Chapter 101
Into Summer

The winter semester was drawing to an end. The last classes had ended just the day before, and finals were right around the corner. It might have been that they would have earned a day off, to stop and breathe for a moment before diving into this next part, but then they couldn't really do that, could they? They had so much to do ahead of these tests, and giving away this day would like take away something they needed more than anything when it came down to it.

Lucas and his friends would have studied at the university library, possibly booking a room for the four of them so they could have the quiet and the ability to speak up if they needed it. But then there was no one to watch Kat and Wilson's girl, and it became simpler to just convene this study session at their place. The girl was not obtrusive in the slightest. She spent most of the day either looking through her favorite picture books, or watching a movie on her father's phone with the big headphones on her head, on the living room couch… A few times, she came to sit in either of her parents' laps and just looked around without saying a word, or slept, or ate her snack… She made stops over in Lucas and Trey's laps, too, and she was welcomed there as anywhere. Whenever they stopped for a break, her parents would go and play with her, or take a walk around the block…

"It's like a game to her," Kat smiled, looking to her sleeping daughter in her arms, when they took a break in the evening. They weren't going to go on much longer for today, maybe one last push.

"She won't get to play it for much longer, will she?" Trey pointed out. He wasn't wrong, was he? Before long, even though it definitely felt far away from this side of finals, they would be through with this semester, and for everyone except Lucas around this table it would be the end of their time at university, too. Their graduation was not far away, while Lucas still had a year to go.

He'd known this all along, as long as he'd been their classmate and their friend, but now it was about to become reality. They hadn't even known each other that long, but after he'd been left to start over, with his change of program, they had been so essential to his getting anchored all over again. And it wasn't as though they'd stop hanging out, but it wouldn't be the same as when they were all students together. It would be like the girls, in his old program. Yes, they hung out from time to time, but mostly they would be like ships sailing past one another.

In a way, it had to make him even more thankful for having his oldest friends, for recognizing the strength of their connection. Yes, they were a little spread out at the moment, in Austin, Houston, and New York, so they didn't get to be together physically a lot of the time. But they spoke or texted every day, so it didn't feel like the distance existed at all. Thinking about all of them would in turn make him very happy to have this moment in time with Kat, and Wilson, and Trey, even if it was just that, a moment. He would remember them, and they would still be a part of his life, if smaller.

Meanwhile, Maya was also studying with her friends and classmates, also at their home. In this case, she didn't have a three-year-old underfoot – though she wouldn't have minded it at all – but a couple of cats named Coco and Rebel instead. They liked to be held, too, in a very 'I'm just going to sit here, you don't have to do anything, in fact I would insist on it, but if you felt like petting me from time to time' sort of way. Maya was brought into this contract by Coco, who looked like a small tiger to her. He was only a few months old, a recent addition to the home, unlike Rebel, who'd travelled from Toronto with Diana and Farah, having previously been the former's pet.

"Never had a cat before, but this little guy might be turning me on to them," Maya declared as they were winding down at the end of the night. Coco had warmed up to her by now, according to Farah, and it was really so endearing to witness it. "Not sure what the dogs would have to say about that though…"

"You never know. They can surprise you," Diana chuckled.

"Maybe in a while…" Maya whispered, smiling at the little fur ball in her lap. "Or I'll just steal you," she joked.

"We are going to visit our families back in Toronto this summer," Farah pointed out. "We were going to bring them with us, but it would be more trouble than it's worth. We could leave them here, if you'd be okay with coming to feed them and check on them… If you're able to take them home, you could, but you could also leave them here and we'd give you the key, leave money for their food…"

"Oh, absolutely, I'm in," Maya nodded at once. It would be really nice to have this extra thing over the summer.

She was likely going to lean to the second option, but it wouldn't stop her from maybe running a couple of 'experiments.' She could bring the dogs with her, see how they handled being around cats, the same for Elliott and Noah. She was more or less secure in the assumption that the boys would love being around the cats. Elliott would probably watch them with so much intent, sit with them… Noah would want to touch them. There was no telling how that would turn out, but it was no reason to deny the experience. Then Lucas, oh, he would want to help, too, no doubt to it.

In many ways, she still regretted how her husband had been left to change course on his career plans. He would tell her not to, that he had made his choice and wouldn't have wanted it any other way. That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't a complete truth either, was it? He'd given up something he'd been looking forward to doing almost all his life, in a split second, because of their situation, and even though he would say that it was indeed their situation, not just hers, it didn't change everything, did it? He'd still given up being a veterinarian, and that was unfortunate.

