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FIVE
~ Aria ~
Parked outside the house, I leaned my head into the driving wheel. The cool plastic felt good against my head. Especially now that hot tears were brimming at my lower lash line. I felt foolish that I had overreacted. But I couldn’t deal with the lies. Not to Maya and not to the community I had grown up in. But most of all, not to myself.
Was it all fake to me?
I had started to question it the night before. It was obvious the raw chemical attraction was still there. I mean, I felt my body react every time he looked at me, simmering, just waiting to explode. I didn’t expect to feel this way after so many years, but there it was. And I had just thrown it all away.
Angrily wiping the oncoming tears with the back of my hand, I stepped out of the vehicle. Kelly had been kind enough to lend me hers to get to church that Saturday. I knew that the day after, the church would once again be crammed for the Sunday service, something I was all too familiar with being part of. They were right, of course. It had been my mom’s church, also, back when she was still living in Cherrywood Falls. My parents had moved into the house when Kelly was five. Eight years later, Maya and James welcomed Sam into the world, and a few months after that, I took my own parents by surprise. I think the nine-year gap between my sister and I was the reason we were so close. We never had that sibling rivalry. She looked out for me from day one, and I always looked up to her. To be honest, we weren’t just sisters. We were best friends.
“How was church?” she asked as soon as I had walked into the front door.
I took one look at her and burst into tears. Shocked, Kelly came rushing over and wrapped me in her arms, leading me into the privacy of the kitchen. The boys must have been in their rooms or out in the garden because there was no sign of them. Paul was grazing from the fridge when we walked in, and, with just one look from his wife, he soon left us in peace. She sat me down at the counter and went to make me a cup of coffee. In the time that she left me, I allowed the last of my tears to dry up on my cheeks as I collected myself. When she sat down in front of me, I was ready to talk.
“Go on then,” she prompted, “What brought all this on?”
“Samuel.”
“I gathered that. You’re going to have to be more precise than that.”
I took a sip of my coffee before explaining. “Maya has been so down after the death of her husband that Sam didn’t know what to do. She was telling him about how she used to sit in the evening with James and hoped one day they would be sitting there with Sam’s own wife. Then my name got brought up.”
Kelly tried to hide her smirk, “I think I can see where this is going.”
I rolled my eyes, “Well, of course, he would do anything to cheer up his mom. Even materializing a relationship out of thin air. That’s why I went to dinner yesterday. He wants me to pretend I'm his girlfriend while I’m still in town.”
“But that doesn’t explain the tears.”
I sighed, “Well, his mom asked me to church today, as you know. I went there to support Sam, but it turned out Maya had gone and told everyone that we were dating.”
Kelly’s eyes widened, “All of them?”
“The whole lot.”
“Is that why you’re upset? Was it too much?”
“It was overwhelming. I never wanted to lie in the first place. You know how much Maya means to me. And now there’s no way that mom won’t hear of this.”
Kelly took a sip of her coffee, “She would have known anyway. Maya and mom have been best friends ever since our parents moved to Cherrywood Falls. If it weren’t for dad’s illness, you know she would have never left the house. It was heartbreaking to see those two apart. I know mom is really beaten up about missing James’ funeral. She was on the phone every day when he was ill. I’m sure now Maya thinks you and Sam are dating. They’ll be back at it again. I think it will be good for both of them. Give them a bit of hope.”
I looked down at my feet, “Well, not anymore.”
“Why?”
“I called it off. I told Sam I couldn’t lie anymore.”
Kelly frowned, “Is it really a lie, though? You two used to be so cute when you were younger. The perfect couple in high school. I remember all the times you two used to sneak out together, thinking you were so slick. You know, as soon as you two left the house, mom would go straight over to see Maya. They used to laugh about it because they knew both of you would keep each other safe.”
“Really? They knew?”
“Every time. They must have been torn up when they found out you both had been accepted into different colleges. I think, deep down, they both expected you two to end up together afterward. It never happened. So now it’s like their dreams have come true. And, as Sam has so insightfully done, it couldn’t have come at a better time, for Maya especially. After all the pain she’s gone through, she deserves to look forward to something, even if it’s just an illusion.”
I knew that Kelly was right. I didn’t want her to be. I wanted to put the city far behind me and get back to work as soon as possible, traveling the world. But I couldn’t. I needed to be here. Not only for Maya but for Sam too. I drained the last of the coffee from my cup before decisively standing up and folding my arms in front of my chest.
“It seems I have a call to make.”
