What Matters Most (14 page)

Allie and Chloe came over and hugged me, and everyone clapped. Even Shannon. Afterward, several of my friends came up to congratulate me, including Dominic. I could tell his was a happy-sad kind of congratulations. “Guess you won’t be playing in my band then?”

“I’m sorry. It actually sounded like fun.”

“Well, I don’t blame you. You girls are great together, Maya.”

Marissa, her dad, and Shannon came over to join us. With tears in his eyes, Adam hugged and thanked all of us. “You’ll never know how much this has meant to me—to us.”

“Thank you,” said Marissa.

Shannon said nothing. For which I was thankful.

Then Bruce came over to shake my hand. “I think you made the right choice, Maya. But I have to admit you kept me on needles and pins, girl. I thought you were going to turn us down.”

“I just wanted to be careful about the decision,” I told him.
“And what about the changes that Robert Bernard made to the contract? Did you have a chance to read it yet?”

He nodded. “I did.”

“Was that all right?”

“I think it was a brilliant idea. I’m cool with it.”

“So this is really it?”

“Looks like our wheels are in motion now.”

“Excuse me.”

I turned to see that Shannon was standing nearby, within earshot.

Bruce gave her a slightly blank look.

“Uh, this is my mother,” I told him, “Shannon Stark. Shannon, I’d like you to meet my new manager, Bruce Glass.”

Shannon eyed him carefully. “It seems to me that a minor wouldn’t be allowed to enter into a contract without parental permission, or am I wrong?”

He cleared his throat.

“And unless there’s something I don’t know, I’m still Maya’s custodial parent. Her father gave up that right years ago.”

Okay, that’s not completely true, but I didn’t want to go there just then. “Shannon, we can talk in private,” I said quietly.

“Why?” Her voice actually got louder now.

“Perhaps your mother should consult with your attorney, Maya.” Bruce gave me a look that suggested Robert Bernard might be just the guy to straighten my mother out.

“Yes,” I said quickly, “that’s an excellent idea.” I pointed to where Robert and Jacqueline were still standing on the sidelines, chatting with Chloe’s parents. “I can introduce you to him, and you guys can set up an appointment.”

And that’s exactly what I did. I can’t say that Shannon was particularly pleased about it, but it really did seem the sane way to handle this. Now the big question is whether Robert will mention the emancipation or not. As much as I’d like to keep it from her, I don’t really see any way around it. I just hope that Shannon doesn’t flip out or do something to mess it all up.

A
fter school I drive over to get Shannon. It was weird picking her up at Marissa’s house. Like who would’ve thought (say, last summer) that my prison-inmate mother would be living with Marissa and her dad. Life is strange.

I would’ve visited with Marissa longer except that our appointment with Robert Bernard was at 3:45, and I didn’t want to be late. I so appreciate all that he’s doing for me, and his time is valuable. And after what went down today, I realize how valuable he is to me. I wonder how many other sixteen-year-olds need an attorney.

Anyway, Shannon and I are riding in my car, and all I want is to get there, get this over with, and be done with it. Naturally, it feels totally awkward. So I pray silently and then attempt some small talk about the weather and Harrison High’s football game this week. But Shannon is having none of it.

“It seems you’ve done quite well for yourself, haven’t you, Maya?”

I just shrug, keeping my eyes on the traffic.

“I never even asked you where you got your fancy little car.”

“It’s not fancy. It’s economical.”

“So where did you get it?”

“From a car dealership down—”

“You know that’s not what I mean.” Her tone is sharp.

“You mean
where
did I get the money to buy it?”

“Oh, don’t be a moron, Maya. I can guess where you got the car. Your
dear old daddy
, right?” The way she says this sounds like such a put-down. So mean and nasty that I fall for it.

“You know, Shannon, I almost could’ve bought this car myself…if
someone
hadn’t stolen my savings last year.”

“Why do you go on and on about that?” She scowls as she digs through her purse like she’s searching for lost treasure. “You know that was
our
money.”

“Our
money?” Okay, I feel like pulling over and really laying into her for what she did to me last year, but I don’t. For one thing it would only complicate matters, and for another thing it would make us late for the appointment.

“You know good and well that the money was sent to us for your child support and that I was only—”

“Look, Shannon, I know good and well that you were probably high when you took it and that you were clueless and selfish and deceitful. But I assume you’re not high now, are you?”

“Of course not!”

“You can try to rationalize what you did to me, Shannon, but
the fact is,
that was my money
—hard-earned money from working all summer—”

“Oh yes, I almost forgot your short-lived modeling career. Didn’t that work out well for you?”

I manage to keep my mouth shut this time. Really, what’s the use?

“I listened to the words of those sweet little Christian songs you were singing with the other sweet little Christian girls, Maya. Do you really believe all that crap?”

“It’s not crap, and yes, I
do
believe it.”

She smiles now, but her eyes are narrowed. “Oh, good. I was hoping you did. Because I’d hate to think you were a hypocrite. I’ve known some religious hypocrites in my time. I wouldn’t want my only daughter to be one of them.”

How is she so able to push my buttons like that? Is this some carefully calculated plan on her part—like, let’s get Maya to fall apart right before we speak to the attorney? That way Shannon can act like she’s the all-important mother, like I can’t get along without her. Is that her game?

“By the way, I did some checking over the weekend, Maya, regarding the legal situation.”

I will not say another word about this, I tell myself, not without my lawyer present!

“And I was right. A minor is not allowed to enter into a contract without parental permission, and that means a signature.”

“What about a parent who’s doing time in prison?” I say quietly. So much for keeping my mouth shut. “What about a parent whose logic is impaired by addiction, Shannon? What kind of parent is that anyway?”

She sniffs as if I’ve hit a soft spot, then returns to digging in her oversize bag like maybe she has a lace-trimmed hanky in there that she plans to dab her eyes with. “Yes, Maya, I can admit I’ve made some mistakes. But I’m not in prison now. And I am still your mother.”

“What about your addiction problems?”

“I’m clean. I told you that already.” She finally locates what she’s looking for in her purse, a shabby-looking pack of cigarettes, but before she can light one, I speak up.

“Sorry, Shannon, no smoking in my car.”

“I’ll open a window,” she snaps.

“No,” I say firmly. “This is a
no-smoking
car. If you light up, I’ll pull over, and you’ll have to get out.”

“It figures you’d throw your own mother out of your car.”

“Look, we’re almost there, Shannon. You can light up in about two minutes, okay?”

“That’s so generous of you.”

Now this just irks me. “And you’re such an expert on generosity, Shannon? You have given me so much, haven’t you?”

“Here’s generosity,” she says as I park. “I’d give anything to never have had you.”

I blink but say nothing. I would think that after so many years, so much pain, that Shannon would be unable to hurt me anymore. But as usual when it comes to my mother, I am wrong.

“I’ll be inside,” I tell her as she lights up her beloved cancer stick.

“Oh no—no, you don’t.” She drops the unsmoked cigarette and grinds it under her heel, which leaves an ugly mess all over the sidewalk and just makes me want to scream. Then she hurries on ahead of me like she thinks this is a footrace and the first one there will win the best prize.

She goes straight to the receptionist. “I’m Shannon Stark, here to see Robert Bernard, please.”

“Shannon Stark?” Cindy looks slightly confused, then spots me. “Oh, Maya, this must be your mother.” She smiles. “Go on into Robert’s office. You know the way.”

This time I lead. And I try not to act too cocky as I push open the wide oak door. After all, I do know that scripture about pride coming before a fall. And at the rate this is going, I could be smacked down good at any given moment. Mostly, I just want to get this over with. I’ve been telling myself all weekend that if Shannon puts the brakes on everything, it could be that it’s for the best—it could be God’s will. Although the truth is, now that she’s stuck her nose into my life, I want to be part of Redemption more than ever. I want my emancipation more than ever too. I just wish I’d taken care of it sooner.

To my surprise, Robert isn’t alone in his office. Bruce Glass is here too. They both stand and politely shake our hands and offer us seats, and then we’re all sitting around Robert’s large mahogany desk, just like a happy little family.

“Let me cut right to the chase,” Shannon begins. “I’ve done a little research on the situation, and I have discovered that because I have custodial rights over Maya, which her father surrendered some time ago, any contract she signs as a juvenile is worthless without my signature.”

Robert nods somberly. “That’s legally accurate.”

“So do you plan to sign Maya’s contract?” Bruce holds up the paperwork that I recently signed.

Shannon presses her lips together as if thinking this over. “Well, I must admit that seeing Maya perform with the band the other night helped me realize she does have some musical talent. I really wouldn’t want to stand in her way. I suppose the right thing to do would be for me to allow her to pursue her dreams. And so I will sign the contract.” She sighs as if this is a difficult decision.

Now Robert steps in. “I suppose you realize that if you sign the contract, it will mean that you, Mrs. Stark, as Maya’s legal custodian, will be in charge of Maya’s earnings.”

She nods, then crosses one leg over the other and leans back.

“That’s a large responsibility, Mrs. Stark. Are you absolutely certain you want to take that on? Are you prepared to handle the business side of Maya’s musical career?”

Her brow creases slightly as if she’s considering this. Then she slowly nods again. “As you may have heard, I was married to Nick Stark for a number of years. I’m fully aware of what’s involved in handling the business side of a musician’s career.”

Now Robert peers at me with a sad expression. “How do you feel about this, Maya?”

I feel betrayed and angry and confused. And I’m sure I look like that proverbial deer caught in the headlights. How can this be happening? And what can I do to stop it? I am speechless.

“Maya is only sixteen,” Shannon continues, like she’s the expert on my life. “I’m sure this is all very overwhelming to her. She’s had a rough year, and I’ll admit that I played a small part in that. But I am much better now. I’m ready to step up to my responsibilities as her mother. And it’s obvious that she needs a mother.” She kind of laughs now. “Good grief, I remember what it felt like to be sixteen—barely able to drive and yet you think you rule the world.” She gave the men a knowing look. “But time and age fix that, right?”

Bruce clears his throat and holds up the contract again. “Back to the contract.”

“Yes, yes, I’m ready to sign it,” she says quickly. “I won’t waste any more of your time.”

“And we won’t waste any more of yours,” says Robert. Then he nods to Bruce like they’ve just shared some kind of secret handshake. And the next thing I know Bruce slides the contract into a
paper shredder and pushes the button. After a growling noise my contract is transformed into a pile of thin white ribbons.

“What?” Shannon is on her feet now, pointing at the debris with a horrified expression.

I just sit there and try to make sense of this. Maybe Bruce changed his mind when he realized I was going to make things difficult for Redemption—or rather my mother was. Maybe he’s got another girl all lined up now, one without the baggage that I bring. Who can blame him?

“Why did you do that?”
Shannon demands.

“I think it’s for the best.” Bruce slowly shakes his head.

Shannon is staring at Bruce like he’s nuts. “But I just told you that I’m happy to sign it. I’m perfectly fine with Maya being in a band. For Pete’s sake, I married a musician. I know all about this kind of life.”

Just then Robert winks at me. And suddenly I get it. At least I think I get it. I hope I get it. Still, I keep my mouth shut. I wouldn’t be able to get a word in now anyway since Shannon is going on and on. Finally she’s even sputtering as she begs Bruce to draw up another contract, promising him that he won’t be sorry. But he folds his arms over his chest as if he’s unmovable. And I want to applaud. Instead, I just sit there and stare at my lap.