Chapter 17- Texas Surprises

The four hour flight from New York to Austin was not bad, all things considered. All three of them were seated behind a mom with a toddler who would not stop crying the entire flight. At least it distracted Maya from the mild turbulence and the sense of panic she felt at the beginning of the flight. She had never been on an airplane before and preferred her travel to be closer to the ground. The flight attendant was empathetic, noticing her forming belly bump. She gave her an extra blanket and headphones to block out some of the noise. As she handed Maya the items, she smiled warmly at her. Riley took a sip of her soda and spit it back into the cup.

"The soda is flat. And warm." She got the attention of the flight attendant, who seemed rather annoyed that she had to come back over.

"Yes?" the flight attendant asked.

"Um, miss, my soda is flat and it's warm." Riley replied, quietly. The flight attendant sighed disgustedly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but that is all we have right now." She walked away without another word. Riley was taken aback at the blatant rudeness of the flight attendant. She opted not to say anything and to just drink the soda as it was. Shawn was oblivious to it all. He had a blindfold over his eyes and headphones over his ears. He had asked the girls not to bother him unless it was an emergency. He too, was a nervous flyer, but travel being the nature of his job, he had to improvise. So sleep was his outlet.

When the flight landed, they headed for the nearest restaurant. Austin was known incredible Tex-Mex cuisine and Maya was craving tacos. They took a cab to Javi's and talked about the first thing they wanted to do, now that they were in Austin. The girls wanted to do some sightseeing and some light shopping. Shawn was just tired and relieved that they were back on the ground. He had reserved two rooms at the Fairfield Inn and Suites close to the airport. One for him, of course, and a separate room for the girls. They finished their food and headed to the hotel to unpack and rest for a little while.

While Shawn was napping in his room, the girls got settled in theirs. Maya was starting to feel a little worn down, so she opted to take a short nap as well. Riley promised to wake her up in 2 hours so they would still have time to shop and look around before dinner. She watched tv and waited until she was sure that Maya was asleep before pulling out her phone.

'Lucas, its me, riley.'

'Riley? It's been a while. How have you been?'

'Im a ltl depressed right now. What r u doing?'

'I am about to get off work. Y are u depressed?'

'Well i probably shouldn't be saying n/e thing, but maya is prego with joshs baby and I am just feeling left out. feels like the wrld revolves around maya and I am just here.'

'Wait. Maya's pregnant? And its Josh's baby? When did that happen?'

'about three months ago.'

'im sorry to hear that u are feeling left out, riley. I wish I could be there to hang out with you in new York.'

'Where do you work, you said you were getting off?'

'Yah, I get off in about an hour. I work at Schlotsky's, in Austin. I make sandwiches and we are also a cinnabon, too.'

'really? Is that the one by the Austin airport?'

'yes? Are u on google again, riley? u internet stalking me, lol?'

'lol. Well, I guess l will let u get back to work. Bye for now.

'bye riley, talk later.' Riley quietly got up and snuck out of the room, carefully closing the door so she didn't wake up Maya. Heart pounding, she raced to the elevator and only realized she had been holding her breath when she suddenly let out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors closed. When she got outside, the air was already thick with humidity. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand, she glanced at her phone. 12:30pm. As long as she was back by no later than 2:30, she would be fine. She pulled up the directions for Schlotskys on her phone. GPS indicated it was only four blocks away. She could walk that, no problem. As she started walking, she realized that she had not taken into account how the humidty would affect her, being from New York.

She eventually made it the four blocks to the sandwich shop. She was a sweating mess when she reached the doors. Riley made a beeline for the bathroom before anyone could see her. She stood in front of the mirror and attempted to give herself a pep talk before she walked back out to the front. She splashed cold water on her face and took a deep breath with her hand on the doorknob. She walked out to the storefront with a look of calm and false confidence, that all fell apart when she saw Lucas at the register. He greeted her without looking at her, looking down at the register keypad.

"Welcome to Schlotsky's Deli. Can I interest you in-" He looked up and saw Riley. "Riley?! What are you doing here?" He smiled widely.

"Well, I figured since you were still at work, I may as well come visit you." She replied. Lucas shook his head.

"I meant, what are you doing here, in Texas, in Austin?"

"Shawn has a photo gig tomorrow and he invited me to come along with him and Maya. Surprise." She waved her hands in celebration and smiled widely at him. Lucas was still in shock.

"Wow, Riley. This definitely is a surprise." Lucas noticed a customer standing behind Riley.

"I am so sorry, m'aam. Give me just one second." He apologized to the customer. She waved him off, smiling.

"Take your time, I have nowhere to be right now and I don't even know what I want." Lucas nodded and tended to Riley.

"Riley, you sit here." He gestured to a table and chair close to the door. He helped the customer at the counter and went in back to talk to his manager. When he came back out, he was not wearing the uniform anymore. Riley was confused.

"I didn't get you fired, did I?" She gestured to his lack of uniform. He laughed and shook his head, placing a large Cinnabon on the table.

