Girl Meets 23

3 (Riley)

-New York City, USA-

Maya had messaged Riley a few hours earlier that she and her boyfriend would be arriving in New York at four pm the next day Riley's time which gave Riley plenty of time for her to get ready. She worked and worked on assignments for work which would need to be finished by the end of the week and she cleaned around her apartment. She changed the sheets on her guest bed even though Maya had insisted on not staying there, but Riley figured at some point she the opportunity for a sleepover would arise and this way she was ready for anything. After finishing editing an article on some crazy form of skin care she checked the her analog clock that was to the right of her computer. Eleven thirty pm. Because it was getting late she decided that she would get some rest which she knew would be difficult. In less than twenty four hours she and her best friend would be with each other, in person. It seemed unrealistic to think that Maya would want to spend the entire time with her since she would defiantly want to see her parents while she was around. Shawn and Katy had been living mostly upstate but they still had the apartment where Katy raised Maya. They rented it out during the summer and during the winter they would make their way down so they could spend the holidays with the Matthews. It was really nice that they were so happy together.

Something that got Riley really excited was family dinner tomorrow night. She was so glad that Maya would be arriving in time before everyone would have started eating.  When Riley had first moved out family dinners annoyed her but now she loved them. It gave her a reason to till feel included in her families life outside of holidays and special occasions. Those dinners allowed her to stay in the loop about Auggie's life, her mom's work and pretty much anything random going on with her dad. The dinning room table was where Riley felt the most safe. Nothing scared her when she was around her family and food. It had been a long time since Maya had been to a family dinner and it was these kind of mundane things that Riley missed the most.
After about an hour of Riley attempting to fall asleep she finally did.

-

Riley woke with a sudden rush of adrenaline. It was the day, she and Maya were about to be in the same state, same city, and same room. Considering it was Saturday she thought she should spend the day at her parents in preparation for her special dinner later that night. The trip from her apartment to her parents place was only around fifteen minutes depending on what time your train pulled into the station and once she arrived to her childhood home she instinctively reached for her key and unlocked the front door.

   "Hey mom," She was surprised to see that her mother, Topanga was the only one in the kitchen. "Your the only one up?"

   "Well it is only seven thirty in the morning, Riley," Topanga giggled as she continued to make herself some cereal grabbing a carton of milk out of the refrigerator.

   "I hadn't really noticed it was so early," She frowned internally knowing that it was still many many hours until Maya's flight landed. "I guess I'm a bit excited"

   "No way!" Topanga gasped sarcastically making Riley laugh. "I can't wait to see Maya too, it been way to long since she was last here"

  "I know," she sighed taking a seat on the bench at the table. "So who's on the list for tonight's dinner?"

   "I think its going to be kind of small, us four and Maya" the two were now facing each other at the table. It couldn't help but remind Riley of the times she would get up early before school to study and her mother eating breakfast while she worked. "Oh and I guess her boyfriend too, Caleb right?"

   "Yeah but I don't know if family dinners are his thing," Considering everything she knew about him this might to exactly be his scene. "But I guess have a spare plate just in case" Riley hoped that this Caleb was going to exceed her expectations. Maya deserved someone who wanted to give her the world and if she was settling for anything less Riley was not going to be happy.

   "So I'm guessing you don't like Caleb?" Topanga asked inquisitively. She did love family drama, especially when she wasn't directly involved. Also Topanga was known to be a know it all so she always had something to say about everything.

   "Its not that I don't like him" Riley started "I just barely know him and he doesn't seem really involved when it comes to Maya sometimes" She thought back on how he hardly spoke to her while she visited and didn't ask anything about Maya's past or anything. She wasn't even sure if he knew that she and Maya had known each other for as long as they did.

   "Well his visit should be interesting" Topanga's smile grew "especially since Josh is coming back from his work trip soon"

   "Are you serious!" Riley hadn't seen Josh, who was a lawyer, in a few weeks because he had been dealing with a case in Washington DC. "When?"

   "Not sure yet, As soon as he can find a flight out" She started scrolling through her phone looking for the exact message Josh had sent her. "Yeah he thinks he can get in as early as 8 tonight"

  "I guess that will make Maya's visit interesting" Maya and Josh didn't talk as far as Riley knew and so much time had past from when they were both so young. Maybe seeing each other would rekindle something or at least would wipe the dust off of their friendship.

   "You know I always did like the idea of Josh and Maya," Her mother spoke freely. Riley deep down felt the whole family had liked the idea but that isn't how life works and Riley knew that. You couldn't have everything you wanted. 

   Riley just nodded and grabbed a banana from the bowl of fruit on the dining table. She just hoped that this party wouldn't cause any drama for anyone. "I guess I should find something to do today," she said and her mother laughed.