More Unexpected News

Chapter 3 of Life After 30

Vmmm vmmm 

Vmmm vmmm

Maya lifts her head up from the pillow, squinting through her eyelashes, her eyes not completely ready for the bright morning sunshine. 

She reaches over to her night stand where her phone vibrates annoyingly on the table. 

It’s her mom, Kim, and it was 9am. 

Shit! I’m late!

Maya answers the phone, sits up in bed and unleashes herself from the covers. 

“Hi! Sorry mom! I’ll be there in like, 15 minutes,” she says rushing to the bathroom. She looks in the mirror and realizes that she forgot to wipe off the mascara. She looked like a racoon that was crying her eyes out all night. 

“Okay, everything fine there? Is Will joining us?”

Oh, fuck Will. 

“Um, no he won’t be. He went to see Dylan this morning. Going to the gym or something.”

“Alright honey. I’ll see you when you get here. Luckily, I was able to get a table. This place is starting to line up fast.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

Maya hangs up and starts to get ready. Not much she could do about the puffy eyes in 15 minutes. Oh well, her mom was going to find out soon enough. 

***

“You and Dad are getting a divorce?!”

Kim sips her vanilla caramel chai that the waiter just brought. She savors the sweet smell, before she says, matter-of-factly, “I didn’t think this was going to be as shocking for you. And I’m sorry to give you this news when you’re already going through something–”

“Forget about me for a second! You guys can’t get a divorce! You’re made for each other!”

Maya had always wanted a relationship like her parents. They had also met in college and were inseparable ever since. They seemed to have always gotten along with each other and had been like best friends. This was earth-shattering news for Maya and she had another thing to try to wrap her head around. 

“So I guess you haven’t been noticing…”

“Noticing what?”

“We’ve been fighting a lot more. Mostly about finances since your dad lost his job. He hasn’t taken well to unemployment life.” 

“He’s been with the company for years. He was supposed to retire with them. Of course he’s not taking it well.”

“This was just the last straw, honey. If you had noticed how things were even before he lost his job, you would see that we were headed here anyway. We’ve been disconnected for years. Wanting different things for ourselves.”

“But you’ve seem to have always been on the same page. About everything.”

“About you we have. Other things, not so much. We’ve been compromising for too long. And now that you’re leading your own life, it’s becoming even more obvious. I don’t want to compromise anymore.”

“This can’t be happening. Your 35th wedding anniversary is in a couple months! And I was hoping to show you what I had planned. I can’t believe you’ll be signing divorce papers instead of toasting to another 35 years together. How is dad in all this?”

“As relieved as I am, quite frankly.”

“This is crazy. I feel like my life has been a lie.”

“Oh honey, don’t think that this is why things didn’t work out with Will. Every relationship is different.”

Maya rolls her eyes. “I don’t think Will knows what he’s doing. I think after three days at Dylan’s he’ll want to come back to me.”

“Honey, this break up will be better for you once you can accept that it’s happening. Maybe this relationship was meant to end. Better now than later and he resenting you even more.”

“But mom, we were meant to be together. He probably has cold feet and too nervous to propose.”

“You should at least give him space. If there is a chance he could change his mind, then giving each other space is going to be the best thing for you two.”

***

Maya stares at her phone. 

It’s open to her text messages with Will. The last one was about meeting at Don Jose’s. 

How should she start? 

Hey. 
I still love you.  
Please come back to me.  
We can work this out.  
I promise to Big Book look at your next book.  
We’re meant to be together.  
Dylan’s couch smells.

All of these are typed out and deleted, of course. 

What is she supposed to do? She turns 30 in a week and no ring to show for it. 

And what will she say to all her friends at her birthday party?! The last thing she wanted to do was explain to everyone that she and Will broke up. 

Even thinking about it made her eyes water. 

But maybe…

Maya had an idea. She would ask Will for one last favor.

Come back every Friday for the next installment of Life After 30!