January 31st 2022
Chapter 31
Our Call to Teamwork
Dear Mrs. Friar,
Even though it'll be a few days before you get my letter, I am writing this on my lunch break on August 18th. Lea wrote to me earlier to let me know that you'd had the triplets this morning and that you are all doing well. I was really glad to hear it. Of course, a lot of us around here had been waiting on the news and, even though we did our best to think positively, we'd all been nervous. I think it had to do with the fact that we are all so far away, all caring about you and Mr. Friar and the babies, so we all just sort of fed into one another's concerns. When I told Mr. Matthews about Lea's message, he looked so happy, he hugged a customer. The customer looked so confused and it was funny. (For the record, I know he wants me to call him Alan, and I do, but even after three years it still feels like I need to call him Mr. Matthews, even if it just makes me think of the other Mr. Matthews back in Austin.)
I can't believe I'm starting my last year at school here this fall. It made me realize that, in a way, I've been avoiding the subject. The closer to the end I get, I'm going to have to decide what to do after. I know my family wants me to move back to Texas but, honestly, I'm happy where I am. I love my life here, working for Mr. Matthews, hanging out with him and Mrs. Matthews and the rest of the family out here. They were there from the start when I moved to Philadelphia, thanks to you, and they made it easy for me to find my way. I made some great friends, couldn't imagine being away from them, and I'm so proud of my little apartment. I've made it my own, and I can't bear the idea of pulling everything apart to leave. But then, at the same time, I think about when I left home to come here, and that was hard, too. And I do miss Austin so much sometimes, my family and my friends there most of all… I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, and it just feels like the closer I'll get to graduation, the heavier the question will weigh on my shoulders.
Alright, I sort of rambled on a bit more than I planned there. All I wanted was to tell you how happy I was to hear about your little girls. I hope everyone is doing good by the time you get this. I'm sure you will all be pretty busy looking after them, so just don't worry about anything else. I can't wait to meet them!
Sending hugs to everyone,
Ariel Su
Maya read back through the letter, head in her hands. She could practically hear the girl's voice in her mind as she went through the words, and she let out a deep breath as she considered them all. She was never so glad to think of how easy it had been, once the decision had been made and Ariel Su had announced her intention to go to college in Philadelphia, to connect her to a lifeline. Riley's grandparents were back there, and they would not hesitate to look after the new college freshman when she settled into the city. They'd taken it one step further by hiring Ariel to work at Alan Matthews' store, and by now she might as well have been one more granddaughter to them. The feeling went both ways. And now this conflict, this choice at a crossroads drawing ever nearer… She couldn't help but sympathize, could she?
Dear Ariel,
Responding to your letter from more than two months ago might feel strange, especially seeing as we have spoken a few times since then. You know, of course, that the triplets are doing fine, and so am I. You've seen pictures of them, and videos… As I'm writing to you now, they are downstairs with my sisters and there's no crying, so I can assume that all is well.
As much as we have spoken however, it's the first I hear about the other subject in your letter, and I have much more to say here. I couldn't say that I have been exactly where you are. I may have moved from New York to Texas when I was thirteen, but it was never my choice. And when I went away to college, I was only ever two hours away from Austin, so when our four years came to an end in Houston, the choice to return to Austin was not such a difficult one to make. We could always return, as we do, and the house we lived in continues to be occupied by our friends. There was never a question of having to travel such a distance by my own choice, and I know how it feels, this idea of leaving something that feels impossible to leave, but at the time I had nothing waiting for me on the other side, unlike you.
All this to say… I think the reason why it's so difficult for you to make your decision is that you know there is no way to win. No matter what you choose, it's going to be hard. You've been doing it since you left, with everyone back here. That was hard, too, but you got through it, didn't you? Just remember this: whatever you decide, some things might get lost, yes, but you'll never lose the people. The Matthews will always count you as one of their own even if you decide to leave Philadelphia, your friends, too… When it comes right down to it, they're the thing that matters the most, your people, the ones in Philadelphia as much as the ones in Austin. They love you, and they'll be with you, just as I am, no matter what you decide, always.
From one rambler to another, big hugs,
Mrs. Friar
PS: Your name secret is safe with me. I've worked with the guy for years now, and I still catch myself sometimes when I call him Cory instead of Mr. Matthews.
X
There was still a part of him that couldn't help but think about the elder Orlandos' home when he thought of 'the Orlando Hoop.' It had been the site of so many encounters between him and his friends over the years, since he was just a kid all through high school… The hoop was still there, outside Christopher and Gina Orlando's home, and it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities for him and the others to toss a ball around out there. But like with anything, now that they were all grown, with their own homes, their families, this had changed, too. Now, the Orlando Hoop was the one outside Dylan and Riley's home. Maya had insisted for the two of them to buy it as a housewarming present when they'd bought the place. She had not forgotten who'd seen to 'equip' the Hunter Hart house with its own hoop so long ago now.
As different as it could feel, all it would take would be the turtles – guys and girls alike – and a ball, maybe some music... and snacks... and then it wouldn't really matter where they were anymore. This was their new Orlando Hoop, and the only kinds of obstacles they had to deal with were time and distance. Yes, they had jobs, and families, and some of them lived outside of Austin, but then they did have their weekly friend dinners, didn't they? They had one of those, this evening, so it was the perfect time to organize something they'd been trying to organize for a good two years.
"You know, there's one thing we haven't figured out yet," Asher called out, the first of them to spot the group as they got out of their vehicles. Outside the Orlando house, the guys had already gathered, along with a few of their children, suggesting that the others were inside.
"Yeah, what's that?" Lucas called back as he put Marianne down. She might have tried running before he even reconnected her feet to the ground if he didn't.
"Who are you going to play with? Us or them?" Asher asked with a smirk of playful posturing. It didn't hold much weight, seeing as all the guys on either side already knew one another, and they were on friendly terms all around.
"Pick wisely, Friar," Beck Rawlins laughed. At this challenge, Lucas barely got to open his mouth before he was cut off.
"Daddy, I wanna play with you," Marianne informed him, making Lucas smile.
"Hey, man, now you definitely have to play on our side if you're bringing her into this," Zay 'begged.'
"How about two games then?" Trace suggested. "One with our team, one with yours."
"And may the best team win," Dylan approved this plan, as did the other guys. It all came down to Lucas to decide... and to figure out how to respond to his daughter's offer.
"Hey, pumpkin, I need you to do something for me," he called to her, and she came hurrying back to him. "Can you be our judge?" he asked her.
They would flip to see which team Lucas would play with first. They needed one more player, so not to end up four on three. Ray was inside, tending to Jae, as the one-year-old had suffered a bit of a tumble. He was unharmed, but he was unlikely to pry himself away from his dad's hold anytime soon in this state. So, Nadine volunteered to take the spot, playing on whichever team Lucas would be playing against. Zay did not miss a chance to both hype up his wife and announce his dread at being pitted against her because she could play dirty just to get a laugh.
"I would never," Nadine pressed a hand to her chest, the picture of innocence. Zay pointed at her with a shake of the head.
"No, see, I won't fall for that one, it's a trap."
Either way, a coin was flipped. Lucas would first play with the turtles, while Nadine would play with the docs, who pointed out that she could have been one of their players on any day, being a doctor herself.
Under the kids' watchful eyes, the first game kicked off. Skill aside, the turtles had an added benefit of more years of shared experience on the court than the other team, aside from the Rawlins brothers. The quartet was such a fine-tuned machine though, and they were impressive to see. On the other side, the doctors were hardly outmatched. It didn't matter that they were playing with a newbie in their ranks, they were all excellent in their own rights and it showed very quickly. It came down to a tie broken in favor of the turtles, but just barely.
"Alright, alright, other way now," Tuck Rawlins declared, sounding near identical to his brother.
They took a few minutes to breathe and confer with the reset teams... and with the judge... before kicking off round two, Nadine with her old friends and Lucas with his teammates. The kids cheered them on, and they started.
If they were trying to discern anything today, all they really got to see was that everyone was very talented, regardless of the lineup. The score came down the same, another tie, and the turtles won again, by the intervention of Nadine on the end.
"So, we learned nothing, huh..." Dylan reflected. They turned to Marianne and the other kids to see what they thought. Out of a slight cacophony of voices, their overall opinion seemed to be that Nadine was brilliant.
"Yeah, can't argue with that one," Lucas nodded, the other guys on either of his teams tossing in their approval.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
