22. Maeve
22
maeve
Stella: Maeve Marie Banks what in the world am I seeing!
Ainsley: What happened?
Stella: According to every celebrity news outlet in the world, our sister got married yesterday.
Quinn: What!? No fucking way!
Quinn: Also could you hear me screaming from Arizona?
Ainsley: Yes. And I almost cursed I’m so shocked.
Stella: See, Maeve! Quinn is freaking out and Ainsley’s swearing. Care to tell us what’s going on?
Simon: Whoa! Wait! Just catching up. What the fuck happened?
Stella: According to multiple news reports, Maeve Banks is now Maeve Matthews, because our oldest sister got married yesterday to the billionaire.
Ainsley: Without telling us.
Quinn: Or inviting us.
Simon: I never get invited to anything!
Twenty-four hours.
That’s how long it took before the headlines across the internet read something like this:
SpaceCraft creator Logan Matthews ties the knot in courthouse wedding. You won’t believe who he married.
SpaceCraft’s Logan Matthews is entering his Husband Era.
Who is Maeve Banks? Meet the new Mrs. Logan Matthews.
Once I saw the first one pop up, I knew it wouldn’t be long until the Banks group chat would fire up. I wanted to get ahead of it, but I also wanted to tell Jayce first, which means I have to wait until he gets home from school. I’m just glad Stella was smart enough to use the sibling chat and not the one with my parents. I’m going to tell them, but I don’t want them finding out in a text thread.
Maeve: Yes. It’s true. I’m married. I’ll fill you all in at a later time.
No one responds, which I don’t think has ever happened in the history of the Banks family.
Actually, their pause is helpful. I don’t have time to tell them everything right now, because I need to finish packing bags and suitcases for me and Jayce.
Because in a change of plans, we now have to move in with my husband.
God that’s still weird to even think about…
Kat was right yesterday when she thought that a Nashville Banner reporter spotted Logan. When we left the courthouse, a group of photographers were not so subtly waiting for us. Thankfully, Kat is two steps ahead at all times and reminded us to make sure we were holding hands and smiling as we exited. She then directed me to go home with Logan and leave my car at the courthouse.
Now that I’m thinking of it, is my car still there? Shit, with the craziness of the day I didn’t even think about it.
Seconds after I saw the first article, I was on the phone with Logan, who was adamant about us coming to his home. And even though my stubborn ass wanted to argue, he was right. Between the articles that have come out already, and the photographers who aren’t being sneaky about hiding down my road, it’s safer for us to be at Logan’s with gates and cameras and an actual security system that isn’t just my Ring camera.
Now we just have to tell Jayce.
My phone vibrates again, and I audibly groan, thinking that it’s one of my siblings. Or another message from Josh asking me if what he and Vivian were seeing online was true. It’s neither. Just my husband.
Still so fucking weird to say…
Logan: I’m pulling in the driveway. Come meet me at the door so I can help with the bags.
Maeve: I can get them, Logan. You don’t have to.
Logan: Maeve…let me into the house so I can help with bags. Please.
Why am I so fucking stubborn and independent on everything? Yes, I need help with bags. But even when he’s offering, I’m too damn head strong to accept it.
Maeve: Fine. But only so we can do this in one trip.
Logan: Whatever you need to tell yourself.
I slide my phone into my pocket as I quickly check my closet and Jayce’s to make sure I have everything I could need. I don’t know how long we’ll be there, but I have to assume a long period of time. And yes, I can come back if I need something, but I’d rather not if I don’t have to.
With the final check done, I head downstairs and open my door to see a waiting Logan.
“Hi,” I say, quickly turning so I don’t accidentally stare. He’s casual today in a gray sweatsuit and his glasses. Now, I’m not one to gawk at men. But Quinn has sent me enough videos to know that gray sweatpants can be quite…revealing. And the last thing I need today when I’m uprooting myself and my son is to stare at my husband in hopes of seeing…anything.
“Is everything ready?”
I nod and look at the huge suitcases I’ve packed. “This is all my clothes and Jayce’s for the time being. Our toiletries. And I hope you don’t mind, but I packed his video games and console.”
Logan sends me a confused look. “Why would I be mad about that? You remember who I am, right?”
As if I could forget.
“Yes, but I also know that you probably own, or developed, all the ones that he’s attached to. And I didn’t know if it was rude or weird to bring them, but if they aren’t with him, he will have a not-so-minor freak out.”
Logan just gives me a warm smile. “Sounds like my kind of kid.”
I turn away again, needing to hide my reaction to how he already talks about Jayce so affectionately. One of the reasons I was adamant about not dating is because I didn’t want Jayce to have to develop a relationship with someone I was dating, only for it to end badly. And yes, part of me is worried Jayce will get attached to Logan. Hell, in their one interaction already, I could see how much they bonded. When we have to leave his house, Jayce will be devastated.
“Logan?”
I turn back to him as he’s picking up one of my duffle bags. “Yeah, Love?”
“Before we do this, I need a promise from you.”
He puts the bags down, hearing the seriousness in my tone. “Anything.”
I take in a breath before beginning. “You and I know this is only temporary. But Jayce has stars in his eyes every time your name comes up.”
“Does that mean you talk about me?”
I roll my eyes at his comment and his fucking smirk. “Focus, Matthews. This is serious. My kid idolizes you, and when we tell him that we’re now living with you, he’s going to become attached in three seconds flat. So I need you to promise me, no matter what happens with us when this is over, that you won’t let my kid down. That you’ll stay in his life however he wants you to. I just…I need that promise.”
Logan puts his grin away and walks toward me, taking my hands in his. I also notice that he immediately starts rubbing his thumb over the engagement ring and wedding band I’ve worn since yesterday.
“When I first met Jayce, I swore I was looking at a picture of myself as a kid. I was shy. Used to hide behind my mum’s leg when we were in public. And talking to him that day? He’s a great, bright, funny kid, Maeve. Believe me, I don’t give my only-one-ever-made action figures to just anyone.”
Shit, I’m going to cry…
“I know this is scary and has been a whirlwind. And it’s not going to be easy on Jayce either. I hate that we can’t stay here, but it’s safer to be at my place right now. So no matter what you tell him about us, no matter how long we stay married, no matter anything, as long as he wants me in his life, I’ll be there. No questions asked.”
Okay, now I’m crying.
I’ve cried more this week than I have in the past God knows how many years. I didn’t even cry when Josh and I divorced.
I start to say thank you to Logan when my phone starts vibrating like crazy in my pocket. When I pull it out, the Banks family group chat has suddenly come back to life.
Simon: You really got fucking married? What do we really know about this guy?
Stella: I’m on it!
Simon: When can I meet him? I think he and I need to have a talk.
Ainsley: Simon, she’s not your daughter.
Simon: I know, but as the oldest, this is part of my duties.
Quinn: Forget that, who had Maeve getting remarried on their Bingo card this year?
Simon: No one. But I do believe that Ainsley was the only one to place her money on Maeve dating again before Jayce was in middle school, so she wins the pot.
Ainsley: Woohoo!
Quinn: I knew taking the over on freshman year was a bad move.
Stella: Y’all I’m going to send you all the articles coming out. Simon, you’re even mentioned in a few.
Simon: Fuck yeah! Send that shit over.
Ainsley: This is so romantic. I swear, this is what romance novels are made of.
Quinn: Ainsley, you don’t even know their story.
Ainsley: The single mom and the billionaire? Come on, Quinn. That’s a cliché.
I can only laugh at the antics of my siblings, and especially at the last text from Ainsley.
“What’s so funny?”
I smile at him and grab my purse and Jayce’s suitcase. “My sister called us cliché.”
“Oh, Love,” Logan says with a laugh. “We’re anything but.”
Another day that ends in the letter “y” and another day that I’m a horrible mom.
Which, you know, is great timing since my ex-husband wants to tell a judge I am one.
The last forty-eight hours have been a whirlwind. I haven’t had a lot of time to figure much out. And one thing that I let fall through the cracks is what, and how, I’m telling Jayce. How did I realize I forgot about this very important thing?
Yup. Mom of the Year right here.
“Mommy? Where are we going?”
I swallow a giant lump in my throat as I turn toward our final destination. “Logan’s.”
What to say…what to say…what to say?
In my defense, I did have a plan when Logan was moving in with us. That Logan was new in town so didn’t know a lot of people, that his house was being worked on, and as friends, we were going to let him stay with us, because that’s what friends do.
Nice life lesson to teach your son about kindness? Yes. A lie? Also yes. But a justified one to protect my child from disappointment when this ended? Hard yes.
But now that we’re going to Logan’s, I don’t know if that same kind of fib is going to work. Do I tell him that we have bugs and our house needs fumigated, and Logan was nice enough to let us stay? Sure, great for the short term. Horrible for when we get back home and Jayce decides to look in every nook and cranny for non-existent bugs and can’t sleep in his own room for fear they will crawl up his nose and into his brain.
“Yes! Can I play SpaceCraft with him?”
I nod, trying to keep my face even as I turn into Logan’s driveway. “Maybe. You’ll have to ask him and make sure he’s not busy.”
“Yes! This is going to be the best day!”
Sure, best day for him. He’s moving into his idol’s mansion. I’m moving in with my husband.
Same actions, two very different responses.
“Actually, buddy. When we get there, and before you ask Logan to play, we’re going to need to talk to you about some things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Um…well…”
“Is it that you and Logan are married?”
What in the fucking world did my child just say?
“Jayce? Can you repeat that, please?”
“Are you talking to me because you married Logan? Like Daddy married Vivian?”
Well, now I am.
Fuck, how did this happen? And how did I not wreck my car when those words came out of his mouth?
Without blinking, and maybe without breathing, I pull the SUV to a stop. I hear Jayce unbuckle his seatbelt and let himself out. I hear the engine rumbling beneath me as I stay seated in silence. Well, not silence, my ears are ringing and my head is pounding because what the actual fuck just happened?
I’m only knocked out of my daze by a light tapping on my window. I look over and see a concerned Logan, standing next to a confused Jayce.
“You okay?” Logan asks, opening my door.
“I told her I heard you two were married and then she quit talking,” Jayce says. “Can we go play SpaceCraft now?”
“Oh.” Logan blinks so much at Jayce’s words he might fly away. “Um…how about you go inside and get the game ready while I help your mum?”
I hear Jayce’s little victorious “Yes!” as he runs back inside.
I, on the other hand, might just live in my car for the rest of my life.
Apparently I can’t live in a car in my new husband’s driveway.
Though I think I could’ve. I’m a resourceful woman.
But I knew I needed to come inside, breathe, take a few shots of whiskey, and figure out how the hell my six-year-old found out about my shotgun, not really real marriage.
Turns out the first-grade gossip line is stronger than the Banks’ family group chat. From what I could follow—because holy hell, it was a winding road with a first-grade narrator— Corban heard his mom talking about it, and then told Maddox. Maddox told Addison, who’s Rosie’s best friend. She said she’d know because Jayce is her boyfriend and that Addison was a liar. Rosie asked Jayce, and all Jayce said was that Logan was his best friend and he’s been to his house, which apparently is confirmation for six-year-olds that people are married.
In all the ways I thought about telling my son, that for sure wasn’t it. It also reminded me that I need to send his teacher a large bottle of wine. And I need to find Corban’s mom and tell her to keep her mouth shut.
But now, with the elephant out of the room and I’ve had a chance to think, it’s time for me to sit down with Jayce. And what better time than right before bed?
“Teeth brushed?” I ask him as I hear the faucet running from his bathroom. He had his own at our house, but this one is connected to his room, and he thinks that’s the absolutely coolest thing. Well, that and the SpaceCraft posters Logan at some point put up today for him. To make things less confusing for him, I’m sleeping across the hall. And far away from Logan’s bedroom.
“Yup!” He comes bopping out, footy pajamas on, as he hops into the bed, making sure his trusty blanket is tucked under his arm. “Is it story time?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I thought we could talk about you, me, and Logan.”
He climbs into bed and under his covers. “I like him.”
That makes me smile. “I know you do.”
“He’s nice. And funny. And he plays games with me.”
“That’s awesome, buddy, but?—”
“I like staying here better than being at Daddy’s.”
Well that makes my heart stop. “Really? Why do you say that?”
He shrugs. “Daddy and I always have fun. But I don’t like Mommy Viv. She doesn’t like my games.”
“Mommy Viv?”
“She told me to call her that. But she’s not my mommy.”
Damn fucking right she’s not.
“Does she do anything with you? Or say anything?”
He shakes his head. “She doesn’t do anything . She just plays on her phone. She needs a screen time limit.”
I hold in a snicker. “Is that it?”
He thinks about it for a second before giving me a nod. “Mommy? Are we living here now? Because you’re married?”
Here we go, the conversation of the night.
“For now,” I say honestly. “But, we’re not getting rid of our house, just in case we need to go back for something. But for a while, we’re living with Logan. Because you’re right, we are married. Is that okay with you?”
Like he’s going to protest, now that he’s living in SpaceCraft central. “Yeah. But does Logan have my cereal? What am I eating for breakfast?”
I laugh and grab his book. “If he doesn’t, I’ll go out and get some tonight.”
This seems to satisfy him as we go into our nightly routine of the goodnight book. We read our pages, and do our lines, and then it gets to our favorite part.
“Goodnight Mommy, Goodnight Daddy,” he says. I’m not proud at how pleased I am that Mommy Viv hasn’t made it in yet, but serves her right. “Goodnight Aunt A-Mae and Tella and Quinn. Goodnight Emmett and Winnie the dog. Goodnight Uncle Simon, Aunt Charlie, and baby Lainey. Goodnight Didi and Pappy. Goodnight Rosie. And goodnight Logan.”
That last one takes me by surprise. “Really? Goodnight Logan?”
He nods, his eyes growing heavy. “Yup. We live here now, and he’s awesome, and you’re smiling.”
“What was that?”
Did I smile today? I barely remember today as it was nothing but a whirlwind.
“You’ve been smiling today, and I like it when you smile.”
Before I can say anything else, Jayce starts nodding off, leaving me stumped and wondering what my six-year-old is seeing that I’m not.
Smiling? No…that doesn’t sound like me.