October 4th 2022
Chapter 277
Our Flight Through Years
"There's been something on your mind the last few days, hasn't there?"
Lucas didn't look away from the road, though it was clear in his eyes that his attention had turned to her. He supposed that of any place, even as his attention would be focused primarily on driving safely, whatever remained might go to something else, and right about now… Of course, there was something on his mind; how could there not? It had been sitting there like a giant question mark for about three days. In the back, the girls were fully dialled in to their manner of entertainment on the long drive to Houston, so he didn't worry about their overhearing and making any sense of things… and he had really been wanting to talk to his wife about this, much as he'd hesitated. It had just made sense to keep it as contained as possible, even excluding her up to now.
So, he gave her the rundown as best he could. She knew of Rafa, of course, of his desire to stay on, which had landed him with a job at the ranch. She didn't know about Michael's discovery – or suspicion at this point – of his other identity, this belief that Rafa had once been the boy they had named Levi, who had been his and Keith's son for eight days before his birth mother had changed her mind about giving him up for adoption. All of it hinged primarily on a birthmark briefly seen when Michael had encountered the boy at the ranch, one which had been present and unmistakable on those many baby pictures they now clung to as a memorial to what had been and what might have been. Lucas had a picture of Rafa and the other yellow group 'graduates' on his phone where the birthmark could be seen, and he had a picture of the picture Michael had pulled from his wallet. He'd been comparing the two every now and then, to the point where he couldn't help but agree, too. He let Maya see these for herself.
"I checked his file, from the after school program. The birthday's a match. Rafa and Levi were born on the same day. And what I know of his family, his father was never in the picture, it's been him and his mother. She's about our age, I'd say, so she must have had him in college. They're not well off, but they get by, from what I've seen and heard out of the two of them, and Rafa seems perfectly happy."
"Wow…" Maya blinked, swiping back and forth between the photos. At eight days, little Levi had still very much had that 'fresh out of the box' look, so his features would have changed some in the weeks and months that followed, but she could see the resemblance, even without looking at the birthmark, which really was identical. Between that and everything else they knew, there didn't seem to be space for doubt that these two boys were one and the same, but… but… There it was. The big question: Now what? "What are they going to do?" she asked Lucas. "Are they going to try and… get in touch with his mom, or…"
"They don't know," Lucas replied. "It's about… ninety-nine point nine percent sure that it's him, so first things first they'd have to confirm it, but even then… They don't want to intrude, like they'd have any right to him. Mostly they'd just like to know, and that way they would be at peace. All these years, they've been wondering if he turned out alright after his mother took him back, and if they can know that now… Everything else would be up to her, if she'd be on board with letting them meet Rafa and telling him about their history. It's just hard to know how to start, I guess."
"Yeah…" Maya sighed. This could go very right, but also very wrong…
They couldn't think about that, not today. Lucas had shared his burden, and his shoulders were lighter for it, but right now they had to set their minds back on their destination. Today, they had the pleasure and distinction of celebrating the eighth birthday of Miss Giulia Choi.
At eight years old, the eldest of the Zvolensky-Mantovani/Garcia-Choi children was still such a clever little thing. They remembered when she'd been half her age and even younger, with a handle on language – languages – that rivaled her years. Though they were all learning and had varying successes, she was the only one who could be said to be fluent in all four of the 'house languages' - English, Italian, Spanish, and Korean - and she was determined to help her little siblings especially to catch up. According to her parents, since summer had started, she had taken up a routine of only speaking one of the four languages, alternating each day. It made things complicated at times, but she was dedicated, and the kids were responding. Five-year-old Connor the August boy, who was days off from his own (sixth) birthday, three and a half-year-old Jae, and even the one-year-old twins, Allie and Santi, were on board with 'the game.'
Maya and Lucas had wondered, only semi-jokingly what today's language would be. Giulia, they knew, would be the type to 'commit to the bit' until she absolutely could not find a way around it. They were proven correct, as the birthday girl greeted them at the door in Korean, even as she held up her tablet, where she'd typed out a translation. She found immediate intrigue in the triplets' eyes, as they suddenly had memories of their trip, and the new words they had learned in French, and Greek... This was new! It would be hard to say who had their day made the most, them or Giulia.
They could see both of her biological parents in her. They had joked at first that mixing Chiara and Ray would make a ridiculously pretty baby with excellent hair, and Giulia was exactly that. She had their looks, and she had many a quality inherited from them, but she also had qualities from her non-biological parents, some of them coming in tics and mannerisms that were so like Sophie or Asher that there was no denying she was every bit their daughter as she was that of those who'd created her. They weren't sure exactly who they had to thank for this latest proposition she'd put upon her parents.
"She wants one more," Maya repeated, trying not to snort as she repeated what Chiara had told her. Five of the six small Friars had gone off to join the rest of the junior turtles, while their parents had taken their baby sister into the Garcia-Choi kitchen to gather with their friends, there to be informed of what Giulia had replied when asked what she wanted most for her birthday. "One more sibling…"
"According to her, thanks to the twins, the balance is off," Asher repeated, giving a pitch perfect impression of his daughter, to the room's amusement. "Now we each have three," he indicated himself and Chiara before nodding to Sophie and Ray. "And they have two, biologically speaking." They had all gone into this with a plan, four children, four parents, four different pairings, and that had all worked out, up until number four had come along with number five.
"She does make a point," Sophie innocently tipped a smile toward her wife, who met her with a look of pure 'don't you even think about it' even as she followed it with a kiss to soothe the matter. Just because she wasn't up for being pregnant a fifth time, it didn't mean she didn't see where Sophie was coming from, or Giulia for that matter. She was also infinitely aware that, were the ability in her, Sophie would have carried this child herself. She would have given anything to make that happen for her, but she couldn't, and dismissing her desires wouldn't have felt right.
"She understands why it can't happen, why it won't," Ray assured the others. He would have taken as many children as they could have, whether they shared his DNA or not. Even so, with how his ties to his family tree had been severed and truncated in places, he could hardly pretend as though seeing Giulia and Jae, seeing his features echoed in them, didn't affect him deep down, or how the eight-year-old's wish had conjured up the possibility of another.
They never knew exactly when and how the conversation took place between the two women. The discussion had moved adjacently off from this would-be sixth child for the collective family to the youngest junior turtle, Aubrey, and how Maya would soon be continuing her maternity leave with her, if for a few more weeks at the start of the coming school year. But then all at once, Rosa's voice cut in.
"I could do it."
The others looked at her, not following what she was referring to. It didn't connect in any way to what they were all talking about now, so they just looked at her, laughed uncertainly in places. She could do… what? She looked to Chiara, to Sophie, to Asher and Ray.
"I could carry that baby for you," Rosa explained now, leaving no room for error. The room was silent, the only noises now coming from beyond the kitchen, where the children were playing. "I mean… if you really wanted to go for it. I could be your surrogate," she shrugged, showing how it made perfect sense to her. They were all still so shocked at the offer. "Well, say something, you're freaking me out," she looked over to Jenna, who was smiling at her all the while. By the way their arms sat stuck to one another, their friends could guess that they were holding hands under the table.
"You're serious…" Sophie blinked.
"Yeah, I mean…" she looked to Jenna again before turning to her friends. "Just because we don't want any of our own doesn't mean we don't get how important it is to you all, and if I can help, then I'd want to do it. I am actually serious," she stated, so they would understand. "We talked about it, we're both on board, so… You just have to say yes or no and…" Rosa gestured. And then either we do it or we don't.
There were a lot of quiet conversations given through looks, passing between the two couples in the spotlight as they considered the very generous offer. There had never been any serious consideration of Giulia's wish because, well, they knew Chiara was done, and she was their only option… Or she had been, only now… Could they do this? Should they do this? Meanwhile, the other couples, those who were neither giving nor receiving in this were still kind of gobsmacked, but also kind of emotional… As startling as it had been, this… actually felt very true to who Rosa had always been. Her people mattered to her, but also, she had always been one to go by the logic that if there was a simple solution to a problem, then she would do what she could to enable it.
"We…" Chiara started, seeming to take the role of speaker for being the one 'passing the torch,' potentially, to her Italian sister. "We need to talk about it some more," she told Rosa, who nodded. Of course, they would have to. "Whatever we decide, I still…" she shook her head, already rising to her feet, and Rosa met her there, that she might hug her. In no time, Sophie was coming in to get her own hug, too, and then both Asher and Ray together, which made Rosa snort. They couldn't well spring this whole idea on Giulia today, not without an actual decision made, but if they did decide to do it and it did happen, then they could tell her that her birthday wish had come true.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
