August 20th 2022
Chapter 232
Our Hearts in Rhythm
Very quickly, they decided they were not going to tell anyone about their unborn daughter. More to the point, they would not tell anyone. They would just wait until any of Kacey, Lucy, or Remy did it for them. They always wanted to let their girls do things that made them happy where they could and getting to unveil this surprise was something that made them all very, very happy. Who would they be to take that from them, right? Plus, as they soon discovered, it all made for very sweet moments.
The first time it happened was when they came home from the appointment and their dinner at Ma Maggie's. Eliza had been on the couch with Ben, the two of them watching television, and when she'd seen them come in, she'd gotten up to ask how it had gone. This had immediately compelled her young nieces to run to her and tell her that they'd seen their baby sister and her heart was fast like boom-boom-boom-boom… All that giddy toddler rambling had made Eliza and Ben laugh at first, and then they'd realized what they were actually saying. Maya and Lucas were having a girl again!
This had been their play, again and again, over the following days. The elder Friars, the senior Friars, the Hunters, the Hart-Lanes, Calaharts, and Arroyos, the Turtles, everyone. They got better and better at it, too. The more they grew and learned to speak, it would feel sometimes like they often knew what the others were thinking, and they could finish each other's sentences between the three of them. They were coming on two and a half years old already, and that never felt so evident as it did here, as they saw the children they were turning into. They were still very much who they'd always been, just… more.
By now, everyone knew they were having a daughter, but as far as her name was concerned, that knowledge was reserved for only three people. Maya and Lucas had talked it over with Marianne, suggesting that they not tell anyone about Aubrey, not until after she was born. That way, it would be a surprise. Marianne fully agreed with this plan. Besides, as she put it, it would be better if they found out her name when they could see her with their own eyes. On that, they were in total agreement.
"You know, if you accidentally slip and someone finds out, don't feel bad. You just tell them not to say," Lucas told her, and she nodded, leaving him certain once again that he would never cease to be amazed at her and how fast she was growing.
Now that they had found out about their daughter and found her name, it only made the wait until she would come feel that much longer. They still had a little under four months to go and nothing would make it go faster – not that they would want her to come too early – and the best they could do was focus on their life right now instead of their life in four months. Where he was concerned, these days, that was not a problem.
It all started with their senior exchange camper, Britt O'Connell. More to the point, it started with her and Donna Devereaux. The girl had only needed to meet the dance teacher and event coordinator to go and befriend her. As she'd told Lucas once, back in September, she reminded her of her grandmother, who'd passed away three summers back. And while she by no means shirked her own given tasks, as part of the XC program, they could bet that any chance she got Britt would be out at the dance studio, either helping Donna move something or find something or clean something… or letting her teach her some moves. Britt wasn't exactly a bad dancer, but she'd never taken lessons before and was very much a 'go with what feels right' kind of dancer. After the last few months stopping over at the studio however, she had made a distinct improvement. Donna couldn't stop raving about her, so much so that Britt had started talking about applying to go to college right here in Austin and come work at the ranch, maybe as Donna's assistant. Their bustling teacher loved the idea so much that she was ready to write any school she'd apply to a lengthy letter of recommendation. Britt was very serious about it, so she'd called her on the offer, and Donna had come through.
Then, not too long after Maya's birthday, Britt had come to find Lucas while they were at the ranch, him with the blue group, her distributing snacks and drinks to all the kids along with Raj. She'd had an idea and shared it with Donna, who fully supported it in both of her positions at the ranch: They wanted to hold a Valentine's dance, right here at Sullivan Stables. It would be open to the riders who came here, and their families, those who used their facilities for business meetings, and for the many couples who, in the past, had seen the ranch as the place where they'd gotten married, and for anyone really who had history and memories here, who wanted to attend.
Lucas was intrigued enough at the possibility that he'd accompanied Britt, first to go back and talk with Donna about it – where he'd received the full force of the Devereaux enthusiasm – and then to take it all to Juliet. It was as he listened to the girl explain it again, after having heard her the first time, and then having heard Donna's version, that it hit him just how alike the two of them could be. Oh, Donna was much more out there, but he saw Britt as maybe the version of what Donna would have been like at her age. To see the small smirk tucked in the corner of Juliet's lips, he guessed she was seeing it, too.
Juliet was quickly on board with the idea. It was to be Donna and Britt's project together, though seeing as the girl still had to go to school Monday to Friday, Lucas was designated as available to assist wherever Donna needed him. This didn't take long to become an offer he moderately regretted. He soon lost count of how many times, in the midst of any number of daily tasks, he'd heard her calling his name as she was still far from reaching him. He would turn his head and there she'd be, at her usual slowly hurried pace. Many people would look at her when they'd first see her and not believe that she could be the ranch's dance teacher or that she could be any good, which always went to show how little they knew.
Every time, she would find him and bring him a request for something she needed his help with, and he would either go right with her or tell her roughly when he'd be able to go do as she needed. She would always be very understanding, even if he could tell she would be awaiting his arrival with great anticipation. It was only that she was so excited, he knew. Donna would never get in the way of everything else going on at the ranch, but she also knew to go after what she wanted when she wanted it, one of the qualities he admired most in her. He was sure some of that had been inspiring Marianne after having been taking lessons from her for about as long as she could walk.
Donna was 'a lover of love,' which she claimed was part of the reason why she'd come to open her studio at the ranch, working with her lifelong friend Marianne Sullivan. A great part of her work as a dance teacher went into coaching engaged couples and their entourage ahead of their weddings, and she'd be buzzing just as she was now, working toward the Valentine's dance, or the Equestrian Ball, as she and Britt had come to call it. She'd always fought for love, all her life, whether it was between a man and a woman or any combination of brides, grooms, and non-binary nearlyweds. They had long been known as a safe and welcoming space in that respect, and without a doubt Donna Devereaux had been at the heart of it all.
The dance – the ball, he had to remember to call it, as Donna always reminded him – would be held on the night of Valentine's Day, a Thursday this year. The word had gone out as soon as possible, the better for them to get an idea of how attendance would shape up. They sold tickets – a ten dollar minimum but encouraged higher at people's discretion – and the funds would go toward their sort of… secret wedding fund. Whatever the amount, whether it was able to fund an entire all-out wedding or not, it would go toward a selected couple who might not otherwise have been able to afford the ceremony of their dreams. A lot of the people paid the minimum, but a lot doubled or tripled it. Even if they had all paid the minimum, with how many tickets they'd sold, it would go a long way to make some lovebirds very happy.
"Can I go?" Marianne asked when she found out about the ball.
"Are you kidding? Of course, you can come," Lucas beamed. "Why wouldn't you?"
"I don't have a Valentine," Marianne simply replied, tilting her head curiously at the startled look on her father's face. Lucas cleared his throat, back on track, and crouched to get at eye level. "I need one, don't I?"
"Well… no, not really," his brow furrowed in thought.
"But it's… Valentine's Day," she pointed out.
"Yes, that's true…" he replied, sounding to himself like he was stretching for time… which was definitely what he was doing. If he just said, 'you're only six, it doesn't matter,' it would not fly, not with her. He couldn't tell her that he could be it, first because that would sound weird and she would think the same, and second because he had Maya… and Marianne would remind him of that as well. "But then you don't just want to go with someone just to go with someone, do you?" he tried. Logic hit.
"But I don't have a Valentine someone," Marianne sounded disappointed, figuring her chances had officially been depleted.
"No, you've got something better," Lucas smiled at her, and up came the hopeful blue eyes. "Valentine's Day is the day for love," he started, thinking to himself how some out there had forgotten that part, "And your mom and I, we fell in love a long time ago, and because of that love, we got you, and every one of your sisters."
"Ella, too?" Marianne asked.
"Maybe not the same way, but yes, absolutely. So, you might not have a Valentine, but you exist because we did, and having you, and Ella, and Remy, and Lucy, and Kacey, and Mackenzie…"
"And Aubrey…" she whispered, beaming. He laughed.
"And her, too," he nodded. "Having all of you, it makes that love stronger… every day of our lives. If that doesn't earn you a spot at the ball, then I don't know what would." Alright, he could have told her that families were welcome, but he preferred his answer, because it made her happy, and it made her feel powerful, and it made her feel loved… and he would do that for her, every chance he got.
"I need a good dancing dress," she moved to go up the stairs at once, then paused and turned around. "You're going to dance with me, right, Daddy?"
"Mommy first, then you?" Lucas suggested, and that worked for her, so she nodded and sped off again, seeking the best dress for dancing at the ball.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