As expected, when she arrived home and found him that night, she told him about the 'cat sitting' job, and he showed immediate interest. She also mentioned her curiosity over possibly bringing a cat into their household.

"You know what's funny, I was thinking we needed to maybe see about a new dog," Lucas confessed, which made her smile.

"Now that's a tough call to make, huh?"

"We should probably focus on getting through finals for now," he nodded, leaving her to sigh as she felt the day's studies sinking into her.

"Not tonight, tonight I want to focus on sleep."

So, they went off to bed. The next day, they had already decided, they would just study the two of them, here at home. Maya woke up to the feeling of someone or something tapping at her face. When she opened her eyes, confusion shifted into happiness as she pulled Elliott to lie in her arms.

"What are you doing here, Sprout? Did you finally figure out how to bust out of there?" she asked, brushing at his hair.

"No, that was me," Lucas yawned, next to them. "He woke up in the night, I went to see him, he didn't want to go back, so I just brought him here."

"Is that what you did, huh? I think you were just being super sneaky because you wanted to be out here with us, didn't you?" Maya asked Elliott with a smile.

"Hi!" Elliott just smiled back.

"Definitely your kid," Lucas laughed at this, while Maya peppered their boy's face with kisses. Elliott just laughed and laughed, which in turn got Noah to wake up. Lucas went and got him, bringing him back to 'the family island.'

Maya and Lucas were long trained in co-studying habits. As helpful as it could be to join their classmates for these sessions, they would both say that they always worked best when they had each other on hand and no one else. They would have loved to put in a full day at Ma Maggie's, the way they would once have done, either there or at the Nook back in Houston, but then they had the boys to look to, and they weren't going to just drop them off somewhere when they could function just as well in their own home. They would transform their kitchen table into their very own 'study booth' like at the diner, and all would be as it should be.

"Switch?" Lucas asked, a few hours into their day.

"Yep, hold on," Maya told him, eyes still on her notes. A minute later, she looked at him and nodded. Lucas turned in his chair and set Elliott on his feet.

"Okay, El, go see Mommy," he told him, and the two-year-old walked off around the table. As he did this, Maya stood and lifted Noah from her lap, passing him across the table, where Lucas got hold of him and sat with him.

"Well, hello, Sprout," Maya beamed as Elliott reached her. "Want to learn all about nineteenth century art movements?"

"He definitely likes your textbooks more than mine," Lucas pointed out.

"Yours don't have as many 'pictures,'" she almost felt she had to air quote, as just calling them pictures would have felt like such an understatement. "That, or he's getting in touch with his inner artist," she smiled. Would she be thrilled to watch her son blossom into someone who shared one of her passions? How could she not?

"You know, we should do something after finals are over," Lucas suggested. At this point, they might as well embrace this small break now that it had happened.

"Like this summer, or…"

"Well, yeah, but I was talking more like right after. Nothing big, but you could invite Diana and Farah, and I'll see if Trey, and Kat and Wilson can make it, too…"

"That kind of something, got it," Maya nodded. "I'll see if mine are available."

The next few days were a rollercoaster, as was to be expected. Finals had always felt that way, but then throwing in work, and more importantly their sons, who would care not one bit that Mommy and Daddy had big, important tests to get through… They would do their absolute best to spend all the time they could with them, but there would be those occasions where either one or both of the boys would start and get agitated, demanding more attention than could be given, which was perfectly understandable of a one and two-year-old. When this happened, Pappy Joe would swoop in, gladly, and occupy his great grandsons like he'd been born for the job.

Finally, they came to the day, the last one. Maya had one test left, and so did Lucas, and they were scheduled roughly at the same time, so they would be able to meet up afterward and head home. Their friends would join them there in time for dinner.

"You look relaxed. I'm guessing that went well?" Lucas asked as he came to find his wife waiting not too far from where he'd just finished his own test.

"I was just thinking about how the last time I finished a semester like this, we were about to have Elliott… and that one guy was giving me trouble because I had to go to the bathroom… and it was just so hot… and super uncomfortable on account of being very pregnant at the time…"

"So, this was better," Lucas gathered, smiling.

"So much better," Maya agreed as she stood and moved up to kiss him. "And now that you're here, it's even better. Let's go."

At home, they found Pappy Joe in the midst of telling the boys – Noah sitting in his lap, Elliott standing in front of him, and both with riveted eyes – all about whatever was happening on the television at that precise moment.

"One of these days, I'm going to have to record him doing that," Lucas quietly reflected as he and Maya remained at the door, as yet unseen. She was taking a few pictures with her phone even as she nodded in agreement. They were finally busted when Elliott spotted them and took off at once. Lucas got hold of him and hefted him almost in flight, which Elliott appreciated immensely.

"You are looking spiffy, little man," Maya smiled, taking in her firstborn's clothes, how neatly combed his hair was… "Hot date?" she teased. One look to Noah on the couch and they could see he, too, had been dressed in his very best available, while his curls were looking good and… well, curly. "Or maybe someone else had one, a special lady friend dropping by maybe?" she turned her attention to Lucas' grandfather. He was definitely dressed like someone who had received or would receive… and looking a bit coy.

"There's definitely a perfume lingering in the air," Lucas chimed in, joining the game.

"Alright, alright, you can take it easy now," Pappy Joe told them as he stood and brought Noah over.

"You and my former professor have a nice time?" Maya asked.

"Patricia was very happy to see the boys. She couldn't stop going on about how much they'd grown since she last saw them," Pappy Joe replied, and Maya and Lucas decided to let him have this… before he could go and turn into a tomato.

"I never thought I'd see my grandfather blush," Lucas told Maya, later that night, after their friends had come and gone and bedtime was coming up fast.

"Maybe he's been hanging around infants for too long," Maya suggested while she got Noah changed into his PJs. Lucas was doing the same with Elliott.

"What does that mean about us then?" he countered, smirking.

"I don't know, but the other day while we were studying you were humming the theme song to…"

"Considering how many times I've heard it in the last couple of years, can you blame me?" he shook his head.

"You're thinking about it right now, aren't you?" she chuckled.

"Yeah, and now it's going to stay in there all night," he sighed, exasperated.

"I can give you another song to think about," Maya offered, picking up the one-year-old and doing her best to get him promptly off to sleep. She couldn't have timed the conversation more perfectly, as now she could lightly sing the song in question, leaving it to nudge away the repetitive little jingle from her husband's head and all the while helping the boys to fall asleep. She sang the song, her first composition in so long, the one she'd performed at Chubbie's the night of her father's one-year memorial. As Lucas finished with Elliott, he picked up the boy and brought them both close to Maya and Noah, so the music might work its magic on him as well.

"I really do love that song so much," Lucas whispered, kissing the top of Elliott's head, when they saw that both of the boys had fallen asleep.

"Yeah, me, too," Maya smiled, doing the same for Noah as she carried him to his crib. She settled him in, Tum-Tum Teddy nearby, and then she followed Lucas across the hall, where Elliott was joined to Opie Bunny. They were really going to have to consider transferring him to the bed soon, with how he was progressing, weren't they?

"Is this going to be the first of many?" Lucas asked as they walked back down the stairs. "You've got summer ahead of you…" They hadn't really talked about it, her 'plans' for music now that she'd taken that first step. It hadn't felt appropriate to inquire when she'd done it, what with the memorial, and then there'd been all the birthdays, and the end of the year, and now…

"I don't know," Maya admitted. "I haven't done anything else yet, since the other one. I guess maybe I'm rusty?"

"Does that mean you won't perform at open mic again?" Lucas wondered. They dropped on the couch, exhausted but still not ready to go to bed just yet.

"No, I do want to go back, but I don't know… I could sing covers, sure, but I kind of want to do my own songs. And I know I could do my TXNY ones, but it just wouldn't feel right either, not like this. Is that weird?"

"Not at all," Lucas shook his head. "You're never going to do those songs again then?"

"I'm not saying never, but… Whatever this is, me doing those open mic nights, whatever it turns into, I guess I need to find out what that 'whatever' actually is. Once I know that, then… I'll see what it means for the old songs."

"You might get more ideas now that you're done with school until this fall," he pointed out. She let out a breath and nodded at this, sliding down to rest her head at his shoulder. He promptly wrapped her in his arms. "See if maybe your muse has any more to offer? You could compose your whole… masterpiece… by summer's end."

"Wow, okay," Maya laughed as she looked up to him. "I don't know about 'masterpiece' there, Huckleberry."

"I feel very strongly about it myself," he slowly nodded.

"I'm sure you do, you're very supportive that way," she smiled.

"I do my best," he shrugged, laying a kiss to her forehead which she happily received before responding to it, pushing herself up until she could kiss his lips.

"The very best," she vowed.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners