July 7th 2022

Chapter 188
Our Evolution of Friendship

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, and really if they were honest, it had been good, but at the same time… Oh, they just wanted to get back with their girls now.

With the Babineaux family party coming up, Nadine and Zay had put it out to their friends, where involved, that Mia had gotten this idea of hosting a sleepover for the August Girls on the night before the party. She was not one of those girls, no, her birthday wasn't until November, but then she was best friends with Giulia Choi, and she was one of those girls who'd had their birthday this month, and she was going to be with them on the day of the party, they all were, so she'd thought 'why not?' It would be those who were part of that small but significant group, plus any siblings that might want to tag along, if they could and wanted to be there.

The Hunter twins would have been invited. Even if they were nearly ten years older than the next August girl, they were still part of the group. But it would have been no use this time. They were still in New York and wouldn't return for a few more days. Giulia could definitely be there, while her brothers preferred to stay home and would be along with their parents and the twins only for the party. Tori would be there though, as would August Girl Megan Orlando along with her big sister Emily. Their brother was staying home because it meant he'd get this time with just him and their mom and dad. And then the Friar triplets would be there, along with their big sister Marianne, who had not yet come across a sleepover she'd said no to.

So, for that, Lucas and Maya had spent the previous night on their own with their youngest and their oldest in the house and none of the four in between, which was as unprecedented as it got.

Oh, it had been good, of course, especially to get to spend this time with Mackenzie, getting to focus on her. Even at only four months, there was already this sense of unpredictability about her that was just too funny to them. It went right in line with other instances, like the precision of the start of Maya's labor, the day she was born, in having earned her one of her more dedicated nicknames. When she got like this, suddenly she was not Macaroni, or Macadamia, or Macrame, or Fleetwood… She was Mack Attack, and they loved her for it.

"This is too quiet," Maya stated, as they lay awake, the morning of the party.

"Is that why we're whispering?" Lucas asked, pulling her closer, which made her laugh and in turn got the baby all the way awake and quickly crying. "I got her," Lucas leaned to kiss his wife before rolling out of bed and approaching the crib across the room. "Hey there, Tiny girl, good morning," he hushed as he picked her up. He had learned along the way, between five baby girls of his own and a live-in granddaughter back in the day, that it was very much to each their own when it came to what did and didn't work when they got fussy. Mackenzie was no exception, but he had her figured out by now, and she was already a lot calmer by the time he brought her over to the bed and passed her into Maya's waiting arms.

"Hey, sweet girl, hey…" she smiled. "I'm so sorry I startled you, but you know how it is, your dad is hilarious," she whispered, more so for Lucas' benefit than the baby's. She heard him snicker and turned a grin to him. "Are you excited to see your big sisters again? I know I am. I was just telling him how it's not the same without them. Now, don't get me wrong, we had a lovely evening, the four of us, didn't we? And then Mommy and Daddy got to have a bit of a lovely evening on their own, too," she continued, in the same sweet tone, which made it even harder for Lucas to keep a straight face. "Today though, we're going to see Uncle Zay and Aunt Nadine, and you'll get to go to your very first Babineaux party. You're going to love it."

The 'discussion' carried on as the baby was fed, and changed, and dressed, and her parents readied as well, all with tales of past parties like the one they'd have today. Maya talked of the first one she'd attended, when she was fourteen, and it made her realize that while next year would be twenty years since she'd attended that first party, this year would actually be her twentieth of these. Alright, technically she hadn't attended all twenty, missed it the year she had the triplets, and before, when she'd been on tour with Ree Forster, but ask anyone and they'd say it still counted. Lucas would be able to say how he'd been going even longer, and while the transfer over to Zay's home had been well established and accepted by now, they all remembered the summers at Susanne Babineaux' house, all thought of the late GiGi Babineaux…

There was a new GiGi Babineaux, in the form of Zay and Nadine's daughter, and the girl may only have been two and a half, but she was starting to grasp that her great great grandmother had been as important as she was beloved. When the Friars arrived at the house, there she stood, this perfect little mashup of her mother and father, holding out a box to them.

"For us?" Lucas asked her, and she nodded and smiled, hands close to herself in anticipation. "I can open it?" he asked her, and she nodded again. He did as told, and he got the scent before the sight, which made him smile. GiGi cookies.

"You eat them at home," she informed him, and then she bolted back to the kitchen.

"Okay," Lucas and Maya both spoke at the same time and laughed. They soon realized that the girl had run because more guests were arriving. There were many of these to-go boxes of cookies waiting in the kitchen, and she went to grab another one for the new arrivals. That was her new tradition, right here. GiGi cookies from GiGi the second. She'd helped her mother make and pack these up just yesterday, before the sleepover guests arrived.

As much as the separation had been rough, in the end, they had to say that the reunion made it all worthwhile. The five girls named Friar who'd stayed here last night now knew that Maya, Lucas, Mackenzie, and Ella had arrived, and they came running to find them. Oh, there were so many hugs, and excited voices, and more hugs. To no surprise, Lucy was soon stuck good in her mother's arms, and she would not be moved for some time. The bigger surprise here was how much Kacey and especially Remy felt the same way and became stuck to their father. They had always been so much more independent than their triplet, but as much as they had enjoyed the sleepover with the other kids, the two-year-olds were just so very glad to be back with their parents again.

With the addition of Mackenzie, Allie, and Santi to this year's roster already at their weekly friend dinners, the party did not feel much different to them than the last one where they hadn't been born yet. They had all been on their way, though one of them had not made herself known to be on her way just yet at the time. It was impossible to say now just how much more their table would fill-up in years to come. Some of them had pronounced themselves on being done having kids, while others were at a point of thinking 'we'll see what happens.' Whatever did happen, the joke among them would be that they had long ago surrendered to the chaos, long before they even had kids, so whatever happened, they were there for it.

"So, how's it going with Haley up in New York?" Sophie asked as they sat under the Babineaux' tree. With all the kids, it was not easy, in a gathering of this kind, to get everyone to sit and actually eat together, but they'd pulled it off. Some of them were definitely eyeing the pool, or some game happening somewhere, but they stayed, and they had their lunch.

"It's good, as far as I've heard," Maya nodded. "Very secretive, from the sound of it. They won't tell us anything. All I know for sure is she's having fun out there, so that's really what matters, right?"

"Katy's been calling to check on how things are going up at the ranch while she's away," Lucas added, and he caught Maya's smirk, knowing how he'd found himself the unwitting recruit to keep her mother informed.

She'd had to go with Haley, just had to, and she would return with the other three kids to Austin in just a few days, ahead of the start of the school year, but in the meantime the series was back in production, and they were having to work around the fact that their star was missing in action. If it absolutely couldn't be done otherwise, she would have found a way to come back early, but they insisted they were doing alright, so she would be back when she would be back. It didn't mean that she didn't fret… a lot.

As she'd sort of expected them to do, Maya found herself at one point seated with both Dylan and Morgan, discussing the new school year that was about to begin. Equally expected was one of the main topics they ended up talking over: Jenny Marshall. They all knew she was coming, and they were all going to be right there, supporting her through the transition, but they were also thinking of the big picture, of the kids that would react badly. And they were thinking of other things that would come with this change.

"Do you think she'll at least try and get on the girls' team?" Morgan asked the other two, and they considered the matter in silence for a few seconds.

They had gotten to speak to her about this a lot more than the music teacher would have done. Maya had long been Jenny's confidant at school in these matters, and once the season had been over, she'd also had a conversation with Dylan, feeling that she had to explain to her coach why she wouldn't be there the following year. They both knew how much the sport mattered to her, just as much as they knew that she'd more or less written it off for the last two years of her time in high school, because she figured it would never happen.

"She'd have a lot of supporters out there," Dylan replied with confidence. "Players on both sides, both coaches," he went on, pressing a hand to his chest. "But there's those who'll fight her on it, so… Ultimately, it'll be up to her to decide if it's a fight she wants to take on." Maya nodded, feeling just as he did. And if she does, then we'll be with her.

"She can start out the year, see how things shape up and… when tryouts come, we'll see," Maya added with a sigh. She wanted to picture it all going off smoothly, not a problem, only open arms, but it was a fantasy they couldn't guarantee, not any one of them, and they knew it.

"Hey!" Zay called out then, drawing them out of their bubble. They all looked over at him. "Always having the teacher meetup without me? What, just because I'm not at your level?" he teased.

"Guess we better go back," Morgan chuckled, and they returned to the party.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners