February 19th 2022

Chapter 50
Our Return to Days

It had become such a part of their lives now, over the past six months, that the fact that they had such an easy night felt odd. It was so much so that, a couple of times throughout that night, both Maya and Lucas had awakened, hearing cries that weren't there. They'd lie awake a moment and listen… nothing. They'd turn to get a look at the baby monitor… everyone appeared to be soundly asleep. The one time where they were both awake at the same time, they just sort of looked at each other a moment and got up as one. They walked across the hall and confirmed that everyone was doing well.

"This should be a good thing… I don't know why we're being so weird about it," Maya sighed when they went back to bed.

"Because statistically, they rarely sleep so well before a big day?" Lucas suggested. Maya could only sigh in response, and he held his little spoon close. He whispered at her ear, and she snorted.

So, they slept on, and finally it would be morning, which they deemed to be the true purpose of this quiet night… Everyone was only biding their time to make Maya's first day back at school feel memorable. The babies came in ahead of her pre-set alarm by a minute, all of them crying out in their cribs. This in turn went and woke up Marianne with enough of a start that she started calling for her parents.

"I've got her," Lucas tapped Maya's arm and she nodded, already on her way to the nursery. Overhead, they heard sounds to let them know that Emma and Eliza were awake, so they'd be down in a moment to help. Lucas went down the hall and opened the door to find Marianne sitting planted in the middle of her bed, blanket all in a tangle around her. When he turned on the low light and she saw him, she tried to get untangled, to very little success. "Okay, it's okay, just stop moving around for a minute," Lucas laughed sympathetically. He got her free from the blanket and she was in his arms in a heartbeat. "That was not a fun wake-up call, huh?" he asked, brushing at her hair to resolve the sleepy mess it had become.

"Not fun," she agreed.

"Are you good now, or… No? Okay, that's fine, we'll stay here a bit," Lucas breathed, kissing the top of her head, and moved to sit with her as she refused to let go.

He'd definitely gotten the better end of the deal, even if they couldn't have predicted it. While he'd gone to check on Marianne, Maya arrived in the nursery to find the trio in full waking distress. Usually, both she and Lucas would sort of subconsciously alternate who they would go to check on first whenever they'd go and see to the babies. One morning, they'd start with Kacey, then the next morning with Remy, then the one after that with Lucy, and then the cycle would start again. They weren't even thinking to do it, but they'd always had this thought in them like they were trying not to let anyone feel that they were constantly last, so it translated to this here. But then they'd have some mornings, like this one right here, where the urgency translated into 'just start with whoever is nearer to the door,' and that was Remy.

"Hey there, kitty, good morning… What's the… woah…" Maya adjusted her hold when she got a whiff of 'the problem.' "Yeah, okay, I'd be crying, too, it's alright, going to fix that in just a minute," she moved to look in on the other two, just as her sisters came in, both of them looking barely awake. Maya tried not to laugh as she thought about how long that would last… once they discovered their nieces' morning surprise.

Even as they all got started in getting the girls cleaned up, the momentary urge to laugh was replaced with the other feeling she'd been waiting on, the one that made her look around as she and Eliza and Emma worked together and wonder if she had made the right call in deciding to go back to work now rather than waiting out the rest of this school year. Today, the girls would be put in the hands of her parents, and it wasn't as though she didn't think that they could care for the three of them by themselves, but then… Shouldn't she be there to deal with something like this? Her, or Lucas… Rather than putting it all in their hands? Sure, they were six months old, but they felt smaller than that, and weren't they smaller, technically? If they'd been born full term…

She'd known that the feeling would come, even before she'd decided when she'd actually go back to school. And since she'd thought it through with a level head at the time, she could remind herself of what she'd concluded then: Whether they were six months or a whole twelve, there would always be three of them, and it would always be just a bit chaotic, no way around it. Better that they all got into this rhythm while none of them were mobile yet, right?

By the time all three babies were clean, with a fresh diaper and their outfit for the day, they were sent on down with their aunts so they could start on breakfast while Maya headed to take a shower. They soon had help from Lucas and Marianne, as they finally were able to leave the green room and go see what the others were up to. Marianne's very appreciated assistance came in looking over her baby sisters and being their help and entertainment as they waited for their breakfast. Once they had that, she would make sure that none of them dropped anything. She was very vigilant that way. A bottle only had to start sliding out of one girl's grip and before she could really start and react, Marianne would swoop in and help it back into her grip. It was enough to distract her father and aunts as they looked on with amused smiles.

