January 20th 2020

Chapter 20
Their Tradition For Always

With how they were left to wait between the movies, either waiting to get into or having returned from the bathroom upstairs or below, the sitting arrangements had been jumbled around in places by the time the second movie started.

Most notably - maybe because they couldn't help being aware of her presence - Josie had ended up sitting next to Willow and Lion. It seemed that at some point while they had been queued up for their turn upstairs, Josie had discovered that her former neighbor was expecting her third child. The news, the great news, yes, could have no other effect but to make someone happy when it was attached to someone you cared about, and since she had heard it, she had been keeping near to the mother to be, which was more than fine by Willow herself.

"You're kidding," Lucas had reacted, when Maya had pulled him into the kitchen and told him about the connection they had been unaware of. Maya had shushed him, so not to have anyone hear them.

"I know! If I hadn't heard it from Willow I would have thought it was a joke."

"Was she at the wedding?" he'd frowned, trying to recall.

"Yeah, she... Hang on," she pulled her phone from her pocket, opening her photos and searching the folder marked Willow & Lion. She had everything here, everything relating to the two of them, their children... Scrolling back, she'd come across the wedding pictures, and within those, she was almost sure she had to have one where... "Here, see?" she'd pointed. He had taken the phone from her, zoomed in the image, and even looking at it this way he had trouble believing this meek looking girl was his classmate with the fish hook smile, prowling for guys to catch back in the day. "That was that girl..." he tried to remember her name, which came back to him even as Maya slowly drew it out for him.

"Josephine," she'd nodded. Even as they had gone back to the living room, he was kind of gobsmacked, and he had to will himself not to stare to smaller couch where his classmate sat with Willow and Lion. He could see as well as Maya did, just sitting and talking with her old friend, she looked different. It was subtle, but they could kind of see it better now, the bridge between Josie and Josephine.

With the start of the second movie, their top choice, the evening progressed smoothly into more of everything, from the snacks and the drinks but mostly to chatter and laughter, instigated by Zay and Dylan's drinking game throughout the movie. Their currency involved gummy worms, pretzels, and root beer, agreeing that the way things were headed, they would be passed out within five minutes otherwise. Soon, others were joining in, which only made things sillier.

When the movie was over, they knew it wouldn't be long before people started to clear out. Those who had to drive back to Houston especially would have a long drive ahead of them, so they could only thank them for coming and send them on their way.

"You guys are coming up to see us in a couple weeks, remember that," Sophie told Maya as they walked toward her car.

"Yes, Officer," Maya teased with a grin, making her redheaded friend laugh before hugging her.

"It's just not the same without you guys, you know that?" Sophie spoke at her ear.

"I can say the same out here," Maya nodded.

Behind them, Asher and Ray were telling Lucas about how they had found a couple of things accidentally left on the closet shelf of the room that had once been his and Maya's and now belonged to the two of them guys. Much as they had expected Sophie and Chiara to take the room, the largest of the four in the Houston house, they had ended up keeping their same room, the second largest. It was just the space they had created for themselves, together, and they hadn't been willing to part with it just yet. So, they had given their temporary/potentially semi-permanent new roommates the recently vacated room.

"Anything interesting?" Lucas asked, curious. Ray chuckled, while Asher leaned to whisper to his old friend, who blinked. "Yeah, can you just hold on to those until we drop by?" he scratched at his ear, trying to play it cool.

"You got it," Asher tapped his arm.

They said their goodbyes to Franny and the Weaver Kings girls. With the rest of them back here now, and those four off in Houston, Franny had gotten much closer to the Australian trio. She was very close to Catriona King especially, of course, with the two of them dating still, but she had taken it one step further in essentially becoming their manager. Lily had asked her to do it, admitting herself that she didn't feel at ease with that side of trying to get their group out there, while Franny showed herself to have the drive for it. The rest came naturally.

"Isabel sends her regards," Leona told Maya as they were hugging next to Bishop's car. "I think she misses having you and Lion back at the restaurant almost as much as I do."

"Troubles with the new hires?" Maya smirked.

"They're alright," Leona shrugged, and even in that little voice of hers she couldn't hide the undertone there. Maya tried very hard not to feel happiness at the thought that she was missed, and only succeeded for the fact that she missed all of them just as much, if not more.

"See you guys on Tuesday, yeah?" Lucas told Bishop and Simon as they waited for the last of their group to come and join them to they could head back.

"I don't know why I keep forgetting you don't have class on Mondays," Bishop nodded.

"Thank you for inviting me," Simon told Lucas.

"Yeah, anytime," Lucas smiled. "Next time, there won't be thirty-odd people around, might be good, you know?" Simon was all for it, same as Bishop.

"You go on ahead," Josie had finally appeared, Zelda at her side. "We got another ride," she gestured back to where Willow and Lion were chatting with Maya near their car.

"Alright, see you then," Bishop didn't have to be told twice, and he got in the car along with Leona and Simon, and they were soon off.

"Did you guys have fun tonight?" Lucas asked, as he walked with the two girls toward the other car. As far as he knew, Josie wasn't aware that they now knew her 'secret,' but he still couldn't help but see her differently now that he knew there was more to this story than what she'd shown so far. It wasn't that he had treated her badly before, but she hadn't inspired much in the way of openness and friendliness, and now…

"I might not eat candy again for days…" Zelda hummed, which easily doubled for 'yes, very much.'

"You have a beautiful home," Josie declared. "You must be very happy here."

"Yeah, we are," he smiled. "You guys are welcome anytime," he went on, and he genuinely meant it. Josie looked sort of surprised at this, but also, if possible, humbled, as though she never expected this to be the case if it wasn't in the midst of a big gathering where the invitation was almost courtesy. She might have been more surprised at receiving that open invitation than he was at giving it.

"Cool… Okay…" she simply said before following Zelda off to Willow and Lion's car.

With the last of their Houston contingent off on its way home, they had trimmed down from a loaded thirty-three to a still sizable eighteen. Rebecca and her boyfriend soon took off, giving a lift home to Dylan, Riley, and Rosa, and then Will and Kayla followed right after, taking them down to eleven, most of them being some of their newest acquaintances. Maya, Lucas, and Sam were joined in cleaning up by Dora, and Zay and Nadine, and Maeve, and Josiah and Deanna, and Robbie and Ramona.

"You guys can go, really," Lucas told his classmates and his co-worker. "We've got this."

"It's alright, we want to help," Robbie told him, pulling his shoulder-length mass of electric blue hair into a short ponytail on top of his head. It was always such a curious contrast to the rest of his style, favoring dress shirts and ties, and suspenders on top, but then on him, the whole thing together just worked. "Plus, it might be good for us to digest some more before hitting the road," he went on, looking to his wife, who definitely looked to be regretting some of her choices that night.

"Is that one of yours?" Maeve asked, joining Maya in flattening the pizza boxes for recycling.

"Huh?"

"The song you're humming," Maeve clarified.

"Oh… Yeah, sort of. It will be, if I finish it," she explained.

"You should. It sounds great so far," Maeve informed her, making Maya laugh.

"Thanks. One thing's for sure, once I start, it's hard for my brain to let it go, so…"

"Yeah, I get that, too. Except it's just that I think of a song and then I can't stop hearing it in my head all day. I've had that one you guys were playing in the basement earlier just on loop all night. It's really catchy, I'll have to look it up when I get home."

"I can send them to you if you want," Maya told Lucas' co-worker, finding herself once again thinking of the resemblance with Rosa. With how the night had revealed a connection between Willow and Josie, she half expected to discover the two of them were actually related, but for all she knew of them both, she was secure enough in the likelihood that this was a purely coincidental resemblance.

When Maeve had gone on home, and Robbie and Ramona not far behind, Zay and Nadine had offered to drive Dora home, only to have Maya and Lucas presented with a request from their young charge. Sam had been talking with his friends and wanted to know if the three of them might be able to stay the night, for a sleepover.

"Uh, if it's alright with your parents, sure?" Maya told Dora and the twins, turning to Lucas to confirm at the same time that he was also on board.

"Fine by me, yeah," he nodded.

While Maya had seen Zay and Nadine off to their car, Lucas had stood by to talk with his uncle Emmett and confirm they were okay keeping Dora overnight, before doing the same with Josiah and Deanna's aunt. They had moved in with her upon getting into college out here. The plan was for them to spend a year there with her before they'd go ahead and get a place of their own. When all parties had been informed and said yes, Sam had gone ahead and taken care to get his friends settled in. Lucas agreed to have it so that Josiah would spend the night in Sam's room, while Dora and Deanna would be settled into the third/unoccupied bedroom. Maya would lend the girls something to change into for the night.

"So…" she breathed with the relief of twenty-some less voices buzzing through the house as she came back down the stairs.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Lucas smiled, putting his arms around his fiancée.

"Oh, yeah," she smiled back. "But do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"It's a shame that there's four kids in this house right now?" he guessed, making her laugh.

"Maybe that… a little…" she agreed. "I'm also thinking that I'm not that tired… and beyond all expectations, I could go for more candy…"

"Movie night: overtime round?" Lucas nodded to the couch.

"Yes, so much…" she bowed her head, bursting in giggles as he lifted her up and carried her back to their spot.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners