It's been six days since Maya promised her best friend that she's tell Josh about how she felt about him now. And this will be the evening she does it. She's already let herself into Josh's building. He gave her a key to his apartment a few weeks ago when she started visiting them on a regular basis. She knocks on his apartment door when she gets there and patiently waits for someone to answer. Josh has told her that she doesn't have to knock when she comes to visit; to just come on in. She told him she didn't think that was appropriate since it wasn't her apartment. Josh rolled his eyes and reminded her that she did it all the time, walked in unannounced, at Cory's apartment while she was living in New York. She's been doing that since middle school and earlier. He reminded her that she was allowed to do that because, like him, she was family to the Matthews. And his apartment was no different. She understood, but still hesitated to do it. Besides, she loved it when Mati would open the door, knowing it was Maya on the other side, with a big smile on her face, and greeted her with a loving hug as she was invited in. And this evening was no different. Maya had talked to them a couple of times on the phone since the night of Josh's birthday, but this was the first time, since then, that she had actually been to their apartment.
As what had become their routine, whenever she came to their apartment, she came early to have dinner with them, and usually spent the night and had breakfast with them the next morning, even on a weekday evening when Mati had school the next day, and Josh had to be at work early. Even though she didn't really enjoy getting up early, she didn't mind in this case because she loved getting to spend time with Josh and his adorable daughter.
Mmmm, that smells really good," Maya comments. "What are we having?" Josh looks at her and grins. "One of your favorites," her replies, "Ma's special homemade lasagna." Maya's eyes nearly pop out of her head. "You made your mom's lasagna?" She asks excitedly. "Yep," he answers.
"It's really good Maya," Mati adds. "It's my favorite thing dad makes."
"It was mine to, when grandma Matthews made it that is," Maya begins. "But as I recall, when your dad made it, it was good, but not anywhere near as good as hers."
"Well, it is now," Mati exclaims before her dad can say anything. "Grandma said so. She even thinks it's better."
"Really?" Maya questions. When she looks at Josh, he just grins and says: "I've made it a few more times since the last time I made it for you, so I've learned a thing or two." Maya thinks for a minute before replying. "Okay, that makes sense, but I'll be the judge of whether or not it's as good as grandma's," Maya replies with a mischievous grin. "Okay, what can I do to help?" She asks Josh.
"Why don't you toss the salad," he replies, "and I'll check on the garlic bread. Mati, why don't you set the table?" Both girls reply in unison: "yes sir, master of the kitchen." This is followed by giggles from the two girls. Josh just shakes his head and grins. That has become a catch phrase between Maya and Mati when the three have dinner together at Josh's apartment. He's told Maya that he was used to taking charge in the kitchen since it had become just him and Mati. And he didn't mean to come across as bossy. She just dismissed it with a wave of her hand and told him she had no problem being his assistant chef. This got a laugh from father and daughter both, but they still liked teasing him about it.
Once the table was set and food put on the table, Maya was eager to taste the lasagna. After a few minutes, Mati asked: "Well, what do you think of it Maya?" Josh gave his daughter a look that said it was impolite to ask that of Maya. But she didn't mind. "I'll have to admit," she began, "it's at least as good as grandma's, but I can't go as far as to say it's better." Mati just smiled and said: "told ya."
The rest of the dinner was spent enjoying the meal and each other's company. Maya, as usual, was especially interested in how Mati's art class was doing, which of course Mati was more than happy to talk about. This eased Maya's nerves somewhat. But she still had some apprehension about talking to Josh later.
When they finished dinner, Maya says: "That was delicious Josh. I have to admit, it's as good as I've ever had; even considering your mom's. Josh just smiled. "I'm glad you liked it Maya." The three cleared off the table and cleaned the kitchen, then Mati went off to her room to do her homework. Josh and Maya sat on the couch in the living room. "You said you had something specific you wanted to talk with me this evening Maya?" Josh asked. When she had talked to him earlier in the week, Maya had mentioned she wanted to talk to him about something during her next visit with him. He said he'd be happy to. "I do Josh," she answered, "but let's wait till after Mati has gone to bed. Right now, I'm looking forward too much to drawing some with Mati." Josh gives her a smile and a little hug, which she wasn't expecting. "Not that I'm complaining," she says with a laugh, "but what was that for?" He kind of chuckles. "You should know by now why I do that occasionally Maya." She grins shyly and answers: "Because I love your adorable daughter, and am always thinking of her first?" She guesses. "Exactly," he answers.
Mati eventually comes back into the living room, sits down next to Maya, and the two begin Mati's tutoring session. Maya has started looking forward to these little sessions almost as much as Mati. When Josh informs Mati that it's her bedtime, she complains, as she always does, and begs for more time with Maya. And as they always do, Josh and Maya insist she go to bed. After tucking her into her bed and kissing her goodnight, the two adults retire to the living room, where Josh is looking forward to talking with his old friend about whatever it is she said she wanted to talk about. He sits on the couch and relaxes, and is expecting Maya to do the same. But instead, she's pacing back and forth, biting her cuticles, and looking nervous. This concerns Josh because he knows she enjoys their little evening talks as much as he does. Then, he begins to worry. "Maya," he asks, "are you okay? Are your parents, okay?" The sound of his voice, a worried voice, snaps Maya out of her train of thought, as she can tell she may have frightened Josh with the way she's acting. She sits down next to him and smiles. "I'm fine Josh, and my parents as fine. I just have something important to talk to you about." He relaxes. "Then tell me what it is, Maya, we can talk through it, whatever it is."
She smiles then and relaxes somewhat. "Well, here I go," she says to herself. "Josh, she begins, "I've developed feelings for you, or…."
"Maya," Josh interrupts, "I've wanted…."
"Josh," she interrupts him, "could you not talk right now? I really need to get this off my chest or it's gonna drive me crazy. Then we can talk, okay." He smiles and says: "Of course." She relaxes a little now and knows she'll have his full attention. "Josh, she begins again, "I've developed feelings for you, or, more accurately, my old feelings for you have returned." She lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "There, I said it," she says aloud, relieved that Josh didn't have a huge reaction to what she just told him. "Now I didn't mean for this to happen Josh. Ever since the day I ran into you in that park, and learned of the tragedy you've had to endure, all I've tried to do is be your friend; and help you heal anyway I could, just like all the times you helped me and was there for me. But somewhere along the way, my old feelings for you returned." She pauses now, trying to see, in his face, what he's feeling. His face doesn't change, so she continues. "Now Josh, I don't expect you to return those feelings." She didn't want him to feel obligated in any way, she just needed to tell him how she felt. "I just needed to tell you how I feel for my own sanity." Again she pauses. Again his expression doesn't change. "And one more thing Josh," she begins, "and this is the most important thing; please don't think, and I hope you don't think, that I got close to Mati so I could get close to you. My love for your darling daughter has noting to do with my feelings for you or our relationship." She pauses again, to see his reaction and hear what he thinks of what she's just told him. Again, his expression doesn't change and an awkward silence happens between the two. Maya begins to worry now as the silence continues. Then, ever so slightly, she sees the corners of his mouth turn up into a small smile. "Can I talk now?" He asks as his grin grows. She sees he's clearly teasing her now, which makes her feel better. She was prepared, she thought, for any reaction he might have, including laughing in her face and calling her crazy, even though she knew he would never do that. Finally, she returns his smile. "Yes, Matthews, you can talk now," she half laughs, teasing him back.
Then Josh's face turns very serious. "First of all," he begins, "I would never think, even after what you've just told me, that you'd get close to Mati, in order to get close to me. I know you Maya, and I know you could never use someone to get what you wanted, especially and innocent little girl. So let's put that to bed and never even consider it again." She nods her acknowledgement. "Thanks Josh," she says softly. "And even if you had, Mati and I would have seen it immediately, he says." When she hears that, her head snaps up and she gives him an inquisitive look. Josh smiles at this and explains: "Not too long after Ann died, some of her female co-workers came by to see me and Mati, or so they claimed. They would start of by talking to Mati, asking how she was doing, and some even brought her a gift, which she usually had no interest in. But soon, almost their entire attention was on me and none on Mati. It became obvious they were interested in me as a single man. I had met most of them at social gatherings at Ann's work, and apparently, I had made an impression on some of them." Maya grins upon hearing that. "But Mati and I soon saw what was going on, and I politely gave out a vibe that I was not interested." Josh gives a slight laugh, then continues. "The last time it happened, the lady brought Mati a toy that she had no interest in at all, then immediately started talking to me. Mati just looked at me and rolled her eyes. I wish you could have seen her face, Maya. The lady was nice and I didn't want to be rude, so it took every ounce of willpower I had not to laugh in her face." Josh laughs at his story now and Maya can't help but laugh as well. "I would have given anything to have seen that look on Mati's face. I can just see it now," Maya says as she continues to laugh, "but I doubt I would've had enough willpower to not have laughed out loud."
The two continue to laugh at Josh's story for a few moments. Then Josh' face turns serious again. "Now, as for your feeling for me," he begins. "Here's the moment of truth," Maya thinks to herself. "I've developed feelings for you too, or, as you said, my old feelings for you have returned and I'm glad you brought this up. I was going to talk to you about it at some point." Maya's heart soars now. She didn't expect him to say that. She thought, at best, that'd he'd say he wanted to think about it or he needed to search his feelings about her, or something of that nature. But she hadn't expected him to just to say he has feeling for her too,….but Josh wasn't finished. As his face gets more serious, he continues. "I know this may sound crazy Maya, but I feel like I'm still married." This stuns Maya somewhat, but she doesn't show it. "And I'm not ready for another relationship." Maya tells herself that she can understand that. He's been through so much. But she's willing to wait, if that's what it takes. Then he tells her the rest of how he's feeling: "And I hate telling you this Maya, but you deserve to know the truth….I don't think I'll ever be ready for another relationship again, not even with you." He hesitates as he looks into his longtime friend's eyes, then: "I'm sorry Maya' I'm so sorry. I wish I didn't feel that way; I really do."
She can see the hurt in Josh's eyes as he tells her this; and knows the last thing he would ever want to do was hurt her in any way. So, she's determined not to let her heartache show. But it did hurt. After telling her that his feelings for her have returned, her heart soared high; then after he told her he didn't think he'd ever be ready for another relationship, her heart came crashing back down to earth, and she felt like a bolder landed on it after that. This was the worst heartache she'd ever felt, even more than when Riley told her Josh was getting married. But she was determined not to show him any pain, this wasn't his fault. So, she forces a smile on her face, takes his hands in hers, and says: "It's okay Josh," she says gently, "there's no apology necessary. I needed to get this off my chest and see how you felt….and now I know; I'm good." She can tell that Josh has doubts about what she just told him, but she's determined to make him believe she's fine. "Okay," she finally says with a little grin, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping we might be together again someday. But I wasn't counting on that Josh. I just needed to know." He slowly nods, tentatively accepting what she's told him. He looks into her loving eyes now and says: "If you'd rather not see me anymore Maya, I can understand that. If you want to keep seeing Mati, I can start taking her to Riley's and you can see her there and still do things with her. I trust her with you completely." She's touched by his offer, but that's not what she wants. As much as it'll hurt when she's around him now, it would be so much worse not seeing him at all and not doing things with him and Mati. "No Josh, that's not what I want. Cutting myself off from you would be the worst thing I could do. I want to keep hanging out with you and Mati if that's okay with you." He smiles a little now. "Of course it's okay with me Maya. I just….I just don't want to hurt you. You've done so much for me and Mati. I just can't bear the thought that I may have hurt you." It takes every ounce of will power she has to not start crying. Instead, she smiles and gives him a little hug. "Josh, please don't worry about me; I'm fine. I guess I'd been carrying around more worry about this than I realized. I actually feel relieved now that we've talked about this." This gets a small, relieved smile from Josh. "I'm glad we talked about this too." After a few moments of silence between the two, Josh asks: "So….are you spending the night with us tonight?" She smiles and says: "Josh, you know I'd love too, but I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, and unfortunately I'm going to be very busy for the next couple of weeks and I probably won't have time to come by or spend the night." He nods his head slightly and she can tell he's not quite sure he believes her, so she continues. "I'm sorry Josh and I hate disappointing Mati, but all of this just came together all at once." She pauses a second to let him think about that. "But….what I'll do is call a couple of nights each week so we can talk and I'll even do a video chat with Mati so I can check on her art work. How does that sound?" Josh doesn't take his eyes off her for a few moments, then says: "You know, you don't have to call Maya." She smiles at him. "I know Josh; but I want to. Just because I can't come by to see you doesn't mean I can't talk to you and Mati. That's the wonder of technology." Finally, he returns her smile. "Alright, we would both enjoy that." Satisfied that Josh bought into her story about being very busy, she gathers her things together and leaves Josh's apartment after he hugs her goodbye and tells her not to work too hard.
Maya walks to the elevator and pushes the down button and waits for the elevator car to arrive. When it does, she waits patiently for two couples to exit before she gets on. She nods to them politely as they exit. She pushes the ground-floor button and waits for the doors to close. When they do, she can't hold it in anymore and begins to cry uncontrollably. All of the pain she'd felt and held-in at Josh's apartment came pouring out now and she can't stop. When the doors open again on the ground floor, she rush's out immediately, right past a startled couple waiting to get on the elevator. She runs out the door and continues to run down the sidewalk as fast as she can, still crying. She wants to get as far away as she can for Josh's apartment building.
She doesn't know how far she's run when she finally stops to rest. She sees a bench on the sidewalk and sits there, still crying, wondering what she's going to do now. After a few minutes have past and she catches her breath, she hears a voice says: "Are you okay ma'am? Do you need any help?" When she looks up, she sees two police officers looking at her with concern. The one that has asked her, a young man, looks at his partner, a young woman, then they both turn their attention to her. "I'm fine officers," she answers. "I've just had a really bad day." They nod, look at each other again, and apparently decide she's not in any immediate trouble. "Okay," the officer says; we'll be patrolling in the area, so call us if you do need any help." She nods her acknowledgement, thanks them for checking on her, and they leave her alone. Her crying has stopped enough now to allow her to think. She knows she doesn't want to be alone now, or anytime the rest of the evening. She knows she needs Riley. She takes out her phone, and pushes "1" on her phone to speed dial her best friend. It rings twice and Riley answers. "He Maya; this is a pleasant surprise. What's up?" Maya sniffs a couple of times and wills herself to stop crying. "Can I come over to see you Riley?" She asks.
Riley immediately knows somethings wrong. "Are you okay?" She asks, already knowing somethings wrong from the sound of Maya's voice. "Not really," Maya answers.
"Oh God, Maya," Riley exclaims in a panic. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Do I need to call an ambulance?" Maya can hear the panic in her best friend's voice. "No, I'm not hurt Riley, at least not physically, but I need you Riley. I need you so bad. Can I come over?"
"Of course you can Maya," she answers. You didn't even have to ask. "Okay," Maya answers, "as soon as I figure out where I am, I'll get a cab or fine a subway station."
"No Maya!" Riley tells her emphatically, "I'll send a car to get you."
"No Riley, it's late. I don't want to inconvenience anyone." Maya says.
"No Maya!" Riley says again. "Me sending a car is the quickest way for you to get to me. I'll send John. Now tell me where you are." Maya looks around and sees what street she's on, the closest cross street, and what building she's near, and tells Riley. "John will be there shortly Maya," Riley says. "Don't go anywhere." Maya tells Riley she won't move; then settles down to wait for her ride.
About twenty minutes later, a black Cadillac Escalade pulls up on the curb next to her and stops. The driver immediately gets out and opens a rear door for her to get in. She sees its John. When John gets in the driver's seat, he checks on Maya in the rearview mirror. When he sees she's been crying, it troubles him. He's grown quite fond of the Minkus family friend. When Mrs. Minkus asked him to be Maya's driver whenever she needed one, he, of course, did as she asked. But she expected the famous artist to be a complete diva and not pay him or anyone else any attention. But he found her to be charming, friendly, and caring. She would talk to him while he'd be driving her, and when she found out he had children, she asked to see pictures of them. He was happy to show her, but surprised she asked. Now he sees that the beautiful young woman had been crying and seemed to have difficulty trying to stop. He felt so bad for her, that before he could think, he asked: "Are you alright Miss Hunter?" When he did, he immediately regretted it. Maya looked at him in surprise. "I am sorry Miss Hunter," he began. "That was very unprofessional of me, and I apologize." To his surprise, Maya managed a smile. "That's okay John," she says. "It was nice of you to ask. Just get me to Riley as soon as you can." He nods to her and says: "Yes ma'am; right away." He pulls out into traffic and heads to the Minkus building.
After pulling into the Minkus building, basement parking garage, he stops the SUV in front of the door of the private elevator which goes to the apartment of the younger Minkus and his wife. He immediately gets out, opens the car door for Maya to exit, opens the door to the private elevator with his pass key, and waits for Maya to enter. As she does, she can see his concerned face. "Please don't worry John; I'll be fine," she tells him as the door closes. The elevator door opens when it reaches Farkle and Riley's apartment. When it does, she finds her two closest friends waiting for her. She'd managed to stop crying briefly, but upon seeing their worried faces, the tears begin to flow again. She runs into Riley's waiting arms, buries her face into Riley's shoulder, and begins to weep once again. Riley just holds her. She doesn't know what else to do. Finally she says: "Lets go sit on the couch Maya. We'll be more comfortable there. Maya lets Riley lead her to their couch, where they sit down together with Farkle on Maya's other side. She's still crying. Riley, even more worried now, asks: "Maya, honey, what's wrong?"
Maya forces herself to stop crying, looks up at Riley, and answers: "I told Josh how I felt about him tonight." Now Riley understands why her best friend is crying.
"Oh Maya," she begins as tears begin in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. Josh doesn't have feelings for you."
"No," Riley says, as she shakes her head slightly, "it's worse than that," she answers.
"Worse?!" She asks in surprise. The only thing Riley could think of, that would be worse than Josh saying her didn't have feelings for her, would be if he had told her he never wanted to see her again. But she knows Josh would never say that. "Maya, how could it be worse than that?"
"Because he said he did have feelings for me Riley; his old feelings for me had returned." When Riley looked at her in confusion, she continued. "He told me that he felt like he was still married, which I could understand. And I told myself I could wait for him. But then Riley, he told me he didn't think he would ever be ready for another relationship….ever, not even with me." When she sees that Riley understands now, she exclaims: "God Riley, I'm such an idiot!"
Riley holds her best friend tighter and tells her: "You are not an idiot Maya."
"But I am Riley," Maya continues. "Only an idiot falls for a guy she knows she can't have. A guy who's already found the love of his life. A guy who has a whole in his heard that can never be filled. No Riley, I am an idiot." She continues to cry into Riley's shoulder.
Farkle, who's been listening to all this, puts a hand gently on Maya's shoulder and tells her: "Riley's right Maya. You're not an idiot. It's not like you just met Josh. You've known him since you were a little girl and always liked him, and he's always liked you. And….he's a great guy."
This causes Maya to stop crying and look at her other best friend. "You think Josh is a great guy?" She asks meekly.
"No Maya," Farkle says softly. "I know Josh is a great guy. I used to think he was a great guy because of the way you and Riley talked about him. But when you two were dating while you were in college, I saw that he was a great guy." He sees he's gotten Maya's attention now and she's stopped crying, so he continued. "We all did. Lucas, Zay, Isadora, and I used to talk about him a lot. He never minded hanging out with us when you did, and that's when we saw how much he cared for you. He supported you in everything you wanted to do to further your art career. He protected you and wouldn't let anyone hurt you, and he especially guarded your heart. And he loved you, and you loved him. It was obvious to anyone who was around you two, even if you wouldn't admit it to us or each other. And then he committed the ultimate act of love, he let you go. He let you go even thought if hurt him, because he knew that going abroad to study art was what was best for you." He pauses for a moment to let Maya think about what he'd just told her. "No Maya, you're not an idiot; unlucky perhaps; but not an idiot."
He looks at his best friend as she's taking in all he's just told her. Then her sees her eyes well up with tears again, but this time for a different reason. She suddenly throws her arms around Farkle's neck and pulls him in for a tight hug. "I love you Farkle." He looks at Riley as Maya continues to hug him and she silently mouths: "Thank you."
Maya's crying finally subsides. Riley hands her a box of tissues so she can dry her eyes. After a few minutes, Riley asks: "What are you going to do now Maya? Are you going to stop hanging out with uncle Josh? I'm sure it'll hurt every time you see him now." She smiles at her life-long friend as she's beginning to feel better. She gives a little laugh and answers Riley. "Josh actually offered that to me. He even said that if I still wanted to see Mati, he'd bring her over here so I wouldn't have to see him. But I told him that's not what I wanted; that cutting myself off completely from him would be the worst thing I could do. It took everything I had in me Riley, but I didn't show him how much I was hurting. He didn't deserve to see that." Then as idea pops into Riley's head. "Maya," she says, "maybe you should've shown him how bad you felt, or I could mention it to him when I see him again. That way, maybe he'd change his mind."
"No, Riley!" Maya says sternly. "I don't want to do that."
"But why Maya?" She asks. "He said he still has feelings for you. Maybe if he knows how bad you want to be with him, it'll change his mind and he'll forget about whatever's holding him back from being with you."
Maya lets out a big sigh, smiles at Riley, then kisses her gently on the cheek. "Riley honey, I know you want to fix this so Josh and I can be together again, and I love you for it, but you didn't see the look on his face when he told me he'll never be ready for another relationship. I've never seen such pain on his face, except for when he told me about Ann's death. If he found out about how hurt I was, it might break him, Riley. This isn't his fault. He's already been through too much pain and I don't want to add to it. So promise me Riley, and you too Farkle, that what you've seen tonight will never leave this room; promise me!" The two look at each other and agree not to tell anyone. Maya relaxes, knowing that her two best friends will never break a promise to her.
"If you're going to continue hanging out with him Maya, how will you cope with it?" Riley asks.
"The way I did before Riley," she answers.
"Before, what do you mean before?" Riley asks.
"Do you remember calling to tell me that Josh was engaged?" Maya asks.
"I do," Riley answers. "You said you were happy for him?"
"I was Riley; I really was happy for him," she begins. "But what I never told you was that I cried myself to sleep that night. I guess somewhere inside my heart, I held out a little hope that Josh and I would be together again someday. But when you told me he was engaged, I knew that was never going to happen. I knew he wouldn't marry someone he just felt good about. I knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Ann, and we were never to be."
"What!" Riley exclaimed. "Maya, why didn't you tell me?! I would have been on the first plane to be with you."
"I know you would have honey," Maya explains. "But that was my cross to bear. When I got up the next morning, I realized I felt better about it. And as the days went by, I felt a little better each day till I had gotten over my sorrow and was happy for Josh. If fact, it was then that I decided to paint a portrait of him and Ann for their wedding." She pauses a moment to let her friends think about what she's just told them. "I made up a story to tell Josh that I would be very busy for the next two weeks. That should give me enough time to get over this and enjoy my time with him and Mati again. But tonight I'm going to cry myself to sleep again, so I can start getting over him again. We just were never meant to be."
Riley can see the hurt in her best friend's eyes and knows there's nothing she can do about it, except comfort her as much as she can. "Oh Peaches," she exclaims and she hugs Maya's neck tight. "I'm so sorry this happened. I would do anything to take your pain away." This causes Maya to smile slightly as fresh tears form in her eyes. As the two continue to hold each other, Maya says: "I really don't want to be alone tonight Riles."
"I know you don't," Riley says as she releases Maya. "Why don't you spend the night here? You can sleep in for as long as you want and I'll make sure the girls stay quite so you can sleep."
"I was hoping you'd offer that Riles, thank you." She tells her. Farkle has been watching this all along and says: "You two haven't had a sleepover for what, over ten years now." The two women look at him, wondering where he's going with this. "I think I can spend one night without my wife in bed with me," he continues with a smile. "And I think Maya needs you more tonight than I do, so why don't you two have a sleepover tonight." Riley kisses her husband and says: "thank you from both of us." She turns to Maya and tells her: "Why don't you go on to your room and change into your PJs, and I'll be in shortly? Okay?" Maya nods, and softly replies: "Okay."
Later in Farkle and Riley's bedroom, after she changes into her PJs, she pulls her husband in for a kiss and holds it for a long time. "Thank you honey," she says after finally breaking their kiss. "This sleepover in a wonderful idea."
"Of course, my love," he responds. "I love Maya as much as you do, Riley, and want to help her just as much as you, but you're the one that can help her the most." She nods, kisses him again, and goes to Maya's room. When she gently opens the door to Maya's room, she finds her best friend, already changed and lying in bed. She can tell that she's stated crying again. When Maya sees her, she says: "I need you, Riley." Riley slides into the bed next to her and Maya immediately lays her head onto Riley's chest and into her loving arms, and begins to cry more. Riley cries with her because she's never seen her friend so brokenhearted.
The next morning, Farkle is in the kitchen fixing breakfast for his daughters when Riley comes. "Morning honey, Morning honey," they exchange. "Daddy said that aunt Maya was here mommy, is that true?" Penny asks excitedly. "Yes, it's true honey, Riley answers. "Yay! Both girls exclaim. "Now you two girls have to keep quiet," Riley tells them. "Aunt Maya had a long hard day yesterday, and she's still sleeping. So we need to let her sleep, okay?" Both girls nod their heads in understanding, but are a little sad she's not up yet. Riley sees this. "Don't worry you two, she told me last night that she was looking forward to seeing you today and wanted to spend the day with you, if you want." The little girl's eyes light up. Riley sees they're about to scream, but stops them. "Remember girls, quiet until she wakes up." They nod their heads and quietly clap their hands in excitement. When the two girls finish eating, Farkle asks them to go play in their rooms and that aunt Maya will come and get them when she's ready.
After the girls leave, Farkle asks: "How was she last night Riley?" Riley has to keep herself from crying to answer her husband. "It was awful Farkle," she begins. "I held her, and she cried. Then she would tell me how much she wished she could be with him, which would make her sad, and she'd cry some more. This went on till she finally fell asleep, somewhere around two this morning I think." A tear runs down her face, and she continued: "I've never seen her so distraught, honey. My PJ top is still damp from her tears where she cried on it last night." She pauses for a moment to think. "I didn't realize it before, but I think she's been in love with Josh since they dated when she was in college. I saw it in her eyes last night; heard in in her voice; and felt it in her body as I held her. She may have even loved him since she was a little girl; looking back on it now, I can see that from the way she acted when she was around him." Riley smiles now as she remembers something. "Even when she acted like a nut job around him when we were in middle school, her words not mine," she explains with a grin, "even then, it was real. She just didn't know how to handle it then." Finally, she can't hold back any longer and begins to cry as she runs into Farkle's arms. "I hate this Farkle!" She finally says. "My best friend's hurting and I can't do anything about it." Farkle understands. His wife has always wanted to fix things, even as a little girl when he first met her. And this is her best friend and she can do nothing to help her. "I know honey," he says softly and kisses the top of her head. "All we can do is be there for her. Give her a shoulder to lean on, and a sympathetic ear to listen to her." She nods her head as she keeps in buried in his chest. "She told us that she'll get over this eventually honey. All we can do in believe her and hope for the best."
Riley goes into their master bathroom, washes her face, then returns to the kitchen to eat some breakfast. After she's finished, she helps Farkle clean the kitchen and set things up to fix breakfast for Maya when she wakes up.
Maya finally comes into the kitchen after waking up. They can see she's washed her face as well and tied her hair back in a pony tail. "Good morning Maya," Riley greets, "how are you feeling?" She smiles slightly at her best friends greeting. "I'm feeling okay," she responds. "But I have a spitting headache."
"I'll get something for that Maya," Farkle tells her, "and a good breakfast will help too." He returns minutes later with a couple of aspirin and hands her a glass of orange juice to help her swallow them. They fix her breakfast and sit with her. No one says anything. They don't know what to say. Later, as she's finishing her breakfast, Maya looks at her friends and says: "Thank you. Thank you for putting up with the mess I've been since getting here last night. I love you guys." They both put their arms around her and hold her. She can feel the love in their arms. She lets out a long sigh, and feels a little better. "I'm sorry guys; I'm sorry for being such a burden to you," she suddenly blurts out. "You're not a burden Maya," Farkle tells her. "And we're your friends; friends help each other." She nods slightly, taking in what he's just told her. "Even when your friends act like spoiled divas and get upset over the littlest things?" She asks innocently. "This is not a little thing Maya," Riley says with a sternness that surprises Maya. Then the sternness leaves her face and is replaced with understanding and sympathy. "You love him Maya," Riley explains, "that is no little thing. And unrequited love has to be the worst." Maya looks at them in surprise; she thought she had everyone fooled "You can't hide this from us Maya; we know you; and its okay to love him, even if it isn't returned. Maya sees the sympathetic faces of her two best friends, and smiles.
After a few minutes of silence, Maya asks: "Are the twins here?" This gets a big smile from Riley. "They're in their room and are dying to see you." This brings a welcomed smile to Maya's face. "Well, I shouldn't keep them waiting then," she says. "You two wait here while I go to their room and surprise them." Riley and Farkle smile in agreement. They watch as Maya walks soundlessly to the twins' room with a mischievous grin on her face. She knocks softly on the door. "Come in," they hear them say, almost in unison. She opens the door and quickly enters their room. "What as you two doing in here while I've been waiting to see you!" She declares. Immediately Riley and Farkle hear their daughters scream: "AUNT MAYA" This causes them to laugh out loud. The they hear a loud 'thump,' like the sound of a body, Maya's body, hitting the floor. They panic and immediately run to their daughter's room. Once there though, they begin to laugh. There indeed is Maya laying on the floor, and unhurt. The twins are crawling all over her and kissing her all over her face. Maya is trying her best to remove the two energetic little girls by tickling them while all three are laughing hilariously. Riley and Farkle are watching the joyful play between the three with grateful smiles on their faces as they hold each other. Farkle kisses Riley on her temple and tells her: "We should have known. While we couldn't find a way to ease Maya's pain, Penny and Liz would, just by being themselves." Riley agrees. "A child's love can cure anything, even a broken heart," she says. Riley kisses his wife and they allow themselves to be happy for the first time since Maya came to them the night before.
They leave the three alone, knowing Maya is in good hands. Farkle goes to his office to get some work done, while Riley cleans up the apartment, then goes to her office to write some correspondence to companies that are working with The Minkus Foundation on some charity events. Meanwhile, in the twins' room, the three finally tire of their wrestling match, much to Maya's delight as the two little fireballs have almost worn her out. She spends the rest of the morning and into the afternoon catching up with what's been happening with her "nieces" and playing games with them. Later, figuring everyone may be getting hungry, Riley fixes a late, light lunch for them, turkey sandwiches and chips. When she's gets everything ready, she goes to Farkle's office to tell him she's fixed some sandwiches, then to the twins' room to tell them the same. "Go wash your hands first girls," she tells them. "Aunt Maya," Liz begins, "are you staying for lunch?" She smiles and says: "if it's okay with your parents." The two girls look at their mom with pleading faces. Riley just grins and says: "I believe you already know the answer to that question." The two girls scream in delight which warms both Maya and Riley's hearts. The two hug Maya's neck tight and say: "We love you aunt Maya." All she can do is smile at them both and respond: "I love you girls too." The girls run off the wash their hands, leaving Maya and Riley to straighten up their room some. As they finish, Riley asks: "Feeling better Maya?" Her best friend looks at her and with a slight grin says: "I'm getting there."