Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MAIA
“ T hank you,” I say, staring at the stars. This night couldn’t be more perfect if I wantedit to be.
“For?” he asks, dipping fries in the gooey cheese container.
“Going back for me.”
“I might not know exactly who you became, but I know your essence. You left because you felt lost and confused. I shouldn’t have pushed you to talk or said something so insensitive.
I let you be last Monday when I confronted you for the first time…
” He glances at me. “Which might’ve also been a mistake. You’re distraught.”
“I was,” I admit but don’t expand any further.
“Then, I said something that was…too sudden.”
“That you want to fall in love with me?”
“Yeah, it’s like telling a person who just fell from a horse and has a broken arm, ‘hey, let’s start riding again after they set the bones.’”
I snort. “That’s a weird analogy.”
“But I made you laugh.”
“You know what I realized between leaving the suite and talking to my sister?”
He stares at me, waiting for an answer.
“You’re the only person I tell things to without censoring the information. Well, until tonight when I almost told Cee-Cee that she’s an insensitive bitch.”
“I’m pretty sure a lot of people heard that.”
“Which won’t matter because no one knows me. They can’t even get my last name right. If I was a guy, they’d know how to spell it backward.”
He laughs. Before he can speak, my phone blares with Mom’s ringtone.
“Ugh, I don’t want to deal with her. You should answer it,” I say, handing the phone to Gatsby.
He takes it and stares at it as if it were a dead animal. “It’s your phone.”
“Yeah, but I don’t feel like talking to my parents.”
“Your dad might kill me.”
I grin. “Were you afraid of my father?”
“Well, yeah. I might’ve pretended that I was brave, but deep down, I feared that he’d come and shoot me for defiling his precious daughter.”
I laugh. “He might’ve. We’ll never know.”
The phone stops ringing, and he sighs, relieved he doesn’t have to deal with my parents. But it’s too soon because, in just seconds, it rings again.
“She’s not going to stop,” I warn him.
“You should answer.”
“Nope. It’s your turn. I checked out when I stepped onto the terrace. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be Maia, the responsible CEO and dutiful daughter.”
He smiles. “The things I do for you, Little Blue.” He slides his finger across the screen and presses the speaker button. “Hello.”
“Maia? Where is Maia?” My mom sounds desperate.
“She’s currently indisposed. May I take a message?”
“Who are you?” she asks with a worried voice. “Ernesto, there’s a man with Maia. Maybe she’s not a lesbian.”
I snort. My parents, ladies and gentlemen, I mutter.
“Will there be a problem if I like women, Mom?”
“No. If Suzie is your partner and you two are happy, I’m happy for you, mijita. I just need to know because that means Raphy is my grandchild.”
She sounds genuinely happy. “I’m afraid to inform you that’s not the case, Mom.”
“Then who answered your phone? Is that your boyfriend? Are you hiding him from us?”
“Irony,” Gatsby whispers, sitting next to me and setting the phone on the coffee table.
“He’s a friend.”
“What kind of friend?”
“How can I help you, Mom?” I ask, exasperated.
“Cee-cee called us. She’s worried about you.”
“How so?”
“She said you yelled at her. She’s afraid that you’ll end up in the psych ward due to another nervous breakdown. I remembered that you’re giving a presentation this week, and you know what happened the last time.”
I’ve been in plenty of conferences and interviews, and…it’s like they don’t know me, but now I understand why. I look at Gatsby, who gives me an encouraging smile.
“No, you don’t know what happened the last time, Mom. I let you assume things. It wasn’t just because I had to speak in public.”
“Why do you lie so much to us, Maia?” The anguish in her voice is heartbreaking.
I take a deep breath. Gatsby holds my hand.
I let the words flow fast, ripping them from my chest like a Band-Aid.
“Because I want you to think that I’m perfect, so you’re not disappointed in me.
I lost my virginity at eighteen and practically lived with my boyfriend during my first year of college.
“I had a panic attack because I didn’t have the presentation, and my boyfriend disappeared the night before with it. I was afraid that something had happened to him. What if he died? I push you and other people away because I don’t want to deal with messy feelings.
“I hate when you send cookies to Suzie and celebrate everything that Raphy does. I understand it’s because you want a grandchild, but it makes me feel inadequate. That I lack a quality that would make you love me. You never call to check on me—not since I left Georgia Tech.
“Most days, I feel lonely. I don’t invite you to my house because you’re just going to criticize it.
So maybe I lie by omission, but it’s because I live under the impression that I have to follow your plan, or if I’m anything but flawless, you won’t be proud of me.
I pay for your daughter’s tuition, your mortgage, and your vacations because maybe you’ll be pleased with me—even when I won’t get married or have children. ”
And when I’m done, I take a deep breath, and I also realize that Gatsby’s arms hug me tightly against his chest. He embraces me the way he used to do when we were together, and I was having trouble managing my emotions.
“It was that man, wasn’t it? The one who helped us move you into your studio.”
“What?”
“You were dating that guy. What was his name, Fitzgerald?”
I chuckle. “Gatsby.”
“Yes, that one. I told your dad that sometimes I heard his voice when we talked with you on the computer. He didn’t believe me. I don’t understand why you didn’t trust me.”
“You said you’d take me back home if I didn’t follow your rules.”
She goes silent. “Did he hurt you like Bram hurt Tiggy?”
“No. It ended because of the circumstances, but it was a difficult time for me.”
“I feel like we failed you girls.”
I don’t know what to tell her. I feel Gatsby shake his head.
“No, you didn’t. I just…it made me feel isolated, though. So much that I detached myself from you.”
“We love you, and I want you to know that we’re proud of all your accomplishments. If you ever need to talk to us, I’m here for you.” She’s almost sobbing. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I hope I didn’t.
“Thank you, I’ll talk to you later, Mom,” I say, hanging up.
I rest my head on Gatsby’s chest, feeling completely and utterly exhausted.
“Sometimes, parents make mistakes while trying to do their best for their kids,” he says.
“How do you know?”
“Weren’t you paying attention to our earlier conversation? I raised five teenagers. There are times when I’m still dealing with them. I just cost the twins a deal for being an overbearing asshole—Hux’s words.”
Though I wish I could ask him questions, my eyes begin to close. I’m too exhausted to stay awake.