Chapter Text
May is about 10 minutes from her mom and Bobby’s house. The Dream House is finally finished, and Athena, Bobby, and Harry are hosting May for dinner. A few months back, when Harry and May toured the place, Athena had mentioned that the kids didn’t have their own rooms in the dream house. May and Harry, obviously hurt by this, asked Athena and Bobby to come over for dinner at May’s apartment. Technically, Harry’s place, too, since he moved in with her after the fire. May explained to them how she and Harry felt that not having rooms in the dream home felt like they weren’t a part of the family anymore. Harry especially felt hurt as he was still in high school and wanted to live with his mom again. Athena and Bobby both apologized and told them they never meant any harm, but with May having her own place and Harry only having one more year at home before college, Bobby and Athena didn’t think they would care about having a room in the house. Athena took both kids' hands and promised them that the plans would be re-worked to include a bedroom for both of them. Harry had moved back in with Bobby and Athena last week.
May smiled at the memory as she turned into the driveway of the Dream House. She cuts the engine and sits there for a minute, admiring her parents’ house. It’s perfect, everything her mom wanted, and Bobby made sure she got everything she wanted. Bobby was such an incredible husband. If only May could find someone who loved her like Bobby loved her mom.
May had been single for 6 months and was ready to start dating again, but every guy on the apps was ugly, lacked personality, was stupid, or all three. She just wants to find someone caring, loving, and smart.
Her relationship with Darius had ended much in the way it started. Slowly. He had made a big show of saying that he was transferring to USC so that they could explore their relationship. Once he got to USC, he dragged his feet when it came to making them official. That should have been her first sign that he didn’t take her seriously. Once they were official, everything was great for the first 9 or so months. He was attentive and kind, but that fizzled out. He became more focused on partying and hanging out with the boys. May let it slide and told herself he needed time to adjust to the new school and make his own friends. But after two months of the new Darius with no end in sight, she was starting to lose interest in him. It took her another 2 months to officially end it. She ended the relationship after he accused her of caring more about school than him. She realized in that moment that she did care more about school than him and wanted to get back to the person she was before he got to USC. She broke up with him that day. That night, she was at her mom’s house, crying in her mom’s arms about how horrible Darius was to her at the end of their relationship.
May shock herself and got out of the car. Dinner with her family was great. It always was. Bobby made her favorite dessert, Tiramisu, it was also her mom’s favorite. The four of them sat out on the patio enjoying the warm September day.
“May how is the apartment without me?” Harry asked.
“I’m happy to have my space back. I made your former “bedroom” into my study space.” May had a one-bedroom apartment that had a little alcove/den that they used as Harry’s bedroom. If he was going to stay for longer than he did, she was going to move them into a two-bed two-bath. She told all her parent, Athena, Bobby, Michael, and David, that they would need to help more with the rent since she was housing their son. They all agreed, and Michael started paying a larger portion of May’s current rent. Since she was in school, Michael and Athena had helped her pay half her rent, and she used her work study money to pay the rest. But with Harry living with her, Michael was paying practically the whole thing. Even now that he had moved out, Michael agreed to pay the full amount until May graduated and found a job. He wanted her to focus on school.
“How is the new semester going, babe?” Athena questioned.
“It’s good, I’m taking an extra class. I’m on track to graduate this winter.”
“That’s great, May. You sure you don’t want to wait until the big Spring Graduation and take your time?” Bobby asked.
“Nah, that’s not really what college is for me. I took a non-traditional route, and I want to start working. My internship with Channel 8 this summer went really well, and my supervisor said they were going to start hiring in December and January. She thinks I would be a great production assistant and could even start helping with writing stuff for the on-air team.”
“Wow, May, that’s amazing. I’m so proud of the woman that you are becoming.” Athena said with unshed tears.
“Thanks, Mom,” May said, going to hug her mom.
“You really are amazing, May,” Bobby said, hugging her.
“You were always an overachiever,” Harry jokes, and everyone laughs.
Since dinner and dessert are done, Harry excused himself to go meet up with friends since it’s a Friday night. But May stays a little longer, wanting time with her parents.
Bobby took the dessert plate inside, and Athena took her chance. “Soooo May,” Athena starts trying to be casual. “I know it’s been a few months since you broke up with Darius. Has anyone new caught your eye?” she questions.
May rolled her eyes at her mom. Grateful that the patio is dimly lit and Athena likely missed the eyeroll. She has always been open about her dating life to her mom and often sought out advice from her. “No… no one new. I tried the apps and deleted them. I don’t think my person is on there,” she laughed with her mom.
“Probably not,” Athena agreed. “What about boys in your classes or at your internship?”
“Nothing there either.” She sighed. “I think for the next few months, I want to focus on school for a bit.”
“That’s good, babe. School should always come first, but it’s nice to have someone to carry the load with you. The right someone that is. Someone worthy of you.”
“Hard agree. I don’t want someone who just tolerates me.” She said with a sigh.
“You’ll find it,” Athena said.
Bobby walked back to the patio with tea just the way Athena and May liked it. This was exactly why May was single. Will she ever find someone who sees her the way Bobby sees and loves her mother?
Back at her apartment, May finishes up a few assignments due the following week. Since she is taking an extra class, she has to be on top of all her school work and do things as early as possible. After she’s done, she does her skin care and heads to bed.