"No. I told my boss that an old friend showed up, and asked if I could get off a little early, since it is slow right now." He explained. "Are you hungry?" He gestured to the roll.

"Only if we share it." Riley replied coyly. Lucas sat down across from her and they caught up on everything from the past 6 months. Lucas and his mother were getting back on their feet, with help from Lucas' job and the fact that his mom got a promotion and a raise at her job. They were also getting a little help from public assistance.

"Every little bit helps." Lucas explained. "Without it, we would be in a shelter right now, instead of the two bedroom apartment that they helped us get." Riley learned that Lucas learned how to drive and had a full license. He was using his mother's car to get back and forth to work. She carpooled with a friend so she could get to work as well.

"You want to come over and hang out? Get out of this heat?" Lucas stood up and held out a hand to help Riley up. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up a little too quickly. She fell right into him and their faces were just inches away from each other. Awkward and embarrassed, she turned away.

"Thanks." She replied quietly. Lucas, slightly embarrassed himself, tried for a smooth recovery.

"The offer still stands. Come over, hang out." Riley looked up at him.

"Sure. But I have to be back at the hotel by 2:30 to wake up Maya." Lucas looked at his phone.

"It's 1:15. Do you think an hour is enough time to catch up before you have to leave?" he questioned. Riley shrugged.

"It should be. Let's go." As they drove to Lucas' apartment, Riley looked over at Lucas driving. He had grown up so much in the last six months. He was more built now, and his face was slightly more chiseled. He was stirring up feelings in her, that she had not felt in a long time. Feeling Riley's eyes on him, he glanced over at her. She quickly turned her head and acted extremely interested in something outside the car window. Lucas smiled to himself. She still liked him, he was sure of it.

When they reached the apartment building, Riley was horrified. This building was a literal dump. There was garbage all over the grounds and old mattresses and tires on the curb. There were homeless people sleeping on the stairs and everything smelled like urine.

"You live here?" Riley asked with thinly veiled disgust. Lucas nodded.

"Public assistance, what are you gonna do? We take whatever they give us. At least it's a roof with running water." He replied. Riley couldn't argue with that, but it still made her sad that this is where Lucas and his mother slept every night. They headed up the stairs, avoiding vomit on the stairs and the person who left it there, just a couple of steps up. They reached his apartment on the 3rd floor and walked in through the door.

"Mom, I'm home. And I brought a surprise with me!" Lucas shouted, smiling back at Riley.

"Hey, sweetheart. And a Cinnabon is not a surprise when you bring one home every day!" She shouted back from the kitchen. "I just finished making lunch." She walked into the living room and stopped short when she saw Riley in the apartment. Riley saw at least three different emotions flash across her face. She was surprised that Riley was standing in her living room. She was ashamed that someone from their old life had a front page view of how low they had fallen. She was also happy and confused at the same time.

"Riley? Is that you?" She grabbed Riley and wrapped her in a hug.

"Surprise." Riley said weakly while being crushed in a hug. Mrs. Friar let go and wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her shirt.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" She stopped and looked around. "You didn't bring anyone with you, did you?"

"Mom, slow down. One question at a time." Lucas laughed. Riley explained the whole situation over again for Lucas' mom. When she concluded, Mrs. Friar jumped up.

"I am so sorry, darlin'. Where are my manners? What can I get you to drink?" she asked.

"A glass of water would be fine, thank you." Riley replied. Lucas took her hand.

"Hey, Mom, can we go play video games in my room?" he shouted into the kitchen.

"Yes, I suppose. But door open." She replied back.

"Of course, mom." They headed for his room and Lucas turned on his gaming console and sat on the edge of his bed. He patted the space next to him for Riley to sit down. She carefully sat on the edge of the bed and he handed her a controller. They played a fighting game and Lucas clearly let her win. She pushed him playfully.

"Don't take it easy on me, Lucas. I am just as good as you." Riley demanded. Lucas laughed at that.

"Yeah, sure you are." He playfully pushed her back and stopped. He quickly stole a kiss from her and she kissed him back. They realized what they were doing and quickly broke the kiss, awkwardly looking in opposite directions. At that moment, Mrs. Friar came down the hallway with a plate of pizza rolls and a glass of water for Riley, which she downed in 20 seconds.

"Thank you, Mrs. Friar. I needed that." Riley said. Mrs. Friar smiled.

"Thank you Riley, for coming to visit. Lucas has been so lonely. He really misses you." Riley turned to Lucas, shocked by this new information. Red-faced with embarrassment, he tried to hide his face.

"Mom! Really?!" Lucas protested. His mother shrugged.

"What? Like it isn't true? The love of your life is here and you're embarrassed?!" Mrs. Friar shook her head and headed for the bedroom door. "I missed you too, Riley. I am glad to see you are doing well." She left the room and Riley pulled Lucas face close to hers.

"I missed you, too Lucas. Since the day you left, I have not been myself. I was a fool to let you go so casually. I love you." She kissed him gently on the lips and squeezed his hand.

"I still love you, too, Riley." Lucas replied, returning her kiss.