Chapter 2
Disclaimer: Well I have to say that the reception to the first chapter was pretty great! Many thanks for that! Now let's roll on!
Saturday, December 19th, 2015 9:46 AM in the Matthews Kitchen
After a well made dinner that allowed for Lucas to actually meet the legendary George Feeny and wish he had been taught by the man. Seeing his interactions with everybody in the house had truly been a sight to behold and he had practically welcomed him and his momma with open arms. It was like Mr. Feeny was a great grandfather to everybody in that room and it was just amazing to witness. It was clear to see the older man's influence on Mr. Matthews and his way of teaching and actually caring as much as he did for his students. But soon, it was time for Lucas and his momma to head over to her family's place and the Huckleberry was somewhat relieved by that since it would mean he didn't have to watch a certain Blonde Beauty act so nutty around Riley's uncle Josh. Though he definitely didn't miss the worried looks Riley's parents and grandparents exchanged anytime the boy sneezed and it made him wonder why they seemed so worried about it.
Once Wendy and Lucas had left for her family's house, the girls plus Amy and George's wife Lila decided to have a sleep over in Morgan's old bedroom while leaving all the boys downstairs in the living room to their own devices. Josh had soon gone up to his room as he'd been feeling pretty tired much to a sleepy Auggie's disappointment. But a promise to have some fun with him very soon made for a not as disappointed Auggie nicely enough. Alan had thought it weird since his youngest liked to stay up as late as he could when given the chance too, though with the sneezing he had done quite a few times it had left him thinking that may have something to do with it.
For George Feeny, life long neighbor, friend, and teacher of the Matthews children aside from Morgan, Joshua, Auggie, and Riley, the chance he had to spend with the Matthews men, along with TJ and Jack had been a very enjoyable time for him. Though he had wished Shawn was there to take part in it and hoped to see the young man during Christmas as he had a gift in mind for his former students that he wanted to give them. He could honestly say that young Maya Hart reminded him of Shawn as well and it had greatly intrigued him to know that the young girl saw the man as an important figure in her life. Something he had asked young Cory about during the night and learned more then he expected but was pleased to learn that his former student pretty much saw the young Hart as another daughter to him.
The fact young Shawn may likely be viewing her in the same light the more he spent time with her was another pleasant fact to learn of. And it made him wonder what life may have been like had Mr. Hunter actually been her true father instead of the man who left two precious jewels behind. Mr. Feeny truly hoped the best for Mr. Hunter and the Hart ladies as happiness, hope, and love were great things to have. To also learn that the young Hart was something of a talented artist and the clear pride in young Cory's voice also captured his interest and couldn't wait to see about the potential chance of seeing some of that talent for himself as a picture of it was one thing but actually seeing it in person was another.
Seeing Ms. Jansen, or Mrs. Friar as she was known now had been another unexpected treat for the older man. As while he hadn't had a great deal of interaction with the girl during her high school years, he had been aware of how bright the girl truly was. George was also aware of the fact she played a key role in young Cory's life on the path to learning and meeting the world. Meeting her son had also been a privilege and it honestly made him wish he wasn't semi-retired as he would love the chance to help mold that young man's minds. Along with the young minds of the rest of the next generation. But he could see however that the young Lucas Friar was a bit jealous of Joshua Matthews' interactions with Ms. Hart's daughter and hoped that wouldn't lead to problems.
The fact young Cory had gone into the teaching profession had been a true surprise but also made the older man quite proud of him. And to hear once again that he was being a positive influence on young minds was a great thing to see as well. In the morning, he and Lila had gone back to their home for some further rest before starting their day. And it wasn't long before Amy Matthews was up and cooking a big breakfast for those in the house while the coffee was made. It honestly had been some time since her home felt so alive and she loved that feeling. While her youngest had his own group of friends, they all liked to hang out in other areas a lot of the time and often leaving for a fairly quiet house in the process. Something both she and Alan loved and hated at the same time. A part of her however was worried about the sneezing Josh had been doing recently and hoped like crazy it wouldn't lead to something potentially a bit more unpleasant.
His preemie status had often made it hard for him to recover from illnesses but his immune system was gradually gaining in strength so that was a positive at least. And she hoped that would be enough to make her son's apparent cold be nothing more then a simple thing to quickly get past. The sleepover last night was perhaps the most fun she'd had in quite some time as well and she really enjoyed getting to know Katy and Maya more and looked forward to their being part of the family for years to come. Amy could also happily admit to herself that she was glad to see Tommy back in Eric's life again as it had truly been a crushing time for her oldest when he had made the decision to not adopt him.
It'd taken him a long time to recover from that even with the last goodbye he and Tommy had shared. She had often wondered what life might have been like if Eric had gone through with the adoption. But at least now life had been able to bring the two together again and it had certainly been a treat to see Tommy and Josh interact so well together. Josh had even at one point happily called the man his long lost but honorary uncle and those who had seen it could tell how happy that had made Tommy. The activist had then made a remark about how he had years of presents and the like to make up for and if anyone happened to see a watery sheen in Eric's eyes? It wasn't commented on at all.
It had also been nice to see Wendy again as well and my had she become quite the stunning woman and a great mother to boot as well. In another far flung life, Wendy likely could have been her daughter in law and Lucas her grandson. Of course if he had strong feelings for Riley then he likely would be a grandson of sorts anyway but she could see that he clearly had his heart set on little Maya and definitely didn't like the way she interacted with Josh. Though how aware he was of just how deep exactly his feelings went was another thing entirely. Especially at that particular age. Either way, like the Hart ladies, she happily welcomed the Friars into the Matthews clan.
A part of her couldn't help but wonder who else might show up for Christmas and hoped that Shawn would definitely be in attendance since he was practically another son to her. Seeing him last year had been truly wonderful and it was like he hadn't been absent for so long. The fact Riley had caused a positive change to happen for Shawn and Cory had been another great thing to see since she was aware of how Shawn felt like he didn't have much of a place in his best friend's life anymore after Cory started up his own little family. Which to her had been too ridiculous of a notion as Shawn would ALWAYS have a place in her son's life no matter what.
She was broken from her thoughts when footsteps were heard coming down the steps, revealing it to be none other then her son Josh. And for Amy, he really looked like he'd have been better off staying in bed. "Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked him concernedly as he shuffled over to the table, pulled out a chair, and plopped down with a grunt.
"Yeah ma, I'm fine. No worries." His stomach grumbled then and Amy went back to cooking while hoping he was truly okay.
As his getting sick usually always meant for some real unpleasantness due to the fact his immune system wasn't the strongest as it was still slowly building in strength. "Mmm… Something smells good in here." Came the voice of Maya Penelope Hart as she made her way into the kitchen while looking only maybe half way awake.
"Ma's a great cook." Josh told her while he had his head down on the table and his arms covering the back of his head.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere with seconds." Teased his mother and making Maya smile at the whole thing.
The bedroom door having been left open had allowed for Maya to smell the delicious food being cooked and she couldn't help make her way to the kitchen. And frankly, after coming down she was quite glad for it since Uncle Boing was in there too. Even if he was keeping his head down for whatever reason. Though she hoped it was just cause he was tired and it not having something to do with the sneezing he did a few times last night. As getting sick when Christmas was right around the corner would just suck! Taking a seat at the table, she asked him if he was okay and he gave her pretty much the same response he'd given to his mother.
"Surprised though that you're even awake this early. Figured you'd still be sleepin' in."
Maya shrugged despite the fact he couldn't see it. "Was a need for the bathroom and the smells of what your mom's cooking pretty much sealed the deal for me."
She only got a grunt from him in response and then was pretty much occupied by a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage. Along with a glass of orange juice. Maya quickly dug in as Amy put a plate down for Josh along with his own glass of orange juice. Raising his head up, he looked at the food for several seconds before finally grabbing his fork and trying some of the eggs. "Are you sure you're feeling okay sweetheart?"
"Yeah ma, but if its okay with you I'm gonna go lay back down for awhile."
"Of course, I'll make sure no one bothers you."
Her son gave her a grateful nod while Maya looked on in concern over the whole thing. "Get plenty of rest Uncle Boing! Cause I'm gonna need you at your A game as otherwise it'd be too easy to win at the Long Game." She told him with a smirk and causing him to look back at her with a small short lived smile of his own before walking on.
A part of her had been hoping for more than that however but considering how he was looking and obviously feeling, well, she'd just have to give him a pass at least once. Both Maya and Amy hoped that whatever was bothering him would soon go away quickly.
Author's Notes: Alright, so originally I was going to have this be even longer but I decided to end it where I did and leave what else I was writing for the next chapter. I saw some pics of Girl Meets Money or whatever its called, and when did Maya get a Ferret exactly? I miss or forget something about that?R and R!