"So, I was thinking I'd follow you in to school this morning, help you bring the boxes in," Lucas suggested as he turned from where he'd finally convinced Marianne to sit and start eating her breakfast instead of watching the babies and found his wife had come along, all set for her first day back. Maybe it was that he hadn't seen her this way in nearly a year, between summer and her leave, but he was reminded of how much she'd developed into what could be described as her 'teacher style.' It wasn't as though she was completely different on her off days, but there was definitely something about her entire look that stood apart when she was working, and… Yeah, he'd kind of missed it.

"Don't worry about it, Ella will be there, she can help me. Also… I can actually lift those boxes myself now," she reminded him with a pointed 'your Huckleberry is showing' look. "Not that I would mind the company, but don't you have someplace to be, too? You know, big fields… lots of horses…"

"Yeah, but I'm kind of the boss," he smirked.

"All the more reason to set a good example by being on time," she smirked back. She had him there.

"I wanna go," Marianne chimed in from her seat, legs dangling under the table, and her parents turned to look at her.

"You want to go to school with me or the ranch with him?" Maya asked her, and suddenly that looked like too many options, preventing her from choosing. "You have to be at your school, pumpkin," Maya reminded her. "With Winnie, and Miss Alma, and everyone else…" Well, she did want to be there, too… "How about…" Maya started, stealing a look to Lucas, "I take you there this morning. If your dad's okay with it…"

"I do have that meeting…" Lucas slowly nodded in 'reflection,' and Maya bit back a laugh.

"What do you think?" she turned back to Marianne. "Want to ride with me today?"

"Yeah!" she waved her spoon, sending a bit of egg flying across the table. At once, she gasped and moved to stand so she could go and pick it up.

"I got it, I got it," Lucas swooped in with a smile. The yellow projectile was retrieved and, established as having landed 'safe,' was returned to the four-year-old's plate. "Do I still get to come and pick you up this afternoon?" he asked, crouching to her eye level. Marianne nodded. "We could do it that way from now on. You go with Mommy in the morning, and I pick you up at the end of the day?" he suggested, now being the one to pass a look over to Maya. Her smile said it all; she'd been thinking the same thing. By the way she nearly hit Lucy with another bit of flying egg, they assumed Marianne was on board.

Shawn would arrive soon, ready to collect his granddaughters and their belongings – what items weren't already present back at the Hunter Hart house – and Maya would try so hard not to behave as though she was saying goodbye to the triplets for much longer than half a day at the most. It wasn't like she hadn't started going places, leaving them with Lucas or others of their people, but this was a big day, and she'd known she'd feel this way, so no one could blame her for wanting to take some extra time, holding each of the babies before it was time for everyone to go their separate ways. Thankfully, no one spit up or did anything to require her changing again, and no one pitched a fit that made her feet feel stuck to the ground. She wished them a good day, thanked her father, and soon, with the diary boxes loaded in the back and Marianne in her seat, she was off to the preschool.

They had some good songs all the way. Marianne was in fine form this morning, after her unfortunate wake-up call, and her energy left her mother much more ready for the day than she could explain. Once they pulled up into the parking lot and she got her out, Marianne grasped her mother's hand and pulled her along, leaving no choice but to follow.

"Look!" Marianne brought her up to the fence, through which sat the outdoor activities where she and her class would go every day, unless the weather was bad. "That's our fort!" she pointed to the corner.

"Right there?" Maya asked, matching her energy, and Marianne nodded.

She'd been hearing plenty about 'Annie and Winnie's secret magic fort,' and whenever she'd ask about it, she'd be told stories of the little friends' adventures. Both girls would make it sound far grander than what it might look like to an adult, but seeing it for herself, Maya had just the imagination needed to see its potential. Marianne had previously asked her if she might draw it, for her and Winnie. She'd want it to look the way it did in her head, no doubt, but Maya had a feeling that, if they worked at it together, they could make it happen. So, for now, she took a picture.

"Alright, Sheriff," Maya breathed, picking up her daughter, straightening up the wooden star dangling around her neck. "Ready to go in and see everyone?"

"We're going to the park," Marianne nodded.

"I know," Maya smiled as they moved toward the door.

"Miss Alma protects my star," Marianne went on.

"That is very nice of her," Maya remarked.

"She's very nice," Marianne agreed. When she was put back on her feet, she kept hold of her mother's arms so she wouldn't stand up yet. "You're at the big school now," she remarked.

"Yeah, going back to see everyone," Maya told her, knowing she'd be thinking of all the names and the covers she knew from the diaries. "Want me to say hi to them from you?" She did. "Alright, then I'll do that."

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners