WHO: Oceana Ridgeway and Maia Sparks WHEN: Evening of December 2 WHERE: Dunhaven Dance Academy SUMMARY: Maia makes an attempt at quietly picking up Kylie from dance in an effort to not attract the attention of Oceana, but it doesn't go as planned. WARNINGS: Adoption and secret family feels Â
In the time since Maia had returned to Dunhaven after meeting her biological mother, her mind had been downright reeling. She was unused to that feeling; Maia Sparks was, if anything, a picture of calm. She felt a certain sliver of pride in how good she was at holding herself together. And, to the general populace that might look at her, it certainly appeared as though she was. She'd slid back into the routine that was her life -- taking Kylie to school, going to work, having meetings with clients.
The one thing she had been avoiding, though, was being the one to pick Kylie up from dance class. If Wyatt hadn't been able to do it, then she'd asked her mother. But she couldn't continue on like that forever. Eventually she would have to attend a recital or she might just see Oceana Ridgeway at a family function, given that her boyfriend's sister was a Wentworth now.
And so, now she sat in the parking lot of the dance studio with her hands gripping the steering wheel. Maia had done a bit of research -- as much as she could, at least. She'd tried to find out all she could that first night, back in the hotel room with Wyatt. She'd found an Oceana that had lived in Florida and it hadn't been hard to follow her dancing career from New York to Dunhaven. It seemed too coincidental, too good to be true. But it was difficult to deny the possibility that it could be true.
Watching as parents started to leave the dance studio with their children in tow, Maia took a deep breath and left her own car to go inside and find her own ballerina. It didn't take long and, despite everything that was on her mind, a smile split her mouth as her eyes fell on Kylie, still dressed in her tights and leotard.
"Mom!" Kylie greeted, spinning over to where Maia was standing, then immediately grabbing her hand to drag her further into the studio. "Mom, did you know that Miss Oceana is getting married? You help people get married, so maybe you can help her get married!"
It wasn't until the end of this announcement from her daughter that Maia realized she was being pulled to Oceana Ridgeway herself. It wasn't the first time they'd met, but it certainly was the first time since this cloud possibility loomed above Maia's head. Her heart skipped in her chest.
Oceana loved teaching dance. It gave her immense joy to see all those young dancers dedicating themselves to their craft, bettering themselves every time they walked through the door for class. There had been a time when she thought that dance might vanish out of her life for forever. However, she’d beaten the odds and time had shown her that even if she was not center stage anymore, she could be just as passionate about shaping the young dancers of her small corner of the world.
Though she didn’t keep her personal life a secret from her students, she also didn’t usually draw attention to it. Despite that, she was always amused when Nick swept into the studio at the beginning of one of her classes, as he had done that day, and bestowed her with a large bouquet of flowers. He was very dedicated to perpetuating the long-held idea amongst those tiny dancers that she was a real life Disney Princess.
As such, even though they had been engaged for a while now, the girls had been in a tizzy the entire class asking her about when and where and how they were going to get married, though Oceana had few of those answers to give. She knew that she needed to reach out for help and actually get a plan in place, but she simply hadn’t done it yet.
There were multi-colored daisy’s for each of the dancers in that particular class, also provided by Nick, though Oceana was now the one doling them out at the end of the lesson. She had just one left in her hands, though she didn’t know how Kylie had slipped away from her. She’d been just there, and then when another mom inquired about the best place close by for replacement ballet slippers, she’d lost track of her.
Just as she finished her conversation, she spotted Kylie and her mother, Maia. Oceana was aware that Maia was an event planner and had considered asking her for help already, but hadn’t yet worked up the nerve. Though they had common ties through Foster and Lorelei, Oceana hadn’t really seen Maia much since the wedding, “Oh, Kylie! I was hoping I’d spot you again. This daisy is for you.” She handed the brightly dyed flower over to the girl, and smiled over to her mother, “Hi! It’s been a while. How are you?”
Maia watched as Kylie took the flower, a wide grin crossing the girl's face as she clutched it. As so often was the case, she felt her heart warm at the sight of her daughter so pleased with something so simple; they would almost definitely be keeping that single flower in a vase for as long as it would last.
Turning her attention back to Oceana, her smile didn't falter, even if insides churned. "It has been a while," Maia agreed, because it was an easy truth. "I've been well, but it sounds like you have been especially so. Congratulations."
A light flush filtered into Oceana’s cheeks, though she gave a slight nod, “Thank you. We’ve been reveling in the engagement phase for a little while now, but I need to get serious about planning. We chose a date, but...it’s all a little overwhelming, to be honest. Nick is wonderful. He’s been so involved in what we do have planned, but...well, I was actually thinking about asking you for help. We don’t have to talk about it here and now, of course. It’s just...an opportunistic moment to mention it.”
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, but noticed that Kylie was now beaming up at her mom, and nudged her side. Her whisper was still clearly audible, “See, mom? You should help Miss Oceana get married!”
Everything Oceana was saying was so familiar that Maia could almost forget that she might be talking to her half-sister. It was almost as though she was talking to just another client, nodding along as they described just how overwhelming the beginning process of wedding planning could be. But she didn't find herself looking over the physical features of her clients, comparing them to the image she had of herself in the mirror and wondering if the similarities she was seeing were in her head or not.
Kylie nudged Maia out of her reverie, coaxing another smile. She didn't know if this was a good idea, but she couldn't turn down a potential client -- and she especially couldn't turn down helping someone that shared so many of the same friends as her. And so, despite her misgivings, she nodded. "I'd be happy to help," Maia said, slipping one of her hands into her purse to locate the stack of business cards for Enchanted Events that she always carried with her, just in case. Holding it out to Oceana, she added, "Just stop by the office and we can get started."
Oceana didn’t want to be unprofessional by asking here at her workplace while Maia was just there to get her daughter, but she was relieved just the same when Maia handed over the business card. They somehow hadn’t exchanged information when on Lorelei’s wedding party, and even though Oceana had her number on file as a contact for Kylie, that was definitely unprofessional. She held onto the card happily, a small bounce on her toes, and her grin broadened, “Thank you so much. I’ll come by in the next day or two?”
"That would be great," Maia replied, reaching out to smooth Kylie's hair back from her eyes as she watched the exchange, clearly pleased that her suggestion had been taken. "Just to prepare, you said that you had chosen your date? When were you looking at?"
“Ah, yeah,” Oceana flushed a little again, and admitted, “February 22nd. I know that’s not very far away, but it’s also not going to be a huge wedding.” Foster and Lorelei had managed it in that same period of time, so Oceana had figured it was manageable, if not really usual. She just didn’t want to wait anymore, and they wanted a wedding in the winter. Neither of them wanted to wait until the following year.
The date was soon -- much sooner than Maia had expected -- but she had worked greater miracles in the past. There was a reason that she got so much work, after all; she was very good at her job. And if she was going to be planning the wedding of her possible sister, well… she'd make it work.
"February 22nd can be managed," Maia replied with a smile, trying to put her at ease. "I have all the confidence."