Chapter Text
“Maya?” The voice came with the light tap on the glass.
Maya looked up from the papers to see Mindy standing at the open door.
“What is it, Mindy?”
“Someone’s here to see you. Her name is Sarah Maguire. She said she knows you?” The girl was uncertain.
Maya raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard of her but send her in anyway.”
Mindy nodded and left before returning a few seconds later with a young woman behind her. She let the woman through and left the office room.
Maya stood up and offered a hand. “Good afternoon, I’m Maya Bishop. How can I help you?” She gestured towards one of the chairs.
The young woman shook hands with her and took a seat. “My name is Sarah Maguire. We’ve never met before but I do know you.”
Maya sat down. “From one of my clients or cases?”
“No. From Agatha back in Portland.”
Maya frowned. “How do you know Agatha, if I may ask?”
The young woman was clearly nervous. She was fidgeting with the strap of her bag and shifting in her seat.
Maya noticed the worn out bag and the humble appearance of the young lady.
“Please don’t be angry at Agatha. I know she wasn’t supposed to tell me but I begged her since her successor couldn’t help me… and Agatha said that you’re a good person, a kind heart, so I thought…” The woman gulped.
“You came all the way from Portland?”
She nodded. “I’ve just arrived, actually, and I came straight here. I-I… I made a mistake, Miss Bishop.”
“Just call me Maya.”
“I made a mistake, Maya. A big one.” The woman looked at Maya with sad and regretful eyes.
“And you think I can help you with it?”
“Y-yes. But I must apologize first.”
“Why?” Maya was becoming more confused by the minute. “I’m sorry, Miss Sarah. Can you be more specific and start from the beginning, please?”
“I… had a son when I was seventeen.”
“Oh?” Maya raised her eyebrows.
“I was young, stupid. I didn’t know what to do. I ran away from home and someone told me about Agatha’s little orphanage. I…” She started to tear up. “I left him there.”
Maya started to feel uncomfortable about where the story was going.
“That was five years ago. I was a mess back then but I have a job now. Not a high paying one, I work at a restaurant, but a job nonetheless. I don’t have an apartment but I rent this small room in this kind grandmother’s house who lives alone. It’s not much but my life’s stable now.” The young woman paused, composing herself. “And I regretted my decision. There’s never been a day when I don’t think about where that boy is and how he’s doing.”
Maya waited patiently for the woman to continue, unconsciously clutching the pen she had grabbed off her desk.
“I know I made a huge mistake when I left him with Agatha but I want to make amends. I want a second chance. I want to raise him.” She took a deep breath. “I wasn’t even able to give him a name but I believe you call him Aidan.”
Maya felt her world shatter at that one last sentence. The pen in her hand cracked a bit under her forceful grip.
“Aidan? You’re…” Maya gulped. “You’re Aidan’s biological mother?”
The woman nodded. “I’m sorry. Agatha told me you’ve been doing such a great job raising him all these years.”
The room grew quiet.
Maya finally cleared her throat. “So let me get this straight. You want to take him back?”
“Yes.”
“You do know that my partner and I will not let him go just like that? He’s our son too. He’s used to living with us. We’re a family. I don’t really deal well with things that can endanger my family, honestly. And I will do anything in my power to protect it.” Maya didn’t mean to sound threatening but the thought of losing that boy made her extra defensive.
“I understand and I’m sorry to have to do this to you. I made a terrible mistake.” She repeated herself again. “Please allow me to fix that. I owe him that.”
“There are other ways for you to fix it, to pay for it. I love that boy, Miss Sarah. He’s my son. Our son. My wife loves him too. Dearly.”
The woman was clearly surprised at the mention of the word ‘wife’.
“Yes, my partner is also a woman, but we’re doing a great job even though I say so myself. We gave him a home, a loving family and everything he could ever need.”
The young woman looked down.
Maya sighed. “I’m not trying to look down on you. I think you’ve done a great job turning your life around. It’s just that…” She leaned back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair in stress. “I don’t think I can let him go, Miss Sarah.”
“Let him choose.”
“He’s five! His favorite color changes every week! How can he know what’s best for him?”
“And you do?”
“Of course! I’ve been taking care of him for over three years, haven’t I?!” Maya raised her voice.
The woman flinched.
Maya took a deep breath. “Sorry about that,” she muttered.
“It’s okay. I understand.” Sarah sighed. “I’m not rich, but I don’t mind going to court if I have to. I’ll find the money for a lawyer somehow. I-I…” The woman swallowed. “Please? I also want the best for Aidan and… I’m sorry to say this but I have more right than you do. I’m his biological mother. I’ve asked around, they say the court would usually side with the biological parents.”
Maya clenched her jaws, knowing that that was indeed true unless the biological parents’ condition was totally unfit to raise a child. And this young woman looked normal and sincere. She suddenly felt suffocated.
“Can I discuss this with my wife first?”
“Of course,” Sarah nodded. “I know this came out of nowhere and must be quite a shock for you. I apologize again for that.” She took out a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled her name, phone number and the name and address of a cheap hostel. “This is my number and the place I’ll be staying for tonight. I have to go back to Portland tomorrow because I can’t afford to leave work for too long.” She gave the paper to Maya.
Maya took it and frowned when she saw the hostel name. She recognized it from a case she had handled. It was a run down place in a shady neighborhood. “You’re staying here?”
“Yes. I’m trying not to spend too much.” The woman looked down, fully realizing that she was obviously from a different social class than Maya.
Maya picked up the phone receiver on her desk and pressed a button. “Mindy, can you come in here for a moment?”
Maya had barely placed the receiver down when Mindy appeared at the door. “Yes?”
“Can you book Miss Sarah a room at the Hyatt and take her there, check her in? You can go home straight afterward.”
Sarah’s eyes widened with surprise. “I’m sorry, Maya, but that’s…”
“I’ll take care of it, Miss Sarah, no worries. You don’t have to spend a dime. Do ask for a refund from that hostel if you can. Can you stay in Seattle for at least two nights? I need to discuss things with my wife first and it’s better if you’re in town so we can meet and talk things out.”
“I-I’ll ask my boss.”
“Please do.” Maya then turned towards her assistant. “Book for two nights first, Mindy.”
The assistant nodded and left the room.
“I will not be able to repay you.”
“I don’t want you to. The place you were going to stay at is not safe for a young woman, Miss Sarah. I owe it to Aidan to at least make sure you’re okay while you’re here.”
The woman was caught off guard by the random act of kindness by this total stranger. “T-thank you.”
“No problem. The hotel is near a subway station so you don’t need to worry about transportation.” Maya took a deep breath. “I’ll contact you once I’ve talked to my wife.”
Sarah nodded, stood up and nodded politely. “Thank you, and I’m sorry… again.”
Maya said nothing as she stood up and watched the woman leave her office.
Her legs gave out and she sat down roughly on her chair, leaning back and groaning with her hands covering her face. Why this? Why now? And how am I going to tell Carina?
----
“I’m home!”
A loud high-pitched scream followed the short sentence and Maya braced herself for the stampede.
“Mommy!” The little boy pounced Maya and she had to hold on to the wall to steady herself. She laughed. “Someone’s growing up too fast.” She jostled him a bit to carry him better, kissing his cheek and tightening her grip around the small body. She then walked into the kitchen.
“Why are you home so early?” Carina looked up from her laptop.
Maya bent down a bit to get a kiss from Carina and from the girl working on her homework. She ruffled Serena’s hair. “What’s today’s homework?” She didn’t answer Carina’s question.
“Math.”
“Your mamma’s job.” Maya was still holding Aidan in her arms and the boy was now pointing at the fridge. “What? Ice cream? No ice cream before dinner, remember?”
“No.” The boy kept pointing at the fridge.
“Ah. New drawing?” Maya noticed the paper taped to the side of the metal surface. She took a few steps closer. “Very cool. Are those trains?”
“And robots.”
“Wow. Great job, Aidan.” She kissed his cheek again and again and again. The boy giggled and finally squealed.
Carina turned to see Maya attacking the boy with tickles and kisses. She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t overexcite him, Maya.”
Maya stopped her attacks and let the boy down. He ran back to his toys, climbing the chair next to his sister.
Maya took out a bottle of water from the fridge and drank half of it in one go. She still couldn’t shake the gripping fear and sadness as the worst case scenario kept playing in her head.
“What’s wrong?”
Carina’s sudden voice startled her. She almost choked on her water. “N-nothing…” She twisted the cap back on the bottle and wiped her mouth.
“Non mentire. I know you.” Carina lowered her voice, “What happened today?”
Maya gestured towards the table with her head. “Later.”
Carina understood. “Okay.” She gave Maya a hug. “Whatever it is, cheer up, okay?”
Maya smiled weakly. If you only knew, Carina.
“Better get started on dinner,” Carina opened the fridge.
“Can we get junk food tonight?” Maya asked.
The two children turned their heads and immediately gasped in delight – their eyes bright and wide with happy expectation.
“Possiamo, mamma? Per favore?" The girl asked.
“Pizza!” That was all the boy said as he banged the table with his fist.
“But it’s not a weekend,” Carina argued, eyeing Maya with a surprised look on her face.
“Can we make an exception today?” Maya asked again.
Carina sensed that whatever was bothering Maya must have affected the decision though she wasn’t sure how or why. She sighed. “Fine. Just this once.”
“YAY!” The two kids clapped their hands.
“But you better finish your homework quickly, Serena.”
“I will, mamma!” The girl immediately went back to her books with a serious look on her face.
“And you better take a bath without a fight today, Aidan.”
“I’ll bathe now!” The boy climbed down from his chair and ran out of the kitchen.
“The power of junk food,” Carina mumbled and laughed quietly.
“I’ll give Aidan a bath,” Maya said, setting her bottle down on the counter.
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. Can you order the pizza?”
Carina nodded, watching Maya walking out of the kitchen. She was puzzled with Maya’s behavior but knew she had to patiently wait until tonight to find out.
----
Maya turned the page. “Over the bridge. Gordon is fast! Gordon is first – and Thomas is last.” She pointed at the picture. “Wow, look at how fast Gordon is going.” The little boy nodded eagerly.
“Here is a stop. Slow down. Go slow. ‘Catch me, catch me!’ Go, go, go!” Maya made a whooshing sound and turned the page again. “Up the hill! Will Gordon stop?” She gasped and the little boy gasped along. Maya had to laugh. “No! Not even at the top!”
They kept reading the story until the very last page. “I may be slow. You may be fast,” Maya read. “But I am first and you are last.” She pointed at the picture. “Thomas won! Yay!”
The boy clapped his hands. “Yay!”
Maya laughed and tickled him again, attacking him with noisy kisses on his cheeks and stomach.
He squirmed and squealed and laughed until he ran out of breath.
Maya let him go and moved off the bed, taking the book with her. “Go to sleep, Aidan.”
He reached out and Maya chuckled while she bent down to let the boy grab her face. He kissed her and she kissed him. “Good night.”
“Good night, Mommy.”
Maya made sure the night lamp was on before she turned off the room lights. She spent a few more minutes staring at the sleeping boy and gulped. I can’t lose him. She clenched her jaws and slipped out of the room quietly.
She made her way down the stairs to see Serena leaning on Carina’s shoulder while they slouched in front of the TV.
“What are you two watching?” Maya took a seat next to the girl. Serena immediately switched to snuggle up to Maya.
“That show with that girl group she likes,” Carina said.
“Ah. Okay.”
They watched the rest of the show quietly and Maya noticed the increasing weight on her shoulder. She turned to see the girl sleeping soundly. She grinned and nudged her. “Serena.”
The girl didn’t move.
Maya shifted in her seat and tried to pull the girl up. “Let’s go.” She grunted a bit as she tried to carry the girl up to her room. “Why do you have to grow up?”
“Need help?” Carina asked.
“I got it.” Maya made her way slowly upstairs. She tucked the girl in properly and kissed her cheek before closing the room door and headed back downstairs.
Maya threw herself on the couch and sighed loudly. She lay down with her head resting on Carina’s lap and closed her eyes. She massaged her forehead.
“What’s wrong, bambina?” Carina stroked Maya’s hair gently. “You’ve been acting strange all day.”
“Nothing.” Maya had decided to not tell Carina about the surprise visit. Not yet, at least. She wanted to spare her from the unnecessary worry.
“Maya…”
“Just a draining case and a difficult client. I just wanted to go home as soon as I could and forget about it for the night.”
“Well, you’re home now so relax.”
“Yeah…” Maya took another deep breath. She opened her eyes and stared up at Carina.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I love you.”
Carina was surprised. “I love you too. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Maya searched for Carina’s hand and held it with both her hands, keeping it close to her chest. She closed her eyes again.
“Maya,” Carina was starting to worry. Maya was never quiet with her cases or work problems. When Maya was this quiet, it usually meant serious problems. And how she suddenly held on to her hand like that was a bit unusual.
Maya said nothing. She took another deep breath as she started to relax under Carina’s soothing touch.
“Go to bed early,” Carina said. “Get some rest.”
Maya opened her eyes again and sat up, still holding onto Carina’s hand. “You’ll come to bed too?”
Carina nodded. “Go shower.”
“Okay.” Maya finally let go of Carina’s hand and made her way up to their room.
She took her time, hoping that the hot water could help her relax and think clearer. By the time she had dried her hair and left the bathroom, Carina was already asleep.
Maya turned off all of the lights and slipped quietly under the covers. She snuggled close to Carina, hugging her from the back.
Carina felt the arm around her waist and turned. She opened her eyes and waited until they had adjusted to the dark. She noticed the creases on Maya’s forehead and reached out to pull Maya close, letting Maya snuggle in her arms. She heard the sigh Maya let out against her neck.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Carina began to gently rub Maya’s back.
Maya nodded. She breathed in and kissed the skin her face was pressing against. “Just don’t let me go, please?”
Carina was surprised. “I won’t.” She tightened her arms. What happened to you, Maya?