Chapter 97
Matters of the Heart

There was one pack of these paint brushes in the store, she was sure of it. And because past experiences had taught her that this could happen with the way the display was set up, Maya went ahead and carefully pulled it back, careful not to send the rest falling and spilling all over the floor. Reaching with her ringless hand, to be on the safe side, she felt at the space and…

"Got something…" she mumbled. She pulled back what she'd found and smiled in satisfaction. "Here we are," she breathed and turned to the woman behind her. "There you go, perfect condition, maybe a little dusty…"

"That's alright, thank you very much," the woman laughed jovially, dusting off the pack before dropping it into the basket on her arm.

"Can I help you with anything else?" Maya asked her.

"No, that should do it, thanks again," the woman told her, and they parted ways. She went on toward the registers, while Maya confirmed that there was nothing else behind the display before she pushed it back where it belonged. Dusting her hands off on her apron, she resumed her stroll around the store, keeping an eye open for any other potential customers in need of her assistance.

She'd been working here for almost two weeks now, and it really felt like a dream. She'd always loved being at the art store, for obvious reasons, and now she got to be someone here who helped make it that kind of place for other people. Did she feel the tiniest bit overloaded with sudden inspiration for projects of her own? Oh, absolutely, yes. But she wasn't so taken over as to have no control, even if she now had an employee discount beckoning her.

She could still smile at the memory of Lucas coming home, a few days after she'd expressed her need for him to tell her of any openings at the bookstore, with the news that the art store was hiring. The sentiment was very clear in his face right then: it would be perfect for you, and you need to jump on the chance. Both of these were very true, and so she'd put in her application the very next morning. Within a week, she'd been hired. They knew her already as a regular, which established her familiarity with their products as much as it cut through getting them to see her as a valuable asset. From there, the training was minimal, more about showing her how they did things than anything else.

Like Lucas, she would work a few evenings and a lot of the weekends. This forced her into a very structured schedule, putting a lot of emphasis toward getting her schoolwork done between classes, the better to ensure she still had some free time left to devote to the boys, be they husband or son, as well as her extended family and friends. Most of them could be very understanding of the situation and pardon her unavailability, yes, but the same could not be said for Elliott or Noah, and so they needed to be given priority. They'd always known it would have to come to this, once she was not just at home with them all the time anymore. School and work were going to come and eat away at the time she got to be with them, whether they liked it or not.

Maybe it was just her imagination, an extension of her own feelings, but it seemed to Maya like they would hold on to her that much tighter all of a sudden, like they were realizing that she wasn't around as much anymore and it worried them. Noah would go into a fit if she tried to put him down too soon after she picked him up, and Elliott, observant as ever, had learned a new word. Here. He would look at her and go 'mommy here,' with an inflection that did not sound at all like 'you, mother, come here' and a lot more like 'mother, you are here now,' with the twist of a question, a realization. So, was she really making it up in her head?

She couldn't let herself spiral into worry and distress over this all the time. It was normal, a necessity of life, that sooner or later she would have to go back into the world and work again. Add to it the fact that she was still finishing school, which was as much of a consequence of when they'd had the boys in the first place as the reality that they needed to provide for them with means that they had not acquired yet… What other choice did they have? Here they were, the two of them, her and Lucas, providing for themselves and for two growing boys. They had Pappy Joe, and he provided for himself plenty, insisted on pitching in no matter how much they resisted it. But when they added it all up… They were just a notch above barely getting by. They wouldn't say it, didn't want their parents to feel compelled to act, but they knew it.

Lucas was getting closer to being done with school, and once that was done, he'd get to work with his father, which should be a big push forward for them, while in her case… There was no guarantee she'd get a teaching job right away, and until that happened…

When the time came for her break, Maya ditched her apron and slipped out of the store with haste. It hadn't taken long at all for this situation, with her working at the art store and Lucas working in that same mall, over at the bookstore, to conjure up memories of early days between them. It called up memories of when they and their friends would have sleepovers at her house, and the girls would be staying up in her room while the boys would be down in the basement. They both had their camps, and for that, they had their bases, all the better to mount sneak attacks on the opposing side. This was a lot like that, but on a bigger playing field. He had his store, which spread over multiple levels of the mall, while hers was up on level two.

Walking into the bookstore from the level two entrance, Maya made her way to the rail looking down on the lobby and the registers. There he was, her husband in his sleeveless vest, ringing up a customer's purchases. They were at a not so busy period of the day, which was helpful where she was concerned, most of the time. Almost like he saw the time and knew she'd be there, he turned his head up for a moment. She smiled and held up her hand in greeting, while he only got so far as to react to her presence before another customer came up to him and he had to get back to work. This took longer than anticipated, enough so that Maya finally had to call it and start back for the art store before her break was over. She didn't mind it. She was more than satisfied with this opportunity to do a bit of husband spying.

Back at the art store, she slipped her apron on again, tied it at her back, and returned on to the floor. She never lacked means to keep her mind busy as she went along, whenever she wasn't with a customer. She could think about something from the past week in class, or anything that was coming up. She could think about Lucas and their boys, which she so often did, to the point of being all she ever thought about. She could consider a potential project, as inspired by the items she saw on shelves and tables around her.

Today, she thought about the next week or so, and how hectic it would be. Valentine's Day was coming up, a time made busy almost by one's own design, depending on whether you had someone in your life and you put any sort of stock in the holiday. Not everyone did, and that was more than fine. She absolutely did, and she wasn't the only one. Her cake business was experiencing what could only be described as a small boom, and it was all thanks to… well, Noah.

The previous Saturday, when she and Lucas had been sharing their lunch break together, she'd suggested as a joke that they should really bank on the nicknames and the look of him and dress their younger son up as Cupid. Wings, bow and love arrow, all of it… And maybe because they wanted to make the most of their time with him and Elliott, they'd done exactly that, thanks to some items picked up after they finished eating. They took the picture that very night, and they shared it to friends and family.

Somehow – and they had their suspicions exactly how – the picture got around, and it became connected to the fact that Maya made cakes, and then the calls and messages started coming in, until she now had six orders for Valentine's Day cakes lined up. Actually, she'd gotten more than the six requests, but that was really as many as she could see herself able to put out at this point in time, even with all those she had at her disposal to help.

Fitting in any time at all for the cake work, factoring in everything else that needed to be accounted for, was naturally tricky, but they made it work. She was at home, and for the most part it happened after the boys had gone to bed, so she wasn't cutting in on their time. It did mean walking a fine line with keeping her own appointed bed time, with her needing to go off to university in the mornings, but then she had people there to keep her honest. Lucas would assist her a lot of the times, which became something fun for the two of them together, but when the clock ran out for the day, he'd be like the host of a baking show. Step away from your station.

Those evening sessions would be just him and her, and sometimes Pappy Joe, because never would it be said that he didn't pitch in where he could. Then on the weekends, when she wasn't working, Maya would find herself hosting the remainder of her cake team. Cara and Eliza would come along, and Ariel and Daphne would join them, too. As she'd promised her young friend, when her return to school had meant a change in her schedule with Doctor Eisley, she'd been helping her learn, as she did with her little sisters. And in equal promise, when Ariel had extended an invitation to her new best friend, Daphne, to come and make some cakes with them, too, the other girl had jumped at the chance. Maya loved her evening sessions with Lucas and his grandfather, but she also loved getting to work with those four girls in her kitchen. Elliott and Noah would be around a lot of the time, too, mostly watching, with great curiosity. They had to be careful not to play too much of 'let's give them a little taste,' because that was absolutely a slippery slope they were not looking to tumble down.

Maya was headed down into one of those weekend sessions now. She only worked mornings on Saturdays, which was practical on the one hand, giving her this free time with the boys and others in her life, but she would have gladly worked the rest of the day, too, if it meant the extra pay. For now, she could only get on her way from the mall and do her pick-ups. She stopped at the Hart house and got her sisters, and then it was to the Su house, where she got Ariel and her friend, who'd been there since the night before. Ariel and Daphne had instituted weekly Friday night sleepovers from very early on in their friendship. They would alternate between the Su and Brett houses from week to week.

"Alright, ladies, we have a lot of work ahead of us, are we ready?" Maya intoned, cranking up the energy somewhere between drill sergeant and circus MC. It got a laugh out of everyone, and that was what counted. "No, but seriously, there are a lot of cakes to make," she added in her regular voice.

"We can come over to help more," Eliza offered, from the passenger seat.

"Oh, so you want to be a zombie at school all week?" Maya asked her, adding a bit of zombie pose without looking away or letting go of the wheel. It got a giggle out of her youngest helper. There would still be times when Maya would remember the quiet times and be so genuinely glad to hear Eliza's voice again. The feeling was shared by everyone who knew her and cared for her.

"We could stay at your house," Cara pitched in from the back. "Like we did before Mom and Dad got here from New York." Eliza nodded at once, showing enthusiasm for the idea. She remembered those times, even more so than Cara, as she and Wyatt had been there longer, back before the elder boy and girl joined the younger. Even now, she would bring up that period like it was her favorite, and Maya understood it more than she'd say. She'd loved having her siblings in the house like that, too.

"Wouldn't that just be like me putting you all to work?" Maya pointed out, nonetheless amused. "Pretty sure there are laws against that."

"We're just volunteering," Cara countered. "And it'd be like a sleepover, or just… family helping family." Eliza nodded her approval, while the others in the back laughed.

"You might see it like that, not sure about everyone else. Besides, it'll be fine, really. We can get a lot done, the five of us. It's all about breaking down the tasks and the time right, you'll see."

Back at the house, they found Pappy Joe and the boys, who greeted the arrival of Maya and the girls with great happiness. Pappy Joe was very amused by his grandson's wife and her pack of junior bakers, and as for Elliott and Noah, well… Their mother being back was a joy all by itself, but then to add their young aunts – who they both adored – and then Ariel and Daphne, too – who they were getting to know and appreciate a great deal… It'd be hard to put them down for their nap when the time came, going off their level of energy right here.

Once Maya came home, Pappy Joe would take off and head over to the Sanderson Farm, or to visit his son and daughter-in-law, or any of his friends out and about. He offered to stick around and help with the cakes, but Maya promised that they had things under control and he should go. So, off he went, as the rest of them convened in the kitchen. Elliott and Noah were settled where they could remain entertained but also away from anything which might lead to injury or floury disasters. Maya and the girls had something of a set-up routine, where they would clear the table, and the counters, and start taking out the equipment and other items they'd need. Everyone would get their aprons on, tie up their hair when needed, wash their hands… and then they could begin.

"Right," Maya pulled out her notebook, where she'd broken down all the orders – complete with sketches – to figure out what had to be made and in what preferable order.

As much as possible, if she could find an opportunity to show a new skill to the girls while they did something for an order, she would use it. She was not worried about the results. She'd somehow assembled herself a crew who were all something along the lines of perfectionists, and none of them would be hurt if, in seeing that they weren't able to do this thing or another, Maya would end up making the thing that actually went on the cake herself. They wouldn't want her using their attempt if it hurt the end result. Just because they didn't get it right that time didn't mean they wouldn't get it eventually, after practicing some more.

"Maya?" Eliza asked as the five of them worked around the table to create decorative items, either molding or cutting or sculpting.

"Yeah, Lizard?" Maya replied.

"Do you think Mom is going to have a new husband?" It came so out of nowhere that everyone stopped what they were doing almost at the exact same moment and looked at her. Her two older sisters especially were startled to hear this out of her. Cara looked to Maya like she didn't know what to make of it.

"Why do you want to know that now?" Maya kindly asked. The nine-year-old reflected on this, like she hadn't expected to receive another question instead of an answer to her own query.

"I think… she's lonely," she finally affirmed. "There's us, but it's not the same thing, is it?"

Maya breathed, doing her own bit of reflection. Kermit didn't hover about them like some specter, but his memory certainly did. He'd been gone… almost an entire year now, and it had been a complicated one for this, but whether they liked it or not, time was moving forward and so were they. Their grief didn't inhabit them exactly the same way it did before. It was there, but… the pain had softened, and it opened the way for them.

Abigail, now… It was easy not to see past what was right in front of them, this woman who was keeping her family together, keeping them thriving in the face of their loss. If she had to think about it though… Yeah, Maya could sort of see it, too. Her stepmother was giving so much of herself to her family, and the part that remained, as much as it could be given love and comfort from the rest of them in return, which it was… It needed more. The big question had more to do with whether or not she'd even let herself reach for it.

"My dad tried it, after my mom died," Daphne spoke up, while Maya was still considering her own response, and they turned to her now. "He went on a few dates, but it didn't work. He said that it wasn't the right time, and he needed to take care of me and my sister. I think he just missed my mom too much," she stated as she became very interested with her modelling chocolate.

"How long's it been now?" Maya asked her in all sympathy. It had taken a few encounters with the girl for her to discover that she'd lost her mother, and she'd never pressed on the subject.

"Three years, three and a half almost," Daphne looked back at her. "I was ten, Stevie was five. I think he thinks we don't want him to get married again."

"Do you?" Cara slowly asked.

"I didn't, at first. I sort of remember reacting badly when he had dates, maybe… that's why he stopped. But that was me, and it shouldn't be about me, right? I want my dad to be happy, whatever it means. Stevie might have a harder time."

"You should get them to go together," Ariel broke into what had been the silence of several seconds. Again, all the eyes appeared magnetized to a single source, this time being Ariel. "Wouldn't be too weird, would it? You have your mom, you have your dad," she looked to Cara and Eliza, then to Daphne. "They both have kids, so they won't get scared away by that, and well… they both lost someone, so… they'll get that, too." Maya could see on the girl's face how she'd just thought it would be a good idea for her friend, for all the reasons she'd given, but now that it was out there, a part of her worried that she might have overstepped.

"It… wouldn't be the worst idea," Maya conceded, bringing Ariel back from the brink. "But whatever does or doesn't happen, I would tell you to just… be careful. You can't force these things, especially in these circumstances," she told the four girls, and they all nodded to show their understanding.

They were looking at each other though. Cara, Eliza, Daphne… They were wondering. Could it happen? Should it happen? Left unattended, this could turn into something way out of their control. She'd never met Daphne's father, but if she felt the desire to keep Abigail's heart safe, then she had to do the same for this man, too.

"Alright, look…" Maya finally sighed. The solution was simple enough, and the fact that it came that fast said to her that it was the right one. "Your mom is coming to get you two," she looked to Cara and Eliza. They nodded. "And I'm supposed to drive you two back," she turned to Ariel and Daphne." Another nod. She let out a breath. "It's really too bad the car broke down. Guess one of your parents is going to have to come and get you here, huh?" Intrigued nods all around. Maya pointed her finger at each girl. "You do what I say."

She wouldn't say that the level of productivity they reached had anything to do with any kind of giddiness toward the encounter to come, but they definitely got much more done than she'd envisioned they would. Finally, Abigail came along to get her girls.

"Mom, come see what we did!" Eliza grabbed her hand and pulled her to the kitchen at once.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming, easy on the arm there," Abigail laughed, following as best she could.

Maya watched them go before turning her eyes to the top of the stairs, where she could just spot Ariel, Daphne, and Cara. Daphne held out her hand and spun her finger. Her father was on his way, but he wasn't here yet. Maya moved to where Eliza could see her and gave her the same gesture while her mother couldn't see. This time, it was a direction: stretch. The little lizard was all too happy to oblige, and no doubt her mother was still so happy to hear her talk and talk again that she would listen with ultimate patience.

Eliza Hart had been showing her mother the things she'd made for four minutes and some dust when the bell rang and Stephen Brett was let into the house.

"Daphne's dad, hello," Maya shook his hand.

"Daphne's friend's friend, how are you?" the man retorted, and she laughed. Alright, promising.

"Busy," Maya told him. "You know, school, work, kids… cakes…" she gestured toward the kitchen and he showed his own understanding.

"Eliza! Get up here to say goodbye to the boys!" Cara was heard calling from upstairs. A moment later, the little blonde came dashing out of the kitchen and toward the stairs.

"Coming!" she called back, paused when she saw the man. "Hello!" And she was gone again.

"My little sister," Maya chuckled and turned as Abigail came from the kitchen. "And my stepmother. Abigail Hart, Stephen Brett," she made the introductions while the pair met in a handshake and nod. Just one little nudge, just to set records straight. Besides, it's not a lie. "They had a good talk today," she shared, pointing upstairs to indicate the girls. "Daphne spoke about losing her mother, I think it helped Cara and Eliza, talking to someone closer to their age about losing a parent. I don't know, it might be something good for them to have access to?"

The two parents exchanged a look, a quiet recognition of their situations.

"Absolutely," Stephen nodded to them both, then back to Abigail, "If that's something you…"

"Yes, I… I would really appreciate it, thank you. When did you…"

"Almost three and a half years," he replied, the same brief echo coming from him as from his daughter. "And your husband?"

"A year in April," Abigail confided.

By the time the girls would come back down again, numbers had been exchanged. As they left, Maya breathed out. She'd done her part. Whatever would or wouldn't happen, the rest was up to them.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners