The slow gentle hum of the airplane should be putting Mae to sleep. There is almost no noise on the private plane and she can’t blame her restlessness on crying babies or the man behind her digging his knee into her back. The only child on the plane is sleeping fitfully to her left and there aren’t enough people to warrant anyone sitting within four rows of her.
Her arms tingle from the lack of moment and she wants nothing more than to get up and stretch her stiff joints. But one arm is laced precariously through the top of Jonah’s car seat her thumb clutched tightly between the baby’s fist and her other arm is held in place by the heavy body using her right side as a pillow.
She assumed that Justin would take a separate row, hell even a separate section, there is more than enough room on the plane for them not to even interact, but as soon as she settled herself and Jonah down he was at the top of the row staring at her expectantly. As he eased by her to the empty window seat she tried her best not to breathe to deeply, just in case his cologne did in fact have some sort of intoxicating effect.
Now with his head resting on her shoulder she can’t quite place when it all took a turn. When it stopped being Justin vs. Mae and starting being, grey. Everything with Justin is in the unknown zone.
“Do you need anything?”
Mae turns as best she can to face the steward and offers him a smile. His eyes dart between her and Justin and she can see the assumptions forming in his head. She toys with the idea of arguing the silent words, but that might wake either of her wards, so she stays silent. Satisfied with her meek nod the steward moves to the back of the plane where he’ll wait another 30 min before asking her the same question again.
The plane lurches slightly letting Mae know that their destination is nearing. She pictures her mismatched baggage under the plane. The original plan was for Justin to take a quick two day trip to New York and to have Mae tag team Jonah with Justin’s mother. Then two days turned to five and suddenly Mae was recruited to take a trip she was more than happy to be left out of.
She rolls her right shoulder slightly hoping the movement will do what she is reluctant to let her voice do. Justin’s head moves with the roll shifting from her shoulder to resting just above her breast. Mae suppresses a groan and leans her head against the back of the seat. That was not the reaction she was hoping for.
Her eyes wander towards the water balanced in the cup holder between them. It’s not the nicest option, but it works. With a flick of her writs she sends the cold contents flying all over Justin’s lap. It takes all of ten seconds for Justin to awake and leaping from his seat grasping for anything to calm the spreading liquid.
“Holy Shit,” he hisses, his voice still laced with sleep. Mae curls her numb arm towards her body and leans against Jonah’s car seat. The steward lurches forward, eager to help after hours of boredom. Mae covers her mouth in horror as he reaches forward and begins to pat down Justin’s crotch. Justin freezes and just stares in disbelief.
“Dude? Do you fucking mind?” he asks. The steward pulls his hand back and retreats to his corner. Mae feels the laughter building inside of her until she can’t hold it in any longer. It bursts from her mouth and pulls Justin’s eyes towards her.
“Laugh it up. Karma is a bitch,” he states. Mae knows that it is supposed to sound menacing, but it’s tainted by the laughter he’s trying to hold back. He jumps around a little forcing any remaining water from his body before settling back into his seat.
As he reaches across to rebuckle his seat belt his fingers brush the tiny spot of bare skin where Mae’s t-shirt has ridden up. Mae feels the spot heat up until the tiny touch and tries to pull herself even further away from him. The last thing she needs is for this situation to turn from grey to red.
The plane touches the ground and Mae can’t get off the plane fast enough. Just the opportunity to stretch her legs is enough to make her run down the jet way. She holds Jonah firmly to her chest, the discarded car seat forgotten.
The waiting car door is already open and Mae slips inside ready to leave the plane and any tingling sensations felt on it behind, whether caused by numbing or not. The car seat is pushed in after her and she busies herself with strapping it in knowing full well that Justin will redo her work once he gets inside. The parade of people entering slows and Mae waits for the main event to appear.
Mae feels her breath slowly ease out of her body when Justin enters the car his cell phone already presses against his ear. He reaches across her to situate the seat to his liking and she gratefully moves out of the way and looks over to one of the nameless faces that seem to follow wherever Justin goes. She offers the pixyish woman a smile to which the woman sneers back. Maybe not.
With Justin taking on full Jonah duties Mae is left with nothing to do, but angle her body towards the window and watch one of the worlds biggest cities whirl by. She can vaguely hear the chatter in the car increase as people come out of their coma from flying. They seem more than happy to let her remain in her excluded state.
She has only been to New York once more. Her mother had this brilliant idea to fly her out to meet her ‘father’. Being fourteen and wanting to have that complete self identity that can only come from knowing both your parents drove her to a state of excitement that bordered on obsession. She spent weeks picking the perfect outfit that would show her musician father that she was the hip daughter he never knew he wanted.
Unfortunately, her mother failed to mention that he had no idea they were coming and after waiting four hours in the pouring rain for him to appear, they were met with a wet hand slap and nothing more than a passing glance as he made his way from the venue to his VW van. Her first reaction was to cry, to scream and yell and make every injured pieve of her heart known. But in the end, she had turned her face up to the sky and spun in the rain. And that was the end of her daddy fantasy.
The car slows in front of a building so tall that Mae can’t see the top. She remains in the car as everyone follows Justin out, careful to follow Justin’s request that Jonah be separated from the craze that surrounds him as much as possible. The driver informs her that they will be pulling around the back and Mae nods her response even though she knows he’ll do whatever he was told regardless of her opinion.
She moves carefully back towards Jonah’s car seat and when the car makes a sudden turn she tumbles to the ground. The laughter follows immediately causing Jonah to laugh as well.
The driver pulls the door open and simply stares at Mae on the floor of the car.
“You ok Miss?” he asks. Mae nods, but keeps laughing as she unstraps Jonah from his seat and climbs out of the car. She pushes her sunglasses up further on her nose and balances Jonah on her hip as she’s led to the back door. Maintenance workers and cleaning ladies scurry to get out of her way as she makes her way back to the guest area of the hotel.
She can hear several people whispering trying to figure out who she is to be given the star’s entrance. Not that it seems like any kind of special treatment to Mae. It’s unglamorous and the air is filled with the stench of cleaning solutions. She presses Jonah into her shirt hoping he doesn’t inhale too much of it all.
The elevator they are led to looks like it has seen one to many run away carts, but she waits patiently for it to open. The doors slid open and the red and good interior present itself and like a under wrapped gift.
The large man behind her reaches in to press a button, but then back away.
“Someone will be waiting for you at the top.” Mae tries to thank him before the doors close, but he is gone from sight before she has the chance.
“Well Jones this is a little different from home isn’t it?” she asks the baby. He stares back up at her with wide eyes. He utters a little gibberish before she pulls the hat off his head. She ruffles his blonde hair and places a kiss on his moist head.
“This is why we are not New York people. Its too damn sticky here,” she informs him. The doors slide open once more and Mae grins at the familiar face.
“I thought you would send one of your ‘people’ to find us,” Mae teases. Justin rolls his eyes and takes Jonah from her arms.
“Like you would know the difference between my people and any other shit head who had the sense to be waiting by the elevator to open,” he scoffs. His long strides force Mae to a run-walk to keep up. It’s Justin’s new favorite topic, Mae’s lack of awareness when it comes to the ‘real world’. As far as Mae is concerned, Justin’s idea of the real world has ‘seven strangers stuck in a house….’
Justin pauses at his door and talks to the body guard at the door before pushing it open. Mae smiles at the only person in Justin’s entourage she actually recognizes. She barely has time to sit down before Justin is being pushed out the door as his publicist barks directions to him. He glances back at Mae apologetically before he disappears.
The search begins for her things. She manages to find Jonah’s diaper bag and her carry on, but her bags are nowhere to be found. Jonah babbles from his place in his port-a-crib and Mae begins to mix him a bottle. She shakes the bottles as she approaches him, leaning over the edge and offering it to his outstretched hands. He’s beyond the point of needing her to hold it for him and it makes Mae a little sad.
His eyes being to droop and Mae reclines against the end of the couch and resigns herself to letting her eyes close just for a moment. When she hears Jonah moving around, the sun has moved low in the sky. Mae takes a moment to roll her neck before she reaches down to pull Jonah from the crib.
The window calls to her and she leans close enough to the glass to make her stomach drop a little from the height. Over the tops of the building a tiny patch of green calls out to her and she makes her way around the room quickly finding everything they need to leave.
Leaving the hotel is a much better experience than entering. No one stares or whispers and when the doorman fails to hold the door open it makes her feel giddy rather than snubbed.
She pulls her hat low over her eyes as they walk. The simple act of walking and being away from the hotel and the hype brings Mae back to center. It almost makes her forget about the plane and everything that had been picking at the back of her mind….almost.
The park is crowded, but peaceful and as she carries Jonah back, she only partially wishes that she remembered a stroller. AS she nears the hotel she can see and hear the crowd from a block away.
The obvious reasons filter through her mind: a convention checking in, some kind of car wreck or maybe even a hotel evacuation. She pushes closer to the door easing past the crowd. She pushes her shoulder forward, forcing a hole.
“Excuse me,” she pleads. A man with a camera wheels around to see who she thinks she is and his face lights up.
“Well well well, if it isn’t Timberlake’s new fuck buddy and his kid,” his voice is just loud enough to draw attention and instantly the crowd has turned on her. And just now Mae realizes that everyone has a camera.
Her heart skips a beat as the flashes begin and so many voices yell her name that she can’t even distinguish one from another. She tries to move forward, but she’s stuck. Sensing her anxiety and the loud voices, Jonah begins to cry. Mae can feel the matching tears welling up in her own eyes.
A strong hand takes her arm as the voices get even louder. She can’t see the face attached to the hand, but she recognizes his smell. When they make it to the door, the previously unhelpful doorman ushers them inside the lobby. Justin leads them to a couch before heading back outside to offer a few choice words to the men and women outside. Mae can’t hear him, but she can see his face and the reaction and knows that it can’t be good.
When he comes back in his face is steeled and he takes her by the arm once more. Once inside the elevator he takes Jonah from her and inspects his small body. The baby has only just stopped crying and he secures himself to his father’s body.
“What the hell were you thinking Mae? Do you have any fucking idea what could have happened to the two of you?” Justin seethes. Mae bites down on her lip, but doesn’t shy away.
“I just wanted to get away from all this. I didn’t know…”
“That’s right. You DON’T know. I can’t fucking believe you would…. Holy shit Mae,” Justin states. The elevator rises painfully slowly and when the floor nears, Mae opens her mouth to try to fix this, but he speaks first.
“You can’t do shit like that. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you two,” he whispers before storming down the hall. The doors recluse behind him as Mae watches his retreating form. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say.
Author's Chapter Notes:
more! so excited to get this out!
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