Chapter Four - My Favorite (Maya)

Maya was just pulling the tray of chicken nuggets from the air fryer she’d smuggled into her brand-new, state-of-the-art kitchen, when April slid into the room on her socked feet, slamming to a stop against the far wall with a resounding thud.

“Mommy!” She shouted, her eyes wild. “What time is it??”

Maya exchanged a glance with Toby, who was blinking wide eyes from his spot at the kitchen table, his school books spread out before him. “Uh, I don’t know,” she said, looking around for her phone.

“It’s Twenty-Eight!” April yelled, cackling gleefully. She turned back the way she came and began pumping her little legs, running in place as she worked to gain traction, her brown ringlets bouncing with every swing of her arms. And just as she rounded the corner, sprinting back down the hall from whence she came, her voice carried back the words she sang at the top of her lungs, “Chickeeeeeeen Macaroooooooooni!”

“Do you know what any of that meant?” Maya asked, turning back to Toby.

“I never know what’s going on around here,” Toby deadpanned, staring down at the book in front of him.

Maya shrugged, pulling a stack of plates from the cupboard. “Fair enough. Do you need help with that?”

“It’s just reading,” he huffed, his voice snide. “Are you going to read it to me?”

Maya turned, her hands landing on her hips as she stared down her oldest. The attitude was a new development, but if this is what was typical of a ten-year-old, she didn’t know how she was ever going to survive the teenage years. “Excuse me?”

He ducked his head, glancing away. “I just mean that I’m not a baby.”

“A simple ‘no, thank you’ would’ve worked.”

“No, thank you,” Toby mumbled.

“Mm,” Maya hummed, narrowing her eyes in warning before she turned back to plating supper. “Have you seen Gus recently?”

“He took his soccer ball outside like an hour ago to practice.”

“You didn’t want to go out with him?”

Toby waved a hand at the table, indicating the piles of school work laid out before him. Right. Toby was responsible. Ridiculously so, more than Maya often thought was normal for a kid his age. She knew some of it was her own fault, as she’d leaned on him pretty heavily to help with Gus and April when they’d first… left — three years prior. Before she’d built up enough security and savings to enroll the younger ones in daycare.

But even before then, he’d always been more aware of their circumstances than she’d wanted. He was remarkably considerate and empathetic, even in situations that he didn’t fully understand. He approached situations calmly, taking in information and considering it thoroughly before he made a decision. It was a huge boon, having a child that could essentially double as a personal secretary; but more often than not, Maya found that he was the kid she was thinking about as she lay in bed in the middle of the night, wondering if she were doing things wrong.

Was it normal for a fourth grader to spend three straight hours sitting at the kitchen table every single night working on homework? He was so determined to get perfect grades, it seemed he never took his nose out of those books. She wasn’t complaining, she loved that he loved reading so much, but… was there a point when it became too excessive? Was he missing out on other childhood experiences? Had she given him the impression that he couldn’t fail?

He’d never made friends easily, that Maya was aware of. He’d played on team sports and attended parties for his schoolmates… but it seemed he always chose to exist on the outskirts of the activities. He tried his best, he was kind, he did what was expected, but he was never the one to put himself out there. To start a discussion or make a friend. Not like the way Gus ran the show or how April never met a stranger. Those two may end up in prison, sure; but Toby, she often feared during those stress-induced fits of insomnia, may end up alone.

The back door swinging up broke her train of thought, bringing her attention to the sweaty mess of grass and mud that stumbled through the door, leaving a trail of nature in his wake.

“You stink,” Toby’s nose scrunched, his eyes never leaving the book in front of him.

“The stench of victory,” Gus grinned, holding his soccer ball high above his head.

“You made a friend?” Already? Maya thought, sneaking a glance at Toby who seemed entirely unbothered.

“Yep. He’s older, but he plays soccer good.”

“You stayed close by though?”

“Yes, mom,” Gus huffed, kicking his sneakers off towards the shoe rack, then groaning as he caught sight of her expression and trudging over to put them away proper.

“You could see the house?”

“Yes,” he grumbled, shoving the curls off his forehead so he could see. She needed to schedule him a haircut. “I stayed in that open square on the next street over. I could see the house the whole time. And there were was always somebody walking around. Everybody was super nice.”

“And you wore your smart watch?”

Gus simply raised an arm in response, showing the device strapped to his arm, programmed with a GPS and emergency SOS button to call her phone.

“Alright,” Maya nodded. “Well, you’re right on time, supper just got done.”

“Can he shower first?” Toby asked, flipping a page of the book in his hand.

“Can he shower first?” Gus mimicked, shaking his hips as he talked, walking towards Toby who had the good sense to lower the book, his eyes wary. “Or… how about a hug?” Gus asked, lunging forward.

Toby shouted, scrambling backwards so quickly, he fell off the opposite side of the chair, then leapt up and disappeared out of the side door, into the hall. She could hear his feet pounding towards their room, Gus hot on his heels, making kissy noises.

“Don’t forget about the food!” Maya called after them, hopelessly, as she dipped a wilting nugget into ketchup and took a bite.

“I want a nuggie,” April’s little voice spoke up from the direction of the floor. Maya choked, glancing down at her four-year-old who was holding up a hand, opening and closing her grabby fingers in the universal ‘gimme’ motion.

“Take it to the table,” Maya wheezed, thumping her chest as April cheerfully pranced her way across the room, plate in hand.

She crawled up in her seat, took a huge bite, and then grinned over at Maya. “This is the yummiest food ever,” she said. “You’re my favorite mommy.”

Maya smiled back, ignoring the sounds of absolute pandemonium and room demolition still echoing down the hall, and simply decided to take the win.

“And you’re my favorite April.”