May 16th 2022
Chapter 136
Our Needs to Celebrate
After her lunch with Stella, and then Jenny's check in, it really felt as though they were on their way up, like the rest of the day and even the week had the means to be just as great, if to a more level degree. On the whole, it really was. Classes, clubs, teams… Everything was good at school, at the ranch, at home… Would it stay that way forever? No, it very likely couldn't, but that didn't mean they couldn't go around with a view as though it could.
Then, on Friday morning, they got another bit of news, the kind much like what Maya had received at lunch, days before, that left you feeling wide awake and bursting with happiness. In this case, the feeling was felt by several others, too.
It had never been so crowded at her old bench. With how it had held such an important place in her time as a student, for her and all her closest friends, it was no wonder that their younger siblings would adopt the spot, too. It had come to be so for Nadine's little sister and her friends, and it had definitely happened for Maya's own little sisters and their friends. If the two groups were ever there right at the same time, it would get crowded enough, but they'd make it work. There were even more of them there that day. Along with Olivia, Kelsey, and Ava, and Nellie and Gracie, the Davis twins, Desi, Tre and Rolly, there was also Anton, his arm around Nellie's shoulders, which in turn meant Johnny tagging along. And there was Nika, along with Maggie and Lara, and Jenny and Carina, and rounding up the Born Curious quartet, she also found Rosemary. The many freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were all standing and sitting around the bench, talking animatedly, and Maya barely had time to wonder what this was all about, with many of them there earlier than usual and…
"Maya!" Gracie called when she saw her, and everyone turned to see her there. They waved for her to come and join them, so she went, naturally intrigued.
"Hey, what's all this?" she asked with a smile. The group turned back, she soon saw, to look at Kelsey.
This was hers to tell, and as she started, she explained how they'd ended up all of them in one place like this. On most mornings, the quiz team would meet in the art room, where they'd be free to work together to better their skills or just to study together, if it was what they needed to do more than anything. This morning though, both Ava and Nika had something that was going to bring them to the bench, per Kelsey's request, and so from there, one call had trickled down to another, until… here they all were. And why had they needed to be there?
"My mom had an appointment yesterday, and they said all her tests had turned out as they'd hoped. It's over," Kelsey announced to her teacher, and not for the first time that morning, the telling of it brought tears to her eyes, overwhelming relief spilling over. She'd been helped from her wheelchair on to the bench, so she had her two best friends on either side of her, and as the happy tears returned, both Ava and Olivia shared in her joy, holding her hands.
The gathered group around them was pretty vocal about how great the news was, too, and Maya joined them in this feeling. Ever since this had started, back in September, it had been understandable enough that, for as much as she worried over Haruna Farrell and her condition, her most direct contact with the situation was Kelsey, and how it affected her to have to see her mother go through all that she'd gone through. For as much as they'd all been trying to encourage her, to tell her that all would go well and her mother would recover, there hadn't been any way for them to be entirely sure, had there? Now that they'd made it here, to the other side, it felt like they'd been holding their breath all this time… and they could finally release it.
Once they'd all gone about to start their days, it hadn't taken Maya long to start and think about wanting to mark this occasion. She wouldn't get to do it for everyone at the bench that day, but for Kelsey and her friends and classmates, in last period… Yeah, she knew just what they needed to do. Calls were made, and by the time the juniors came into the art room that afternoon, they found a wealth of baked treats for them to grab, either to eat in class or take home, whatever was best for them. They would have a free period, where it would be up to them what they did and what materials they did it with. Today was all about celebrating the fact that Kelsey's mother was doing better. It was a wonderful end to the week for all involved, but most of all for Kelsey, just buoyant with her joy.
When Maya got home that night, it didn't take long for the news to be shared there, too, especially as she came along with a box of leftover cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and the likes. Lucas was very happy for the Farrells, as were Eliza and Emma. Marianne was ecstatic for her fellow turtle enthusiast and her mommy, enough so that by the following morning, her parents found her already out of bed and hard at work at her 'art desk.' It was a smaller replica of Maya's desk up on the second floor, also made by Lucas' Aunt Dot, for his girl's fifth birthday back in October, and had been made so that it could grow with her as she grew. Lucas and Maya still had to smile sometimes, recalling how happy she'd been to receive it, even as they would be taken with the sight of her sitting there, like a smaller version of her mother. That Saturday morning, her inspiration was born of a need to draw something for Kelsey and Haruna once again.
"Who do we have here?" Lucas asked when he got a look at his daughter's work… Turtles, of course. "This one's new, isn't it?" It was.
"That's Beatrice," she introduced him. "She's in charge of the cakes."
"Huh, that's funny… We have a Beatrice at the ranch, too, who's… in charge of the cakes. Didn't realize she was a turtle…" he teased, and Marianne laughed as she went on drawing. "Want us to call you down when breakfast is ready?" She did. "Alright," he bowed to kiss the top of her head. "Don't work yourself out there, artist."
Marianne and her marker marked hands made their way down, as promised, to join her parents, aunts, and little sisters at the kitchen table, only to zoom right back up to her room as soon as she was allowed. They could still hear her feet on the steps and her voice as she instructed the dogs who followed her to not all rush up at once when the doorbell rang. Of course, what that accomplished was to make the dogs turn and hurry back down, even as their best girl stopped and called to her parents, as though they hadn't heard both the bell and the ensuing barks.
"Alright, hey, cool it," Maya worked her way through the rising chaos until she could reach the door and open it to find… "Phoebe, hey! Uh… Come in, come in…" she stepped aside, pulling Jax and Crowley back so the young woman could enter. If the dogs had been excited already, this guest made them even giddier. They loved Phoebe and she loved them back. For a solid minute or two, she was surrounded, dispensing pettings and scratches. Eventually, she got a look like she'd just remembered she hadn't come out here that morning in order to play with dogs.
"Hi!" she laughed, looking up to her former teacher. Well, she looks happier than the last time I saw her… "I'm sorry I didn't call before coming…"
"Don't worry about it, you're always welcome… Might have had a different answer if you'd shown up at three in the morning, but you didn't, so… Hello," Maya smiled. "How are you doing?" she had to ask, and Phoebe nodded like she'd expected as much.
"It's been a… weird week," she admitted. "But we're working through it, and we'll adjust."
"I'm sure you will," Maya agreed.
"And until we get there…" Phoebe went on, taking a breath before holding up her hand for inspection. In all the playing around with the dogs, Maya had not noticed it, not until now. There was a ring on her finger. Maya gasped and looked up to meet her visitor's gaze, found her beaming.
"When did…"
"Last night," Phoebe told her. "I worked late, and when I got back home and walked through the door, he was waiting to ask me. Desi recorded it all. Khalil told her he was planning to do it a few days ago, asked her to help him shop for the engagement ring. He said that he would have wanted to give me his mother's, but she lost it years ago. It worked out for the best, though. It helped him and Desi to sort of patch things up a bit."
"Oh, that's good, that's… Hey…" Maya was glad for her present student, even as she moved up to congratulate her former.
"My parents are out visiting Taylor right now, and I needed to…" Phoebe tried to explain when they pulled back, and Maya nodded. She'd come to her, and she gladly played replacement. Marianne was dispatched to go bring back her father, who was upstairs with the triplets, so he could hear the news. In the meantime, Maya and Phoebe went to sit. "We're not looking to have a big wedding, or a long engagement."
"Right," Maya nodded.
"Khalil's mother's birthday would have been at the end of this month, so we thought we could have the wedding on that day, sort of like… she'd be there with us."
"That's… Yeah, that's soon…"
"It is," Phoebe agreed. "So, I guess I was wondering, we were wondering if… you could help us."
"For the… Oh, absolutely," Maya jumped at the chance, and Phoebe was thrilled to hear it. "I'll pull your best friend and, I'm guessing, maid of honor in on this?" she asked, and Phoebe laughed as she nodded. "We already have to meet up to talk about her stepping in for me, so we can do both."
"I still can't believe she's going to be teaching your class," Phoebe declared with a little proud smile for Stella. "I mean, not that she's not perfect for it, because she is, it's just sort of… surreal, that she's going to be in our old school and…"
"Look who you're talking to," Maya reminded her, and Phoebe laughed once more. "Do you have anything figured out already, ideas? The dress…"
"Oh, I've got my mother's dress… or I will have it… When I was a kid, I saw that she still had it, and I loved it, and she said she'd be happy to see me wear it if I wanted to. Might need to get it altered…" Phoebe thought aloud and, even without knowing Jo's dimensions at the time of her wedding to Peter Munroe, the height difference alone confirmed Phoebe's estimation.
"Not to worry, I've got my grandmother a call away, and if that doesn't work out, I've got the costume department at the theater. They helped me with mine," Maya revealed.
"Oh, right!" Phoebe perked up. She knew how prolific Grangie was with clothing fabrication and alteration, and she may not have been aware of the whole story of Maya's dress, but she had seen pictures. Just that small bit of focus for her wedding plans worked to pull away a layer of stress, and she'd gladly take that.
"Don't worry," Maya told her. "We've got you covered."
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
