December 24th 2021

Chapter 358
Our Children in Europe

"Hey, how did it go?" Maya asked her sisters. Eliza and Emma had just returned from going around in search of jobs. After taking the time to properly settle into their new rooms and into the house itself, they had embarked on this search, intending in every way not to use any influence from connections that Maya or Lucas may have had and provided for either of them. This was their first foray into complete independence, and it mattered to them that they get this done by themselves. "Any luck?"

"Kind of," Emma replied as she and Eliza both came to see what she and Marianne were up to. Even though they were far from being done, the combined scent of some of the ingredients on the counter suggested a familiar whole… GiGi cookies. Eliza smiled when she saw her niece's apron, covered in swans, swimming in rows. It had been a gift, made by Grangie because, as she told it, the pattern was impossible to pass up when she found it.

"We filled a few applications, talked to some people, we just have to wait for them to get in touch," Eliza explained as she tried to sneak a taste of the mixture in the bowl. Marianne jumped into action at this, grabbing her arm and telling her she wasn't supposed to do that. One look at the grin on Eliza's face made clear the fact that she'd been reaching with the express purpose of being stopped by the girl on her foot stool.

"Well, that's good," Maya told her sisters, tapping her daughter's cheek with a finger until she looked over. With the next ingredient pointed out to her, she took the little cup and emptied it into the bowl so that her mother could go on mixing.

She'd been allowed to do so at first, but by now they were getting to the point where the consistency made it difficult for someone of her strength and stature to carry on, so her mother had taken over the stirring. GiGi made it very clear in her recipe that this had to be done by hand, as any kind of mixer would ruin the dough and the cookies wouldn't come out 'the right way.' Maya wasn't about to argue with Zay's late great grandmother.

"We were thinking we'd go swimming this afternoon. Do you want to come?" Emma asked. Marianne looked up to her mother.

"I think once I get done with this, I won't feel like going anywhere," Maya sighed, briefly sort of walking in place to shift her posture, give some relief to her feet and legs. "But if you want to take her with you…" she indicated Marianne, who now turned those eager blue eyes to her aunts.

"Yeah, definitely. You in, pumpkin?" Eliza asked. She was, she definitely was.

"Cookies first, pool after, okay?" Maya told her daughter.

They finished mixing up everything once the girls had gone – to preserve the very secret recipe – and set the dough to chill. Marianne helped her mother with the cleaning up, and then she was released to get into her swimsuit, which her aunts saw to while Maya went to sit on the couch.

"Please don't misinterpret any noise of discomfort as an invitation to get out here any quicker, alright?" she addressed her belly as she watched a ripple of motion extend and retreat, like they'd felt her relief at sitting down and wanted to say hello. "One more month, that's the deal." Whether I'll still be sane or able to not fall under the weight of you by then, that's another story.

Maybe she was exaggerating, just a bit, but then every week that went by she would discover new lengths her skin was able to stretch to. Then she'd remember how Lucas would help her tend to this like it was his greatest goal in life, and it would make her smile. One more month… They would get there, and then the real wild ride would begin.

When the bell rang, Maya sighed and tried to see who it was. Mail man… They must have had a package. She called out, telling him that she'd be right there, which was… maybe a bit of an exaggeration, too, though a smaller one. They'd interacted with him enough over time that he'd know she was very pregnant by now, so she wasn't worried about making him wait the time it took her to get back on her feet and walk to the door.

There was a package, and it was a sizable one, so he agreed to carry it over to the coffee table for her. He asked how she was doing, she asked after his son, who would be starting high school this fall, at her school. She had his name on her freshman list and she was sorry she would have to start with him from a distance.

After the man was gone, Maya went back to the box, inspected the markings. The return address was marked Abby & Ruby Shelby c/o class of 2033. She knew what this was at once, and it made her smile. It was just as well that she needed to get scissors from the kitchen, as the cookie dough would be ready to be distributed over the trays and put in the oven. She did this and finally returned to her box with the means to open it. By now, it had been discovered by the trio from upstairs, who'd finished getting changed, and a few of the dogs, who were looking on with curiosity.

"What's that?" Marianne asked her mother.

"That will be the seniors' travel diary pages, though by the size of the box I'm guessing there might be other things in there along with the pages." Oh, this was intriguing, and intrigue led to conflict for the three-year-old. "Do you want me to wait for you to be back before I look inside?" Maya asked. Marianne still hesitated. "You want to look at it now?" Yes, she did, very much.

In the end, Eliza and Emma took off on their own, while Marianne stayed with her mother. Sure, she was still in her swimsuit, but that was fine. She liked it very much, and it was summer, even if the house was kept cool by the air conditioning. Plus, they did have a kids' pool in the back, so she'd get to take that suit out for a splash once they'd looked through the contents of the mystery box.

"Hands to yourself while I open this, okay?" Maya instructed, and Marianne held her hands at her sides at once.

"Stay back, Honey Bee," she instructed the puppy, who was most curious of her litter about what was going on. "Hands to yourself, don't get hurt." Maya smirked.

"Okay, the scissors have gone away, let's see what's here."

There were two items inside, although the first was clearly a bundle of several objects together. They were brought to the couch, allowing Maya to sit down. Marianne came up to sit with her, while Jax managed to nudge the empty box off the table and on to its side. The puppies and Squeak became very interested with this.

"Good job, Dad, keeping the kids entertained," Maya pet the tall dog's head as he sat near her. "Okay, well here it says we can open these first," she told Marianne after reading the inscription on the bundle.

It contained an assortment of shirts, and stickers, art prints, a couple of sketchbooks and notebooks, from the various cities they had visited. Among the shirts were some child-sized, for Marianne, and it wasn't long that she wore one of them, showing it had come from Madrid. There were also about a dozen onesies, all in sets of three. She hadn't even opened the pages and she was feeling what Cara had once called a 'teacher flare up,' the kind of emotion that would only rise out of warm feelings inspired by some of 'her kids.'

The diary pages had been wrapped up in brown paper, like the bundle of gifts, and when it was unveiled, Maya saw at once that it would fill up the already gifted cover, enough so that the unbound side would be significantly taller than the bound one. She wouldn't read it all just now, as it would probably take a few hours, but she leafed through the pages so Marianne could see. There would be pages filled with writing, tales of what had happened on this day, in that city, with these students, with the Matthews… There would be some sketches, too, and there would be printed photos stuck in places. Sometimes they would find a post card inserted between the pages, or clippings from magazines or newspapers or travel guides, some ticket stubs, for entries to museums, and concerts, sites… showing the places they'd gone and the things they'd done. She definitely could not have done all this if she'd somehow gone with them, but looking through this diary, it could almost be like she was there.

At the very back, on the back of the last page, the final message came with a thin plastic case containing a memory card. Here were more pictures, and a load of videos, captured and collected here for her to see. They could not have done a better job of giving her a peek into the long-planned trip.

"Alright, little turtle, ready to go swimming?" Maya looked to Marianne, who was standing up on the couch by now, keeping hold of her shoulder for balance as she looked down at the pages of the diary.

"Yeah!" she hopped once, then crouched down like she had remembered she'd been told before not to jump on the couch.

"Okay," Maya laughed. "Let's just get all of these somewhere so the dogs won't get any ideas first. Then, sunscreen, yes," she nodded after Marianne squirmed. She didn't like that part, no matter how kid friendly it was supposed to be. It was the bane of her little existence this summer. "It's either that or no swimming…" Maya reminded her daughter. Oh, they couldn't let that happen, could they? So, she relented.

She found the closest thing they were bound to get to a fix on the sunscreen issue, at least until the girl grew up and – hopefully – got over it. As with many things in their house, it came down to music. She created a quick song about the importance and the steps of the application, which got Marianne both excited and eager to participate. By the end of it, she wanted to repeat this, so her mother could be protected just the same. Truth be told, by the time they were done, Maya might have been sufficiently protected that she had enough for herself and the babies.

"Thanks, baby girl," she smiled, making a show of looking for a spot where she might kiss her that wouldn't be sticky from the sunscreen. It had Marianne giggling as she finally settled for kissing the top of her head.

Maya sat in her favored chair out behind the house, right next to the kid pool. They'd left the dogs inside, as previous outings like this had led to a splashing pile up in the pool and dealing with a pack of wet dogs was not something she felt able to handle just now. Marianne was plenty happy in there on her own, 'playing turtle.'

Cory and Topanga had sent some brief tales throughout the time they'd been off with the recent graduates, so it wasn't as though Maya had not known anything of the trip except that they had gone and had since returned. But those were nothing compared to what the students had put together for her in that diary. How many times had she been told, in her years as a teacher, how much her students cared for her and looked up to her, how much of a good influence she'd been on them, in class and beyond? She'd heard it from parents, from her colleagues, and from the kids themselves, and she'd taken each compliment as humbly as one could. She'd known, sure. It was right there in the things they did, the way they carried themselves around her and responded to her, and it would always be mutual, as far as she was concerned.

This diary they had assembled for her, that went right up there with the swan pumpkin they had carved for her a couple years back, the only difference being that she actually got to keep the diary instead of having to relegate it to the compost heap in the end. When Lucas would get home, they'd have to look for a box, something so she could keep the assembled book inside, along with all its smaller pieces at risk of slipping away if she simply set it on a shelf.

"All done turtle-ing?" Maya asked when Marianne stood up on her feet in the middle of the pool. That tended to be the signal. "Alright, come on," she grabbed the towel – with happy turtles swimming, of course – and helped Marianne climb out. She didn't need a song for this part. She loved having the towel thrown around her, especially when they'd go ahead and give her a good drying up with it. "You know, I think the cookies should have cooled down by now, so we might be able to have one. For quality control," she suggested. Marianne approved this plan very much.

The cookies had turned out just as they were meant to, and it took… oh, monumental amounts of Mom Restraint for Maya not to have several of them just now. She only had to look at the way Marianne consumed her one to know she would have done the same. So, the rest of the day's yield was stored away in its tins – another must, according to GiGi Babineaux – and put in its place… out of sight, to make anyone who saw it think twice before they went through the same dilemma.

Right on time as they were expected, the tins had barely been put away that there was the sound of a key in the front door followed by Ella's voice, letting them know that she and Tori had arrived. Marianne squeaked and went running for her sister. It was time for her piano lesson.

"Nanaaaa!" Tori did some running, too, right over to her grandmother.

"Hey, hello!" Maya laughed. Picking her up was not so easy as it used to be, but luckily, she was still small, so once they got over the obstacles, they were in business. Maya soon received some very good kisses from the tiny raven-haired girl. "Ready for the concert?" she asked, brushing the fringe from her eyes. "Come on, it's show time," she whispered and brought her to sit on the couch. As usual, Marianne was already at the piano bench, so Ella went and joined her, the better to get started.

When they were done, Marianne left the bench, the better to take her niece and go play with the dogs while their respective mothers sat together on the couch. There would be a tin of GiGi cookies in Ella's possession before she returned home that evening after dinner, but in the meantime, she was told about the package which had arrived today. She showed her the bundle of souvenirs before bringing out the diary pages. Ella was very happy to see the pages, looking through each one with care. A lot of those students as pictured were kids she'd only known in passing, going through the halls at school, but there were others she'd had a vague acquaintance with, and others she counted as friends.

"Do you think it's possible to make something like that happen in just one year?" she wondered.

"Well…" Maya breathed. "When we did it, me and your dad and the others, we saved up over a few years, same as they did," she pointed to the diary. "Does that mean it's impossible? Off the top of my head, I couldn't tell you for sure, but it could be worth investigating. It depends if you want it to be your entire class or just a smaller group, too."

"I'm not sure. It could be fun to have the whole class, but also just Lea and Taylor. Or…" Ella's eyes shifted to the little girls on the floor. Marianne and Tori were playing a game of 'stay' with the dogs. Some were doing better than others. The thought was clear to read on her face.

"Right, just you three or the class," Maya cut in. When Ella moved to reply, she shook her head. "Family trip can wait, it'll happen, you, me, Lucas, and all the girls. Might be next summer, too, or sometime after that, but that's going to be its own thing. This kind of trip, it's not about that," she explained. "What?" she blinked. Ella's expression had shifted again. Surprise… happiness? "What is it?"

"You said 'all the girls,'" Ella pointed out. Maya's jaw slacked just a bit before she managed to close it up again. Her brain was not helping her come up with something to say to cover her slip up. So, she just sighed and made sure that Marianne wasn't listening. She was deeply concentrated on playing with the dogs, so they should be fine. Still…

"What if I did?" she casually asked… in a whisper.

"Mom, you're going to look at me and say that you haven't been dying to tell me?" Ella asked, her smile being the nearest thing to magical just now.

"Oh, that's a tough one. What kind of mother would I be if I encouraged big ol' lies like that?" Maya smirked, and Ella did her best to contain her giddiness. "I'm not telling you anything else, not until after they're born," she insisted, pointing her finger at her.

"So, what I'm hearing here is that there's more?" Ella replied, and Maya had to pause before replying.

"You are getting a lot more like me in there, and I'm not sure how I feel about that," she joked.

"I can be patient," Ella promised.

"You're going to look at me…" Maya repeated her previous words, imitating her daughter's tone.

By the time Lucas came home, they were still on the couch, though by then Maya had sent Ella up to retrieve another travel diary, from some twelve years past, and they were going through the pages, stories given over and fascinated laughter received in return. Yes, by now, Ella had seen several pictures of her adoptive parents and their friends through the years, but it wasn't as though they had unloaded every last memory on to her the moment she'd come through the door or become a Friar. They would show her some things from time to time, but they were pacing themselves, more or less, the better to have new things to share with her, such as Maya did that day.

"You guys don't look so different," Ella declared.

"You flatter us, daughter," Maya tapped her arm, turning her voice into the croak of old age. Ella smirked and turned back to the photos.

"Mr. Orlando looks so much like Taylor here."

"More and more every day," Lucas agreed even as Maya nodded. "Did he ever tell you the story?"

"Taylor?" Ella asked. He nodded. "About his parents and Mr. Orlando's dad? Yeah, he did. He told me how you were the ones to figure it out."

"I saw a picture of him on his mother's phone, at parent night," Maya recalled. "It was as uncanny then as it is now."

"I think it really needs to be the three of us on the trip," Ella decided then. "I'm going to call them and see what they think," she stood from the couch and moved to go out on the porch.

"What's she talking about?" Lucas turned back to Maya. She told him about the delivery from the recent graduates and how it had inspired Ella to go on a similar trip the following summer, when she would finish high school, too. "Oh… That should be feasible, right? Just three kids out there…"

"Unless anyone else joins their… collective," Maya suggested.

"Four or five can work, too. I can check with my uncles, see what they think… and the Munroes…" Lucas reflected. He looked down when he felt something collide with his legs and found both Marianne and Tori had snuck up on him. They looked very proud of their achievement. All he had to do to respond was pretend like he'd try and catch them, and they bolted away giggling.

"Come on, Tori!" Marianne had her niece by the hand. They 'disappeared' behind the couch.

"Now, where did they go?" Lucas intoned, all the better to make Maya laugh as he sat with her.

It was a simple matter, so far as whether or not Lea and Taylor wanted to go on this trip with Ella. They were both instantly on board. The question now was whether or not they could pull off what it would take to have the necessary funds. Maya and Lucas and their friends had had most of their high school days to earn what they needed. The senior class had had about the same amount of time and because it was connected to the school, they were able to have several fundraising events. The three of them now would have just the one year to put everything together.

"Can you watch Tori for a while? I'm going to meet with Lea and Taylor to talk things over. It's summer now so we might as well do the most we can while we don't have school, right? I can bring her, but I figure she'll be bored with us, and here…"

"Go, go, it's alright," Lucas assured her. "I'm sure I'll find her sooner or later," he shrugged. The backs of his legs resonated laughter.

It wasn't until later, after Ella had picked up Tori, after Marianne had gone to bed, that Maya was finally able to break out the memory card from the back of the diary and insert it into her computer. Lucas sat with her, and they looked through the many photos and videos. They had been saved on the card in folders, identified with the names of those who had contributed the files. It meant seeing different points of view of some of the same places, the same days, but there was absolutely nothing for them to mind about it. Even though Maya was their teacher and not him, Lucas would still spot her former students in those pictures, and he would feel like he knew them, from the stories she had shared, and the diaries of the past four years. Even if they weren't in her class, he sometimes recognized them from other things like the musical, or the basketball teams… And if he didn't know them at all, well, Maya might have stories about them, too.

"I swear, the last four years with them went by so fast, too. Sometimes it feels like I barely saw them go by, except for Bodhi…" Maya sighed.

"Well, the way you spoke about them, they were just sort of… very straightforward? Not a whole lot of drama…" Lucas reasoned.

"Yeah, not in my class anyway," she agreed, a small proud smile lifting the corners of her mouth in such a way that he couldn't keep from leaning over and kissing her cheek. "I know you're right, probably, but it still makes me think… I don't want to let the next ones go by like that."

"You won't," he nodded with quiet confidence. "You'll see it all happen, one way or another."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners