably not interested, but me, I'm just the girl for the job."

"Okay!" Shae grinned, showing off those new braces of hers.

"Did you want to ask me something?" Maya smiled back.

"I want to audition for the school musical whenever they announce it this year," Shae revealed, and Maya could just see that little ball of excitement in her, same as she'd get at the prospect of something big and new she wanted to tackle.

"Yeah? That sounds great! Any idea which one it'll be?"

"No, they usually say it at the start of the school year."

"Okay, so what do you need from me?"

"Can you help me pick a song to audition?"

"Pick it, practice it, whatever you want. Anything else?"

"Well…" Shae hesitated. Maya fixed her with a look, as best she could, from across phone screens. "I can't… I don't know how… how to dance?"

"And you want me to show you some moves?" she tried not to laugh. She had seen Shae 'dance.' Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. "I am at your service, Miss Shayla."

After they'd hung up, Maya had sat there on the couch for a few seconds before finally making up her mind. She jogged up the stairs, pulled the trap from the attic and climbed inside. The telescope was as good as fixed to the ground, hadn't been moved from the moment they'd put it together. Whenever she'd come into the attic, Maya would tap it in greeting.

She sat down at her desk, pulled sketchbook and pencils from the top drawer at her side. She tied up her hair with the band around her wrist. Whatever ideas were playing pinball with her brain right now, she needed to get them out, wouldn't get anywhere until she did.

For near on two hours, she filled one page and another with images, with words… She couldn't say for sure what it was that she was trying to tell herself, but it felt like a lot of puzzle pieces that begged to be put together. Leaning back in her chair to stretch, she would look through the gable window, to the sky growing cloudy like it was about to rain. She kind of wished it would. Sitting up here, the sound of raindrops on the windows… It only came third after seeing the stars or watching the sun rise.

She thought about Shae, heard her voice in her head, that beautiful, clear voice… With the right song, she would practically declare herself worthy of any and all roles but a lead one most of all if they had any sense. Of course the dance part was going to be trickier, but they had time to get her ready before it became an issue. All they had to do…

Maya sat back up, stared down at the page open in front of her, flipped through all those she'd filled in the last couple of hours.

"Oh…"

She came down from the attic, shut the trap, and bolted down to grab her phone and… And she had no car. Really need to do something about that…

"What do you need?" Shawn asked when he picked up her call.

"How do you do that?" Maya asked back.

"Dad skills, I have them."

"Fine, can you come pick me up? I need to see a woman about a thing."

Shawn came and picked her up, with Haley napping in the back. When he found out where she wanted to go, Maya could see curiosity in his eyes, but she wasn't going to get into it with him. Anyway, she would need the length of the car ride to figure out what she'd say when they arrived.

Her mother had been working ten years at the theater now. It was hard to look at her and see the waitress she'd once been. Maya imagined that old Katy as little more than a memory in the back of her mind now. In her place, there was the woman who had come up over the years, until she was essentially just under the big boss up there, and that was good. That was who Maya wanted to talk to, not her mother.

"Maya?" Katy blinked when she saw her daughter coming down the hall in the back of the theater, where the offices were. "What are you doing here, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, great. Is Mrs. Hughes in? Can I speak with her?"

"Siobhan? Uh, she should be, let me check… What do you need her for?"

"Long story, I'll tell you after, I promise."

At sixty, Siobhan Hughes had been running this theater for almost forty years. She'd taken over from her father, and the next generation looked ready to step in, with her daughter Matilda having worked here fifteen years already, half her lifetime taking her from coat check to where she was now, in charge of finances. But Siobhan… This was the architect of Maya's life. She'd been the one to take a chance on Katy Hart ten years ago, to look at the woman who'd been a waitress and a failed actress and little more and decide she was worth it. If she'd said no, then Maya and her mother would never have left New York, and that… that was a frightening thought.

"There she is…" Siobhan smiled, rising from her desk to come and greet Maya, kissing one cheek and then the other. The woman had known her since she was thirteen years old, and on the right people, watching someone grow into adulthood had a way of fostering a sort of familial, nurturing bond. Siobhan was no exception. Sometimes, it really felt like she saw her as her sixth kid. Today, she needed her to forget all that, to see her as someone with a business proposal.

At no time had she given herself the space to doubt what she was about to do. She'd literally had this idea… not an hour ago… Everything she had to offer, she'd pieced it together in the time it took to get from her house to the theater. But it was one of those things, the kind where she felt so sure about what her goal that the road in between felt like it was just there, waiting for her to run across. So, she sat across from Siobhan Hughes and she laid out her idea, every bit she had prepared and a few more she'd thought of even as she was sharing the rest. The whole time, Mrs. Hughes listened to her, let her speak and just listened.

"So… that's it," Maya finally breathed out, feeling just a bit flushed. "I'm not expecting anything here, really, just your… honest opinion. And if it doesn't work out, well… I'll understand."

"Will you?" Siobhan asked, with that small smirk of hers, tucked at the side of her mouth.

"Yes… sort of… mostly," Maya admitted, which made the woman laugh.

"Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about. Will you give me a day or two to properly consider it?"

"Of course," Maya nodded.

"Excellent," Siobhan stood up and Maya did the same. They shook hands across the desk. When she'd come back to her side again, she was the woman who'd watched her grow again. "Go on, now, show me that ring." Maya laughed, obliging her.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner…"

"No, I understand, I do. I'm only glad you finally did."

Stepping out of the office, she found her way back to her mother's space. Katy looked like she'd been eagerly waiting for her, wondering what she'd been up to and discussing it with Shawn as he sat there with Haley asleep in his arms.

"You going to leave us hanging?" Katy asked.

"No," Maya smiled, shutting the door and sitting with them now.

She laid out her idea – in less detail this time around – to her parents. As they listened, they both looked as surprised as they looked just… proud.

"But I thought you didn't…" her mother started.

"I know, but this is different."

"What did she say?" her father asked.

"She'll think about it and she'll let me know."

Shawn had driven her back home afterward. He'd invited her and the guys to come over for dinner that night, but she'd turned him down. She kind of wanted that evening to be just her and Lucas and Sam. She'd wanted to take steps, and she'd taken strides. She couldn't wait to tell them everything.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners