February 28th 2020

Chapter 59
Their Contract on the Night

When the whole Sleepster plan had started to come together, Lucas had foreseen his part in the event even before Maya ever did. Still, he waited until she got there by herself: What about the boys? Sure, the whole thing was meant to be a get together for the various clusters of Maya and her sisters, but were they honestly going to have Cara, Eliza, and Emma flown out, and then leave Wyatt and Teddy back in Tucson, or MJ at home to miss out on some fun? Absolutely not. So when Maya had finally gasped, and stopped, and turned to him asking…

"What about the boys?"

… his answer had been ready and soon dispensed.

"I'll take them."

With the girls having dominion on the house, both Lucas and Sam were left to lock down a venue of sorts, for them to go and take Maya's other brothers. He could have taken them to his parents, knowing they would have been most welcome, by his mother especially, but then he'd had an idea. It was a bit out there, all things considered, but they had all gotten to a point where they could feel confident in asking.

He had reached out to Sophie, back in Houston, casually floating the idea and asking if she believed her mother would be willing to have Sam, Wyatt, Teddy, MJ, and him over at the house. The place was the closest thing to a hotel they could ask for, with the pool, and the mini theater, and the grounds out back…

"She's out of the country at the moment, won't be back until May, so the house is close," Sophie told him, momentarily deflating his plans. "But I can get it open for you."

The boys had moved from Sparkles the minivan – their ride from the airport – on to Lucas' car, and off they'd gone toward the Zvolensky house. As they got nearer, and the houses only started getting more impressive, Lucas could see the boys grow a bit more saucer-eyed, which inevitably amused him.

"This is where Sophie grew up?" Sam asked, blinking. He knew her pretty well by now, but clearly he had no idea she came from this.

"We're staying here?" Teddy was in disbelief.

"Yes, she did, and yes, we are. Everyone's going to be careful, right?" Lucas asked the passengers, receiving a resounding promise for best behavior.

They were received by the woman who looked after the place while Mrs. Zvolensky was away. At first glance, she'd seemed like one of those strict people who didn't like children because they were sticky and loud. But as she led them into the house and up to the guest rooms designated for them, they came around to the belief that while her exterior came off as cold stone, her interior was nothing but gooey caramel. It dawned on Lucas now that this must have been Mrs. Carlton, who had been hired on, years ago, after Sophie's father had passed away, to help look after the traumatized girl, while her equally traumatized mother attempted to cope and recover from the loss.

"Right this way now, gentlemen, right this way," she led them along, having taken the little ones by the hand, MJ on one side and Wyatt on the other.

"What's your name?" MJ asked her as they climbed the stairs.

"You may call me Angela," Mrs. Carlton informed him. MJ's eyes went wide.

"You're an angel?" he whispered, and the stone melted just so, into a smile.

"Maybe I am. Now let's keep that between us, shall we?" she spoke in a half whisper. MJ nodded quietly.

The boys were led to their rooms. Lucas had one, which he would share with MJ. Teddy had one of his own. Sam, to no one's surprise, shared his with his younger brother, Wyatt.

"I want to go swim in the pool!" the youngest Hart pleaded, dashing into Lucas and MJ's room with his trunks in hand. "Sam says there's a pool, can we go?"

Minutes later, the boys climbed down the stairs, ready for a bit of swimming. They passed Mrs. Carlton, who sat in the library, reading a book, and carried on down into the basement, where the interior pool had been prepared for them as well. Before they'd come down, as the little boys were changing out of their clothes and into their swimsuits, Lucas had pulled Sam and Teddy aside, so the three of them might devise a course of action. They would ensure that both MJ and Wyatt would always have someone near them, so no one was harmed in any way. It would be a sort of rotating lifeguard service which would also allow the three of them freedom to swim around every now and then.

"Alright, you ready?" Lucas looked up to where MJ Hunter stood near the edge of the pool, in his floaties, looking very much like he was reconsidering his previous desire to go for a jump. He looked to Lucas now with those wide eyes and he did not look ready at all.

"Uh-huh…"

"You sure? You don't have to if you don't want to," Lucas promised.

"MJ, come on!" Wyatt called out, presently splashing up a storm as he paddled his way around, while both Sam and Teddy tried to dodge the spray.

"Only if you want to, okay, Matty?" Lucas reasserted this, not wanting him to be pushed into anything, even if, in all likelihood, he would be fine once he did it for the first time.

MJ looked at him again, thought long and hard. Finally, he walked around to the corner with the steps leading into the water, where he climbed down, holding to the rail, before swimming over to Lucas, who caught him with a smile.

"Don't want to jump anymore," the boy declared.

"That's fine," Lucas nodded. "You're a pretty good swimmer, you know that?"

"I know," MJ nodded confidently, making his big brother laugh.

When the boys had had their fill of the water – or in all likelihood, when they were so hungry for a snack that they decided they were done swimming for now – they returned upstairs. Having predicted the need, Mrs. Carlton had set them up with something to eat. The boys dropped on this at once, and Lucas spent several minutes ensuring that Wyatt Hart and MJ Hunter weren't about to stuff their faces into oblivion.

While this was all going on, he could sort of see the way Teddy and Sam were talking in vaguely hushed tones in their corner of the kitchen table. It looked to Lucas as though Teddy was relaying something on to Sam, who received the information with some surprise.

"Everything alright?" he went over to talk with them, once the little boys seemed to have gotten a handle on things. The older boys turned to him, then to each other, like they were debating whether or not to tell him anything.

"I overheard my dad talking on the phone, while I was packing to come here," Teddy told Lucas. "I think they're waiting until they come down here the day after tomorrow to take us home, to tell us when we're all together."

"Tell you what?" Lucas automatically asked.

"They're engaged. My mom and Mr. Lane," Sam revealed. Lucas was surprised, and it showed on his face at once.

"Wow, I mean…" he looked from one boy to the other. He was almost sure that they'd be okay with this. They mutually got along with the parent that wasn't theirs, same with the other kids who would become their siblings in a more official capacity… But there was still the matter of those parents they had lost, Sam's father, Teddy's mother… Would the marriage feel like too much all of a sudden?

"Relax, this is a good thing," Sam tapped his arm like he'd sensed the uncertainty.

"Yeah, yes, absolutely," Lucas nodded.

"Dude, you looked like you couldn't breathe," Teddy chuckled.

"I'm guessing no one else knows yet? The girls?"

"No," Teddy confirmed. "I wanted to tell Sam first, now we're not sure if we should tell the others or let them be surprised."

"Right," Lucas replied. He could see why it would be a tough call to make. Did they feel like they needed to prepare the other kids, in case they didn't react so well? Did they want to preserve the surprise and let Abigail and James tell their news with as little foreknowledge as possible? "And you're sure none of the others know either?"

"Emma doesn't know, I'm sure," Teddy scratched at his neck, his way of saying that the Hart kids may have overheard something, too, but if they did then they didn't say anything to him.

"We thought maybe if we told Maya, she could tell if they know, but if we say it then she'll probably think we're worried or we don't want it," Sam followed.

"Yeah, I can see that," Lucas agreed. "So maybe I should do it," he offered after a moment. "If that's okay with you guys."

Lucas: Need to ask you something real quick.

"You're not plotting to pull off any pranks today, are you, Huckleberry?" Maya asked when he answered her call. He smiled.

"Well I wasn't going to, until you mentioned it."

"Assuming that's not the real reason you called, what's up? Everything okay at Casa Z?"

"Oh, yeah, it's snacks and cannonballs over here. Not in that order, I swear," he replied. "But, hey, are you with the girls now?"

"Sort of. They're all sitting around the laptop right now, looking at bridesmaids' dresses, so I stepped back a bit to call you. Do you need me to get out of earshot, what's going on?" The longer he would be vague about this, the more opportunities he would be opening for her to let her mind wander, and now all he could think about was 'What if she doesn't take it well?' He had no choice though, and the sooner it was out there…

"I overheard Sam talking with Teddy, who overheard his dad talking about how he and Abigail were possibly going to announce their engagement when they come to get the kids this Sunday." It was the closest thing to the absolute truth he could say while keeping his word to the boys at the same time.

Maya didn't respond right away, which he guessed was to be expected, upon hearing the news. Lucas turned his head, finding Sam and Teddy 'casually' spying from nearby.

"Don't just stand there, go see what the little ones are doing," he signed to Sam, who tapped Teddy's arm and led him off to find MJ and Wyatt. The last thing they needed was for them to make a mess here.

"I kind of figured that was where they were headed, it's still… wow," Maya finally replied.

"Look, I have no idea if any of the girls are aware right now either, I just figured maybe a heads up could be useful," Lucas told her.

"Good call," she agreed. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Sure," he told her, trying not to sound like he wanted to know if she was okay.

"I can feel your brow creasing from here," she warned, making him chuckle. "Go have fun already, Huckleberry. I got this."

"Figured you would," he smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Missing you tonight, Big Spoon."

"Same to you, Little Spoon."

Returning to the kitchen, Lucas came upon the four boys, all of them to be his brothers in law in a matter of months, all crowded at the windows to look at the grounds beyond. They all wanted to go out and play. Seeing as they had just been eating and he did not look forward to any incidents having to be cleaned up by Mrs. Carlton, Lucas first directed them all to go and get dressed for outdoors, as they were all still in post-swimming towels and robes. Off they went, these brothers of his, while he consulted Mrs. Carlton on ideas for 'digestive activities.'

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners