3D – We Need to Talk

Maya woke up starving. She got in pretty late and wasn’t expecting to be up so early, but her empty stomach wouldn’t allow her to sleep anymore. Sleepiness, she could handle. At least she wasn’t hungover. Reluctantly, she got up and sauntered into the kitchen. Jonathan was at the stove. Whatever he was making smelled divine. Skyla was sitting at the bar waiting for whatever the deliciousness was. As awesome as it smelled, Maya couldn’t wait and retrieved a plate of leftover lobster tortellini from the night before.

“Seriously, Maya?”

“I’m sorry! I’m just so hungry!”

She joined her mother at the bar and chatted about her evening. Maya didn’t always party with her cousin, Juliana, but her absence as of late was very apparent. Partying alone wasn’t as fun. Later in the morning, as her parents were getting ready to go the restaurant, she heard someone knocking at the door. She froze in her tracks when she saw who was standing on the other side.

Guilt, nervousness, curiosity, and even anger began to build up as she looked at his uncomfortable face. She knew what he came for. She should have done it herself a long time ago, and she hated that she was too chicken to do it. At least she didn’t have the awkward task of doing it anymore, but now she was on the receiving end of it.

“Hey,” he said.

She looked around and saw her parents suspiciously gathering in the kitchen pretending to…well, she couldn’t quite tell what they were pretending to do. She nodded to Anthony and stepped outside so they could talk. He looked so uncomfortable, she almost wanted to put him out of his misery right then. I went on a date and kissed someone, she thought about saying. That would have been cruel.

When they sat, she tried to help him out. But, she had just begun to realize some things about him and the help came out passive aggressively.

“Did you have a nice birthday? Guess my invitation got lost in the mail…”

“Maya…please. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

She wasn’t expecting him to be so serious and get straight to the point. This was going to suck big time. Why couldn’t she have done this long time ago?

“I met someone in school after you graduated. We were friends for a long time, but then…”

It never occurred to her until that moment that she never once heard from him except the one time he came by before their Windenburg trip. She had been hanging onto him for nothing.

“We got married two days ago.”

“Married?”

“I’m sorry I did–”

“You got serious with someone enough to marry her, and you didn’t think I should know?”

“I know! I messed up! I…I was scared to tell you…”

She knew she couldn’t be too mad, but that didn’t stop her from feeling like he betrayed her. Yes, she should have told him a while ago about wanting to date other people, but he married his girl. It was so not the same thing.

There was so much she wanted to say. How could you? How dare you! How long were you going to keep me waiting for you? She knew she should have been relieved that she was free to do whatever she wanted now, but she wasn’t. It should have been an easy conversation, but it wasn’t. It hurt.

She forced a smile. “Congratulations,” she said and got up to go back into the house.

“Maya, wait! I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

But, you did!

“Go home to your wife, Anthony,” she called over her shoulder and went into the house.