March 15th 2022
Chapter 74
Our Bonds With Family
Lucas was able to say, as his day neared its end, that although the actual time he spent at his job was on the whole uneventful and on the verge of 'just another day' forgetful, he would still very much chalk this up as a good day. He felt good the entire time, which could be put to how he'd come into Sullivan Stables with this brightness given on to him by his wife and daughters, and he continued to feel that way as he went about his daily tasks. By lunch time, he even had a 'booster' to that spirit in him, thanks to a small paper bag he'd stowed away for safe keeping along with his lunch.
When he sat down to eat, as tended to be their way on any special day, he had a call with Maya while she was sitting to her lunch over at the school. And when he told her about his piece of cake, as gifted by their daughter, he discovered a bit of that story beyond what he'd already learned. As Maya told it, a few days back, she'd had a very 'serious' conversation with both Ella and Marianne about what they wanted to do for their father's birthday. They'd talked about many aspects – most of which continued to be classified as far as he, the birthday boy, was concerned – and one of them had involved cake. As soon as she'd brought this up, Marianne had started to get 'thinking face,' as they'd say. In no time, she'd gotten very excited because she'd had an idea, or a memory at least. She'd remembered his request for a bit of her preschool birthday cake. Oh, it had been a joke, in truth, but she'd never considered it that. In her four-year-old mind, she just saw a wish she had not been able to grant, and it bothered her.
She'd explained all this to her mother, and Maya had given her a little extra space to consider it for herself, to try and find a solution. Eventually, it had come down to her wishing to give him his own birthday cake like she and her classmates got but figuring it wouldn't be possible. Here, Maya had finally stepped in, suggesting that they ask Miss Alma when she dropped her off the next morning. They'd done so and, amused, the woman had agreed to assist them. Lucas would get his own piece of little cake. It wasn't anything extraordinary, though it was good cake. The important part, as far as they were both concerned, was how he'd come by having it to eat that day. In that respect, it was one of the best cakes he'd ever had, and not even his mother would find space to argue.
Now when they'd had to discuss how they would work things out for this day, one thing they'd had to consider was Nicky Orlando, his birthday buddy. The tradition would stand, and now that he was turning four, Dylan and Riley's son was not only very aware but very eager to get his treat with Uncle Lucas. And because it was Monday, he was already due to head over to the ranch that afternoon, along with all the other kids from the afterschool program. How were they going to fit their birthday outing into the schedule, going right from work and preschool over to the program and then to whatever the respective families had planned for the evening?
The solution came down to Lucas' being cleared for picking up Nicky Orlando and being the one to bring him to the ranch. He was at preschool, too, though not the same as Marianne's, and seeing as Maya would be the one to pick up their daughter that day…
When he arrived, he was informed by Nicky's teacher that the boy had been going on all day about his uncle who was a doctor for animals, who worked with horses, and who had his birthday the same as his. Now he'd arrived and the new four-year-old was very excited to introduce him to everyone. Finally, they left and went to pick up their ice cream. The better to ensure no incidents, they picked it up but didn't eat it until they reached Sullivan Stables. He'd come prepared to ensure the sundaes would survive the trip. With the small cooler in hand, he escorted his friends' son over to his grandmother's old house, Juliet's home, and they sat together on the porch swing. Lucas kept the seat stationary as they ate, and Nicky nearly devoured his ice cream. Lucas managed to slow him down before he ended up overdoing it by asking about his day. Nicky was happy to provide. The boy could talk, no doubt about it. His stories could sometimes be hard to follow, as he would get distracted, take detours, but those who knew him were generally used to it by now. He was happy, clearly, and that was all that really mattered.
"Alright, I think it's all gone now, bud," Lucas chuckled, as he watched Nicky's attempts to collect any potential leftovers in his cup. "How's your face, let me see?" There were definitely some 'leftovers' around his mouth, but considering he'd gotten none of the sundae on his clothes, they could consider that a win. Lucas got his face and hands cleaned up, and then they were good to go and see if the others had arrived. "No running or jumping around yet, okay?"
"I know, Uncle," Nicky promised, sounding like he'd been told this many times before.
They had already been seeing some of the kids arriving, bandanas of several colors being spotted on them from afar, so it didn't take long to find the cluster of those with the green, like Nicky, though today some of them were clearly not four or five years old. Some of them were in their sixties… and some of them were nine months old. But they were all green group.
"Mr. Lucas, that's your Ma?" Harper Beaumont asked, pointing back toward the tall figure of Melinda Friar, standing by with Kacey in her arms.
"She is, yes," Lucas chuckled, still working through the surprise of finding her there, along with his father, and the triplets… There couldn't have been a better surprise.
"Wow…" Harper hummed, turning to look at the woman again like she was in awe of her. They had gotten to a point by now where she'd grown into a genuine friend of Marianne's, just as little June Abernathy had done, and there had been a number of play dates, with them, and Marianne, and Winnie Grayson, at any one of their homes, but this was the first time she'd run into 'Annie's Grandma,' and to look at Harper… It was an experience.
Melinda found the whole thing very amusing and quickly took a shine to her granddaughter's friend. As it turned out – because what else would they expect – Melinda had known Harper's grandparents for years, acquaintances and little more, but still… Now, she had new reasons to get to know them some more.
"So, all of you are part of green group today?" Lucas asked around. The group naturally included his co-monitor, Dylan, as well as Riley, and the Orlando sisters, Emily and Megan.
"We are," Maya grinned, an expression which echoed on to Lucy's face, as the girl sat perched in her arms, fussing at the bandana lightly fastened around her arm.
"Alright, then, let's go."
It didn't take him long to figure out that they intended to have this be a regular day with the green group, so they went and had their activities same as they normally would. This started today with story time up at the archive, with Mr. Carson. He was naturally amused at the sight of the expanded audience he had that day, but 'consummate professional' that he was, he went along with his tale, giving it the same spirit that he would have done if he'd received only his regular crowd. He was always good at remembering what everyone liked, and he'd had a story lined up that day which he knew would be of particular interest to birthday boy Nicky, and he'd been right.
The activities carried on after the story. They went and spent some time with a few of the horses, which today included their youngest residents. It was great to stop and take stock sometimes, to see how the kids had evolved in their interactions since the program had started. They had Harper and a couple of others who had been just a bit uncertain about approaching the horses in the past and, while Marianne's friend continued to have her apprehensions, she and the others were definitely getting more comfortable with the animals. Today, she even braved going up and feeding one of them. She was very proud of that, and so were her friends.
"Hey, Mr. Friar," Patrick Mahoney approached him as the group stopped in for snack time. The fourteen-year-old exchange camper had been helping with handing out juice boxes and milk cartons as desired on their program days, while his junior class counterpart, Aliana Moore, passed cookies and apples and oranges. Neither of them had been made to do it, but they were around the ranch every afternoon, and when the kids were all here, well… They both had an attitude of 'it's the least we can do and we're happy to do it,' so it just became their thing, gladly accepted.
"Hey, Pat," Lucas smiled and nodded in greeting.
"Happy birthday," the boy told him, motioning around as though to say, 'I overheard.'
"Thanks. When you're done, both of you, you should come and join us, if you'd like," Lucas offered. Patrick agreed and moved to let Aliana know when they crossed paths. She quickly smiled and turned to signal him that she'd be there soon.
From what Maya had been telling him, she had adjusted very well with being at their school by now. Her presence had not gone unnoticed among her classmates and those students above and below the eleventh grade. On the whole, she had been well received. Some of the kids had tried their hand at 'oh, let's pick on the new kid,' or at 'woah, new girl,' but on both counts had been either swiftly or respectfully denied. She mostly hung out with Rosemary and the rest of the quiz team, which in turn had made Maya realize how Aliana's host didn't have any friends at school beyond her teammates. In both cases, she was really glad to think how they all had each other now.
"So, good birthday?" Maya asked Lucas, that evening, once they were back home and seeing to the girls after 'bath time follies.'
"Great birthday," he promised with a smile which she returned.
"Great," she repeated happily as she lifted Remy from the changing table with the sound they knew as 'oh, look at you, baby girl, you're all sleepy and ready for bed, aren't you?' When she was that way, she gripped on tight to whoever held her, and it was some effort to get her to let go. "You still want to tell them their story?" Maya turned to Marianne, stood there with her story sketchbook held in both arms. "They're all pretty much asleep already, you don't mind?" She didn't.
"You can listen, too," she pointed out to her parents. Yeah, she had them there. "It's a good one," she went on to nod, and they could swear she was picking up storytelling tricks from watching 'the master' at work, three afternoons a week up at the archive. Her sisters may have been asleep, but her parents were an eternally captive audience, and they listened on, giving her the appropriate reactions when they were required. Soon, when the roles would be reversed and she'd be the one to receive her bedtime story, they would tease her that they couldn't compete, but Marianne would not see it that way, not at all. The way she looked at them, they were and would always remain her favorites to listen to.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
