Altering the Plans Ch. 06

How could he have done this? How could he have acted in exactly the wrong way, the way that was guaranteed to send Maya running from him? Even when he'd seen the exhaustion and terror in her face, he'd been too caught up in venting his own fears to stop and sort it out.

Had he lost her for good? She hadn't even been gone fifteen minutes, and he already felt the hole in his life.

"It's all right to be upset," said Clara. "Or even scared." She rubbed his shoulder.

"Now I know where Krista gets it from," he said. "You read people like a book, just like she does."

"It doesn't take a genius to see that," Krista said.

Toby glanced over to see Krista leaning against the doorjamb. She gave him a tired smile and walked over.

"Sometimes you're hard to read," she said, "but this is not one of those times."

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Is she okay?"

"She will be," Krista said. "She was just trying to handle it all herself."

"I thought we'd gotten her out of that habit," said Lacey. She sniffled and dabbed at her eyes.

"Old habits die hard," Jackson said as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"Listen, Toby, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the phone calls," said Krista. "Partly I felt like it was Maya's decision. But, I swear I didn't know about the threats to us, and the shop. I would have said something if I had."

"It's okay, Kris." Toby squeezed her hand. "I get it. I overreacted."

"Yeah, you did," she agreed. "For what it's worth, I think she'll be okay with Landon. I know they don't have much history as friends, but he was good with her. I really think he wants to try.'

"Good." Toby nodded.

"If you're all set here, then I think we'll be leaving," Clara said as she and Delia stood up.

"Do you need a ride?" asked Jackson. "I'd be happy to take you home."

"Thank you, Jackson, that would be lovely," said Delia.

Toby noticed the night had even taken a toll on Jackson. His friend hadn't cracked a joke for a long time. It was yet another indication of how the earlier events had affected everyone. If Jackson was serious, the situation was dire.

Everyone said their good nights and Jackson left with Clara and Delia. Lacey said good night and went up to her room, another early morning at the coffee shop awaiting her.

"You want to crash here, Toby?" Krista asked. "You don't look so great."

"Yeah, I don't feel so great, either. Yeah, thanks, Kris. I think I will if you guys don't mind."

"Sure."

Later, Toby lay on the couch, trying to sleep. Krista had offered him Maya's room upstairs, but there was no way he'd be able to sleep surrounded by Maya's things.

Somehow, he thought as he drifted into fitful sleep, I have to fix this.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The day after everything crashed down, Maya stayed curled up on Landon's couch. It was too much to process, so she didn't try, just letting it all bubble through her mind. She listened to her music and rode out the emotions as they surged and ebbed, sometimes crying, sometimes angry, other times just staring at the wall and wondering how she had let everything fall apart.

Fear, she thought bitterly. She had let fear run her, guide her decisions, and now it was costing her everything. It might cost her friends, too, and that was what upset her the most.

She was grateful for Landon. He had stepped up in ways she hadn't expected, especially considering their previous relationship, or lack thereof.

He'd taken her back to his place, asking no questions except to see how she was doing, or if she needed anything. He didn't criticize or dig for information, he simply let her know he was there, and then let her be.

The second day, Landon sat next to her on the couch and patted her leg.

"Hey," he said with a gentle smile.

"Hey." Maya pulled her earbuds out and tried to return the smile. She'd been letting the rough vocals and hard chords wash over her, distracting her from thinking too hard about things.

"What are you listening to?" he asked.

"Ad Nauseum," she said. The dissonant metal had gone well with her scattered thoughts.

Landon gestured for her earbuds. She handed them to him, turned down the volume and let it play when he was ready, laughing at his exaggerated shocked reaction.

"Thanks, you know. For everything," she said as he handed the earbuds back. "You hardly know me, and I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. As for knowing each other, I guess it's about time we try to fix that," he said.

"I will get myself together," Maya said. "I promise."

"I know you will, and you can take your time doing it," said Landon. "But I think you need to get out."

"Out?"

"Yeah, out. Come with me to the club. It's not very exciting while we're getting ready to open, but it would get you a change of scenery. We could talk, and I know Trinity and Roxxy want to see you."

"I don't know." Maya sighed. "I'm not sure I feel up to it." Then again, she thought, she could bring up her business idea with them. It would keep her mind off Toby for a while if nothing else.

"Look, I know I'm new to this, but I think you need to get up and get moving. What happened the other night was awful, but you can't just sit and dwell on it."

"For someone new to the big brother gig, you're pretty good at it," said Maya. She thought, and then laughed a little. "I just realized, I think I'm older than you are," she said in response to his questioning look.

"That's okay," said Landon. "It can't be by much, and we can switch off."

"Take turns being the older sibling?"

"Yeah, why not? Whoever's having the tougher time, the other one is the older sibling." He nodded. "It's my turn now, and later, we'll switch."

"I wouldn't mind switching now," said Maya. "I can't take this anymore. I've messed everything up so much."

"I don't think so," Landon said. "I think they'll all understand and forgive you. That was a lot to handle."

"How about you?" Maya asked. "Any big emotional issues tearing you apart?"

He shrugged. "I think I'm gay, or bi, and don't know what to make of it, but other than that, I'm good."

Maya sat up and reached for his hand. "Really?"

He sighed. "Yeah. That's why I was so upset when I saw you, especially since it was in the club."

"You thought it would get back to Roger," she said, putting the pieces together.

"I did." Landon nodded. "You know how he is. It's fine if other people are gay, but his son? Are you kidding? He'd be furious. He'd disown me. Which, now that I think about it, might not be the worst thing."

"Sometimes Roger and Denise both seem like they come right out of the fifties," Maya agreed. "

"Can you imagine if they walked into the club and saw me? Or Trinity?" Landon rolled his eyes. "They'd each have a stroke."

"You know, it's sad in some ways, but it's easier when I don't have to talk to them," she said. "I don't miss my mom, I don't. Hard to miss someone when they never cared if you were there in the first place."

"It is, but I think you're on to something," Landon said. "Why should I make such an effort to keep him in my life, or be part of his, when he flat out doesn't give a damn?"

"I don't think you should."

"Maybe I could do like you have. Find a new family."

Maya patted his hand. "If you don't mind someone from the old family, I'd like to stick around."

To her surprise, Landon hugged her. "I'd like that a lot. Now, come on. Let's go to the club. I'll get the cook to make you a burger. They make the best bacon cheeseburger in town."

"Sounds great."

Maya hurried to get ready, looking forward to seeing Trinity and Roxxy and getting their opinions on her plan. Landon was right, staying on his couch and hiding wouldn't help anything. She didn't know if she could fix things with Toby and the others, but she could try, and perhaps Landon could help her figure out how.

"Well, hello, little darlin'," Trinity said when she found Maya sitting at the bar. After the air kiss, she asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, thanks, Trinity." Maya smiled. "It's good to see you." Charles had said he was called Trinity at the club, so she hoped she was using the correct name.

"You, too." Trinity looked around. "Where's the strong, silent one? Because I thought there was something between you. Am I wrong? Did you hook up with our boy, Landon, here?"

"What? Oh, no. Landon and I are stepsiblings," she said.

"No kidding." Trinity laughed. "Small world."

"That it is," Maya agreed.

"I'll be right back," said Landon. "I'll get your burger, Maya. Want anything, Trinity?"

"No, I'm good, hon, thanks." Trinity turned to Maya. "So tell me what's new with you. How's Long Cool and her quiet brother?"

'They're okay. I guess. I, ah, haven't talked to them in a couple of days."

"Oh, no. Problems?"

"Toby and I had a communications issue," said Maya. "As in I didn't communicate when I should have. And now, I don't know how or when to talk to him. Or if he'll want to talk to me."

"Of course he will," Trinity said. "Sweetie, the way he looked at you, he's probably going nuts not speaking to you."

"Maybe. I doubt it. I didn't tell him that my ex wanted me to break up with him, and then threatened his business." Maya sighed.

"You have got to be kidding me." Trinity gaped. "How did you get in the middle of that soap opera?"

"Just lucky, I guess."

"This was the ex from the coffee shop?"

"Yeah."

"He looked like bad news. I guess he was worse than I thought. But don't worry too much. Everyone has problems, and you'll get past these."

"I hope so. Anyway." Maya shook her head. "Let's change the subject for a minute, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, but hold on a second. Roxxy wanted to say hi, too. Roxxy!"

"Hold your horses." Roxxy, looking much less intimidating in jeans and a t-shirt, came to the bar and gave Maya a hug. "How are you, sweetie?" Roxxy studied her. "You look a little tired."

"It's been a rough couple of days, but I'm okay," said Maya. "I was just telling Trinity, I had a question for you."

"Well, go on, don't leave us in suspense," said Trinity.

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "I enjoyed working on your dresses so much, and the others, and since I haven't had any luck finding work somewhere else, I thought--why not open my own shop? I could specialize, maybe, for drag queens, but do other things too."

Roxxy and Trinity exchanged a look and laughed.

"What is it?" Maya asked, puzzled.

"Sweetie, if you hadn't asked, we were going to suggest it," said Trinity.

"Maya, you did such a good job on Trinity's dress, and fixing the others, all the girls want you to work on their dresses," Roxxy added.

Maya gaped. "Really?"

"Absolutely," said Trinity. "You've been here a while, you know it's hard for us to find clothes for these shows. We know that we don't have women's figures, we know we can't just grab something off the rack or they need work if we do. I can sew, if I have to, but best not to tempt fate."

"Our dresses need to last," Roxxy said. "We're hard on them and even if we take excellent care, they wear out, they get damaged, all of that. You took a piece of crap dress and made something out of it. If you can do that, imagine what you could do if you started with good material."

"You really think it could work?" Maya asked.

"Maya, just the queens here could keep you so busy you'd never sleep," said Trinity. "I think it could absolutely work."

Roxxy seconded the thought, and Maya found herself more excited about the idea than she had been so far. She wanted to talk to Toby about it so badly it hurt.

"Here you go, Maya." Landon came back with her burger and suddenly she was ravenous.

"All right, we'll let you go," said Trinity. She nudged Maya. "I told you if you fixed my dress, I'd set you up with your own shop. You just got ahead of me."

Maya laughed. "Thanks."

"And don't worry about things with Toby. Whatever happened, he'll forgive you, you'll forgive him, and you can have your happily ever after," Trinity said.

"And if he doesn't, we'll kick his ass," said Roxxy. "Don't think I can't."

Trinity and Roxxy headed backstage and Maya turned to her food.

"This looks amazing," she said.

"It'll knock your socks off," Landon said. "Hey, listen, I have a surprise for you."

"Another surprise? I'm not sure I can take it. Unless it's another burger? Because I think I could eat two of them."

Landon gave her a pointed look. "That's probably because I don't think I've seen you eat anything for almost two days. How you survived on water and some Ritz crackers is beyond me."

"You didn't exactly have a stocked kitchen," Maya said.

"Touché, but let's move on. Turn around."

Maya shrugged and did, and couldn't believe it. "Allie! Gabe!" She jumped up and ran to hug her cousins.

"Hey, Maya," they said together.

After a couple more hugs, they turned to go back to the bar, but Landon led them to a booth. "Here, it'll be easier to talk. I ordered you each a burger, is that okay? It's the quickest thing this time of day."

"Great, thanks," said Gabe. He shook Landon's hand. "Nice to see you, man."

"You, too. Back in a few." Landon nodded and left.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Maya. "And pardon me while I stuff my face."

Allie laughed, brushing her blond hair back. "Believe it or not, Landon called us."

"He did? How did he even get your number?" Maya stared at her cousin.

"Don't be mad, but he answered my text to your phone a couple of days ago. He was worried. You really ought to put a code on your phone, Maya." Allie gave her an arch look.

"I know. It's just been kind of crazy. I'll tell you about it in a while." The prospect of telling her cousins what happened brought an almost dizzying sense of relief.

"Anyway." Gabe picked up the story and a French fry from Maya's plate. "He said you'd been having a tough time, and that he thought you needed us. So, here we are."

"Oh, guys." Maya leaned her head on Allie's shoulder. "I am so glad to see you. I think I have messed up so bad."

"No worries," said Gabe with a wink. "We'll help you fix it."

"Am I wrong, or has Landon really changed?" asked Allie after he brought the burgers for her and Gabe. "Not just his appearance. I mean, when we've met him before, he looked like he resented having to share the same air with us."

"He has changed, for sure," said Maya. "Honestly, I don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for him."

"Wow," Gabe said. "That's not what I thought you'd ever say about him."

"I know, I know." Maya nodded and took another bite of her burger. "I swear, I've had so many things just happen the last few weeks, I don't even know where to start."

"And you didn't tell me?" Allie said.

Maya sighed. "I'm sorry, I should have. Just another in a long line of people I should have said something to."

"It's all right," said Allie. "We'll sort it all out."

"Hey, guys." Landon came back to the table. "How's everything?"

"Delicious," they chorused.

He laughed. "Good. Maya, here's a key to the apartment. You guys can head out whenever, hang out at my place, and come back if you want to see any of the show."

"We have a hotel room, Landon, that's okay," said Allie. "We don't need you to give up all your space."

Landon shrugged. "It's okay. I won't be back until after work, so you're not in my way. Just hang out there for however long you want."

Maya jumped up and hugged him. "Thank you so much, Landon. You've been so terrific."

He awkwardly returned the embrace. "No sweat. You just take care, all right? Everything will work out, I'm sure." Landon glanced at Allie and Gabe. "Make sure she eats something later."

They finished their food and walked around the city while Maya spilled everything that had happened since she'd moved. Then they headed back to Landon's apartment. Maya desperately wanted to introduce her cousins to Toby, Krista and everyone else but she wasn't sure she could face them yet. Or whether they'd want to see her.

They ordered pizza and flopped in the living room while they waited for the delivery.

"I should have told both of you," said Maya. "But I knew you were busy with school, Allie, and I didn't want you to worry."

"It's all right. Can't say I would have done it differently," Allie said. She curled up in a corner of the couch. "I wonder what Dean meant, what he thinks you did."

"I think I know," said Gabe. He held up his phone as the women looked at him. "I just looked him up. Found a little local news blurb that says he was fired."

"What? Dean was fired?" Maya stared at him.

"Yes. The article says he was fired over comments posted on social media," Gabe said. "I bet he was fired over the stuff he posted about you. I also bet he thinks you reported him."

"I didn't," said Maya. "Maybe I should have, but I didn't. It never crossed my mind to do that. I just blocked everything and got off social media." Was that what he meant, she wondered. It made some sense. She went over the timeline with her cousins, glad she'd documented everything when it had happened.

"Well, that's not proof," said Allie, "but it's pretty damn strong circumstantial evidence."

"It still doesn't explain how he got my number, but I guess that doesn't matter." Maya sighed. "This is good to know, but I don't know what to do about it."

"Don't worry about it for now," said Gabe. "We can think about it. No rush."

Allie's phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. "It's your mom, Maya. Hi, Aunt Denise. How are you? Actually, I'm with her right now. Okay, hold on." Allie held the phone out to Maya. "She wants to talk to you."

"And the day was going so well," Maya said as she took the phone. "Hi, Mom."

"Maya, what is going on with you and your phone? I called the number and it just kept going to voice mail," her mother said, sounding irritated.

"I turned it off," said Maya.

"There is no point in having a cell phone if you turn it off."

Maya felt a headache start and bit back a harsh reply. "Mom, I've been having some problems. I'm going to get another phone tomorrow."

"Changing again?"

"Yes."

"Maybe this time you can tell Dean yourself, so he doesn't keep bothering me for your number."

Maya sat up. "Dean called you? You gave him my number? Mom, I specifically asked you not to do that."

"I don't know why," her mother said. "Dean was perfectly nice on the phone and said you'd found a new place and gotten a new phone, and he'd lost the number."

"He didn't lose it. I didn't give it to him. I don't want him to have it, which is why I asked you not to give it to him." Maya dropped back on the couch.

"Why would you not want your boyfriend to have your number? Honestly, Maya. Is this some complicated thing Millennials do?"

Maya stared at the phone, wondering where her mother had come up with that one. "No, Mom, it's not complicated. He's not my boyfriend. I told you that. I broke up with Dean, he harassed me, and I don't want him to have my number."

"He harassed you?"

"Yes." Maya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It got a little easier each time she told someone, but at the same time the repetition was draining. It was also frustrating that her mother was acting as though Maya had never mentioned it. "He hit me, Mom. He broke my sewing machine, he harassed me at work, and stalks me on the phone. So please don't give him my number."

"Are you sure you aren't misreading the situation?" asked Denise. "Or maybe goading him into doing these things? Really, Maya, he was so nice when I spoke with him."

"I know, Mom. I thought he was nice, too, but let me repeat: he hit me, destroyed my property, and harassed me. I broke up with him and don't want to speak with him. Mom, if you can't promise you won't give Dean my number, I will not give it to you."