July 9th 2022

Chapter 190
Our Signs For Time

Arguably, Maya had not been looking to go in for any new tattoos on the day right before the start of the school year, but then Cheyenne had been out of town, and she'd promised to let Maya know when she'd be back and able to do her Mackenzie bird and 'portrait' pieces, promising that she would make the trip down to Austin and set up shop at a friend's parlor to save her the journey. When she'd called, everything else had quickly fallen into place. Now Maya woke up on the first day of school and she smiled, looking at her arm where she could see the brand new bird, still wrapped up and protected, same as the other area of her arm, where the portrait had been done. Mackenzie, for you…

Had she gone to have these done in Houston, she knew Ella would have gone and met her there, easily, but she was back there now and was unable to drive over. Instead, Maya ended up bringing another daughter. Marianne had always been curious about the tattoos on her parents' arms, on her mother's shoulder… Maya had so many memories of the girl sitting or standing around, observing her parents' and her sister's ink, sometimes prodding at them, tracing lines… The more she'd grown, the more she'd been curious about how those were done. So, when she'd called Cheyenne back to confirm the appointment, she'd asked if it would be possible to bring Marianne along. The woman had assured her that, while it depended on the place – and the kid – she would be fine. She'd met Marianne before and knew her to be well-behaved in every way. She could come.

As Maya sat in the chair, she didn't know what was more amusing between the very quietly awed look on her daughter's face or the amused looks on the other artists and patrons around, watching her watch her mother's new bird come to life. She definitely did not bring up the fact that, when she'd gotten the triplets' birds done, she'd allowed Ella to handle the machine for a line, in case it gave Marianne any ideas. She wouldn't be surprised if she wanted something of her own someday, and of course she would be welcome to it, but that was far in the future. For now, she just watched. The other two artists, friends of Cheyenne's and very much like her, would occasionally call the five-year-old over so she could look at what they were doing, like they just wanted to see what she thought, and she'd be so enthusiastic about the whole thing… It was a good time for everyone there that day.

When she was through with her own pieces, Maya was the proud new owner of a little canary for her youngest girl, and a portrait of her and her father. Alongside the image of Lucas holding baby Marianne as she prodded at his face with her tiny fingers, and the one of him holding the baby Kacey, Remy, and Lucy as he danced around with them, there now was one of him with baby Mackenzie, holding her close the way she liked best for him to do, with her head tucked in the crook of his neck. Maya had just managed to capture the looks on both of their faces, this unified peace between father and daughter. It was just what it felt like, seeing them together, just as it was with the other portraits.

"So, what do you think? Am I hiding them? Or this one? Neither?" Maya asked the collection of observers in the room while she got dressed. Both she and Lucas had been getting ready when Marianne and all three of the triplets had wandered their way in, the four of them still in their PJs, so she figured that she might as well ask them, right? There were differing opinions, though Maya and Lucas both suspected that some of this had to do with not understanding the assignment or just liking one outfit more than another. In the end, she decided to go with the one that left both her arms bare. It was a hot day anyway, summer clinging on a little longer.

"Gotta get dressed now so you can do my hair," Marianne bolted off as Maya got dressed. Lucas rallied Kacey, Remy, and Lucy and was aided in getting them prepared by Emma.

Oh, the first day of school was always a big event in the Friar house since Maya had started teaching, but now that Marianne was going to start kindergarten, it felt even bigger. Much of that giddiness came from the girl herself. It was enough that they half suspected her of putting on her school clothes right to bed so she would be ready to go in the morning. Thankfully, she waited and just wore her PJs as usual. Now though, it was dress on, shoes on, then her golden star, and when she needed to get her hair done, she trailed after her mother until she was instructed to stand on her stool in front of the bathroom mirror so they could get started.

"So, what's it going to be, schoolgirl?" Maya asked her, peering back at their reflections, and finding it nearly impossible not to grin and laugh at the excited look on her daughter's face.

"Two buns here," Marianne poked at either side of the top of her head.

"Sounds good. Twisted or braided?" Maya asked her.

"Just twist."

"Alright, you got it." And they were off. Marianne's hair was getting to be on the longer side, and she got some good buns for it. They were just as she wanted them, and now she was all set for her first day of kindergarten.

"Granny said she wants pictures," Marianne reminded her parents when she stepped outside, bag on her back, lunchbox in hand.

"Her and a lot of people," Lucas agreed as he went ahead and snapped the wanted shots while Maya got the triplets into their seats. They were to be dropped off, along with Mackenzie, at the elder Friars' house, but only after Marianne was left at her new school.

It was a run in with a lot of the familiar crowd when they got there. Some of the kids had not been at preschool with Marianne, but they had been at green group at the ranch, like Harper Beaumont and June Abernathy, so they and their parents were familiar. The same went for the preschool, with Winnie Grayson but also Adam Gray, who was bound to land right in front of Marianne's best friend if their classes going forward sat the children in alphabetical order. Luckily for Winnie, 'Friar' would give Marianne a shot of being pretty close to the both of them, too. Not that they had to worry about any of that just yet…

Tiny boy bullies were not about to get in the way of this glorious moment for the four young friends. Marianne and Winnie spotted each other, and both had to play a bit of the 'can I run now?' game with the ones that brought them before they could dash up to meet one another. And before long there were Harper and June, having found one another already and running hand in hand to find the other pair. Everyone was talking at the same time, and the general feeling seemed to be 'I'm so glad we're here now, all of us.' If there was any feeling of uncertainty in any of them about entering this new school, having their friends around them was making it all infinitely easier to handle.

"Uncle Zay! Mia!" Marianne pointed, and the cluster moved together toward the advancing pair while their parents followed behind them.

"Hey, hello, hi, good morning," Zay greeted the group in no particular order. "So, who's ready for class, huh?" he asked them.

"Dad, they're not in fourth grade yet," Mia pointed out, even as she laughed along with the younger girls.

"They're not? Are you sure?" he asked, measuring their heights with a hand at the top of their heads. "What about this one right here?" he booped Marianne's hair buns and she reached up to protect them. She was the tallest among the quartet. "You know, I think it's just the hair that fooled me, oh well," he 'sighed.' "But in a few years, I'll be looking out for you," he vowed, and if it was possible, he'd made them all very excited at the prospect of being fourth graders.

"You know, it was one thing when he started teaching my siblings, and I know there's still four years to go but there's something about making it here, to the school," Maya remarked, and Lucas nodded. He knew just what she meant.

Just like that, Marianne was off for her first day of kindergarten, and the rest of them had to go on with their days. Lucy, Remy, Kacey, and Mackenzie would be dropped off at their grandmother's house, and then it would be off to work, exceptionally today with Lucas dropping Maya off at school since they'd all gone together. There was presently some talk going on about the Friar, Grayson, Beaumont, and Abernathy parents each getting one day where they'd pick up the girls from home and bring them to school in the morning, with them alternating Fridays, but that was still not decided yet, and the same went for pickups from school in the afternoons. Already, Winnie was to continue being brought to the Friars' until her mother could come get her, so that was her out for those. They would figure it out in time. This was only the first day.

"Carry your boxes for you, Mrs. Friar?" Lucas asked with a grin as the minivan came to a stop in the school's lot, which made her laugh.

"Kind offer like that, how could I say no, sir?" she asked with her well honed drawl. "One of these days, I'm going to steal that invisible hat from you," she teased, now with her regular voice again.

"You could try," he challenged, and the smirk on her made it impossible for him not to lean in and kiss her, so he did, once, and twice, and a few times more.

"Well, this brings back some memories," she hummed, and he was about to volley a reply back to her when he spotted Dylan outside. He'd definitely seen the two of them; he was laughing at what had to be a very high school 'busted' look. Lucas cleared his throat and nodded over. Maya turned to look. She rolled down the window and looked out. "It's not nice to spy, you know that, Coach?"

"Don't make me give you detention on the first day," Dylan called back.

"Ha!" Maya squinted, but she laughed. She and Lucas got out and came to meet their friend at the back of the minivan, where the Grandpa cart could be unfolded to receive the boxes of new diaries. "Were you waiting to help me with these?" Maya asked Dylan.

"Well, it felt like the thing to do," he shrugged. He was clearly recalling the first day of the previous year, when he had very easily figured out what she and Lucas had barely known at the time. It would not be the case this time, but he was Dylan Orlando, so of course he'd be right there to wait and assist his friend and colleague.

"I know I need to focus on my other classes, and all my other students, but right now I'm just thinking about… Jenny," Maya confided in him and Lucas as the three of them headed toward the school. They'd both thought about it, too, whether or not they were teachers here.

This was it… Before very long, Jenny Marshall would make her official entrance into the school, and there would be no turning back. The moment they realized who she was, the moment they understood what the change meant, the word would spread. Maya wouldn't see her and the rest of the juniors until the end of the day, and by that time it would be everywhere. The fact that neither Lucas nor Dylan said anything to the effect of 'she'll be okay,' said a lot. They didn't know. They couldn't make any kind of promise. They hoped… They hoped so much, but it was all they had, that and a determination to stand in solidarity with the junior girl.

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners