April 9th 2021

Chapter 99
Our Start For Faculty

Maya had always been an early riser, early starter, and anyone who knew her in any way would know that. It had been beneficial as far as being on time with school, or work, and never more than once she became a mother. It didn't help so much once the exhaustion of caring for a newborn kicked in, but it did help her find her rhythm in due time. And for all that, the morning of her return to work she woke up almost unnaturally early, even for herself. But Marianne was awake in her crib when Maya opened her eyes, she could hear her, and there was nothing else she could want or do except to go over there and pick her up.

"Hey, baby girl, hey…" she whispered as she lifted the ten-month-old babe into her arms. "Good morning… Getting an early start, huh? I get that," she pressed kisses to the side of her head. Her daughter clung to her now, and Maya was reminded how she'd be going away before long, leaving her here. Oh, she'd be in perfectly good hands, with Lucas and Granny Lizzie, but it didn't stop her from wishing those hands would be her own, too.

She stood with her by the window for a long while, looking at the sky change colors, feeling that little hand at her collar and listening to the sounds Marianne made as she breathed and remained peacefully settled against her. There were always these times, weren't there? Times where the love she felt for this girl every single day would suddenly feel that much more tangible in her. This was normal, this was good, and she would remind herself of it. It was the invisible tether between them, showing itself.

It was after standing at that window for over an hour, by the chance of circumstances, that she spotted a car coming up the lane and toward the house. Even from far away, she quickly recognized it for its owner, which left her frowning. What would either one of them be doing driving out here at this hour? Was something wrong? Was… She had to find out.

"Maya?" She turned to see that Lucas was just waking up. "Hey, good…"

"Hold on, I need to… Here, take her," Maya moved around the bed and deposited Marianne in her father's arms, a satisfactory arrangement for both of them, even as Lucas blinked and watched her go.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, maybe nothing," she went out of the room, down the stairs and toward the door, even as she could see someone walking to it, too, from the other side. She opened the door, but rather than come in, her visitor stalled on the porch. "Hey, what are you doing here this early? Are you okay? Riley? Nicky?"

"They're fine, they're home," Dylan brushed this off at once, though the mention of his wife and son did appear to return some consciousness into him, a change from the distracted look he'd had a moment ago. "I need to talk to you."

"Of course, yeah, come on," Maya waved him in. Finally, he advanced, and they went to sit in the living room, even as Lucas came down the stairs, Marianne in one arm. He looked just as confused to see his old friend at their house, at this hour. "Dylan…"

"I got a call, a few days ago, a job offer," he started. His whole posture felt wrong, so unlike him, so boxed in.

"As a gym teacher?" Maya asked, and he nodded. "Hey, that's great, that's…" The words felt as though they'd had the floor pulled out from under them and had since tumbled away all at once.

Last week, when she'd been at the school, dealing with some things in the run-up to the start of the new year, she had vaguely heard something that sounded like they'd found themselves with an unexpected position to fill. She'd been pulled along to do something else and she'd never considered it again. But now… Now she sat here with her friend, and all the pieces she was being shown felt impossible not to assemble, like all they needed was the slightest of pushes to snap together.

"Wait, you're not serious…"

"I'm not that big of a joker," Dylan pointed out, and the conflict on his face felt enormous.

"But… you… you applied for… No?" Maya didn't understand. He got a call, but how would they… Snap. "Damn it, Matthews," she closed her eyes.

It was one thing for a guy to want to look out for his son-in-law, for his daughter and grandson by extension, but he knew, didn't he? Didn't he? There was no way, if Cory Matthews knew that he was setting the pieces for a potential revelation… He would at the very least have spoken to Dylan, not just submitted him for consideration. He was tricky, but not like that…

"He meant well," Dylan spoke now, almost answering her unspoken questions. "And it's a great opportunity, I mean… it's our old school, and it's the job that I wanted to be doing, and you and I would get to work together… That's a really good thing," he spared a smile for her, and she returned one in kind. "But…"

But… his siblings. His half-sister, Phoebe, about to start her senior year. And his half-brother, Taylor, one of their debuting freshmen. Taking this job would mean putting himself directly in the path. He would be interacting with them, day in and day out, and if he did, well… There was just no way that, sooner or later, they wouldn't look at him and start to wonder why they all looked so much alike. And if that wasn't enough of a potential trigger, there was the fact that he would be their teacher, and his name would be tied to them. It would get back to their home, to their parents. One of them was his father's old friend, who'd gone and had an affair with his wife and taken her away. The other was the mother who'd borne them all into the world, who had left him and his brother to start her new family, almost right under their noses all these years. And once they knew, how would they respond?

"I don't know what to do…" Dylan told his friends, almost bursting with his helplessness. "I shouldn't take it, I…" he shook his head, near frantic.

"They're still waiting for your answer?" Lucas asked.

"Y-Yeah… Yeah, I have until the end of the week, but the sooner the better. Apparently, your other guy just up and quit, got another offer."

"Sounds like him," Maya rolled her eyes before getting back on track. "Hey… What about Riley? What does she think you should…"

"I didn't tell her," Dylan confessed. "I mean, I did, I told her I got an offer, just not… where. I asked her dad not to say anything until I made up my mind." So, the answer would be that Riley thought it was a great thing, and how could she not?

"Okay… Dylan, look at me," Maya asked, and he did as told. "All complications aside, you should take this job. It's like you said, it's the job you wanted, and to get to do it at our school, I mean… Let's be real, we could use someone like you, and the kids would be so lucky if they had you out there. So, that's just facts, and the rest of it doesn't change any of that, right?"

"Right," Dylan slowly nodded. His eyes showed very well that, turmoil or no, he heard her, and he was thankful for her. Maya breathed.

"It's going to have to come out, sooner or later. You know it as well as I do. I don't know that I put that much weight in signs, or fate, but if the last fifteen years have shown me anything, it's that around here, sometimes… Things happen, and it's not the way you thought they would, or could, but they happen anyway, especially when it comes to friends, and… love…" she pointed out, first tapping his hand, then looking over to where Lucas stood with their daughter, and back to Dylan again. "And family." He looked so concerned, and she understood that more than she wished she did. "I think this is your chance happening. I don't know how it's going to… unfold, not exactly, and I'm not saying that some of it won't come down rough. But you're not alone, okay? You won't be alone in this. And neither will they."

Dylan sat there for a few moments, silently considering her words. He was scared, and she didn't blame him. She was scared, too, from the position of the Munroe kids' teacher, the position she'd been put in, to look after their interests. She looked to this responsibility with the greatest of care, even before factoring in how much she'd come to know Phoebe over the past three years. So the idea of this bombshell being brought closer and closer to her, closer to breaking open…

And Dylan… He didn't know her the way she did, didn't know Taylor either, but it didn't matter. He was just that kind of person, and already knowing that they were his siblings, he was protective of them. It didn't matter how they'd come to exist, Phoebe especially, and it didn't matter that he didn't know either one of them beyond one or two incidental glimpses from afar. They were out there, and he was aware of this connection between them, and it was enough. He might have cared more than anyone about ensuring that they got on the other side of all this unharmed.

"You should talk to Riley again," Lucas told his friend. "Maybe Mr. Matthews, too. But the choice is yours." Maya nodded her agreement.

"Right… No, I will, I… Thanks…" Dylan stood from the couch. Maya followed. "I'm sorry about this, I just needed to…"

"Hey, please," Maya pulled him into a hug. "You never have to apologize. About any of this, do you hear me?"

"Thanks," Dylan hugged her back. He went and tapped Lucas' arm on his way out, took a moment to smile and submit himself to the prodding of Marianne's fingers, and then he headed back to his car and drove away.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Friar, huh?" Lucas turned back to his wife, who let out a heavy breath.

"This is going to be a nightmare," Maya told him now that Dylan was gone.

"It won't," Lucas shook his head. "It's like you said. We've got his back. And the same will go for Phoebe and Taylor." He passed her Marianne, and Maya gladly held the baby close again. "Come on, I was going to make breakfast, but why don't we go out to Ma Maggie's instead?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Maya hummed, brushing at Marianne's hair. They had to get dressed now, and they had to carry the diary boxes down and into the minivan. Despite this slight… detour… it was still the first day of class, and that meant that all those kids would be waiting on her, counting on her. She was done being on the sidelines, and all of a sudden it felt like her return could not have happened at a more pressing time.

By the time they were sitting at Ma Maggie's, having their breakfast, some of the stress had lifted away. Maya doubted it would stay back for very long, especially as her very first class that morning would bring her face to face with Phoebe Munroe, but she'd picked herself up again now, and she felt ready for… whatever would happen next however it would unfold.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners