June 12th 2022
Chapter 163
Our Steps Toward Creation
"Oh, Miss Friar, what's going on in here, huh?" Maya hushed as she brought the crying baby to the changing table and set about opening up her diaper so she could see… "Yeah… That'll do it," her nose twitched. "You know, between your sisters and my siblings, it would be nice if I got to develop some kind of immunity, wouldn't it? Don't get me wrong, I am happy to assist. No one would like to go around with all that mess, but the difference is once you get older you have a bit more of a handle on things, huh? You get to make sure it doesn't get this far… unless it's really bad. Some people can't control it even when they're big like me, but that's another thing. Right now, you're tiny, so you need help. You've got me, and your dad, and your aunts… We've got you covered, Macaroni," she smirked.
It just helped if she kept talking, or if she sang. It helped the baby, and it helped her, too, helped her to focus on the task at hand and less on the stench and the mess. She'd definitely seen worse. For now, the most important part was getting her daughter cleaned up, changed, and feeling more at ease.
"There you go…" she lifted her back in her arms, rocked her gently as she searched her mind a moment or two and finally smiled. "Macadamia," she whispered down at her and leaned to kiss her little face. The baby girl cooed and touched her face with both hands while she was close enough. "You liked that one, didn't you? Yeah, you did," Maya laughed. "I'm not saying I've been studying that old crossword dictionary of your great grandma Susannah's or anything, but I'm becoming a big expert on a few of those pages… Want me to show you?"
Since Lucas had returned to work full time, Maya now found herself looking after the triplets and the baby by herself now and then. She still had people dropping in, or she'd go to them, but there was much less of a feeling as though everyone was under the impression that she couldn't be left alone. Oh, she'd always appreciated it, would have continued to do so if it had been necessary, but it wasn't, not now. After the triplets were born, when they'd all come home and she'd been recovering, it had been more than understandable – and eternally appreciated – that there would always be someone there with her to lend a hand. And then after she'd started her leave for Mackenzie, with how it had started, again, the help was going to come no matter what.
But now Mackenzie was here, two weeks old and doing great, while Kacey, Remy, and Lucy were three months shy of their second birthday, just about, and while they could be a handful… or two… It wasn't nearly as bad as one might assume. She could handle seeing to them and their baby sister throughout the day. Even if, by the time everyone came home, she was really glad to see Lucas, Marianne, and her sisters, she loved her days at home with her girls. She could have done with having all six of them.
"Mama?" Kacey called up from the floor, where she and her sisters appeared to be building some shaky heap of a tower out of colorful blocks.
"Yeah, cub?" Maya approached, careful not to put her feet where she might trip. Once she did this, Kacey just went back to playing, and Maya laughed to herself. She'd just wanted to know that her mother was looking at them again. So, she went and sat with them, helping Mackenzie fall asleep as she looked on. Once she was this close – especially with the baby – it would draw the small girls' attention to turn to her, so she would talk to them, incite them to carry on with what they'd been doing, and so they did, though they also scooted over sometimes to get a look at their sister.
With early afternoon came nap time for the triplets, and much as she would have liked for it to also mean nap time for Mommy, what it actually meant was 'time to get things done.' It was a lot easier to get things checked off her list – cooking, cleaning, laundry, whatever needed doing – when she didn't have three toddlers underfoot. Nap time was when she became a speedster. Anyway, the triplets tended to be very mellow after their naps, so they'd end up watching a bit of television, all three of them huddled around her on the couch. Did she nod off? Oh, every time, but when she'd wake again, they would all still be there, and if any of them needed anything, they'd wake her up, so they were good.
She was in the basement, pulling a load from the drier, when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Checking the screen, she smiled in surprise. She wasn't surprised at the text; Stella always did this, to make sure she wasn't going to be ringing the bell and possibly waking anyone. She didn't need to go to that trouble, but Maya still appreciated that she did it. The real surprise here was that her former student was standing on her porch.
"Did you just run out of there as soon as the freshmen were done?" she grinned as she opened the door and let her in after climbing back up with her basket.
"I didn't run…" Stella promised, and it made Maya laugh. No, she wouldn't have imagined her doing so either; a hurried step on the other hand…
"Well, you'll be on a clock to get back, so what can I do for you?" she asked. She led Stella into the living room, there to find Mackenzie in her bassinet, and her visitor brightened at once to see the baby. She was asleep, so she was left alone, but she was still a sight to see…
"We said we'd talk, for the auction?" Stella finally turned and saw that Maya had started folding the laundry already. She reached into the basket and started to help.
"Oh…" Maya blinked. "I… completely forgot about that," she admitted.
"Oh, it's okay," Stella insisted, as she would. "You've been busy, you've got everyone here, and her…" she indicated the baby.
"No, I know, but it doesn't mean I like to…" She paused, took a breath. What was done was done, and now they were here. "Did you talk to the classes about it already?"
"Three out of four, juniors later," Stella confirmed. "And I've got all the information, or I think I've got it all. Here," she reached into her bag and handed an open notebook over to her before digging for a matching small sock she already had in hand.
Maya didn't know what it was about seeing Stella's neat handwriting like this, but it brought her right back to the days where she had been her student… one of her first start to finish classes, there from day one… That was six kids ago… It didn't take long for her to look through the notes and conclude just as she'd expected to…
"I think you've got everything under control here," she returned the notebook.
"Are you sure?" Stella asked, turning those hesitant eyes up to her.
"Absolutely," Maya smiled. "Please keep me updated on anything, right or wrong, I want to know, but other than that… You've got this, Miss Buckley." Stella may have opened up a lot over the last few years, but sometimes she would look at her and she would still be her shy bird on the inside… through and through… "And I'm not the only one to think so," she added in a whisper that drew the young woman's curiosity. "Everyone I've talked to from the school thinks so, too. I'd keep that in mind for when you're finished with your degree and looking for a full-time post."
"I… That'd be great, I…" Stella humbly stumbled over her words. Maya understood where this came from. The school had been where her life had changed, where she'd met so many people who were still so important to her, including the woman stood before her, folding small shirts into a neat pile like she could do it with her eyes closed. "You're going to be there, right? For the auction?"
"Oh, for sure, family outing, all of it," Maya promised. "Although, part of me did think it could be fun to be a sort of… mystery donor, you know? One phone call, some anonymous bids… They'd never suspect…" she dramatically declared, making Stella laugh. "But no, I'll be there. I have to see what everyone will do this time, especially the first-timers. How'd they respond when you told them?"
"The freshmen? They're all doing it. They sounded really excited," Stella reported, and Maya nodded to herself. She would have expected no less from that group, but it was still nice to have that confirmation.
"The danger here is that, since I've been away since February, I'll get out there and have missed everyone so much that I'll want to buy everything. We'll need to build a whole separate building next to the Hex, for a gallery. Pretty soon the whole property's going to look like a village, one big house, lots of little houses all around," she gestured. Stella's responding laughter was interrupted as Mackenzie had woken up again and was now crying.
"Oh, I can…" Stella got up from the couch. "Unless it's time for…"
"No, no, not yet; go ahead," Maya let her pass. Stella went and picked up the baby, worked to get her to stop crying. "You know, I have to ask. I know you guys have the house and you're working to fix it up, and you're getting your degree, and François is still on his creative hiatus, but… What happens when he figures out what he wants to do next, if he starts touring again, or does anything that will mean his not being out here for a long while? Are you going to go with him, or…" It was hard not to wonder, especially with how they had discussed her potentially getting hired on at the high school.
"We're still sort of figuring that out," Stella admitted. "The way we see it, at this point, is that we'll decide when the moment comes. For Austin, well… We bought the house because we want it to be home for us, same as his house back in France. We're supposed to go back there over the summer; he wants me to be able to make that home be mine, too, not just his, even if we might not go there for months on end."
"Yeah, I get that," Maya smiled. It reminded her of the attic, in the Hart-Lane house. That was her room, and she was hardly ever there. "I didn't make things more complicated with talking about you getting a job at the school, did I?"
"No, of course not," Stella promised with a smile that was as much for her as for Mackenzie. The baby had gone back to sleep.
After Stella left, Maya was back on speedster mode, especially with how she'd fallen slightly behind. Even as she zoomed this way and that though, her mind was busy elsewhere. She thought about the auction. With how well they'd done last year, it wasn't even needed, not as far as the sketchbooks for the new diaries were concerned, but they did it anyway. It wasn't just about them, was it? Whatever they could earn up for others, that made the evening all the more worthwhile. And for her… She now had a mind to make her own contribution to the various pieces that would be sold off.
"Like I don't have enough on my plate as it is, huh?" she quietly told the baby, now strapped to her front and awake. Mackenzie made a noise, gripped her hands where she could. "We'll make time," Maya 'agreed,' kissing the top of her daughter's fuzz-covered head.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
