April 19th 2022
Chapter 109
Our Spirit of Surprise
"I think she's starting to suspect..." Lucas whispered. He brushed his fingers through Marianne's hair, gently so not to wake her. Maya resisted the urge to laugh, which took some effort, considering the image she was looking at just now.
She was lying on her back, propped up just enough by her pillows. Lucas was on his side next to her, looking upon their daughter asleep between them. Marianne's face was burrowed in the crook of her mother's arm, while her little arm was draped over her, fingers slowly shifting along like she was feeling for something. It just so happened that her... field of exploration... was her mother's belly. Oh, she could still hide it just fine at this point, without trying very hard thanks to fall fashion, but if she was to lift up her shirt, there was definitely a telltale curve, growing by the day.
"You don't say..." Maya matched his tone, and he chuckled. "Maybe we need to trust her a bit and tell her."
"I think so, too," Lucas nodded. "Just her or everyone?"
"Not everyone, not yet, I think, but... my sisters," she nodded up to indicate Eliza and Emma. "And..."
"Ella," Lucas guessed, and they both agreed. The house was a first level of telling, and even if she lived in Houston, that included their eldest girl. "Tori?" he asked, and they hesitated. She was just barely three, and she did enjoy repeating things... So, they would have to keep her in the dark, just a little longer.
It wouldn't be hard to come up with a plan. Ella and her daughter were already supposed to come out for a visit the next day. So, they would tell Marianne and the Hart-Lanes today, and then when they were there, Tori would be taken aside, so Maya and Lucas could share the news with Ella.
"So, who made the cast this year?" Emma asked as they were all settling in for breakfast. This was sort of perfect as means for them not to jump immediately into the big reveal, so Maya gladly replied.
At the start of the third week, Miranda had posted the sign-up sheets for the musical, and yesterday, Friday, they'd had the auditions. When the day had been done, Maya and her fellow muses had tackled the important step of figuring out who would get what part so that they could post the results on Monday morning. They had not intended to get it all done like that. They might have turned it all over in their heads throughout the weekend, except they had been sitting there after the last kids left the auditorium, and some big questions had been on their minds, so they'd addressed them, and the next thing they knew, they were figuring it all out.
Right from the top, even as they had been preparing for the auditions, they'd had a lot on their minds. For one, they'd lost some heavy hitters with last spring's graduation. They reminisced over Taylor's journey, taking up his best friend's place, and then Lea's commanding professionalism all four years as part of their productions... They'd left big shoes to fill, but they didn't doubt that there would be others who'd come along and show themselves up to the challenge. In the meantime, they had returning cast members, and crew members...
Stevie Brett would be earning her 'four-for-four' badge - an informal award the muses had created almost as a joke for Lea last year. By the end, it really felt so earned that it was far less than a joke now. It had really meant so much to Stevie that she got to do this, despite the fact that she was the furthest thing there was from a singer, and her teachers and classmates all agreed that she had truly earned her place among them. From her classmates, she would be joined by only one of her two best friends this time around. Last year, Henry and Cade had both joined, being protective of her as the best of friends - and one a secret crush - should be. Only this year Henry was already positioned to take up the mantle of captain of the boys' basketball team, and he didn't feel like he could divide his attention with both activities plus making sure he kept his grades where he needed them to be for graduation, and college... Stevie supported this completely. And she still had Cade, who'd come for a second round, in part to keep up what he and Henry had done the year before... and maybe to inspire the younger kids... and because he'd actually enjoyed doing the musical.
Of the sophomores, they were once again treated to Maggie Hillard and Lara Sullivan-Reyes, which had been a pleasant surprise, especially considering the former's tendency to hop from one thing to another, and the latter's occasional detachment.
Now, the freshmen, oh... Maya had been most curious about this one, naturally. She'd asked her sisters and their friends if they planned to audition, but they'd kept a tight lip, all of them, with the mischief in their smiles letting her know that she'd have to wait and see. So, she'd waited, and she'd seen... The first of them to come along had been Desi Russell, showing herself an instant fascination. After her though, it became a tale of one twin in and one twin out. Gracie and Ethan auditioned, Nellie and Bobby didn't, though they did sit to cheer their siblings on.
The biggest thing, and the reason why they'd ended up getting their cast list figured out that quick came down to the juniors. It wasn't even about the surprise of Anton Day coming along to audition and looking like some vague echo of his late brother, getting many of them emotional, no. It was the question of Kelsey Farrell.
Under normal circumstances, there was no doubt in any of the muses' minds that she would have been on that stage, singing for her third go around. But the circumstances were not normal. Her mother had been in the hospital for two weeks and was not looking to be out of it on any time frame they could count on, and even then, who knew what things would be like once she left... if she left. They could not in their right mind go and ask the girl if she had any plans to be part of the musical this year. It would have been insensitive. But all the same, they would have felt terrible if they simply counted her out. It might well be that, in time, having the musical would be something that helped her. What were they supposed to do in the meantime? What were they supposed to do if she didn't want to do it after all?
The answer had been a bit on the unconventional side, but they would stand by it if anyone decided to complain. What they needed right now was an understudy... a substitute. Olivia had expressed in the past how she had never been interested in being part of the musical, but if they asked her to stand for one of her best friends, would she do it? Yes, in a heartbeat. So, she was in, for however long she was needed, even if it meant going all the way to the end and the actual performances.
"That's great," Eliza smiled. "Does Kelsey know?"
"I left it up to Olivia to tell her. It's not as though we're going to write it on the cast list, that might just make her feel pressured to do it."
The discussion about the musical ended up backfiring in that, just as they were getting around to telling their news, Eliza and Emma were speeding off to get ready for work. They could have convinced them to be a few minutes late under the circumstances, but it all happened so fast that Maya and Lucas finally decided to alter their plans. They would tell the two of them later that night when they returned, but as for Marianne... They wouldn't keep her waiting. She had started up her favorite game of the moment 'follow me, little sisters,' while her parents cleaned up the kitchen and they now went and found their girls weaving along around the living room. Marianne had Lucy by the hand - because she preferred walking around that way - while Kacey and Remy were on their heels, sometimes going too fast and tripping themselves up rather than bumping into them. The tumble would only make them laugh as they got back up and carried on.
"Hey, come here," Lucas moved to guide the four little blondes toward the couch. It wasn't hard once they saw their father. He 'flew' them up, each in turn. Lucy ended up in Maya's lap, Marianne next to them, then Remy next to her, and finally Kacey in his lap. The triplets were all just sitting there, but Marianne, oh, she had a look on her face like she expected something. This was a surprise, clearly. Did she know what this surprise was? She did not, as became clear when they told her that she would be a big sister again.
"For real?" she asked, with big, smiling eyes.
"Yes, for real," Maya laughed, especially as her daughter performed her 'foolproof test' and reached out to inspect her mother's belly... and there it was, small, but there! Oh, now, she had many questions. Would it be a girl again? They didn't know. Would there be more than one again? No, they knew that much, just one baby this time. When would it come? In the spring, in April.
"You can't tell anyone yet, okay?" Lucas told her, and on that he didn't have to worry. Sheriff Annie's lips were sealed.
By the next day, everyone was very eager for Ella and Tori to arrive. Eliza and Emma had learned of their future niece or nephew after a long day at work, which made the news just a bit sweeter. And now they would get to be part of letting Ella in on the secret. When the mother and daughter arrived, they were dropped off by Lea, who stopped in for a few minutes before heading off to see her fathers and her younger sisters and brother.
"Need to borrow this one for a bit," Emma stepped up, gathering Tori, who was always so happy to be held by her.
"Why?" Ella wondered with a curious laugh.
"Well, hey, it's almost October..." Eliza shrugged like it was so evident that they needed to discuss what they would do for her upcoming twentieth birthday. The best part was that it wasn't even a lie. So, off the three of them went, leaving Ella to her parents and little sister.
"We gotta talk about your birthday soon, too," Ella looked to Marianne, whose hand shot up at once, all five fingers in the air. This many!
"Well, speaking of birthdays..." Lucas spoke as the thought came to him. Maya stood up straighter and tapped his shoulder. Yes, good idea. They didn't even have to say anything. Ella looked at her father's face, and her mother's face, and even her little sister's face, and all this evidence put together led her to understand...
"Wait... you're..." she pointed tentatively, in case she was wrong, but they all nodded at her, and Marianne tugged at her arm and hopped excitedly. "This wasn't planned, was it?" she had to ask, and both Maya and Lucas spoke one over the other, shaking their heads as they confirmed it had been a surprise. "When..."
"April!" Marianne helpfully let her know, and Ella grinned. Good to know. Now she looked to her parents, the news fully realized, and she hugged them both together, reaching down to feel when Marianne joined them. Being off in Houston, she'd need to be kept up to date from a distance, but she would be there, whenever they needed her.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
