Altering the Plans Ch. 08

"Yes, and thanks again." She gave Charles a hug before he left.

"Well, this does call for some celebration, but I guess we'd better get back to work," said Krista.

"Yes." Maya nodded. "It's time for things to get back to some kind of normal."

"Can I be part of your normal?" Toby asked.

"That's the only kind of normal I want," Maya said.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"So are you set for the gala?" Jackson asked Toby.

"I guess." Toby sighed.

Over a week had gone by since Maya had gotten the restraining order, and although Toby had been on the lookout for trouble, there hadn't been any. On one hand, that was good; Toby didn't want trouble.

On the other, this meant that there wasn't much to distract him from the art gala. He wasn't entirely sure how they'd all ended up going, but Delia and Clara had invited all of them, including Devlin. The women had been excited to buy new dresses, which they'd found at one of Lacey's thrift shops and which Maya had been making alterations to.

Landon and Charles had also been invited, but had to decline. Privately, Landon had told Toby he'd always hated those functions when he'd worked at the law firm, and was relieved not to have to go. Charles had been more disappointed, but said he'd settle for pictures, and was going to help the women with their makeup.

Remembering the makeup the queens wore for their shows, Toby wondered if Maya, Lacey and Krista would end up being art exhibits of their own.

"Oh, come on." Krista nudged him. "You make it sound like torture."

"Krista, the last time I even wore a suit, never mind a tux, was for a funeral. You know I don't like getting dressed up," he said.

"Blah, blah." Krista rolled her eyes. "It's for the aunties, and for Maya. Suck it up, brother mine."

"I'm going, aren't I?"

"Yes, but with that attitude you'll have a terrible time, which means Maya will have a terrible time, which means I'll have to smack you upside the head," said Krista. "So, why not decide you'll enjoy it?"

"We'll be able to see the exhibits, right?" asked Jackson. "That'll be something to do. I always mean to go to the art museum and never do."

"True." Toby nodded. "There's an exhibit of abstract paintings I've been wanting to see."

"There, see," said Krista. "It won't be so bad."

"You'll be so busy looking at Devlin you won't see any of the art anyway," Toby teased her.

She reddened. "That's not true."

Jackson shook his head and gave Toby a reproachful look. "What he meant, Krista, is that you will be so stunning Devlin won't be able to look at anything else."

"Thanks, Jackson." She stuck out her tongue at Toby.

"Thanks, man," Toby said drily. "Way to dig a hole for me."

"You dug it," said Jackson. "I was trying to help you get out."

Toby changed the subject. "Has anybody seen or heard anything from Dean?"

"No." Krista shook her head. "And good riddance to that piece of shit."

"I'm with you," said Toby. "Maya hasn't said anything about any more phone calls or anything like that. I hope it's a permanent change."

"Me, too," said Krista. "Maybe he got the message. She hasn't mentioned any phone calls, or any coffee shop visits." She looked up. "She'd tell you, though, wouldn't she?"

"Yeah, she would," said Toby. "I guess I'm just a little paranoid about it myself. I can't help it; I keep feeling like it's not quite over."

"Don't go looking for trouble," said Jackson. "Although I know what you mean. But he looked pretty chastened at the hearing. I'm sure he didn't expect it to go that way."

"About damn time," Krista said. "Guys like that, they think they can get away with more and more because no one ever says no. It's always, 'what about his reputation?' or some shit like that, and no one worries about the woman who's being targeted."

"At least this judge didn't buy it," said Toby. "I think Maya would have gotten the order anyway, but it sure didn't hurt that the asshole couldn't control himself." He had to admit, he'd enjoyed seeing Dean have a meltdown in court after he hadn't gotten his way. As Krista had said, it was about damn time.

"Hey guys." Devlin came in the shop. "How's it going?" He smiled. "Hi, Krista."

"Hey," she said.

"We're good, man," said Toby. "You?"

"I am on vacation," he said, "so I'm great. I have lots of days of nothing to do ahead of me."

"Don't forget the art gala," said Toby. "You ready? What am I saying? You probably have a closet full of tuxes to choose from." If there was one thing Devlin could do, it was dress to impress.

"One tux is not a selection," said Devlin. "Besides, if you have a good one, you only need one."

"If you say so," said Toby. He'd gotten this far without owning a tux, he figured he could manage a little longer.

"Are we going to have to hold you down to get you into the tux?" asked Devlin.

Toby gave him a suggestive smile. "Why, Devlin, I had no idea you wanted to do that."

Jackson and Krista snorted with laughter while Devlin rolled his eyes.

"What about you, Jackson?" Devlin asked. "Are you joining the posh crowd?"

"Absolutely." Jackson nodded.

"Not going to be out of your league?"

Jackson looked at him, puzzled. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing." Devlin shrugged. "Just seemed like you might be out of your element."

Toby frowned. He didn't like the implications of his friend's statement. "If Jackson is, then we all are," he said.

Devlin held his hands up in a peace gesture. "Sorry, not trying to say anything. Just saying these events might not be what we're used to. I've been to a few of these type of things; sometimes the upper crust is their own little world."

"I think we can behave ourselves for a night," Toby said.

"Auntie Clara and Auntie Delia will make sure of it," said Krista.

"That they will," said Jackson. The door chimed and a customer walked in. Jackson greeted the man and took him back to his work area.

"Did you pick out your tux?" Devlin asked. He leaned on the counter and fixed his signature grin on Krista.

"Yes, it's black satin with a top hat and tails," she said.

Toby was glad to see her sass Devlin. It was weird the way she often went quiet around him. It had taken Jackson telling him to realize Krista had a crush on Devlin, and Toby wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.

She'd be fine, he decided. Krista didn't take shit from anyone.

"Actually," she continued, "we've all gotten dresses, we found them at a vintage thrift shop. Maya's making some modifications. They'll be beautiful."

"I'm sure they will," said Devlin.

Toby expected Devlin to say something about how Krista would look beautiful in the dress, but he didn't. Weird, thought Toby. If I can think of that line, it's hard to believe Mr. Smooth didn't.

"All right, guys, it's been fun but I have to go." Devlin stood and rolled his shoulders. "Let me know when we're meeting up for the gala."

"Getting started on that vacation?" Toby asked.

"You know it." Devlin nodded. "See you, guys. Bye, Krista."

He stepped out as a customer stepped in. Krista greeted the woman, who appeared to be in her fifties or so, and said she wanted a tattoo with her grandchildren's names. Krista drew her into a discussion about what kind of design she might want, and colors, and fonts for the name.

"You know, I hadn't thought that much about it," said the woman. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I do." Krista smiled. She pulled out her own portfolio, which she kept up front since that was where she spent most of the day. "We get quite a few people wanting tattoos like that, or similar. I have one myself." Krista held out her arm to display a tattoo of a kitten, with the name Watson and a date underneath.

"Oh, how cute," the customer said with a smile.

"Thanks. He was my favorite when I was little," said Krista.

Krista and the customer paged through some pictures until the woman settled on what she wanted.

"How many grandchildren do you have?" asked Krista.

"Four. Two sets of twins, believe it or not."

"Oh, wow." Krista's eyes widened. "I don't think I could handle that."

The woman laughed. "My daughters are amazing, true, but I find it's funny what you can do when you have to."

"I guess so." Krista nodded. "Well, if you'd like them done all at once, I think we're probably looking at about an hour."

"Can you do the tattoo?"

"Sure," said Krista. "If you'd like."

"I would like that," said the woman. "I have a good feeling about you."

Toby was glad to see someone be nice to Krista. She looked like she could use it, and truth was she was just as good with tattoos as he and Jackson were. Their shop got a fair bit of business from women, and a lot of those women asked for Krista.

Krista made an appointment and the woman left, promising to tell her friends about Chandler Designs.

"There," said Krista as she put the appointment in the system. "You can't say I never brought in any business."

"I'd never say that," said Toby. "And I'm glad you do those kinds of tattoos."

"I like to do them," said Krista.

"I know, and I don't, so it works out." He nudged her. "I can't help if it I'm not a sap like you."

"Ugh, you're awful. Go draw something." She made a shooing motion.

Toby laughed and went to his own area and found his notebooks. He checked the schedule and realized he had a client coming in soon, and he went over his notes.

It was good, Toby thought, to be back to normal, and to have that normal include Maya. He wanted her in his life, and he had started thinking about asking her to move in with him. He hoped it wasn't too soon, or too much on top of everything that had happened with Dean, but he didn't want to wait.

He'd waited for her twice, and that was enough.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Long Cool, if you don't sit still, you're going to look like the Joker." Charles crossed his arms and looked at Krista. "I'm good, but even I can't paint a moving target."

"He's right," said Kevin as he worked on Maya's makeup. He paused and looked up. "Which Joker? We might be able to work with that Jared Leto version with the short hair."

"God save me." Charles threw his hands up. "You are no help."

Maya laughed and Krista reached out to Charles.

"I'm sorry, Charles, I really am," said Krista. "I'm just so excited. I don't think I've ever been to anything this fancy."

"It might be fancy," said Auntie Clara, "but don't overthink it. There will be a lot of stuffy people in ritzy clothes pretending they understand art."

"Then remind we again why we're going?" Auntie Delia said drily.

"Because it's our duty," said Clara. "I refuse to let the creative arts die."

"Amen, sister," said Charles. He nodded and turned back to Krista, giving her a warning look. "I can't ever get enough of the nudes in art myself. Some of those are quite creative."

"Charles, you are wicked," said Delia with a grin. "I like it."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said. "All right, Long Cool, I think you're done. Who's next?"

"I guess I am," said Lacey.

"Oh, Lace, you look so pretty," said Clara. She smiled. "That dress brings out your eyes."

"You all look so gorgeous," said Delia. "Maya, you have worked wonders with these dresses."

"She has at that," Charles said as he began working Lacey's makeup. "My dear, you'll be done in about five minutes. Your skin is gorgeous. I almost hate putting anything on top of it. We'll keep it light and natural, all right?"

"Whatever you say," said Lacey. "I think you're much more the expert than I am."

"Maya, you're done," said Kevin. "Some of my best work, if I do say so. Next, please."

"Thank you, Kevin. That's you, Auntie Clara," said Maya as she got up.

"Goodness, I haven't had my makeup done in I don't know how long," said Clara as she took Maya's place.

"Auntie Delia, your turn," said Charles.

"That's fine, Charles." Delia waved a hand. "There's no need."

"No, ma'am." Charles shook his head. "You're not getting off that easy. And I know you wouldn't want to make me late for work, so let's get moving."

"You're bossy, young man," said Delia with mock severity, "but I'll let it slide this time."

There was a knock at the door and then Maya heard Jackson. "We're here! Let the party start!"

"Hi, guys." Maya smiled as she met Toby, Jackson and Devlin as they walked into the living room. She gave a low whistle. "Looking sharp. Were you going for James Bond, or Reservoir Dogs?"

"Bond," said Jackson. "He gets the girl and the car. I'll take that every time."

"Good answer." Maya nodded, then looked up at Toby. "You look very handsome."

"Thanks, but I'm sure I'm not as handsome as you are gorgeous in that dress." He leaned down to kiss her, careful of her makeup, which made her smile.

"He's right," said Devlin. "You look gorgeous. I'm sure all you ladies will put us to shame."

"Krista and Lacey look amazing. Oh, I should get pictures! I'll be right back." Maya went upstairs as quickly as she could in her heels, and found coming downstairs to be trickier. "I feel like I'm going to fall," she said. "I never wear heels, and now I know why."

"I'll catch you," said Toby, and she melted a little inside.

"All right, you three stand there." Maya pointed to the fireplace. "That will make a good background."

"At least we're in black," said Jackson. "No one will know if we get smudged."

Maya smiled and focused the camera.

I'm happy, Maya thought, and I haven't been for a long time. She was happy to be with her friends, happy to be in love with Toby, happy for a lot of other things that happened. It had been a rocky start, moving out on her own, but it had been worth it. It was good to stand on her own, with support from people who cared, and who she cared about.

The men were good sports for the pictures, with Devlin and especially Jackson mugging for the camera.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" asked Devlin. He checked his watch. "Don't want to be late."

On cue, Krista and Lacey walked in, followed by Delia and Clara. "Here we are," Krista said.

Krista wore a black gown with a white flower on the shoulder and a slit up to the knee on the side. Delia had found a black and gold necklace that she'd insisted Krista wear, which accented her neck along with the elegant updo she wore. With her heels, Maya thought Krista had passed elegant and gone into statuesque territory, and beautifully so.

Lacey had found a green dress that matched her eyes, and a gold wrap to go with it. Her hair was down and cascaded in waves. Maya noticed Jackson couldn't take his eyes off of Lacey, and she couldn't blame him. Charles had done as he promised with the makeup and kept it light, only highlighting her features.

Even with her heels, Maya felt ridiculously short compared to everyone else. She'd found a blue dress that, like Krista's, had a slit up to her knee. Like Lacey, she'd worn her hair down, although pulled back with some decorative combs that Clara had found, with blue butterflies that matched her dress.

"You look terrific, Kris," Toby said.

"Thanks." She cocked her head and gave him an approving nod. "You clean up pretty well." At Toby's mock frown, she laughed. "Sorry. You look really handsome, Toby. You all do."

Maya noticed Devlin taking Krista in. She couldn't read his expression to tell if he was impressed, or calculating.

"Well?" Krista asked. "What do you think?"

"I think it's lucky I'm as tall as I am," Devlin said. "Otherwise I'd need heels, too."

Maya didn't like that at all; something about Devlin continued to rub her the wrong way. However, Krista laughed, so she left it alone. Maya glanced at Jackson and smiled to herself; he had shot past impressed into adoration. He was staring at Lacey like no one else was in the room.

"Hi, Jackson," Lacey said.

When Jackson remained silent, Toby shook his head and nudged his friend.

"What? Sorry. You look beautiful, Lacey," Jackson said.

"Thank you." Lacey smiled.

"Auntie Clara, Auntie Delia, you both look terrific," said Toby.

"Thank you, Tobias. It's all thanks to Maya," said Clara. She came over and gave Maya a careful one-armed hug. "I feel like I'm about to go on a red carpet. If they ask me who I'm wearing, I can't wait to tell them."

"Do we have time for a few more pictures?" asked Maya.

"I think we can manage that," said Delia. "We can always be fashionably late."

"Man, now I really do feel like I'm going to the prom," said Toby.

"I remember my senior prom," said Devlin. "I had a convertible, I went with Carla Massi and--" He cut himself off and cleared his throat the matching raised eyebrows from Delia and Clara. "And had a really great time," he finished weakly.

Maya glanced at Lacey and they shared a laugh. It was good to see that even Aaron Devlin knew to respect Lacey's aunts. It seemed the man did have some limits.

"This won't take long, I promise," said Maya. She snapped pictures of the couples, and then mixed them into groups. She made sure to get a good one of Delia and Clara in front of the fireplace, and planned to get it framed as a gift for them later.

"Now, Maya, do you have a business card?" asked Delia as they got ready to leave. Clara and Delia had hired a limousine for the group, and it was due soon.

"She does!" Charles and Kevin came in from the kitchen, where they'd been gathering up their supplies. "And don't you all look incredible."

"I do?" asked Maya. "I don't remember getting a business card made."

"You were so busy," said Toby. "I hope you don't mind, I did one for you. I had them sent to the club so Landon could keep them for me. I didn't want to risk anything happening to them at the shop. Charles brought them over."

Charles handed Maya a card and she recognized the design from the picture Toby had painted of her after they'd made up. It had her name and a cell phone number she didn't recognize.

"Thank you." Maya smiled up at Toby. "But what's the number?"

"It's a new phone," said Lacey. "We thought you could have one dedicated to business. That way you don't have to worry about who's calling your personal phone." She held out a phone to Maya.

"Wow," said Maya. "You guys thought of everything." Her throat grew tight.

"Don't you cry," said Charles, although he looked like he was choking up a little himself. "Not after the work Kevin put in on your face."

"He's right," said Kevin. "You have to go and put in an appearance, and then I don't care what you do. But go and make an impression. Network your cute little butt off."

"Network? I don't know how to network." Maya shook her head.

"We'll help," said Delia. "Charles, Kevin, thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Auntie Delia," said Charles. "It was a lot of fun to work on someone else for a change. I hope to see you at the club sometime."

"We just might do that."

"Bye, kids! Have fun!" said Kevin as he and Charles left. "Don't do anything we wouldn't do."

That, Maya suspected, left a lot of possibilities open.

"The limo's here," said Jackson. He held his arm out to Lacey. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, let's." She took his arm and they headed to the limo.

At the gala, Maya tried to keep from gawking. There weren't any celebrities, but there were local muckety-mucks, as Clara described them, including the mayor and some other city officials as well as some local entertainment personalities and artists.

Tables had been set up in the main hall, with china plates and floral centerpieces. They found their table, and for once, Maya was relaxed enough to eat the meal as it was served.

After the main course, members of the board, including Auntie Clara, gave speeches. She talked about the importance of the arts, of reaching out to the community, and of making art part of everyday life, and not something reserved for only special occasions. Maya heartily agreed and applauded when the speeches were over, as did the others.