January 19th 2022

Chapter 19
Our Connection to Daughters

Ever since the triplets were born, both Lucas and Maya had been seeing their firstborn daughter be an absolute trooper about the new additions to their family and household. No one could have faulted the three-year-old for being even a little bit out of sorts, with the changes that her sisters brought with them. The exhaustion, the crying, all the tasks of care, and the amount of attention it required out of her parents and anyone else who'd be along to lend a hand... They had done their best to explain to her that it would be like this, and to encourage her to speak up if she felt in any way left out, but it would be one thing for her to hear about it and another for her to live it.

It wasn't as though she'd flown by without any sort of dip in altitude. Every now and then, she had shown what Maya had come to call the toddler stage of Huckleberry, and Lucas knew what she was referring to. All his life, he'd had this tendency to put others ahead and just... set aside his own concerns. And now they were seeing Marianne do the same. Now and again, they would be looking after the babies, and they would suddenly notice the little blonde, standing quietly by the door, or behind the couch, just watching, not intervening. Lucas may have been able to keep feelings down until it took someone who knew him in a very particular way to spot it, but Marianne was three, and she wasn't there yet. She'd have that look on her face, like she saw that her parents were busy with her little sisters, and she understood that it was important, but also... she needed them. So, she'd just stand there. She'd be with them, but she wouldn't be in the way.

They'd been doing their best to acknowledge this habit and act in consequence, adjusting their own unfortunate habits as they realized they had them. Maya would do her best to engage Marianne in activities at home which would be about the two of them alone, and Lucas would take her out with him, on an errand, or just driving, or walking along... It would be up to her.

They'd had one of those small adventures today, before they had to come home and look after the band kids during practice. When he'd asked her where she wanted to go, she'd told him 'Daddy's Choice.' That had been a suggestion of Maya's, allowing Lucas to surprise Marianne with their destination, and she'd liked the idea very much, so she'd started using it the last couple of times they'd done this. Last time, he'd taken her to the bookstore, which had grown into one of her favorite places already. Today, he took her to the park, to the old, favored spot of the turtle friends, and the girls when they came along, too. He told her how he'd taken Maya there, on her first tour of the neighborhood. Marianne loved the spot very much, and she especially loved that they got to go down to Nando's diner right after.

Finally, they made it back home, there to be challenged with the mismatched Kacey and Remy's shirts. Marianne had not been fooled for a second, and Lucas saw as well as Maya and the others did how she'd done so without paying attention to the clothes themselves. She had grown familiar with their mannerisms, tiny details that others could easily miss, and it made her parents proud that she'd noticed them, too. It was barely something that they could put into words, but if he had to try, he'd say that Kacey gave the impression of someone who could and would lead the way, while Remy felt a lot more like... a wanderer. Without a doubt, the moment that girl could crawl, they'd have to keep an eye on her. And while her sisters were as active as ever, Lucy was simply a dreamer, quietly pondering.

"What do you think? Should we change them back now or wait for your uncles, see if they can tell?" Lucas asked Marianne after the band had gone off to the Hex. Marianne looked up at him, then back to the girls... She let out a small laugh, and that was all he needed to know. "Alright then, we'll wait."

As they waited, the girls were awake, so Marianne asked to hold one of them. She sat up on the couch, and she was given Kacey, or 'Remy.' Now that they had all grown a bit, even if they were still not as big as they might have been, considering their age, the entire experience of their being held by their older sister had changed.

They still had a way to go before it got to feel like an interaction, but the babies were by no means unaware of their big sister. They were as familiar with her voice, comforted by her touch, as with their parents. She would hold them, and lean close to kiss their foreheads or their cheeks, she would talk to them, sing to them, tell them a story at bedtime... The more they grew, week to week, it was clear: Kacey, Remy, and Lucy were all big fans of their big sister. The feeling was mutual.

With Remy and Lucy held in his arms, Lucas would walk around, dance a little, and it would be as much for the benefit of his babes in arms as for his girl on the couch, who would see this and find it very funny.

Finally, there was the doorbell, and while he danced the babies down from crying, Lucas opened the door and stepped aside, back on task while the Babineaux and Orlando families came along. This woke up little Megan, who'd been asleep in her seat since Riley and the others had left for the studio. In no time, the sound summoned her big brother over to her, which in turn got her big sister to follow him.

"It's okay, Meggy, it's just us," Nicky told the baby, taking her hand in his. It finally took Dylan coming over and lifting his youngest into his arms before she stopped crying.

"We were playing in the leaves!" Mia Babineaux informed her uncle, the four-year-old's tone suggesting she had been sad to stop but she was also happy to be here.

"You know we have some of those here, too," Lucas smirked.

"Can we go see the pumpkins?" Mia asked instead, and in no time the group was all dressed and ready to head out behind the house. Lucas just caught a look from Marianne as he was helping her with her jacket, like she was wondering about the switch and whether they would notice, but all he had to do was point for her to look and she would see as well as he did that Zay and Dylan were in the process of putting Remy's outdoor things on Kacey, and Kacey's on Remy. She covered her mouth to silence her laughter, and she was satisfied.

They would rotate who stayed with the stationary group and who stayed closer to the runners. They had Marianne, Mia, Nicky, and Emily out exploring the pumpkin patch, while keeping cozy and quiet were the Friar triplets, Megan Orlando, and Isaiah and Gigi Babineaux. Coming on a year old, Zay and Nadine's youngest looked on to the others with the slight frenzy of one who just wanted to get out there but was supposed to be napping.

In due time, Zay would pick her up and walk with her out there, let her touch the big orange things. He would do the same with her big brother. Izzy was just a few months shy of two, and he was even more curious than his sister, though he wasn't one to pitch a fit as she might. Of all his qualities, balanced right up there with his curiosity, the boy had developed something close enough to be called patience. That was just for the best, or else he might have struggled much more than he did now, dealing with the aftermath of the work done on his legs over the summer. The next step was to get him on prosthetics and walking, but they would not rush him.

"What's up?" Lucas asked Dylan as he saw him looking over at the triplets, a furrow in his brow like something was bugging him and he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, I just..." Dylan turned to him, then back to the girls, then to him again. "It's nothing. Hey, by the way, I talked to the principal about your exchange campers program?" he revealed, abandoning the unformed thought about the babies.

"Yeah, Juliet told me she's been in touch with him, and the one from the middle school, too," Lucas nodded.

"They're both on board then," Dylan sounded pleased.

"They are. We're hoping to maybe take on the first of those right after the holiday break, figured it'd be easier for everyone that way. Not sure yet if any of our summer campers will be taking a slot, or how many we'll take, four, twelve… sixteen… anywhere in between... We're about to put out the invitation for the holiday camp, you could put out the word with your groups."

"Will do," Dylan nodded at once. "What about the after-school program?"

Lucas watched Marianne as she ran around 'the big one,' the biggest pumpkin they'd ever managed to grow since they'd started, with Mia and Nicky in tow. She saw him looking at one time and she called out to him with a wave, which he returned.

"Working on that, too," Lucas nodded. "In November, I think," he told his friend. After Halloween... Hallowannie... He didn't want to be distracted, dealing with these other kids, when they were coming up on her favorite time of the year. He had so many ideas of what he wanted to do this year, and only so much time... and energy... so he would give it to her.

"Alright, your turn," Zay told Lucas as he came back their way, Izzy in his arms. "We've got the little ladies, don't we?" he turned to his son.

"Yeah!" Izzy replied with a firm nod.

"Yeah!" Zay echoed him, pressing a kiss to the side of his face which caused the boy to lock his arms around his father's neck in a hug. "Izzy the Strong, take it easy," Zay 'squeaked.'

So, with his friends watching the triplets, Lucas sprinted over to the four kids running about. When she saw him coming, Marianne altered course, which led to the others following after her, until they had Lucas surrounded. He pointed this out to them, and in no time, he was a pumpkin thief, apprehended by the young turtles. He was a very good prisoner.

"Did you have a good time today?" Lucas asked Marianne, later on, after the others had gone. They were still outside, and she sat in his lap as he sat on the ground. Very casually, she would lean down and pick up a leaf.

"I did, Daddy," she nodded.

"You did? That's great... Hucklebucket," he smiled, more so as she giggled and presented him with a couple of leaves. "Why, thank you, Miss Friar..." She gave him a look. "Sheriff Annie," he amended, and she smiled before putting more leaves on his head. She couldn't have reminded him more of her mother just now if she tried. "Did you see the looks on their faces when we told them they'd had Kacey and Remy mixed up the whole time?" he asked, causing another roll of giggles.

"That was funny," she told him.

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it? Think we can fool them again another time?" Oh, she liked that idea a lot. "But not right away, they might figure it out. It'll be our secret, just you and me..."

"And Mommy?" Marianne cut in.

"Oh, definitely Mommy, too. That's just her kind of game."

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners