The Aftermath

Chapter 8 of Life After 30

A few in the crowd gasp. 

Maya noticed that Will sputtered out his champagne. 

She waits to see what he’ll do, but the pause and the sputtering weren’t encouraging so far. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest. 

She could feel all eyes on both of them, mainly Will, waiting for his answer, the expected answer of “yes” because they are together after all. Been together for years. Why would he hesitate?

“Maya,” Will starts. 

Maya holds her breath. 

“I told you we would talk about that… soon. Remember?”

“What’s there to talk about? I love you…”

Will keeps his composure. 

“Just, now isn’t a great time, you know that.”

All of the sudden, Lindsay cuts in, addressing the crowd. 

“How about the rest of us get back to the party. Sounds like Will had different plans and they need to work this out.”

Lindsay turns the music back up and goes to a group of people and starts to engage them in a conversation to get the attention off Maya and Will. 

Will walks towards Maya and leads her to the empty kitchen. 

“What the hell was that?”

“I thought that– you were so–”

“Yeah, I told you I would pretend that we were still together. That’s what I would have done if we were.”

“We can still be together. You can change your mind.”

Will shakes his head. “No, Maya. I’m not going to change my mind. I’ve had enough, I’m leaving.”

Will makes his way out of the kitchen, picks up his jacket, and leaves. 

Lindsay walks in, “Hey, were did Will go?”

“We broke up,” Maya says bluntly, grabbing a wine bottle on the counter and not bothering with a glass and takes a drink. 

“You broke up?? Because you proposed and he didn’t? That’s some bullshit”

“You’re telling me.” She takes another drink. She should tell Lindsay about their deal. But right now she really didn’t feel like getting into the whole thing. Right now, she wanted another drink.

“So, what do you want to do? Do you want these people gone?”

“To be honest, I don’t fucking care.”

Maya takes another sip of the wine.

***

Maya slowly opens her eyes.

She quickly closes them again because the light is too bright.

Then she starts to feel the pounding in her head at full force and she groans. 

Starting to feel her surroundings, she realizes that she’s on the couch. And her back is not thankful. 

Maya tries to open her eyes again, this time a lot slower. 

Streamers and balloons are limping from their original positions, most of them pulled down and strewn across the floor. 

Wine and liquor bottles litter the coffee table. 

What a mess. How did this happen?

She tries to think back. 

Flashes of downing some tequila, rapping horribly to “I Don’t Fuck with You”, and pulling down some of her own decorations. 

And Will came to her mind. 

What was she thinking? There was no way Will would have gone for that. Big public gestures wasn’t this thing. 

And now everyone knows. Everyone must know. And Karolyn. Jesus Christ. 

Maya sits up and rummages around the cushions and finds her phone. 

Text messages galore. 

Lindsay – Hey girl, let me know when you wake up. I would have stayed but I had to get ready for the work party tonight. Love you!

Karolyn – Sorry about what happened, babe. Dating life can suck after 30, wishing you the best!

Will – I’m sorry you’re taking the break up hard but I think it’s best we don’t talk for a while. Take care of yourself. 

Maya texts Lindsay back. But shit, she forgot about the work party happening later. She’s just going to have to go hungover. 

And Karolyn can suck it. 

Will. She officially pushed him away. What can she do though? After what happened last night, the best thing she could do would be to respect his wishes. 

Maya now makes the attempt to get up. She’ll do her best to clean up and then get ready for the work party. Maybe getting some pampering before will help with the hangover. 

She may not have a boyfriend anymore and probably embarrassed herself thoroughly last night, but at least she still has a career.

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