February 2nd 2021

Chapter 33
Our Cheers For Generations

By the time they left for the second half of their day, out at the elder Friars' house, their plans had already been altered to some degree, where Christmas Day itself was concerned. They had no way of factoring Charlie's presence – her and her family – but they were here now, for a few days, so how could they not try and maximize the opportunity? They hadn't worked out what it would look like, but the Olsens were definitely coming over the following morning.

In the meantime, they still had the rest of the eve to attend to. The afternoon and evening were to be populated by those they would come to expect. Lucas' parents, his grandparents, and then the Cassidys and the Hillards, and the Sullivan-Reyes family to round up the group.

"Why do I feel like I won't get to have her back for a second as soon as she leaves my arms out there?" Maya asked as they pulled up to the house. Lucas couldn't even argue with that logic here, knowing she likely had a point, based on their morning at her parents' house. It wasn't like they weren't used to it by now, or like they required ceaseless contact, but still.

"Well, you'll definitely get her back when she needs to eat, so, you know, don't forget me," he 'pleaded,' getting a snort from her.

"Your appointment for daddy-daughter time is locked in, sir," she promised.

If nothing else, Lucas would get to start the afternoon with his girl, as he carried Marianne from her seat and up to the house, bundled up and still sleeping from the ride. Maya signaled this part to Melinda when she opened the door and looked ready to greet them with energy. She went silent and nodded at once, smiling on as she at least greeted Maya with a great hug, following this on with Lucas as best she could while minding her granddaughter in his arms. She lightly touched the hood over Marianne's head and peered in at her before leading them into the house.

"Tom, the dog," she tried to project her whisper to her husband, indicating the baby. Thomas raised his hand to show he was on it before moving to get the dog in the basement.

As predicted, Marianne soon found herself moved from one set of arms to another, each trip bringing her to another person who just looked so eager to interact with her that it was impossible to deny them. The very first of them to get to her, which might have been predictable, beyond the grandparents, were some of the younger ones among them. In this case, the youngest of Lucas' cousins in attendance, eight-year-old Lydia Sullivan-Reyes, the youngest of Melinda's brother's girls. She had not lost her 'hypnoteyes' powers in the last four years since 'Papa' Keith Reyes had dubbed her so.

About as soon as she sat down and was handed Marianne, her sisters came huddling on either side of her, so they could have a look, too. With fourteen-year-old Lea here and eleven-year-old Lara there, the baby girl did not lack for smiling faces overhead, and she looked sufficiently curious to keep the sisters cranking out funny faces and pleasing sounds. When this became too much and she started to cry, she quickly found her way into the arms of Michael Sullivan.

"Hey now, what's the matter, Miss?" he spoke with the deft touch of a father of three who had calmed plenty of crying girls. "Miss Marianne, now, now… That was my mama's name, too, you know?" he smiled, never looking so like his older sister as he did now.

He had been as touched as Melinda, when he'd learned of his nephew's intentions to name his baby girl after his mother. The way he told it, with each adoption expanding his and Keith's household, there had been a part of him that considered naming the new baby after her, but every time… he couldn't do it. To be sure, he had been close to his mother, so very close, enough that it would have felt natural for him to do it, but he couldn't, like… it would have been too close to him. Here, now, his nephew's girl… It was the right place.

The next to step in and request to hold the baby was Joseph Hillard. The recently wed young man, with his four younger siblings and plenty of cousins, knew his way around holding a tiny babe like her, and he showed it here. The way Maya and Lucas could both see his parents looking at him, they guessed Hank and Tanya were wondering if Joseph and Leigh had started discussing children, or if he just wanted to hold his cousin's little girl and allow her to grip at his finger as he did now. Like the girls before, he was joined by his siblings, in this case Henry and Maggie. They were the only three of the Hillard kids here today. Sarah and Evie had not managed to make it home for Christmas this year.

It had been great to have the rest of the Hillards out here, the youngest two and their parents. They had just become part of their world back in Houston, and then once they'd moved back to Austin after college, it had just gotten to be that they didn't see each other as often as they once did. But now they were here, too, since August, and it had felt really good, especially once Marianne was born. Tanya had that caring ease about her which came hand in hand with being so nurturing to all living creatures, be they humans or animals.

"I remember Joseph's first Christmas like it was yesterday," Hank chuckled, shaking his head with a smile as he held Marianne. Hearing him say so, Tanya made a noise like she did, too, and maybe not for the cheerful reason they might think.

"We had a break-in," she revealed, a piece of information which had evidently not made it into discussion in the years since the family had reconnected with everyone else in the room, or even with their children.

"Came back from taking him to the mall, couple days after Christmas," Hank recalled. "Door was busted, living room was a mess, tree was on the ground, only managed to save a couple of those ornaments, you'll know the ones," he tipped his head to his stunned children, who all nodded back. "All we cared about was that we weren't home and that no one got hurt."

"Did they take a lot?" Thomas asked his cousin.

"Some, yeah. We could have gotten over most, but they took my camera," Hank sighed, brushing at Marianne's hair. "All the pictures from that first Christmas with him," he indicated his eldest. Joseph now looked like a long standing question had been answered.

"Every year after that, didn't matter how long after, we made sure we had copies out there somewhere," Tanya nodded to herself, and the way she turned to Maya and Lucas now, giving them a reassuring look, she had rightly guessed that this notion would only make the new parents worry.

As long as they had known the woman by now, it still did something for Maya and Lucas both to watch Patty Robinson with their daughter. To see her go from her professor to his grandmother over time, there had never been a moment when they could imagine their life without her in it anymore, in one capacity or the other. Now, here she was, with a great granddaughter gained through her marriage to Pappy Joe, yes, though you wouldn't have known it from looking at the woman and the baby together. Even to see her with Thomas… There would never be anyone to replace his own mother, Susannah, but he had most certainly taken Patty on as the kind of stepmother where the 'step' only became vocalized for clarification if it really had to be, and it was really something wonderful to see, especially for Pappy Joe.

"I swear, this little girl is looking at me like she demands I suit up again for her," he laughed jovially when he found himself with Marianne. The way she'd stretch her fingers up toward his face, her parents were maybe more of a mind that she had designs on tugging his beard someday. "I guess I could be convinced, under the right circumstances," he held her balled-up hand in his, kissed the little fingers. After Lucas snapped a picture of the scene, imagining it really would not be long at all before the suit did make a comeback, two years tops, he thought about Hank and Tanya's story again, sent the photo to Maya. She looked back at him with a thankful smile.

Of the many familial 'love stories' with Marianne Friar, they could not pick one out above the rest, because they were all special in their own ways. They could think of Sam, out in Tucson, and how he had kept up with his Skype calls, as promised, the better to share these days with his niece, if from a distance. There were Marianne's godparents – and associated spouses – who would each one treat her as their own in a heartbeat. Then the great grandparents, so many more of them than either of them ever had for themselves to grow with, who all looked to the baby like the realization, the breadth of their family line, their tree.

And her grandparents, oh… Neither Maya nor Lucas would get to know what it felt like to watch their own child become a parent, not for many years, but they could imagine it, and seeing their own parents go through that, they could practically read it coming off of them. There were no words, only overwhelming feelings, right there in their eyes.

Lucas had a special appreciation for watching his father with her. Sure, he'd give in to the whole funny faces/soothing tones game from time to time, but what Lucas preferred were the quiet moments. He'd catch his father, just as he did that day, simply sitting on the couch, Marianne cradled in his arm… He wouldn't say a word, he'd just watch her, like he could barely believe that she was real. He knew that look, had seen it in pictures of his father and him when he'd been a baby. His mother had once described it like 'love telepathy,' and Lucas could really see it. He didn't need to do a thing at all. He'd hold her, and whether she could comprehend it or not, Marianne would know that she was safe, and she was loved, and she would find no cause for fussing at all.

When she was with his mother, now… Melinda Friar had been ready to be a grandmother since before she'd had a daughter-in-law, no doubt, and it was easy to imagine that she'd be all over the place, that she would take all the space when it came to her one and only granddaughter. Instead, Marianne seemed to have the power in her to summon her grandmother's calmer nature. Was it that she'd been right there, holding Maya's hand through the delivery? Was it that she was her only child's firstborn? Was it that she shared her beloved mother's name? Probably, it was all three, but what it came down to was that, outside of himself and Maya, of course, he predicted his daughter's closest bond would be with her Granny Mel. He felt it, every time he saw them together, like they shared a soul, those two. Was it possible to know when Marianne was still so young? He didn't see why not. Anyone who disagreed, well… they clearly had never seen them together.

"Hey, Dad man," he heard the whisper and smiled, turning to see as Maya returned after retreating upstairs to feed the baby. "Better clock in while you can, the sharks are hungry for that sweet, sweet baby time," she nodded off toward the living room, where the kids were debating about what movie to put on next. They'd been keeping them on in the background all afternoon.

"Let's see them try and cut in line," Lucas smirked, lifting Marianne from her arms into his own. "You and me, kid, let's go tell them about the best Christmas movie ever."

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners