January 2nd 2019

Chapter 2
Their Home in Hours

He woke up from a dream which had started pleasant enough, the kind he would never dream of describing in the presence of his mother or father, or of… well, most anyone. Somewhere in the heart of it all though, the narrative had taken a turn, and it felt more like a nightmare than a dream. When he had opened his eyes, with that disoriented feeling that followed nightmares, it had taken him a few minutes to get to the point where he could remind himself, as hard as it had been to remember while he'd been asleep, that today would be a good day, that he was headed into something wonderful.

Today was the day they were headed up to Houston to stay, and no nightmare would convince him that the whole experiment would turn into a train wreck.

He knew where it had come from, too, this dread feeling. His parents, his grandfather, all this anticipation for the move… Kids like him went off to college all the time and they did just fine, but the way his parents were acting it could have seemed like he would disappear, never to be seen or heard from again.

He had a text from Maya already waiting, and that chased the last of the nightmare from him. Of course she'd already be up and raring to go. Taking a chance, he put in a video call, and when she picked it up, her face appeared, peeking from just over a pair of curled brunette heads laid at her shoulders. She made a face as though to say 'I'd wave, but my hands are full' as much as 'quiet, they're sleeping.' He could see from behind her that she was up in the nursery, which had once been her room, at the bay window.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Morning," she whispered back, pressing her cheek to the top of one of her sisters' heads, he couldn't say which one from what he saw. She looked as resolute as she looked saddened. They were going, she was ready, but it still hurt, having to leave these two behind.

"I'll check with him, but Dylan should be here in about an hour," he told her, and she gave a small, silent nod. "We'll come and get you next, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, as one of the girls in her arms resettled herself, tightening her grip.

They were borrowing Mr. Orlando's truck for the drive into Houston. They would get those belongings they wanted to bring along with them in there, the rest being relegated to the truck that would join them at the house the following morning, along with Dylan's father, who would get his truck back to Austin. One by one, they would collect their group of five, and then they'd be off, headed for their new home.

By the time he headed downstairs, dressed and ready to go as soon as Dylan arrived, he could see plainly that the time until his friend arrived would be as much preparation for him to go as it would be preparation for him to be gone. His mother, as collected as she had previously shown herself to be, the day they'd had that talk, the two of them, was now reaching critical levels on the other extreme. She had outdone herself in the breakfast spread she'd assembled, like somehow she'd keep on feeding him and then he couldn't leave.

Once he had managed to get away, eating so little – by her standards – that it started her on the idea that he would starve 'out there,' he had started, with his father's assistance, to bring down those things he'd be adding to Mr. Orlando's truck, also showing what needed to go into the bigger truck later. And before they knew it, the doorbell was ringing. Dylan had arrived, it was time to go… time to say goodbye.

His father had said all he had to say as they were taking his things down the stairs, and on that Lucas was very appreciative. His grandfather was brief, his words few but meaningful. Dash, looking as though she was only now getting that her favorite guy was leaving, was nuzzling at his heels, whimpering. All that remained was Melinda Friar, and Lucas could see her trying to pull herself together again, to show her reasonable side, whether or not she would actually succeed.

"Maya's next?" Dylan asked as the two of them brought the last of his things in the back of the truck. Lucas looked back to the house, to his mother still in the doorway, holding the fidgeting dog in her arms.

"Yeah," he finally turned back to look at him, smiling.

"Then Riley?" Dylan went on, moving toward the driver's side.

"And Sophie after that," Lucas nodded.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Dylan, hey," Lucas stopped him, pointing back to his parents. Leaving him by the truck, he jogged back to the door, for 'last hugs and wishes,' and then they were off to the Hunter-Hart house.

They arrived to find Maya's campaign of spending as much time as possible with her sisters before her departure had stretched out to the front lawn, where she was in the process of 'chasing' the teetering toddlers around, aided by three eager dogs as her parents watched, sitting on the front step. Lucas had been quick to take out his phone, taking a snapshot of the scene. He had a feeling it was something she'd love to have once they reached Houston.

When Dylan sounded the horn to alert them of their arrival, Lucas was already halfway out of the truck, heading to greet the whole mad lot on the lawn. By the time Dylan joined them, he was crouched on the lawn, where Gracie Hunter – who seemed to have adopted 'Lukey' more so than her twin – was babbling away, swinging her arms along as he held her little hands. Maya would call him the miracle worker, the only one able to get the quiet 'Mouse Mouse' to get in touch with her talkative side.

"Maybe we should just pack you guys up and take you to Houston with us," Maya chuckled, with Nellie clamped at her legs.

"The more the merrier, right?" Lucas shrugged, smiling back up to her.

Looking at her, he could see deep down she would have loved to take them along for real. He had watched her grow and grow in the glow of this new family of hers, bit by bit over the years since he'd met her, closely enough that he could understand just how much she had been dreading this moment, even when it was weeks, months, years away. Now it had come, and bravery was failing her, when she had been going as though she carried an inexhaustible amount.

They would come back to Austin as soon as they finished school. He could see it in her eyes already, and as far as he was concerned that was just as it should be.

Finally getting to those goodbyes, Lucas and Dylan had stayed back with the twins as Maya and her parents had some words. As promised, neither boy had given attention to Katy Hart's tears, which were totally about the pregnancy and nothing else. They didn't know what to blame Shawn Hunter's tears on, so they didn't look at him either.

As they'd gotten into the truck, Maya's things joined to theirs, it very nearly became that the trio of dogs would have run with them all the way to Houston if Shawn hadn't caught up with them and pulled them back. The ride off to the Matthews' house was spent with Maya's head at Lucas' shoulder, as he held her hands in his.

The scene here was just as touched with tears as the one before, and, current or former, seeing one's teacher in tears, no matter how much he tried to hide them, didn't get any less weird.

"All set?" Dylan asked Riley, in the front with him while the others sat in the back. She looked back to the house, where they could all still see her mother and father and brother, standing in wait of the truck's departure. She only nodded, like opening her mouth to speak would betray any amount of composure she could muster.

"We're not going to cry all the way to Houston, will we?" Maya had moved forward, laying a hand at either of her best friend's shoulders. It gave Riley the small nudge she'd needed, enough to take a breath and appear at once comforted. So, they'd driven off, leaving the Matthews house behind as they headed toward Sophie's home.

For how things had been between the Zvolensky women when they'd all gone off to Europe, the last few weeks had been an unexpected turn. It wasn't as though all was suddenly right as rain, and they still had many a disagreement. But Mrs. Zvolensky, faced with her daughter's desire to leave as soon as possible, taking Maya's offer for her to stay at her house until the move, had cooled down on her attempts to redirect her daughter's career efforts. And Sophie had decided to ride this turn and remain at home. Their relationship, she believed, was worth the salvage.

The rest of them had seen to Sophie's things, carrying them to the back of the truck, while the last of their household said goodbye to her mother. By the time she joined them, climbing into the back with Lucas and Maya, she was one more for the tissue box, sniffling tears away. Dylan gave her a respectable five minutes before plugging in his 'expertly curated travel mood booster' playlist, as they took off in earnest toward Houston.

Sitting between Lucas and Sophie in the back, Maya couldn't help but look left and right and forward, to the four who would be her world as they settled into their new home together, in their new city, where they'd seen be starting in new jobs, and – for most of them – new schools. This would be a whole other life than they one they'd been leading just a few months ago, even in the last several weeks. High school, like Austin, was pulling further into the rearview mirror, shrinking away until it could no longer be seen.

"Should we stop for lunch on the way?" Riley asked the others, turning in her seat. They weren't there yet, still a good half hour's drive left, and with their early start and the depletion of snacks some time ago, it was getting to be about that time.

"Wouldn't say no to pizza right now," Sophie declared, the word buzzing inside the truck like magic, its power being that it left all five of them salivating at the thought.

"We could," Lucas agreed. "Or we could wait… eat at home."

And that was another magic word in itself. Soon they would be in their new home, and it wouldn't be the place they'd been preparing for anymore, it would actually be the place where they lived. So, cranking up the music again in order to distract themselves from their growing hunger, they soldiered on, drawing nearer to Houston, to their neighborhood, to a promised pizza and their first meal in their new home.

"City limits," Lucas pointed ahead as they neared. He looked to Maya, and she beamed, seeing how he'd remembered, before pulling out her phone to get a picture, later to be reproduced in a drawing. Six years ago, she had drawn something very similar, marking her entrance into Austin, as it became her new home. Now, she would get to do it again. This city may only be where they belonged for a handful of years, but that should in no way diminish its importance.

"And we're here," she breathed. "Mr. Orlando, find us a pizza. Find us two pizzas."

"Four it is," Dylan declared at once, and they burst out laughing.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners