Page 57 of Paths
Crew has wrestled Clara’s oldest into a headlock, but the kid doesn’t seem to mind since he’s laughing his ass off. The third is shoveling sweets into his mouth at the buffet.
I’ve visited my sisters a couple times for the holidays early on after I left home. But for the most part, I’ve avoided shit like this for fifteen years. Even before that, the holidays weren’t great.
The noise of the room starts to blend as I stand off to the side, taking it all in. Co-workers, friends, spouses, lovers—together to celebrate the season. Together, not only because that’s what people do, but more importantly, they’re right where they want to be.
I don’t know how long I stand here, soaking it in, but the longer I do, the more foreign it seems.
Is this me?
Or more importantly, could this be me?
Crew never had a problem. He didn’t even hesitate—as soon as he found what he wanted, he was all in.
Just when the noise from the room becomes a distant hum in my head the way it does when I get lost in it all, I feel a pull. My eyes go directly to her.
Standing in the middle of the group with a boy tugging on her arm, she tips her head, sending me a curious look through the crowd. She doesn’t break my gaze, even as the kid pulls and yanks on her. Her expression softens the longer I hold her gaze.
Fuck, I wish she could really see me.
Because I really see her. I know it all—that asshole she was hiding from, her pain-in-the-ass mother, her distant father, and the brother she loves more than anything. Even with the shit swirling around her, she’s simple.
She’s Maya.
Two months ago, I never would’ve thought this, but after Maya Augustine walked into my life, I’d give anything to be simple.
No, right now, I’d give everything to be transparent.
Maya tips her head to the other side and I can tell she’s trying to shake the kid off her arm, when a voice breaks our trance.
“Clara, babe, we’ve gotta go.”
I look to the entrance of the Ordinary from Addy’s house where Clara’s husband, Jack, is stepping into the room holding a cell phone between his thumb and index finger since it’s dripping with water.
“What did you do?” Clara asks, her eyes going big at her husband.
He scowls, holding out the cell farther in front of him. “I was in the bathroom, but when am I not in the bathroom with all the water you’re forcing me to drink? I thought I felt … something pass, so I had to use the flashlight on my phone to look. Then I dropped it in the toilet.”
To describe Clara’s face as twisted would be an understatement. Holding her lower back, she shakes her head vehemently, exclaiming, “Why didn’t you use your strainer?”
Jack rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “I’m not bringing my pee strainer to a Christmas party.”
Now Clara’s face really contorts, but not directed at her husband. Holding her back with one hand and her belly in the other, she winces before looking down. “Are you kidding me?” she complains.
Bev rushes to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Clara?” her husband calls to her, still holding his toilet drenched phone out to the side.
“My water broke,” she groans, and everyone in the room starts to move. She looks at the ceiling and shakes her head before she sighs, saying to no one in particular, “Nothing is easy. I just wanted to go to a party.”
“Come on, boys,” Jack calls for his kids, his face suddenly lit up. “This is good. I’m pretty sure I just passed my stone, but now I don’t have a phone, damn it. I’ll use Clara’s.”
Jack goes to his wife, probably trying to help her out, but she waves him off and starts for the door, groaning, “I can’t believe we have to bring the boys.”
“No, don’t bring the boys,” Addy shakes her head quickly. I notice Crew frown, but she dismisses him and smiles big, excited for her friend. “They can stay here with us. Now go—go have a baby! But call as soon as you can. On your phone, not Jack’s. Yuck.”
Maya has shaken off the kid who goes to say goodbye to his parents. She doesn’t wait, she comes straight for me, and when she gets to my side, I lean in and whisper, “You want to get out of here before we get stuck babysitting?”
Pressing her front into me, I feel her squeeze my bicep, trying to suppress a smirk. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
