February 16th 2021

Chapter 47
Our Family With Hands

Even as he was helping the kids settle into the minivan, loading all their bags in the back, Lucas heard his phone ring and knew, somehow, who it would be. Even without being told directly, it felt as though his parents had a sixth sense when it came to awareness that he was not at home, and that he could be talked into running an errand or two between this time and his return. Sometimes this would involve him picking up something at a store, other times at his parents' home. He never really minded. He was always happy to go and see his family. Of course, at this moment, with a minivan loaded with six kids…

"Hey, Dad…" he answered the call, finding it came from his father's phone.

"Listen, feel free to say no, you're having the sleepover with the kids tonight, aren't you?" Thomas quietly asked, like he didn't want to be heard.

"I just picked up the Hillards and the Hunters," Lucas confirmed. "What do you…"

"Right, no, I figured as much. Please, it's fine, it can wait," his father told him.

"She bought clothes for the baby again, didn't she?" Lucas guessed anyway.

His father had long positioned himself somewhere about 'traffic controller' between his wife and son. He knew, just as Lucas did, the way Melinda could talk herself into something being so important and needing to happen a certain way at a certain time. So then, it would generally be up to him to decide if that was really the case and how to redirect these assumptions if that was not so. Of course, now with Marianne in the picture, Granny Mel was even more imbued with that special bit of urgency.

"You know how it is, it was so cute, and it would match her eyes, and with her… complexion, and… she's growing, and if she doesn't need it, maybe the next one will…" Thomas rattled through the reasons he had probably heard a few times a piece. Lucas had to laugh. His father sounded at once so exasperated and also deeply amused with the woman he loved.

"In her defense, they all do look great on her… or I'm sure they will, once she actually gets big enough to fit them." Melinda had been the provider of Marianne's winter gear, and seeing the tiny girl in that coat, with the ears on the hood… It was impossible to say anything but thank you. The underlying story, as they'd learned from Thomas, was that he'd just barely prevented her from buying other coats that would have kept her ready for the cold until she was easily five or six years old.

"Look, you can come and have a look on Monday. Or I can bring them out to the house anytime," he told Lucas now.

"You could, but we both know that this is as much about the clothes as it is about seeing me." The reply couldn't be denied, and he heard his father chuckle over it. "I can make a quick stop over, it's no problem," Lucas told him, looking back to the kids sitting in the minivan. There was no way this wouldn't lead to his mother wanting them all to come into the house and introducing some snack or another into eager hands. Thinking of the twins especially, still coming down from whatever had happened at school earlier… This might actually have been good for them, ahead of reaching the house.

Lucas: Going to run late returning. Have to stop and see my parents on the way.

Maya: She knows we only have one kid to dress, right?

Lucas: Comes and goes.

Maya: We just got back from the airport. Desi will be here soon.

Lucas: Making this as quick of a stop as I can, promise.

Maya: I know you will.

Maya: Wouldn't say no to some of those cookies.

When the kids were told about the unexpected detour, they all took it remarkably well, but then Lucas suspected they were looking forward to those treats as much as Maya was.

So, off to the elder Friars' home they went, the minivan full of loud and energized conversation and giving off the vibe of a school bus. To some it might have felt like chaos, and much too much of it to be bearable, but Lucas was not of that mind, no. He was happy to hear all those little voices bouncing off of each other with excitement for whatever this weekend would bring them. The Hillards being included for the first time was of particular interest, and the other kids wasted no time in sharing stories of past sleepovers, whether they were on the girls' side of things or the boys'.

It was probably a good thing he didn't have Marianne with him, or else this quick stop over might have lasted much longer than it needed to, with the carload of kids expected as they were back at the house. Either way, they reached the house, and manners demanded that everyone go in with him rather than wait in their seats while he went to get the bag of new clothes. The short ride from the Hunter Hart house had not been so short as to prevent Melinda Friar from setting out cookies and cups to receive whichever of milk or juice her guests would wish to drink.

"Are you excited for this weekend?" Melinda greeted the pack of kids like a woman who'd been touched with the grandmother magic once and aspired to have so much more of it. She really thrived in this space though, and it couldn't be denied. Just leading Nellie and Gracie Hunter toward the table, it seemed like she picked up on this dark cloud which had yet to completely detach and float away, and her attention toward them became that much more protective.

"So, what are we looking at?" Lucas quietly asked his father.

"Well, I don't think you've got a whole spring collection in there, but I don't see you needing to buy her anything to wear until summer," Thomas surmised, and Lucas let out a breath. "I don't think she'd be so offended if you passed some of these to other parents," he went on. "What about Riley and Dylan? I'm sure they could use some of those. Season might be off, but some of it can be good for them. If they have a girl, too…"

"Yeah, I could do that," Lucas moved to where he'd spotted the bag on the couch. It was either this or risk his father reading too much on his face. He wasn't even supposed to know what his friends' baby was yet, but he'd happened to overhear something the last time they were all together, and now he had sworn himself to secrecy. Alright, he'd told Maya, but only because she had seen right through him and he didn't feel like playing that whole game. The giddiness on her face had been priceless enough to be worth the confession.

A quick inspection of the bag told him that his mother had undoubtedly gone somewhere in that sweet spot that could not be called 'overboard,' no, but whether it could be called reasonable… They were definitely going to be exploring this option of redistribution, if only for Maya to get to go and acquire some things for Marianne herself, which she loved to do. Maybe they could leave some of these here, like the toys and the books. Having some spares around couldn't be a bad idea, right? Lucas and Maya both would find it hard not to joke about the fact that his old room here was bordering on a complete rebranding, where Marianne might have called it her room, at her grandparents' house. There was a crib, a changing table, the extra toys and books, soon some clothes… Maya would suggest how any day now they'd find that the bed his parents had put in here for them years ago had disappeared, to make space for more of their daughter's things, whenever she might be sleeping over at her grandparents' house.

"I'll look these over with Maya," Lucas told his father before moving back toward the kitchen. The kids were sitting around the table still, enjoying their snacks. As much as Melinda could love to treat them, she was also very mindful of the need not to spoil dinner, so the whole thing was very reasonable. For the six sitting around the table, it really felt like a prelude to the weekend, and they were all enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, their hostess appeared to be packing away some of the cookies, a care package for Maya and the rest of the household, given over without need of request. "Thank you for the clothes, Mom," he went to tell her, leaning to kiss her cheek, which made her smile. Every now and then he would become aware of how, as tall as she'd always been, he actually outpaced her now, just enough for it to be noticeable.

"I really shouldn't go into that store, it never ends any other way," Melinda sighed, punctuating this with the shutting of the cookie tin which she now presented him. "But I had this thought about how you all would be having this sleepover, and how it would be sweet if Marianne had some brand new pyjamas for the occasion, and then there was just no turning back, was there?"

"No, I can't imagine there was," Lucas beamed. Of course, she would have thought of this. "I'll ask Maya to send pictures when she has her in it tonight."

"Good," Melinda smiled. "Now, what's got those two all out of sorts?" she whispered, nodding to the table. He didn't have to look to see who she meant.

"Not completely sure yet," he told her. It could have felt like he was sharing something he wasn't meant to share, but then he knew so little as it was, so he wasn't speaking anything out of confidence, was he? "They got into an argument at school, got sent to the principal's office. I almost didn't get to bring them to the house this weekend, but I got them to open up a bit back there. I'm hoping Maya is able to help them out."

His mother looked at him with that smile which just said how, despite this being such a simple and obvious gesture, she was proud of him for it. After a beat, maybe as her bid toward bridging that gap between the Hunter twins, she went into the refrigerator and pulled out a pie which had clearly been made that very day, the better to be consumed by her and Thomas and any guests which might materialize over the next few days. She set about and packed it to go, adding it to the cookie tin.

"Don't tell your father," she winked and smiled. Lucas laughed, embracing his mother. Moments like these, oh, how he loved her so very much.

With the clothes, the cookies, and the pie, Lucas led the Hillard and Hunter kids back into the minivan, the better to continue on toward the house on the lane. The pie was entrusted to the lap of Henry Hillard, sitting in the front with his cousin. The way he held to the box, Lucas could only smirk. The boy was on a mission: the pie would arrive safely if it was the last thing he did. Meanwhile, when they stopped at a red light, he could see through the rear view mirror how the twins were inspecting the clothes from the bag, smiling at all the cute things for their niece to try on. They found the pyjamas, and they agreed that she would need to put those on tonight. It was impossible for them to completely hide the thoughts going through their minds, regarding what had happened at school earlier, but after the tumble back in their room, and the ride, and the break for cookies, and now this… There was hope aplenty that things could change for the better.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners