Invasion

32

When Maya arrived in the lounge for dinner, Gerald, Reno, Cameron, Laura, Aiden, and Luke had already sat down at a table. She stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at everyone’s smiling faces as they laughed and joked together. Cameron was the first to notice her, looking her way with a big grin on her face.

“Hey!”

The others waved, greeting her and saying her name.

“We weren’t sure you were ever going to wake up,” Gerald said.

“It was only a few hours.” Maya didn’t go on the attack. That was as friendly as Gerald would get, too, so she decided to let it ride.

Cameron moved her hair out of her face and chuckled. “Been a rough couple of days.”

“You know it,” said Maya.

“Well, come in here and take your mind off it,” Cameron said.

“I even grabbed a plate of this, um, ‘food’ for you.” Aiden pushed the plate to an open spot at the table next to him. Someone had had the idea to put the contents of the MREs and canned goods on plates, but it was still canned food—slightly microwaved.

Maya walked over and kissed her son on the top of his head, and thanked him before sitting down.

As she took the first bite of mashed potatoes that scorched her tongue but had frozen chunks in the middle, Maya looked around the table. “So, what were you guys laughing so much about?”

“Uh, well, Dad was just telling some funny stories,” Laura said.

“Yeah? About what?”

No one replied, and when Maya looked up again, everyone was staring right at her. She swallowed her food, put down her fork, and stared coldly at Gerald.

“What are you telling them?”

Gerald put his hands up. “Nothing.”

“We never knew how good of an ice skater you were, Mom.” Aiden looked at Laura, the siblings exchanging grins.

The group laughed again.

Maya stared at Gerald. She couldn’t help but smile as she shook her head. “You had to tell them that story?”

On their second date, Gerald had suggested they go ice skating. It had surprised her because he hadn’t seemed like the kind who would be into skating, especially being a Southerner. But she had agreed to go, figuring it would be fun and a way to cut loose. And she’d been really into him. The problem was that she had only skated once in her life, at a friend’s birthday party in the 3rd grade. Gerald, on the other hand, had been skating with his buddies every weekend through most of high school. He’d been able to pick her up every time she’d fallen to the ice.

“It was so funny,” Gerald said. “You tried hard, but you weren’t any good. You looked like a drunk duck. And then, on our next date, you were sitting all uncomfortably at dinner and wouldn’t tell me why.”

“Yeah, well, if you had seen the bruises on my backside, you would have understood.” Maya couldn’t help but laugh, and everyone joined in.

“We had some good times,” Gerald said.

In the uncomfortable silence, Maya happened to glance at Reno, who along with Cameron, we’re the only two in the room not smiling. Reno looked down at his plate as soon as Maya looked at him. Aiden reached over and took Maya’s hand.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Mom.”

“Me, too, sweetie.”

Gerald sighed and stood up. “I’ll gladly toast to that.” He held up his plastic cup filled with watered-down tea. “Here’s to my lovely ex-wife, Maya, my beautiful girlfriend, Cameron, and our new friend, Luke.”

Everyone stood and brought their cups up to the center of the table to toast. Reno held up his cup, as well, but his eyes were on the door.

“I guess I should also toast to our new, great life here,” Gerald said with a sarcastic grin on his face.

Reno looked at Gerald then, his face contorting into a snarl. He slammed his cup down on the table, its contents splashing up and onto the others seated around the table. Then Reno moved toward the door.

“Whoa, Reno,” Maya said.

“Yeah, dude, what’s your problem?” Gerald asked.

“What’s my problem? I don’t know, maybe I don’t want to be sitting around pretending everything is cool, waiting for those things to attack us.”

“You’re not going to find a better place to go than here, but if you want to leave, then leave. I’m sure as hell not stopping you.”

Reno crossed his arms over his chest and spun his entire body to face Maya.

“What?” she asked.

“Your kids aren’t safe here, Maya.”

“Those are my kids, too, you bastard. You don’t have a damn right to tell her what to do with them.”

Maya narrowed her eyes as she turned on Gerald. “No, he doesn’t. But neither do you.”

Gerald rolled his eyes. “Come on. Don’t pull out the custody card right now.”

“It’s not a ‘card.’ It’s the law. I am responsible for them.”

“Yeah?” Gerald crossed his arms. “And what ‘law’ is that now? The only rules that matter now are the ones that get us to tomorrow. But go ahead and leave if you don’t like it here.”

“Gerald.” Maya looked at Laura and Aiden. “Can we talk about this privately?”

“I’m leaving.” Reno looked at Luke, Cameron, Aiden, and Laura. “And anyone else who wants to live can come with me.”

“I’m not going without Dad,” Laura said.

Then Aiden started shouting at Laura. Luke tried calming down the kids while Maya stepped in between Gerald and Reno, who had started their own shouting match. Maya closed her eyes and put her fingers on each temple.

“Everyone, stop it! Now!”

The group went silent and looked at her. Maya took a deep breath, scanning the faces of her family and friends.

“I’ll be deciding whether my family goes or stays. And no matter what I do, you are all free to stay, or go.” She looked at Gerald and Reno respectively as she said those last words. “But I will make the decision for my children without anybody’s help, thank you very much.”

Maya brushed past Reno and Gerald on her way to the door, trying her best to be strong for the sake of her kids while hiding her tears.