December 17th 2019

Chapter 351
Their Cheers For Graduates

The very next morning after Maya's last final, she and Lucas were on a plane bound for Tucson. When she'd committed to visiting her siblings a couple weeks back, she had insisted that he didn't need to go with her if he didn't feel like going away, didn't want to be away from their friends over his birthday. He didn't even have to think about it, and neither did Maya, but she would ask anyway. The answer was simple, he was going to be with her. Knowing her, she probably had something cooked up for the next day, recruiting her siblings into the effort.

"So, Abigail's boyfriend…" he started to ask, shortly after the plane took off.

"What about him?" Maya asked. He looked at her, unsure of how exactly to ask what he meant to ask or whether he even needed to. By the look on her face, he knew she had read it off him. "I'm happy for her. Really. Everything that happened with my father, as hard as it was on me, she had to do it while looking after him, managing her feelings, her grief, and then with four kids, all of them struggling… It feels quick for everyone else, but come on. She started losing him before he was gone. She deserves all the happiness in the world."

"And you and him?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know," she admitted.

She had been thinking about this, much as she tried not to make a big deal of it all. Their family was a jumble of bonds and of degrees of separation. Abigail was her stepmother. Back when Maya and Kermit had still been on the outs, it had been hard to see her as much more than 'my siblings' mom.' Over time, they had gotten to know one another, and they had formed a relationship. Maya had taken her on as a parent, as completely as she'd taken on Shawn. Today, she'd only differentiate her with the 'step' if it was necessary, beyond that, she was her mother, too.

So where did that put James Lane and his kids? He and Abigail were still in the early days of their relationship, although they were clearly serious about it if they'd gone ahead and told their kids. Maybe they'd get married someday, and there'd be… a brand new sprinkling of 'steps' thrown around, for Sam, Cara, Eliza, Wyatt, Teddy, and Emma… If that happened, she knew herself enough that she'd get to care for the Lane kids as she did for any of her siblings. That part was easy. She just didn't know what kind of relationship she'd have with their father.

As it turned out, she'd get to start figuring that out sooner rather than later. When Maya and Lucas got off the plane and started to look around for Abigail and the kids, the lineup wasn't the one she'd expected. Sam was there, along with Cara and Eliza. Along with them were a small black girl, of an age with Eliza, who had to be Emma Lane, and a man who looked enough like her to establish him as James Lane, Abigail's new boyfriend.

Cara came rushing up first, throwing her arms around her big sister's waist, and Maya closed the embrace, giving her that good squeeze of a hug she'd been wanting to give her for weeks. Meanwhile, Lucas received and returned a handshake and quick hug with Sam, the two of them sharing a knowing sort of secret smile. None of the others here knew how much communication had been going on between the two of them over the past months, but they did, and they also knew they were now just eight days away from the big reveal. Lucas had already promised Maya's younger brother that he'd tell him all about how it had gone once he'd done it.

"Did the plane shake?" Cara asked her sister.

"Nope, no turbulence," Maya shook her head. "Smooth sailing, and…" she reached into her pocket, producing small packs of mixed snack things, which she'd gotten on the plane. They'd both gotten two of them, knowing that Maya's siblings enjoyed them very much. This drew Eliza's attention, and she stepped up, stopping to wave Emma to come forward, too. "Hey, Lizard," Maya crouched to hug her. When they pulled back, she looked to the other girl, who stood in wait with quiet hesitation. "You must be Emma. I'm Maya," she introduced herself with a smile, offering her hand. Emma reached out and shook it.

"Hi."

"She'll come around when she gets to know you," James let her know. Maya looked up as Emma did. Seeing how his daughter perked up again now, she could believe that.

"Hey," she stood up again, offering her hand again. "Maya," she tipped her head as they shook.

"James," he smiled. "Call me James, Jim, Jimmy, your pick."

"Jimbo?" she offered with a smirk, getting a vibe and trusting it, and he gave a dramatic sort of 'ouch, direct hit' sort of face.

"Except that one," he clarified. Maya laughed. Emma and Eliza did, too.

"And this is my boyfriend, Lucas," Maya turned back to make the introductions, and Lucas stretched over to shake the man's hand. "Is Abigail…"

"No, uh, she had to take Wyatt into the dentist's for an emergency, she asked if I'd come and get you." Off her look, Sam jumped in to explain.

"Mom told him to go and pick up his toys from the attic, he tripped on the steps and knocked out two of his teeth."

"Oh, no," Maya winced, though she couldn't help but chuckle just a bit. "Is he okay?"

"He was wailing, and there was blood," Sam told her. "She screamed when she saw him," he nodded to Eliza, who shuddered at the thought. "He asked us to keep his teeth for the tooth fairy before they left, he's fine."

They left the airport, the seven of them together, though there would be eight of them by the time they reached Abigail's house, as they picked up Teddy Lane from his soccer practice. The thirteen-year-old was much more open to the presence of strangers than his little sister. All they had to do was ask how his practice went and he was off, keeping them stocked in stories until they reached their destination.

"We need your help upstairs," Eliza instantly told Lucas as they walked through the door. He barely had time to say 'okay' that he was being pulled up and along by the two nine-year-olds. When they called his name, Teddy followed, too. James went off to call Abigail, to check on Wyatt, which left Maya alone with Cara. She'd been hoping for a chance, for the two of them to have a chat, and here they had one, so she turned to her and said she would take hers and Lucas' things up to the attic. Cara followed. Passing the girls' room, with the closed door, they could hear Eliza and Emma laughing.

"That's where he fell," she pointed, when the attic door was opened. If there had been any trace of the incident, the only one that remained was the presence of a discarded tissue dotted in red. Though they had been able to laugh it off, she did feel bad for her little brother and what had happened up here.

"So…" Maya plopped down on her bed, tapping the space next to her. Cara dropped in with a smile. "How's it been the last couple weeks?" They had talked since that day when Maya had said she'd come for a visit, but Cara had not brought up James and her mom once. Her little sister knew that she had a lot on her plate with the end of her last semester, and Maya suspected she'd tried not to heap anything else on top. She would get to talk in person anyway.

"Okay, I guess," Cara shrugged.

"Oh?" Maya asked.

"Not because of James or anything," her sister quickly clarified. "Just school stuff, no big deal, I swear," Cara told her, offering both her pinkies, her way of saying 'double swear.' Maya smiled, linking her pinkies with her sister's.

"Fine, alright, I trust you."

"I want to know about tomorrow," Cara gave her that conspiratorial smirk that lit up their shared Hart features. Maya chuckled, capturing her into a hug that tipped them back into a pile of giggles.

The rest of the day had consisted for the most part of Maya coddling the miserable Wyatt once he'd come home, while Lucas was kept occupied by Eliza and Emma, as there were bookshelves to assemble. Eliza had wanted him specifically to be the one to do it, and she wanted to help. At the end of the night, Wyatt had gone to bunk with his mother, leaving Maya and Lucas to have the attic to themselves.

"Hey, come here," Maya waved for Lucas to join her as she climbed into bed. He gave her a curious look as he sat and turned to her.

"Need anything?" he asked, leaning in. "I'm feeling helpful." She stalled him, looking at her phone.

"Hang on, almost," she told him.

"Almost what?" he frowned, trying to move around her hand and failing. She showed him the screen. The time was 11:59. "Oh…" he slowly nodded. "You know, I was actually born at 2:21 in the afternoon, so technically…"

"Shh, don't bring technicalities into this," she shook her head.

"Sorry," he smiled, just before the numbers turned to 12:00 and the date adjusted. It was now Sunday, his twenty-fourth birthday. "Do I look different now?"

"You know, I'd tell you, but there are children in this house and they have a way of just popping in at random," she whispered.

"But it's my birthday," he 'complained,' making her laugh.

"And happy birthday to you," she kissed him, getting lost in the moment for a little while before she remembered what she'd been trying to do. "Right, well," she breathed, tripping up in a small laugh he echoed. "Kind of lost track there for a minute," she told him, running a hand through her hair. "You're very… distracting."

"You're not exactly the poster child for keeping me focused," he stole another quick kiss, making her flush and want to return the favor… and then some…

"Birthday!" she blurted out, reminding herself, scrambling to reach for her bag on the ground. She came back up and reached inside before revealing… "Ta-da!"

She held a small box, wrapped in colorful paper. When Lucas saw it, he froze up for a beat. The size of the box, maybe because he had a box about that size hidden somewhere back home, made him wonder if maybe he'd been waiting too long, if she'd decided to get on with it herself. She would be just the person to take matters into her own hands. Eight days… seven now, technically… he was so close…

Lucas unwrapped the box, opened the box… and tried not to look like he was about to breathe out in relief. It wasn't what he'd thought.

"I saw it in a window a few months ago, I had to," she laughed.

"I love it," he nodded. "Thank you."

"Happy birthday," she told him once more, closing the box to protect his gift and setting it on the night stand, paper and all, before turning back to her.

"I told you this was where I needed to be today," he settled in, bringing his little spoon into his arms.

"Yeah, well…" she laughed, reaching to set her phone aside before pausing.

"Well?" Lucas asked after a few seconds of silence.

"It's nothing, just a voicemail. It can wait to morning."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners