February 20th 2018

Chapter 51
Her Cheer For Travels

By the time they'd arrived at the airport, the three friends in the back of Mr. & Mrs. Friar's car were sound asleep. Riley had her head to Maya's shoulder, Maya had her head to Lucas' shoulder, and Lucas had his head… well, to the window. Mrs. Friar's jolly call announcing their arrival had woken them up all at once, scrambling upright so fast they'd almost gotten tangled and knocked heads. It was a wonder they'd managed to stay awake through the flight, but then once they sat there, with breakfast and a movie, they were finally remembering that this sleeplessness was to take them to New York, to their friends, and the excitement regained strength. For her part, Maya might have enjoyed the 'old classic,' the cross-country drive, but if the flight meant they got to spend more time with Farkle and Smackle, then the flight won.

They landed in New York four hours later, eagerly scanning the sea of faces until they could find the ones they wanted to find. Thankfully, by now, all of them had developed a habit of reuniting in airports, and while Riley's sign back in Texas was a sparkly wonder, Farkle and Smackle's small sign was just as effective, and when Lucas had spotted it, he'd pointed it out to the girls, who took off running after them with the boy at their heels. Farkle was enveloped in an immediate Maya and Riley sandwich, while with Smackle, her friends and bandmates had waited on the girl's cue to put their arms around her, too. Maya looked on with smiles as Lucas and Farkle greeted one another, the brotherly pair of them.

As on their first trip to New York, they were all of them to be hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Minkus. It was hard not to remember how much that trip had shaken her, how she'd had to come face to face with the change in her perspective, brought on by the move. It had been an illusion shattered into a million pieces, into dust. It was all too easy for her to rely on the memory of what had happened at her mother's old diner, her first kiss with Lucas, and pretend as though this was the only takeaway from that trip, but that wasn't it, not at all, there was the rest of it, and now being back in New York, how could she not have the slightest concern that she would end up feeling this way again?

But then as they'd left the airport, and as they'd gotten into the car which would take them to the Minkus home, the blue skies over New York seemed to throw a light on everything, like the city wanted her to see it, wanted her to feel its brightness and its life, wanted her to remember how once upon a time it had been home. And maybe it wasn't home anymore, but it would remain a part of her nonetheless. She was back, and she was okay. Riley would call it a Christmas miracle, born of her very own brand of December magic. Whatever it was called, Maya breathed in and smiled, looking back to her two best friends. They had arrived, and the holidays were fast upon them.

At the Minkus home, Farkle's parents were quick to help settle their guests in, Maya's parents here, Lucas' there, Riley's parents and Auggie here, and the rest of them there, with Farkle. Again, far from being left out, Smackle was joining them, too.

Once they were finally all settled in, the five of them had taken Auggie along with them and headed into the city. They had ended up playing in the snow at a park, a snowball fight rising up, Auggie teaming up with Lucas and Farkle, versus Maya, Riley, and Smackle. Maya knew in no time she'd be capturing it all in her sketchbook. Auggie, going wild and shouting like a tiny warrior, Farkle, standing there for the longest time with a snowball in hand, debating where to throw, and Lucas the top scorer at every turn… Then on the other side, Smackle quickly finding her spot on the outskirts, not wanting to be caught in the middle of it all but also wanting to make sure she participated, Riley being in a lot of ways like the taller version of her brother, if with some more success in her hits, and then Maya herself, like some sharp shooting assassin, right in the thick of it and untouchable.

Tired out but filled with joy, they had come to land, of all places, at Katy Hart's old diner, just as they'd done nearly two years ago. Everyone had scrambled to get six seats at the counter, although Maya couldn't help but look back at the booth by the window. It was occupied now by two white haired little old ladies, talking over coffee, but she almost didn't see them, only saw some ghostly afterimage of a couple of kids sitting there together, sharing a first kiss. Under that table, on the wall, both their names would be carved, hers from when she was eight years old, his from that moment they'd shared here.

April the waitress, her mother's old friend, was once again at the counter, and when Maya told her that her mother was along for the trip, too, the woman asked to pass on the message that she should drop by, and Maya promised at once. For now, the six of them sat there, side by side, dripping snow at their feet while they warmed themselves with hot chocolate and Christmas cookies, April's treat. Maya breathed it all in, smiling to herself. This really was a good day… the rebirth of New York in her heart.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners