April 24th 2022

Chapter 114
Our Transformation Into Twenty

When Maya had gone home that night, after finding Cody's work in her inbox, she'd found herself in a similar place as she'd been the day when she'd seen him at the mall. She didn't know whether to tell Lucas about it. Yes, she'd filled him in on the first part when she'd needed someone to talk to, but this felt different, didn't it? Before, it had been entirely about something she had seen, without any sort of input from Cody, so after keeping it to herself for weeks, it had felt reasonable to tell at least her husband. Oh, but this was different. This was one of her students putting a potentially very fragile secret in her hands, trusting her to keep it, so even if she trusted Lucas with everything, no exceptions… Cody did not have that connection with him. He'd trusted her, and she had to honor that. So, once again, she made Lucas aware of a development, and she told him that it had to stay with her. And he understood.

The drawing was hidden away where she knew no one but her would be able to get their hands on it, on purpose or by accident. Before it was placed there, Maya did find herself looking at it for a little while more, really looking at it, and considering what her student was sharing with her. Again, she did not want to make too many assumptions, but she had seen enough to entertain the possibility that it was just what she thought. Going by everything she'd seen of the boy in a little over a year, not just since the start of this year, suddenly a lot of things felt as though they held new meaning. She just hadn't seen it until she'd been given the key. They'd made a start that day, the ball was in her court again.

The next day, when the sophomores had come into her class, she'd made a note on the board: Please leave your diaries on my desk for a bonus assignment! This was not out of the ordinary. She'd do this every once in a while, for a bit of extra credit. So, the kids would pull their diaries from their bags – the ones who hadn't forgotten them at home, which always happened – and class began. Once everyone got to work, she started going through all of the books, adding the bonus assignment on sticky note in their communication page. Those who didn't have their diary still got the sticky note on its own. It was the same for all of them save one. When Cody would get his diary back, he would find two notes. One was the extra assignment, and the other was a message.

Beautiful work, I'd be happy to see more. Let me know if you need any help.

It was as clear as she could make herself without giving anything away, and as she spied Cody's reaction when he opened his cover to look at what she'd left, she knew he understood. That was good.

That was a few days past now. The week had reached its end without Cody communicating with her in any way beyond what was expected with class or the diary. This could have been discouraging, but it really wasn't. Even though he didn't reach out yet, it did feel as though his temperament relaxed. He wasn't as tense as he'd been since the year had started, and Maya was relieved to see it. When the time was right, he would let her know, and until then here she stood as his silent ally.

Setting aside Mrs. Friar the teacher, Maya was fully in mom mode today. The closer they'd been getting to the month of October, the more both she and Lucas had been thinking about their girls, two of them in particular. Their swans, Ella and Marianne, were both having their birthdays this month, and not only that. This year was a good milestone for both of them. Marianne would be a whole five-year-old on Hallowannie day, and Ella was now officially twenty years old. She would be coming out to the house back in Austin for dinner and a party with the family, and friends who'd remained local when they'd gone to college… if they weren't still in high school, but first she would be picked up by her parents and very eager little sisters up at the house in Houston.

Even before they'd gotten everyone seated in the minivan and hit the road, they'd only had to tell the triplets that they were going to see Ella, and Tori, and Lea, and all their aunts and uncles and cousin friends, and they were all turned to a giddy mess. They could say 'Ella,' and they sure said it a lot, talking over one another as everyone got ready, as they were put in their seats, and as they hit the road. It would make Marianne laugh whenever one of them said it. Maya and Lucas both found it sweet enough that the repetition did not bother them in the slightest.

They had been to visit their daughter since her move at the end of the summer. They had seen the room she shared with Lea and how Giulia's room had changed now that she shared it with Tori. They'd given the three-year-old the choice whether she wanted that change to happen in Giulia's other room, at her fathers' across the street, or if she wanted to stay in the moms' house on those alternate nights when Giulia and her brothers would not be there. She wasn't sure, so they'd made the change anyway, showing her that she would always be welcome there. If she wanted to, she could stay there with her mother, or she could follow the other kids. In the time since they'd arrived, she'd done a bit of both. Some nights she would go with Giulia to Asher and Ray's, and on those nights when she stayed at Sophie and Chiara's, she'd start in her own bed… or she'd creep over to climb in with her mother, happily received by Ella who'd hold her close and sing her back to sleep.

"Pappy Luke!" Tori was the one to get the door open, with Giulia and her brothers all clustered behind her, and oh, she had power in her little feet, power that made it seem nearly impossible for her to keep from running at him. Lucas came to a stop on the front step and looked down at her, matching her energy with a smile.

"Did you get taller, Sneaky?" he asked, and Tori shook her head, hands bunched up at her face, reminding him of the days when she used to suck her thumb. "No? Are you sure? Let me see…" he hummed with curiosity before hoisting her up in his arms. She gave him a big squeeze of a hug and he returned the favor with a big kiss at the top of her head to make it better. "All ready to go? Where's your mom?" She pulled back and pointed up.

"You're early, Uncle Lucas," Giulia Choi informed him. "They're not back yet, what about us?" she asked, with an expression very like Chiara's when she saw that her friends and roommates were forgetting themselves.

"Don't worry, we weren't going to just leave you three back here by yourselves," Lucas chuckled. "Not that I don't think that you're mature enough to keep these two in check," he added, nodding over to Connor and Jae, which got a confused look from the boys and a laugh from their big sister. "There, see? They're coming," he looked back to where Maya and Marianne were escorting the triplets as they walked up from the minivan.

He'd been sent up ahead to check on the status of the birthday girl, the better not to spoil the surprise. Not only were the four younger Friar sisters wearing matching marigold-patterned dresses – thanks to Grangie – but Marianne had a bag that carried a fifth and sixth dress, one each for Ella and Tori. This was her gift for her big sister's birthday. Eternally listening and stowing information away for later, she knew how Ella had said that one day it should be all of them girls dressed alike, not just the triplets, some special occasion. Well, what was more special than a big birthday like this? And then, well, she knew that Tori wasn't one of her sisters, though she had called her one back when she'd been a baby, but if she didn't get a dress like them, it would be upsetting, wouldn't it? So, they had one for her, too.

To top off this display, each of the triplets had a balloon in hand, the cord lightly fastened at their wrists so that they wouldn't float away. This was what had kept Maya back the most, as she had to navigate putting those balloons in the girls' possession and making sure no one wandered off or walked into a tree or a wall as they were so utterly enthralled by the colorful globes filled with glittery bits and printed with the number 20. Now, it was an effort to make sure the balloons didn't get tangled up together as Remy, and Kacey, and even Lucy couldn't keep from waving their arms around and watching the things bounce around, especially as the glitter would bounce, too, catching the sun.

The little kids at the door were equally fascinated and tried to get a good look, which created a bit of a bottleneck issue as they all attempted to head into the house, but they made it just in time for Ella and Lea's arrival, the former from upstairs and the latter from the kitchen. They arrived almost at the same time, enough so that they saw the entire display, with the dresses and the balloons, both gasping and beaming at the sight. Marianne gasped like she'd been about to miss her cue and brandished her bag.

"Happy birthday, Ella!" she called, triggering a mass of babbling from the triplets, with their favorite 'Ella!' recognizable in all the mess. The balloons got another bit of waving while Marianne dashed up to give her sister her present. She already looked like she was about to cry just at seeing the four of them in their dresses, so once she looked into the bag and discovered the matching pair for herself and Tori, she was even more over the moon.

"Oh, thank you!" she bent over her little sister to embrace her before moving at a crouch and greeting Kacey, and Remy, and Lucy in turn, and then rising to meet her mother and father. Maya and Lucas held her together, sharing their own wishes for her, as though they hadn't already called her a couple days back on her actual birthday. "Should I go and…" Ella pointed into the bag before deciding on her own. "Yeah, okay… Tori, come here," she reached out, and her daughter hurried over. They went upstairs together to a chorus of 'Ella!' from the triplets.

As they waited, the kids continued to be amused by the balloons, while Maya and Lucas chatted with Lea. She told them about the dinner they'd all had for Ella a couple nights back, and then the party they'd had with their school and work friends the night before. She also mentioned how Taylor had sent presents, how he'd called two nights back and they'd all talked into the night. He was doing about as well as they would expect out in Indiana, which was always good to hear. Still, as Lea told it, he would have been a lot happier if all these good things didn't mean being so far away from the people he cared about the most, his family, his friends… his best friends… He would be coming back to Texas over the break between the fall and winter semesters, and on both sides they really couldn't wait.

"Wow!" Marianne drew their attention from their conversation as the first to spot the duo returning from above. The birthday girl and her tiny duplicate had changed into their marigold dresses, and to see the smile on Tori's face as she came along with her mother, they knew it really had been the right call to make sure she had one, too, to match her mother and her tiny aunts. As for Ella, it was clear to her parents and to her roommates that she couldn't have asked for a better present from her little sister. It was already ranking among her favorite birthdays, far and above.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners