Good Times Are Now

5 - The Rescue

Chapter 5
The Rescue

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It had been a week of Maya settling back in at home since moving out the flat. Settling, for lack of a better word, was surreal. It was strange how quickly she had gotten accustomed to moving away from her parents. She contemplated many times if she rushed out of the apartment too fast, and that maybe she should've stayed there a bit longer. Perhaps crashed on the couch, or if it wasn't too soon in the relationship, to stay with Tim in his room.

But as soon as she arrived back home, her father opened the door and pulled her into a warm, crushing hug. All of a sudden her worries about facing him again washed away, as she saw that he was just happy that she was safe and back home.

It was strangely normal for the week. Her parents hadn't revived any discussions about Maya's future or anything school related. Supposedly, the three of them just wanted to have some peace. Maya could remember how heartbreaking it was for her parents for Freddie to move away on slightly bitter terms, so she didn't consider until now how hard it must've been for that to have repeated with their last child.

"Really, Freddie. I'm fine." Maya twirled the phone cord in her fingers as her brother spouted concerned questions right after another. "You don't have to keep checking up on me..."

"I insist, dear." Freddie assured.

Before Maya had moved in the flat, Freddie had never called this much. Before, he would check in every now and then between a fortnight or so, though seemingly more as a common courtesy to keep in touch with family. This time, he called every night, and sometimes Maya would come home after school or work to her mother passing on a message from Freddie for her to call him back.

She wasn't complaining. Maya would insist that Freddie didn't need to call so often, but if she was perfectly honest, she loved having the attention.

"Freddie, goodbye." Maya sighed.

"Wait, Maya." Freddie's tone shifted, grabbing Maya's attention before she could put the phone down. "You promised you would come to a gig the next time there was one on, remember?"

"Well, yes. I did, but..."

"Well, there's one tonight. And you're coming."

"Freddie, I can't-"

"Ah-ah." Freddie tutted. "You promised, darling. Look - Now that Roger's back, Smile's making a comeback. Tim, Roger, Brian and Rosemary will be there. And they all want you there too. Rosemary is dying to meet you."

"What will I tell Papa?"

"The truth." Maya gasped as her father appeared in the corridor, eyeing her quizzically. Bomi stared down at his daughter through his glasses, which caught a sheen of light from the corridor lamp, making it hard for Maya to read his expression. "Who's on the phone? Is it Farrokh?"