A/N: The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now available!
June 3rd 2022
Chapter 154
Our Participation in Discoveries
Marianne found out about the memory box a few days later, the morning of the competition. The inner box and its contents had been sitting securely up on a shelf since that night when they'd first opened it, while the outer box was placed in a bag until Lucas could figure out what to do with it. He'd been meaning to clean it, but he just never quite managed to do it, what with the event up at the ranch drawing nearer. Of all the instances then for him to decide he had the time, here they were on the actual day, and he was sitting on a low bench, just outside the kitchen door, while everyone still slept. With great care, he worked to clean the box without damaging any part of it or the faded design on the outside. Did he need to be this cautious with it? Maybe not, but he was too aware of what this object meant to treat it any other way.
As concentrated as he was on his task, Lucas still became immediately aware when his daughter came around. He'd left the door open just a bit, and he heard the scratch of her slippers on the floor. When he looked back over his shoulder, there she stood, hair a mess, little blue eyes blinking even as she tried to shield them from the early morning sun. Lucas set aside box and rag, wiped his hands where he could, and held out his arms in a clear signal that she responded to, scooting over the rest of the way until he could lift her up and sit her in his lap, enfolding her in his arms.
"Morning, pumpkin," he spoke quietly, rocking her lightly and kissing the top of her head. She settled in like he was the best pillow. "Sleep alright?" he asked, and she nodded. "Good," he kissed her again. "Your mom didn't sleep too well, so we gotta let her rest a bit, yeah? Especially with your sisters waking up soon." Again, she nodded.
"What are you doing?" Marianne asked. She'd spotted the box, the cleaning materials; how could she not be curious? "What's that?"
"Oh, this?" Lucas asked, keeping one arm around her while he reached down to pick up the box lid. He'd finished cleaning that one already and was pretty happy with how it came out. He handed it to her now, and Marianne held it with care, recognizing the need for caution, as he knew she would. "I guess you could say it was part of a buried treasure."
"Like pirates?" Marianne suggested, and he chuckled.
"No, not pirates. Your great grandma and grandpa, Marianne the first, and Simon, they hid this in the ground, up at the ranch, years and years ago, even before Granny Mel was born."
"Woah…"
"Yeah," Lucas smiled.
"What was in it?"
"Another box, with special things inside, things that meant something to them."
"Like my Georgie box?"
"In a way, yes, but not really. I'll show you later, I promise. Right now, do you think you can go into your little sisters' room for when they wake up?" he asked, and she understood at once. Yes, someone needed to keep an eye on them so they wouldn't wake Maya up, and she was happy to do it. Off she went, and Lucas carried on cleaning.
He had it all done, his supplies put away, by the time Maya did get up, dragging her feet in a sign of ongoing exhaustion and discomfort. She was getting so close to the end of this third pregnancy, and she was definitely up to the point where, much as she cherished this time with their children before they were born, she just desperately needed for it all to be over, baby on the outside, not inside her anymore. Last night, even though he'd been more fortunate in getting back to sleep, he'd woken up a few times to find she was struggling to find and maintain comfort, even more so to just fall asleep. She'd do her best now not to let it show, to be her usual smiling self, especially for the triplets, but even Marianne would see that underneath it all existed a deep, deep desire, to go back to bed.
"You should stay here today, you don't have to come," Lucas told her. All he had to do was hold her, put his arms her, and it would be like all her attempts at pretending would break apart. Now she was the one using his chest as a pillow.
"Oh, I know, and I am… staying here, I mean. I'm just sorry I'll have to miss it… My sister, and Bobby, and Johnny…"
"I'll record it, I will. We can watch it later. I'll do commentary and everything."
"Well, in that case…" He heard the smile in her voice, and it made him smile back.
After breakfast, Maya helped to get the triplets dressed, but then she went back to bed. Marianne, Lucy, Remy, and Kacey were all placed in their seats in the minivan, and then off they went to the ranch. When they arrived, they were met with Thomas and Melinda, who had just arrived themselves. They were to be in attendance for the competition, which wasn't unheard of, though Lucas had this feeling like the primary reason why they were in attendance this time around was because they knew he'd been flying solo on this one, with Juliet away. No matter how old he'd get, they'd always be there to see his accomplishments, and he sure wouldn't hold that against them, far from it.
As for today, their presence gave him an opportunity, so he took it. He asked them to take the triplets around, wherever, for a few minutes, while he went somewhere with Marianne. There was something he needed to do. He took her to sit on the porch outside the archive, where he reached inside the bag he'd been carrying and produced the inner box. Just seeing that, Marianne's eyes sparked like she knew what it was. The treasure! Before opening it, he went ahead and told her what it was. He explained that it had been inside the other box and the whole thing was buried under an old stable before it was built. It was never really meant to be dug back up, but then Thor had made a hole…
"Again?" she asked, and Lucas smirked.
"I know," he agreed with the sentiment.
"What's inside?" Marianne asked, so he showed her.
Carefully, the box was opened again, its contents inspected by the five-year-old. She held the stone, which was almost as big as her hand; she liked it a lot and, like her great grandfather, appreciated the value of a really good skipping stone. She saw the drawing of the arch and gasped as she recognized it easily; she loved to learn that Marianne the first had been the one to draw it. The newspaper was curious to her, thinking of events so, so long ago… The pictures were her favorite part, as Lucas guessed they would be. Maybe it was that she'd grown up with both a mother and grandfather for photographers – though she knew these were not the kind of pictures the two of them would develop – but she loved to look at them, to really look at them and consider their subject. In this case, she saw Marianne Sullivan with the box, and Simon Sullivan inside the bare bones frame of a stable, and then the happy couple, so deeply in love…
"What's on your mind, pumpkin?" Lucas asked, as he watched his daughter put the pictures back with care and a furrow in her brow. She was thinking about something, trying to understand…
"You said… it wasn't supposed to come out of the ground," she pointed out. "Under the stable…"
Lucas let out a breath, considered. He wasn't surprised that she'd reach this conclusion, but now he had to decide what to say to her, how to respond… Could he tell her the whole thing? Yes, she was only five – almost five and a half, she'd started to specify – but she was also very mature in certain respects, and this one seemed to fall somewhere on the edge. He didn't feel able to shut her out entirely. All he could do was try and explain and see where this went.
"Well, the stable isn't there anymore, see? It hasn't been there in a long time, since even before I was born," he told her, and she was already awed, like it was one thing that she was little, but the thought of a world where he didn't exist yet, that was a lot. "You know the big fence, back there?" he pointed in the direction of the land. They couldn't see it from here, but he was confident she'd know exactly what he meant, and so she did.
"Where you don't like to go," she identified it, and he sighed, laughed. Picked up on that, too, huh?
"Yeah, that's the one."
"I don't like it either," she shook her head.
"It won't stay that way forever," he promised her. Especially once your big sister and I take care of it. "It's been just a fence that way for a long time, but there was a stable there once." She looked at him, big curious eyes asking quietly what had happened to it. He let out a sigh, reached for her to come and stand before him, until he could put his arms around her and put her on his knees. "There was a fire, one night. Everyone hurried to get the horses out, including my grandpa Simon. They pulled it off, but unfortunately, he… he got hurt really bad, and… and he died." He didn't want to spell it out in exact detail, feeling she was too young, that she would get nightmares at the thought of him getting stuck inside the burning structure as it fell in around him… It gave him shivers still just thinking about it.
Marianne received this information and turned her head to look at the open box next to them, the pictures of the young Simon, her great grandfather.
"That's why…" she stated, the two words seeming to encompass so many possible statements. That's why there's no building, that's why there's a fence, that's why you don't like it…
"Yeah," he told her, and she looked back at him.
"Granny doesn't like it either," she told him, and Lucas confirmed it. "Because her daddy died." He nodded again, and now she leaned in to hug him. Lucas hugged her back, working to quell any and all worries that might have taken hold.
As they left the archive, the box back in its bag, they still had to wonder about it. Lucas asked what Marianne thought they should do about the box, and she considered it in silence for a few moments. He asked if she thought they should put it in the archive, but she said no. She was of a mind that it didn't belong for everyone to see, and Lucas had to agree. So, they should keep it then?
"We should put it back," Marianne looked at him, and of several instances where he'd been proud of his baby girl, he didn't know that any of them could stand above this one.
"Bury it again?" he asked, for clarity's sake, and she nodded. "We can do that," Lucas smiled. "Do you think… we should add anything to it?" Oh, now this was an even bigger question, requiring much more consideration… "We can figure that out later, yeah? Let's worry about the competition for now." Marianne smiled. Yes, this sounded reasonable. When they passed the fence, she stopped for a moment, and he stopped with her. She had always been aware of it, but she had never known. Now she did, and she wouldn't forget.
While Marianne rejoined her sisters and her grandparents, Lucas went seeking Juliet. He hadn't seen her since she'd returned from her trip, and he wanted to catch up with her, as much to hear about her time away as to tell her what she'd missed. She looked very refreshed when he found her. The vacation had done her a lot of good, but now she was back, and she was really glad for it. She was very happy with how the day of competition was shaping up. It wasn't about being proud of what he'd accomplished, as though she didn't already know he could do all this, but there was still definitely some element of that here.
When he told her about Thor's dig, she had the same response as anyone who was familiar with the big guy, which was to say a total lack of surprise. But then Lucas showed her the box, and there was her surprise, an emotional sort of awe, especially as she got to look inside. She had never gotten to know Simon Sullivan in life, but as she'd long stated, Lucas' grandmother had spoken of him, of the man he'd been, in such a way that Juliet could have known him. She was of the same mind as his Marianne about returning it to the earth, and she smiled at the thought of adding new items. They'd really have to think about that one.
The competition was as thrilling as ever. As glad as Lucas was to watch Nellie Hunter ride, and Bobby Davis, and Scout Anderson… his highlight was without a doubt Johnny Talbot. The exchange camper and his horse, Sable, were brand new to the semi familiar pool of participants, and they did so well that they were sure not to be forgotten. His aunt, uncle, and cousins may not have been able to make the trip, but he didn't lack for supporters. Barton and Michelle Day were there to cheer on their guest, as were Dakota, Roman, and Anton. Carina was there, too, with Jenny Marshall and her parents… Lucas didn't know what he loved more, seeing Johnny ride, or seeing how happy it made him, and how Carina had never looked so open and at ease… This was like the culmination of their time in Austin. It wasn't over by far, still a few months to go, but it really felt as though they had both accomplished something today that would change their lives from here on out, and Lucas was glad to know he'd played some part in making it happen.
When they headed home at the end of the day, Lucas kept up his end of the promise he'd made and presented Maya with several videos from the day, giving her his best commentary as she sat next to him, smiling brightly, hand to her belly… It wouldn't be long now, not long at all…
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
