July 2nd 2022

Chapter 183
Our Evolution of Years

Their pumpkin girl may not have been known to throw very big tantrums or fits, but when she was upset about something, disappointed or denied, she would wear that feeling on her for as long as it would take for it to pass, whether that was minutes, hours, or days. There was little for everyone else to do except to give her time or at least try and open out a way for her to come back around and be happy. So far, she'd been dragging that mopey face of hers for a good three days. That was when it had finally been decided that they would unfortunately not fly to New York with the Hunters when it'd be time to take Haley out there for her to shoot her part of the movie that she'd been cast in.

It just didn't make sense for them, thinking of what it would demand of them, and what it would mean for everything that would be left behind. Both Maya and Lucas had to think of upcoming duties for their jobs that made the trip impossible even before they considered flying off with five of their girls. They always made sure, when they had to say no to something, to not just say 'no' and actually explain why it was no. It was the reason why, in her infinite young maturity, Marianne did understand her parents' reason and didn't actually throw a fit. For all that though, reasons only went so far. She was still disappointed, so she was going to be sad for a while. She would sit in that disappointment with all her childish self, and her parents would not discourage it so long as there was no reason to.

But if there were ways to coax her back to the other side…

"Hey, Hucklebucket…" Maya whispered, peering into her daughter's green room. She was sitting among her dolls and various action figures, which seemed to have been organized into a scene of some kind. She would have asked her what the scene was, but right about now she probably wouldn't have told her. "So, couple of things," Maya took a couple of steps into the room, crouched, knelt outside the 'stage' so not to knock any of the players down. Marianne kept on placing them. "I was thinking, I know it's still a couple of months away, but by the time you have your birthday, Mackenzie's going to be six months old… already…" she breathed, her sounds of awe in no way forced for her daughter's benefits. "She won't be so small anymore by then, so I was wondering if you still wanted to share your room with her."

Marianne sat up, looked at her. Alright, now she had her attention. She gave her mother a big nod: yes, she absolutely still wanted them to put her baby sister in her room.

"Alright, so that'll give us a couple months to figure things out in here, yeah? The crib's not small, it's going to take space," she reminded her.

"I don't mind," Marianne shook her head.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would," Maya smiled at her. "You're such a good big sister, a great one," she told her, and Marianne smiled. "And a great kid all around," she added because it needed to be said.

Whether it just made her come around or she just felt compelled by the manners she'd learned from her parents… and her Granny Mel… Marianne got up, doll still in hand, and walked around to where she could hug her mother. Maya hugged her back, unable to hide how happy she was to receive this embrace after the last few days. She kissed the side of her head, once, twice, three times, and it made Marianne laugh… even better.

"I love you so much, kiddo," she spoke into her hair.

"Love you, too, Mommy," Marianne told her before pulling back to look at her. "You said 'couple of things,'" she reminded her, and Maya had to think for a moment before she remembered, which made her laugh.

"Yeah, so, I'm going shopping for Nellie and Gracie's birthday, and I was hoping you'd come with me. You know, this birthday's a special one."

"Sweet sixteen," Marianne nodded; she remembered.

"Yeah, exactly," Maya smiled. "So, are you in?" Oh, absolutely, her nod said. "Great," Maya beamed. "First thing though, do us a favor and go hug your dad? I think it'll do him a lot of good," she explained, and she needed to speak no further. Marianne was off like an arrow, leaving her room in search of her 'target.'

She found him in the master bedroom, working at the desk. He was concentrated enough that he'd heard nothing before she came hurrying into the room, and then all he had as a 'warning' was his peripheral vision bringing a flash of color into his awareness. He sat back and turned his chair before he processed what he'd seen, and then he smiled as she came knocking into his legs and worked to climb up into his lap. He helped her, lifted her up, and then she hugged him, kneeling in his lap. He hugged her back, never questioned the change of mood. She felt better, and that was what mattered.

With this delivery of affection completed, Marianne was able to join her mother for their trip to the mall. It was in fact about more than the twins' birthday. Nellie and Gracie Hunter would be sixteen in a few days, sure, but with this day began a very special period they had called August Girls' season. It would be them, and then Megan, and then Giulia, and then the triplets, and then finally Tori, in the span of just under two weeks. So, while they did go and find those things Maya had wanted to find ahead of her sisters' birthday, it didn't take much for both her and Marianne to stop in places with this thought like 'oh but what about this person' or 'oh this would be perfect for that person.' It was a very successful day.

In the middle of their shopping excursion, Maya happened to recall a few of the twins' past birthdays, and she shared the story of the year when she and Lucas had gone to the Hunter Hart house early in the morning, the better to surprise the two of them before they ever got the chance to get up. When she heard about this, Marianne very quickly got this look in her eyes, one that her mother knew very well. It said 'oh, I like that, I want to do it.' It made Maya chuckle, but also… Well, it was a special birthday, wasn't it? And she did wonder how they would react this time…

As on the last time when this had been done, a call had naturally been made to Katy and Shawn to let them know of their intentions, and the Clutterbuckets, too. In the spirit of this plan being established between mother and daughter, while it would be Maya, Lucas, and all six of their daughters plus one granddaughter making their way to the house for breakfast on that Wednesday morning, only Maya and Marianne would go into the house at first and sneak up to the first floor. It wasn't that the likes of Tori or Kacey, Remy, and Lucy couldn't be quiet most times, but this was their scheme, and they would spring it together.

Of the two of them, it turned out to be Maya who had the most difficulty not giving them away as they made their way to the room, though only really because of how funny Marianne's face was as they went along. She was giving her very best of sneaky spy vibes, and it was actually too much for her mother. When she ended up snorting into her arm, Marianne gave her a look and held a finger to her lips, so Maya signed 'sorry,' and they moved ahead, even as Marianne seemed to be picking up on the benefits of knowing sign language when it came to sneaking around. When they reached the closed door, she tapped her mother's arm and signed up at her.

"Can I surprise Gracie?"

"Go for it. I'll take Nellie."

There were still nights, even now, when the twins would end up moving from one bed to the other until they could sleep side by side. It just made sense to them, especially when they'd had a trying day. After her breakup with Anton, Nellie had definitely gone crawling over to her twin's side of the room, and Gracie had welcomed her gladly. They were both in their own beds this time though, so after getting the door open, Maya signed to Marianne once more, checking whether she'd be good to climb up on her own so they could spring their surprise at the same time. She'd be fine. So, off they went.

The cries of startled surprise were just as they would have imagined them to be, though they were quickly mingled with the sound of Marianne's overwhelming giggles. It couldn't have gone better, and she was so glad that they had done this and pulled it off.

"Happy birthday, auntie!" she gave Gracie a squeeze, even as Maya took great pleasure in 'crushing' Nellie in a big hug. Gracie was still just a bit confused, barely awake as she was, but then between her niece's embrace and the sight of the trapped and laughing Nellie, she just had to laugh along with her and return Marianne's hold.

"Thanks, pumpkin," she told her before Marianne slipped from her arms and climbed to stand on her feet, hopping on the bed to belt out the birthday song for both of them. Still stuck under her big sister, Nellie watched her go, eyes going up and down along with her. Yes, this was just how they needed to start this new year of their life.

It didn't take long for the others to start waking up, especially with the noise coming from the twins' room, so Marianne soon hopped off the bed and went in searching of her younger aunt and uncle, her grandparents, and her great grandparents, leaving her mother to motion over to her sister across the way. Gracie didn't need to be convinced. She took those few steps off her bed that would take her to her twin and their big sister and a giant six-armed hug.

"I knew this was going to happen," Nellie declared.

"You did not," Gracie gave her a look.

"Did, too!"

"She really didn't."

"Happy birthday, sisters mine," Maya chuckled.

"You've got that face," Nellie squinted at her.

"That… face?" Maya had to ask.

"Mom and Dad get it, too," Gracie nodded.

"Oh, this one?" Maya asked, giving them a look at what she knew they'd be referring to, the 'they're getting so big' face. "Yeah, well, you're going to feel it someday, okay? It's insidious and you'll be powerless against it," she informed them, which made them laugh.

They got to see more of it after they left the room and Shawn and Katy got to wish their daughters a happy sixteenth birthday and watched them get those wishes from their little brother and sister, from their brother-in-law and nieces, and their grandparents… Eventually they got to sit around the table for breakfast, where talk of the twins' upcoming party came up. The 'verdict' had finally come down that, yes, Anton Day would be in attendance, though it remained undetermined whether he'd stay the whole time. If it got too weird at any time, he would leave. It would be up to Nellie. In the end though, his presence was in no way disruptive. If anything, it was very good, for both of them. Not only did they see that they were okay being around each other, but it reminded them of the most important part, which was that they were friends and wished to remain friends. That was what they were now, and they would continue this way.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners