November 24th 2022

Chapter 328
Our Production of Stories

Dear Mrs. Friar,

I am writing to you riding on the train headed back to school after Lambert's memorial. I know I didn't talk much back there, even though I could tell you and everyone else wanted to hear how I was doing out in California. Truth is I didn't stick around very long after it was over either. I told my parents that I had to head back, that I had an assignment to work on. I'm not sure if they believed it or not but, if they saw through me, they didn't say anything. I guess they understood why I wanted to get away. I never forget him, not for a second, but coming back for this, thinking how it's been five years already, it just took me back to that morning, seeing him there. I remember wanting so badly to believe that he was just sick even though I knew that he was gone and there'd be no bringing him back. The days leading up to the memorial, I started having nightmares I hadn't had in a long time.

The entire reason why I'm taking the train today to travel back is because it reminds me of him in a good way. It reminds me of a trip when I was about ten years old, Mom and Dad and the four of us together. It was such a long ride, but if it had been up to my brothers and I it could have gone on for so much longer. We played games the whole way, me and Lambert and Mom versus Dakota and Roman and Dad. We were on there for hours, but it just flew by so fast. I remember it all so well. Today, it's not the same train, sure, and I'm all by myself, but at the same time I know I haven't felt this calm in days.

Even now, after all this time, it still feels sometimes like in order to get to my memories of him I have to walk past the barrier of that day, that morning when I walked into his room. It trips me up and then I'm sort of disoriented. I know I'm not the only one who's had to deal with this, I know my parents would have had it so much worse, but that was my experience, that morning, and no one has the same one. They're going to follow us for the rest of our lives, aren't they?

Well, what I meant to tell you at the memorial was that I am doing well at school. Classes are very different from what I had back in Texas, in high school, but once I got past the beginning of it, I was alright. I haven't forgotten what this is all about, and I know that the further in I go the more difficult it will get, but I know I can do it. I want to, and I need to, so I will. I do miss home, but mostly I miss my parents and my brothers. They've come up to visit a few times, especially when I moved into the dorms. My roommate is kind of weird but not in a bad way. He keeps things interesting, that's for sure. Actually kind of miss the guy, now that I've been away, so I guess maybe he's becoming a friend. And I may have met someone. She's in a few of my classes, kind of intimidating but in a way like you just want to know more about the person, you know? I think, when I get back there, I'm going to try and talk to her more. I won't know unless I try, right?

It was great to see you, even if we didn't get to talk much. Hope everyone is doing well.

Sincerely,
Anton Day

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Dear Anton,

Everyone is doing well, yes. I'm sure your mother or father will have told you about Marianne's musical. The triplets are loving preschool. They're playing with other kids more, though I wouldn't say they've made friends yet. Mackenzie is loving to play big sister in charge whenever it's just her and the baby with their grandparents watching them, and then Miss Aubrey herself, she is trying to get a handle on her legs, and her feet. It's a process, but she'll get there. Lucas is as busy as ever at the ranch, with the work on the Bed & Breakfast especially, and me and school, well, I'm sure someone's mentioned what's been going on there, too.

I am very happy to hear about you and school. I remember how much of a shift it was for me, too, and I wasn't out there studying to become a doctor like you. Thank goodness for weird roommates, yes. The weirdest I had to deal with was Dylan… and Riley… Good thing those two found each other, right? As for the intimidating girl, I think I know the type, and I say go for it, try and get to know her better. She should be so lucky as to get a guy like you.

I hope you made it back to school with a lighter head. We didn't talk much, no, but I did see you, and I could see the distress in you. We didn't talk because you didn't come to me but also because I tried to leave you alone, not to push you to talk if you weren't up to it. I remember what it was like when my father passed away, and even if in his case I knew it was coming, it stayed with me like a leech that wouldn't let go. And it's still with me now, though I do my best to live with it in a way that's as comfortable as we're bound to get.

Anton, I'm so proud of what you're trying to do out there, and I'm sure the rest of your family is, too. I hear them talk about you all the time with such smiles on their faces. If it ever does become very difficult for you and you struggle, you can still talk to them about it. Maybe it's presumptuous of me, but I feel like you might be the kind to try and push it down rather than let anyone else worry. And you really don't need to. They're waiting to hear from you. It goes for me, too, if you ever need to talk.

Until then, Mr. Day. Much love,
Mrs. Maya Friar

x

"Porter McNeeley. You're serious?" Cara stared at her sister, wide eyed. She'd stopped walking as soon as she'd heard the name, and Sam quietly hooked his arm with his little sister's to urge her forward. "Porter McNeeley as in… as in… Porter McNeeley?"

"This isn't like Beetlejuice, is it? He's not going to show up out of nowhere if you say his name three times?" Sam joked.

"I think you have to be looking up at a marquee or something," Maya chimed in with a matching smirk that made him laugh. Cara was still stuck on the first part. "And yes, him, but say it louder, I don't think they heard you back in Austin," Maya went on, and Cara finally blinked.

"He just… showed up? He tracked you down? He can do that?"

"He got in touch with the theater, they told him where I was staying. He was going to leave a note, but then the woman at the counter had seen me go into the restaurant, so she pointed him in," Maya explained.

"And he wants you to work with his granddaughter," Cara went on, her face shifting now into a smiling sort of 'that's so sweet' thought. "How old is she?"

"Fourteen, almost fifteen," Maya recalled. "Lives in Colorado."

"Yeah, yeah, her father's that Olympic skier guy, isn't he?" Sam spoke, and both his sisters turned to look at him. "What, I read stuff," he shrugged. Maya snorted, and Cara giggled into her shoulder. "So, are you going to do it?"

"Sure, yeah. I gave him my information, he'll get in touch with her, hopefully she won't be too embarrassed, and then we'll see what happens."

"You've got fans in high places," Cara proudly grinned at her big sister.

"Wait until Mom finds out," Sam added, and Cara immediately gasped and laughed out loud. Off Maya's confused look, he explained. "She had a thing for him, probably still does, in a sort of 'never going to happen kind of way.'"

"She does?" Maya smirked, picturing Abigail and her own inner beastie.

"Dad took her to see this musical he was in back when they were dating. He'd heard her talking about him so much, and wishing she could go, so he went and got two tickets. She says it was one of the best nights of her life," Sam explained.

"They used to joke that was the night they made him," Cara tipped her head to her brother, who had his turn at going wide-eyed. "Who knows, maybe they did. It's a wonder they didn't name you Porter," she went on, as though seeking to turn his face as red as it would go.

"Maya, make her stop," he complained in a very teenaged way.

"Maybe we should call Abigail and get the official story," Maya suggested, in a not-so-innocent innocent tone. Cara's face said 'oh, this is a great idea.'

"We don't have time, okay, we're going to be late," Sam told them, trying so hard to sound casual, like it would convince them to drop the subject. For his sake, and for the fact that he had a point, the subject was dropped… for now.

This was their last day going up to the theater. The next morning, they would be flying back to Austin… Most of them. It had been decided that Sam and Dora would stick around for a bit, to see about the next part of the auditions, the call backs and all of that. Whether he would be there until the entire cast was locked down, they couldn't say, but the hope was that maybe he would be, standing as a representative for the trio. Cara had done her stint, and now it was his turn.

Back at the hotel, in that instant, they knew, the frenzy would be on for everyone to get packing. They'd tried to do a bit of it with the others before they left, but they could only do so much. They would have done it that evening, yes, but they had something else to look forward to: they had tickets to a musical, courtesy of Joey Garcia. He and his wife would keep an eye on the likes of Mackenzie and Aubrey Friar, Felix Arroyo, and Tim Calahart, but the others would be heading out for a special night. No one was quite as excited as Marianne Friar right about then. It may not have been Les Mis, but it was something, and she couldn't wait.

With the final auditions behind them, it was a mad dash back to the hotel. They weren't exactly getting glammed up, but they definitely wanted to aim for something semi-formal. Maya would joke to Lucas that she had been forced to up her game because of the outfit choices on Marianne, Remy, Kacey, and Lucy, and on him with that suit. He would whisper to her that he'd figured she'd like it, especially after a long day out there. He was very, very correct, so she was more than happy to match him, especially if she got to make him go a bit dreamy eyed about the results. It would have been even better if they could have had all of their girls with them, but it was already kind of fantastic with the four that they had. The triplets would be so comically quiet and invested throughout the whole show that it would sometimes be distracting for their parents, but what they came away with that night was that they definitely wanted to do this again in the future… all of them together.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners