February 17th 2022

Chapter 48
Our Inspiration For Projects

They were done. They'd recorded the finale. Now Maya would have to go about putting everything together, but even just leaving the booth, knowing that they'd gotten all this done today, they felt really good. There were hugs and maybe a few tears. Cara plopped down on the couch, pulling Teddy's arm so he'd come and sit with her… maybe tell her more about Priya… while Sam joined Maya at the console. He had one pair of headphones halfway on and off his ears, listening to what his older sister was doing as she brought together the various layers that they had recorded into completed songs. He'd try not to smile to himself too much, paying attention while also keeping cool for the sake of those two who couldn't hear yet. It was hard to keep it in when he'd look over at Maya, focused on her work, and she'd be freely smiling to herself, tapping her feet under the desk…

Oh, her cheeks were feeling that smiling ache, and it was just a great feeling. They would have different versions of this album over time, if their wildest dreams came true, but this would be it for her. This version, with her and her brothers and sister, would always be her favorite. She could listen to it in a few days, a few months, years, and years from now, and she'd still remember this day. She'd hear one song or another and she'd remember when this one had nearly broken and held on, or that one had gotten so much in character that the others had almost stopped, forgetting that they were recording. She had failed takes, too… so many failed takes… She'd be hanging on to those, too, as good as the finished product.

"What happens now?" Teddy asked after a while. The others looked at him. "What do you guys do next?"

"Well, a lot of fine-tuning, probably," Sam looked from one sister to the other.

"Definitely," Maya agreed.

They weren't going to rush the process all of a sudden. It had taken them a long time to get here, but then they all had lives, families, jobs, and those kind of had to take precedent over what was, for the time being, little more than a passion project. But this right here, this was already so much further than they could have imagined going in those early days when they couldn't quite manage to find their starting point.

"And when that's done?" Teddy asked.

"Then… we go to school," Maya smiled.

She hadn't needed to work very hard to talk Miranda into lending her a hand there… lending her time with her class, the musical cast, or any other students, to workshop their MSC musical… Maybe they'd decide on a title, finally…

"And after that?" Cara asked, stating what was easily on all of their minds. It was fine for the musical to be their project and nothing else for the time being, but once they took it as far as they could take it, once it was just… ready…

"Well, that's up to us, isn't it?" Maya looked to her co-creators. "We can do whatever we want, keep it to ourselves, or go all the way, Broadway and everything."

"Can we though?" Sam asked, and in the space of those three words, he sounded like he'd said so much more, enough that they knew exactly what he was getting at.

They did want to take the musical all the way. How could they not? The three of them, they had their roots back in New York, they'd attended shows out there, and the idea of bringing their story full circle, from New York, to Texas, to Arizona, all the way back… Yeah, they wanted it. And yet… Wanting it was only part of the equation. They'd have to go through the whole process to even get it on a stage out there, and whatever their involvement was, it would have to happen out there, for… who knew how long…

Could they do that? Any of them? Uproot their lives temporarily, yes, but long enough that it would be significant… Could Maya do it? With her work at school, Lucas with the ranch, Marianne's school, the babies, Ella, and Tori… Oh, she had dreamed of bringing her girls out to New York, to the place where she'd started out, but it felt impossible, this idea of hitting pause on every part of their life in Austin… It felt like trying to stop a leak when there were too many holes to plug all around. Sam and Dora, could they go, them and Francesca? Maybe, though it wouldn't be without any significant disruptions either, and the same could be said of Cara and Mateo… What would their lives look like by the time this musical opened, if they got it all the way out there?

"We can get ahead of ourselves, but what would be the use?" Maya declared. "It's like with the band, you know? We've always done our own thing. Then we had this opportunity, to take it to another level, and we just… We all thought it over together, and we made the call that felt right for us, for what we all wanted."

"And then you got signed as a songwriter," Cara grinned.

"Yeah, well, best of both worlds, that can happen, too," Maya chuckled. "Maybe that'll happen for the musical," she suggested, smiling. "I think the ultimate full circle would be to see our musical presented on our school stage."

"Then that's the goal, no matter what," Sam affirmed with a solid nod, and Cara and Teddy agreed wholeheartedly. Maya just smiled, feeling that rumble of happiness only her siblings could bring out in her.

"Imagine if we got to be in our own musical," Cara grinned before melting into quiet laughter that had the others smiling and laughing along. "Alright, not you, I know," she stretched out her leg to tap Sam's foot with her own. "You wouldn't want to be on stage."

"Yeah, but for good reason, I mean… if there's dancing, forget it. And then acting? No way," Sam shook his head.

"I don't know, man, you didn't see what we saw back there today," Teddy pointed out, getting their sisters' approval and cheers.

"If anyone's going to be on a stage, it'll be those two," Sam insisted, pointing to Maya and Cara. "And you," he nodded to Teddy.

"Oh, yeah, you'd have Broadway all in a faint," Cara dramatically fanned herself and pretended to pass out against Teddy's shoulder, and he was incapable of keeping from laughing. "And Priya, too," she added in a whisper, and now he bordered on shy, which got him more teasing from his younger sister. He took it with a smile.

"Would you want to do it though?" Teddy finally asked his siblings in earnest. They had to think about it.

"You know where I stand, I mean… I just sing, and only when it's for people I love," Sam smiled. The others nodded. That was more than fair.

"I think it'd depend… if it felt right at the time, but also if I was right for it, you know? It's one thing to help you guys in here today, another to actually perform a whole show, over and over again," Teddy pointed out.

"I… I don't know…" Cara spoke, voice trailing out with her indecision. "It's like he said, right?" she tipped her head to Teddy. "There's no telling when it'll happen… if it happens. Maybe I wouldn't be able to do it, for whatever reason, but… It would be nice to think that at least one of us would be part of it, and I don't know if…" her eyes traveled to Maya where she sat.

She didn't even have to say it, did she? The same reasons why her becoming involved with the actual production of this musical out in New York would be complicated, actually performing in it… Oh, if it wasn't for all the issues that stood in her way, issues that were not issues in the strictest sense of the word… Asked any day, she would choose her family over stardom. She'd done it before, and she didn't have the children at the time. She would do it again in a heartbeat. That didn't mean that she couldn't close her eyes and imagine herself out there.

"If we get it produced out there, there's no stopping us from having our own out here, at the Silvan Hughes, and if we did, then… We could do it. Might even convince Sammy boy to jump in," she smirked to her brother, who looked at once confused, making the two on the couch laugh. "You're telling me you wouldn't do it, with your wife and daughter and our families in the audience?" she challenged. He blinked.

"Can we focus on doing everything to get it to New York first?" Sam raised his hands, and it felt like a 'well there you have it' moment. They were committed. They would shoot their shot. Whatever happened… They would work through it together.

"I keep thinking we need to sneak the initials into the title," Cara pitched in. "We always called it MSC, so just… M-something, S-something, C-something…"

"Magic Sound Company," Teddy smirked.

"Make Some Coins," Sam followed.

"Mom Saves Christmas," Maya intoned.

"Okay, this is going to be a thing now, isn't it?"

"Monster Super Cupcake…"

"Man, Stop Crying…"

"Mystery Science Class…"

"You guys are so weird."

"My Sister Complains…" Maya whispered

"My Sister Complains, too!" Sam and Teddy started at the same time, and then they were just goners. They'd inadvertently added Teddy into the 'title.'

"Is it done?" Sam asked, once they'd all stopped and caught their breaths enough.

"Yeah, just about," Maya nodded, looking back to her laptop.

"Can the others listen now?" Cara asked. "Not everyone, but like… El and Em, Lucas, Dora, Mateo, the kids…"

"Well, if it's tonight, I'm kind of beat," Teddy stifled a yawn.

"Not tonight," Maya shook her head. "We've got a thing in the morning… Kind of time sensitive. But are you guys good for tomorrow afternoon?"

They were good for the next afternoon, so Teddy went on his way, and soon the others went as well. Later that night, as they were getting ready to turn in early, Maya settled in bed, waiting for Lucas to join her. Once he did, she recounted the whole Broadway debate she'd had with her siblings back in the Hex. He knew just where her head was at on the debate, and he was with her all the way, which made her smile. Because he was and would always be good old Huckleberry though, he had to point out…

"We could make it work. If it was what you really wanted." She let out a sigh, partly dreading his ability to reorganize her views. "Your mom made it work with Heal Thyself," he started, and before she could reply, he continued. "I'm not saying leave the girls out here and go out there, no," he promised. "The point is that they did make it work. And it was hard, but it happened. You said it yourself, we don't know how long it'll be before the show makes it on a stage. And even if you're not out there from day one… What would be there to stop you from making a short run… or several short runs, from time to time… Say, in the summer."

"You always do this…" she sighed, even as she was turning around to kiss him. He laughed against her lips, drawing her nearer. "We are putting a pin in this," she pointed her finger at him, from the barely existing gap between them.

"We are," he agreed, kissing her again. By the way he soon laughed again, he definitely heard her mumble 'Huckleberry' into the kiss.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners