November 26th 2021

Chapter 330
Our Focus on Lights

"Is she there yet? Did you tell her?"

"She just got here. Your mom is talking to her right now so she's probably doing it."

"Put the call on video, I want to see. Please?"

As requested, Lucas switched on the video, getting him a view of his wife sitting at the airport while he switched over the cameras to capture the scene a little way away from him. His mother-in-law and the sophomore girl had been walking casually around since Stevie Brett had arrived on the premises, but now they'd stopped, near the big tree, the one they called 'the wedding tree' for all the couples – Maya and Lucas included – who'd been married under its leaves. Today, it was to be the scene of a different kind of binding, but it nevertheless came to be, in such a way that made viewers near and far want to cheer.

The pilot had already been shot a few weeks ago. It had been on the whole a very smooth process, so much so that it barely felt to Lucas or the rest of the ranch staff as though things had been any different from the day to day. And then, one of their actresses had needed to withdraw for personal reasons. That was what she said at least, but Katy had been going on about how the girl had clearly not been as interested in shooting a series in Austin, with horses, no matter how much her mother had insisted she would. And this was an even bigger problem because, on faith of what they knew and the involvement of Gemma McCarthy, the series had been able to move forward and look to filming more episodes. They would be on the air, right in the fall.

So, they'd needed to replace the girl. It was a substantial role, too. She'd been meant to play the daughter of Katy's character, one of the leads. They needed her as soon as possible, so they could reshoot her scenes from the pilot and keep going. They would have brought someone on from wherever, though it would obviously be easiest to bring someone on who was already local. They had just over half of their crew from Austin and other points of Texas, and the same went for the cast, be they regular, recurring, guest, or extra. As soon as the news of the search reached Maya though, she quickly put an end to it. She called Miranda, asked her if she had any videos that she might be able to send on to her mother, videos of Stevie Brett's acting, even of her just in her class. She did, and so she'd sent it, and Katy had known exactly what to do with them. Just to be absolutely safe from disappointments, she'd checked with Stephen Brett to make sure he'd be on board with this, and he was. He knew this was his younger daughter's dream, and if she got to live it right here, that would be very good.

Now, from several feet away and through a phone screen, Lucas and Maya watched as Katy explained to Stevie how her teachers had passed on some of her work, and how these videos had made the rounds to all needed parties, until today she was able to offer her this part, if she would be interested in taking it.

To say that she had a vivid reaction would have been putting it mildly. For a second, they thought she was about to faint, and Katy moved in like she meant to catch her, but in the next moment the girl took her in a hug that almost sent her losing her footing. They could hear from where they stood or sat and, oh, she was excitedly and entirely on board. From there, they really had no time to lose. They had to get her started on papers, once her father joined them, and wardrobe… From what Maya had known already, directly, or indirectly, Stevie had ridden horses before, and she would be able to learn whatever she had to learn. They would have to figure out what this part would mean for her schoolwork, but they weren't worried, not with her father being one of her teachers.

"Hi, Daddy!" Marianne's face appeared on Lucas' screen, after he turned back to the front-facing camera and his face returned to Maya's screen. She was sitting right next to her mother, but now she'd climbed on to her knees, to get a better view.

"Hey, pumpkin," he smiled.

"They're not here, the plane's not here," she informed him.

"They'll be here soon," Maya promised her, looking up toward the arrivals board. "There, see?" At this, Marianne gasped and hopped off her seat. "Hey, Hucklebucket, get back here, I… Lucas, I gotta go," she sighed. "Love you, see you at home," she quickly told him before hanging up.

Lucas laughed. Of course, Marianne would be excited. Once again, it was time for a bit of Sleepster fun. The lineup would be much smaller this time. As great as the last one had been, they could all agree that it wasn't possible all the time. They would have the little Hunters and the Texas Hart branches, the Hart-Lanes but not the Chens out of Arizona, and then for the first time, the Olsens of Arkansas. They would all be at their house, girls, and boys alike, and the goal would be, along with having 'the first Sleepster in the new second floor,' to get the two rooms decorated for Eliza and Emma.

Sure, they wouldn't be moving over until after graduation, sometime in July, but they wanted to get it done earlier rather than later, so that once they did arrive – at which point their big sister would be drawing ever nearer to having the triplets – they wouldn't have to worry so much about their rooms. They'd just have to incorporate the things they'd be bringing over from Tucson. They both had a very logical mind, especially when they worked together, and they had clearly been thinking about this a lot. So, the plan had been set in motion, and Sleepster was in the books for this early April weekend.

They were all so excited to come over. They'd been keeping up with every update that Maya or Lucas would be able to send them, about the babies, and about the filming up at the ranch, and now they would get to be as up close with it as ever. Maya already predicted a lot of curious hands hovering about her belly, and that was alright, especially from all of them. At sixteen weeks now she definitely gave the impression that she was going to 'pop any day now' as so many strangers on the street had taken to telling her. She didn't know that this would have been the case if there'd been just the one, but either way she would usually nod and smile. Informing them that this was just because she was having babies two through four at once would only have led to conversations she wasn't always up for, so it was better to bail out as soon as possible. Then there would be those who did know she was expecting triplets because they knew who she was to some degree, but that was a whole other thing. Today, she was only looking forward to some giddy brothers and sisters and cousins.

"I got her," Cara picked up Marianne, who just kept laughing and put her arms around her aunt's neck.

"Yeah, I'm not even going to try to run at this point, so..." Maya breathed.

"I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry," Cara promised, turning a smile to her niece, who responded by kissing her cheek. "Yeah," Cara chuckled.

"Where is everybody?" Marianne asked.

"The first flight is landing now, the others will be a little while longer, but then you get to see your cousins until then," Maya reminded her, and she was satisfied.

Caitlin and Harry Olsen arrived as unaccompanied minors with what looked like enough baggage for weeks instead of a weekend. Charlie and David had both debated finding a way to go out there with them or finding someone else to go in their place, rather than to send them alone, but after a lot of calls and even more discussion, they had agreed to send them along. As soon as she saw them both come through the gate, Maya snapped a picture and sent it to her aunt with the promise that they'd be calling shortly. At least for now, she would be secure in the knowledge that they had made it and were now in the hands of family.

It was probably just as well that she'd taken the time to do this as, once the children had been turned over to them, their first priority was to hug this person, and that person, and feel their cousin's belly, and talk about being on the plane and everything they did on the plane… The whole thing kept them so busy that, eventually, Cara had to dash on ahead to the other gate, in case the Tucson flight landed before the rest of their group could get there.

"I wish we had another baby," Caitlin declared as they walked. Both she and Maya were holding one of little brother Harry's hands.

"You do, huh?" Maya laughed.

"Yeah, but Mom just says that after me and Harry, she and Dad have all that – all that they ever wanted," Caitlin explained.

"That sounds about right." As much as she could understand that, to a point, the girl still looked bummed out at the thought of not having a baby brother or sister. "You know, it's not exactly the same, but… maybe you guys could argue for a new pet," Maya quietly advised. As hoped, this got her a smile. For now, the matter was put to rest.

When they reached the gate, they found that Cara's haste had not been in vain. There she stood, holding little Maisie in a good sister hug, and talking with Eliza, Emma, Wyatt, and Teddy. Holding Maya's second hand, Marianne spotted them and grew immediately agitated.

"Yeah, yeah, hit the brakes there, pumpkin. I can't just let you run off in the middle of an airport, we've talked about this. You could get lost, and then Mommy would be so upset, she would start to cry." Oh, Marianne didn't want her mother to cry like that. She gripped on tight to her hand and she waited for them to get closer, until finally she was told she could go ahead.

She was released, and she made an immediate dash for 'Lizard' and 'M&M'. Oh, when they'd first told her that her aunts were going to be moving in with them… She'd been so happy, and now she had to be reminded that they were only here for a couple of days, that they wouldn't be coming to stay for a little while again.

"They haven't moved yet, have they?" Emma asked, after they'd all come together and greeted one another. Now her hand was on her sister's belly.

"Not that I've felt yet, but even once they do…"

"We wouldn't get to yet, I know, I remember," she looked to her little sister. She would remember very well when she'd felt Maisie kicking in her stepmother's belly.

"You never know though, it could happen while you're here, even if you can't feel it yourself," Maya suggested. That was good enough for her, for all of them.

"Mom and Dad sent this," Wyatt held up a bag. It was so big and bulging with content that it made him look small by comparison. Maya guessed it would have things for her and the babies, for Marianne, and for Lucas, for Ella and Tori, too. She would have wished so much for a chance to hug Abigail and James, but if they couldn't be here in person, this… This was as good as a long-distance hug.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners