Autumn in Philadelphia Trilogy

The Return: Dream On

"He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it." 

- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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Saturday morning came too soon for Maya Hart. She'd been up all night and still wasn't ready for her weekend with Shawn's family. Fear overwhelmed her through the night and hunted her rest. This was a make or break weekend for the girl. Not only did she have to make Shawn fall in love her so he would want to be her father, but she also had to win the love of her future grandparents.

Maya had Audrey as a substitute once for three weeks and knew that she liked her, but she worried the woman's fondness for her ended in the classroom. She thought perhaps Mr. Turner like her, too. But liking her wasn't enough. Maya wanted to be fully accepted as their granddaughter. Most importantly, she wanted to be loved.

The stressed-out teen had packed and re-packed several times through the night. She didn't want to take too much but she also had to take enough as there was no telling when her mother would return from LA. Riley advised her to act as though Maya was going to be staying with her. Riley said that staying with her aunt and uncles was not a big deal. But Riley, who had been born into a stable, loving family, could not understand what a very big deal this was. Nor could she understand the overwhelming fear Maya carried that she would somehow mess everything up and Shawn would decide that he did not want to be her father. If Shawn did not want to be her father then Mr. Turner would not want her to call him Granddad. He would always just be Mr. Turner. Shawn would always just be Shawn.

Maya sighed discouraged. Why would they want her? After all, the man whose DNA she shared had opted out of her life without so much as a look back in order to start another family that did not include her.

This weekend could decide the whole rest of my life, she thought miserably. It's hopeless!

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Maya sighed at what she saw. She didn't look like a Hunter or a Turner. If she squinted, she could say that her eyes were like Shawn's and her mouth like Audrey's. Kind of. She was slight like her future grandmother so perhaps she could say she took after Audrey's side of the family.

But what about her grandfather? Did she look anything like him? Would anyone believe that she was his granddaughter? Maybe they had similar personalities. She prayed that she would find something in common with him before her mother came back.

"Baby girl!" her mother called down the hall to her. "We have got to go now or I'll miss my flight!"

It was barely 6 AM and the flight was at 8:00 but since Katy was often late, they had to leave extra early.

"Yeah," she yelled back, trying to sound cheerful. "I'm ready. Just gotta grab my bags."

Maya was anything but ready.

Katy's smile lit up the kitchen when she saw her daughter. "You got everything you need?"

"I think so." Maya let the bags fall heavily to the floor by the front door. "I packed the way I do when I go to the Matthews."

"Good, good." Katy seemed nervous. She kept smoothing her hair and pushing back bangs that had not moved. "Now remember what I told you, baby girl. This weekend is super important."