November 14th 2022

Chapter 318
Our Shock of Time

The high school wasn't the first to initiate some kind of relief effort around the city, and Sullivan Stables wouldn't be the last either. Already before today there had been talks about what they might do to help those affected by the storm, and what it had come down to was an auction. People were invited to donate memorabilia items, anything they could part with that might then be offered to the highest bidder, all funds going to those in need. Over the last few days, as the word had continued to spread, they had started to receive items to be auctioned off. Exceptionally, the upper floor of the archive was closed, the better to catalogue and store everything ahead of the auction. The ranch itself would donate some items from their collection, and the crew of Katy's series had gathered certain props and costume items to help the city that helped bring their production to life.

Lucas had been keeping track of all these as they were coming in. A few times a day he'd go and check in with Carson, who naturally was at the top of the receiving line. Though he was still very spry for his age he went ahead and sent his younger assistant to bring the donations up to the tables on the first floor. It was astounding how fast the number of items grew, just being away for a couple of hours. By now, it was to wonder if they'd have to close donations and focus instead on the auction itself. It would take place on the following Saturday.

When he went in to check how they were doing after his morning rounds, he found Carson in a spirited conversation with Lee Beaumont. Harper's grandfather – and young Melinda's former friend/rival – had come to bring his own offerings to the event, which had led to this bit of reminiscing with the older man. The way they spoke, Lucas was left to wonder if maybe Carson was starting to consider how long he'd be able to carry on here the way he'd done. He wasn't getting any younger, and it was definitely a different game than when he'd started off here. He had his assistants throughout the week, but it was easy to see that none of them were to his caliber as far as knowledge and involvement. At the same time, Lucas was also given the impression that perhaps Lee Beaumont would have liked to become more involved with the archive. Before heading upstairs and bringing the man's items to join the rest, Lucas did not shy away from casually insinuating that it wouldn't be such a bad thing for Lee to come around more often. And Lee sounded like he just might take him up on that suggestion.

When he reached the top of the stairs and looked around, Lucas felt for a moment like it might have been doing a disservice to everyone and their donations for there not to be a short exhibit of all these objects before they were cast into the world, acquired by bidders. Some of these things were such a blast from the past, whether they came from his time, or his parents', or his grandparents'. Some of them he would recognize because there would have been something similar in his house growing up, or his grandparents' houses, or simply in old photos of theirs… Others he knew just for being as invested in his city and the wider world of Sullivan Stables, and the rest were just discoveries for him, too.

He could have stayed there all day, but he knew he'd have to get back to work sooner or later. This auction wasn't just about collection, and by now all events fell in equal parts between event coordinator Donna and himself. Lucas had told Juliet that he wanted it that way and, seeing as these were always her least favorite part – especially the competitions – she had no problem with the hand-off at all. The way things were going with them, with more and more tasks moving from Juliet to him, by the time she would retire, the hand-off would be complete. He could see that being her intention, rather than to plop it all down on him at once, and he appreciated this more than he could say.

She was definitely not involved in the work being done on her former home; that was a Friar & Friar collaboration, Lucas and Marianne alone… and the actual crew that did most of the work. Lucas did his fair share of it where he could, taking him back to the days when he'd fixed up his grandfather's old house, that it might become his house and Maya's, their children's home… And now it is, and we wouldn't want it any other way. It was not lost on him that he now found himself renovating another of his grandparents' homes, now his mother's mother's house, even if there had been another resident for many years in between.

She hadn't really gotten to do very much yet, but Marianne had been getting to be involved with the work that Lucas did. She'd get to do a lot more later on, when they moved to other phases of the transformation, the creation of their bed and breakfast, and Lucas knew how much she looked forward to that. To look around the place now, he was happy to think how they were getting very close to that. He'd been concerned that maybe the storm would have caused some damage to the house, thinking of when they'd had a big storm when he'd been a kid and the roof had leaked. But it had held on very well, no extra work to be done to repair.

The closer they were getting to the next part of the work, the question came back more and more about who would actually run this place when it was ready to open. He'd had plenty of options swirling in his head for a while already, and all of them continued to feel like they had potential, even as he would find it hard to actually go ahead and make the sales pitch to any of them, for any number of reasons. He'd sounded off all his choices to Maya, and for all of them she'd had this expression like she knew exactly why he'd chosen them… and she had nothing to say that would flat out disqualify them. If anything, she'd thrown another option into the mix: Abigail and James. There was still this whole thought of their coming to live in Austin with Maisie after Wyatt came down here for college, so maybe this would be just what they needed? He couldn't fault that logic either, so those names had been floating around with the rest.

He was going to have to make up his mind, he realized that. He'd have to make some tough calls, cutting some of the names on his own, and then after that… Well, he actually had to see if this was something that would interest them. It was one thing for him to think that they'd be perfect: they had to think it, too. If he thought about it from that perspective, he could probably remove some candidates. And if he also put a bit of a quiz team spin on the whole thing, looking for those who'd need it the most, he could trim the list some more. This would be a business, yes, but it would also be someone's home and, if he was honest, he knew that his internal preference tilted the way of 'give it to someone with a child,' and 'let a child get to grow up here.' He had so many fond memories of this place from when he'd grown up, even if it hadn't been his home, and he knew a lot of that went to his grandparents being here, but even now, this house, inside Sullivan Stables… It could help build so many memories for a family.

With that in mind, he was satisfied to bring it down to Leona, with Evangeline, or Cristina, with Rafa, or Abigail and James, with Maisie. Looking around at the house as they'd gotten it by now, he was satisfied for how he'd narrowed down his options. It was progress.

It just so happened, as Lucas stepped out of the house again and made for the stairs, that he spotted her coming along from the parking lot, with eyes like searchlights, very likely searching for him.

"Maya?" he called out and she stopped, swiveled in his direction. As soon as she'd seen him, she continued on to join him. He came and met her halfway, all the while thinking only that she should have been at school right now, and even though she'd have to be class-free until after lunch by now, it was unusual enough to set him wondering and trying to tell himself that this couldn't be anything supremely urgent but at the same time… "Hey, what are you…" he started to ask, but then she took hold of his hand and started pulling him back toward the house.

"We need to talk," she told him.

"Okay, yeah," he told her, primarily so she'd let him follow of his own accord more than anything else, but she still just pulled him along until they made it inside and she could shut the door. Once this was done, she let go, and she started to pace the floor. "You're kind of freaking me out right now," he told her.

"Yeah, well, with the morning I've had, it could be worse," she sighed. It was a good thing he at least knew that this couldn't be yet one more surprise baby announcement, so there was that. And it didn't sound to him like anyone was hurt…

"Tell me about it," he asked.

"You might get some calls later, I'm not sure," she started.

"What kind of calls?"

In response, she caught him up on everything, starting with the summons she'd received, and then the announcement in the gym, about Lamar, and Lydia, and Matt, then talking to MJ and hearing what he had to say, and then the assembly with all the students, and the comments… It wasn't hard for him to understand what she'd meant about her morning now when he slowly but surely felt the story pile on to him. He wasn't as familiar with Lamar Whitley as she might have been, though he'd met the boy a few times, but the others… He'd been getting to know Matt very well, since the XC had joined them at the end of the summer, so hearing this was blowing his mind. The worst though was Lydia… His cousin, dear Hypnoteyes… It didn't feel to him like it made sense that she'd do something like this, and he could only imagine what it would be like when his uncles were called in about her…

"I… don't know what to say," Lucas slowly shook his head.

"I know," Maya sighed, then, after a moment, "I'm just thinking about what this might do to the XC program." He looked at her. "I haven't gotten to talk to any of them, I don't know how it all happened or whose idea it was, but what if the school refuses to host any more of the kids? And I don't know how Matt's parents are going to take it, if they'll want to bring him home early or…"

"I hadn't even thought about that," Lucas realized, frowning to himself. "Do you think they've contacted them by now? The Cullens?"

"I don't know," Maya admitted. "I just wanted to tell you in person, not over the phone. I'll have to head back soon," she pointed out the door. They stood in silence for a few beats, looking at each other. Finally, Lucas stepped up and slowly pulled her into his arms. She gladly returned the hold, and they stayed this way for a time. "I hate this," she mumbled.

"Right there with you."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners