August 18th 2020

Chapter 231
Their Visitors in Outings

They had both been looking forward to Friday's lunch date all through the week, as much for the date itself as for the fact that it would be close to seeing that first week back ended. Maya had been sitting in her classroom, looking over her tenth graders' work from third period when she got a text from Lucas. He had to hang back at the bookstore over his break, they were short-staffed that day and he would only get a few minutes to eat, not enough to even drive to the school.

Lucas: Make it up to you tonight?
Maya: I'll kick up the outfit if you do.
Lucas: Done.

When he'd arrived home from work, Lucas had thus found his wife had indeed traded in her 'teacher chic' for something a bit more knee weakening. It absolutely worked on him.

"Wow," he had no choice but to say it, which only made Maya smile more than she already had. "You did not come to play, did you?" Lucas asked, as she played it up even more with a slow turn to give him the full effect.

"I never do," she smirked, facing him once more. "You are going to have to match all this, do you think you're up to the challenge?"

"I… yeah…" he gave a humble nod, making her laugh. "Might be able to do that, yeah."

"Okay, well, you go and do that now," Maya pointed up the stairs. "One thing though, slight change of plans," she told him, with an almost nervous look.

"Change how?" he asked.

"Well…" she trailed off briefly. "I was getting ready, and your mom wanted to help, you know, mother-daughter moments and all…" she indicated her hair, which he took to mean had been the work of his mother, masterfully done. "We were talking, and one thing led to another, and now we are just sort of… going on a double date… with your parents…" she finally revealed, with a tentative smile. As he blinked, processing, she would just gesture at herself as though to say 'but you still get all this, so that's fun, right?' Eventually, he just had to chuckle.

"Alright, well then I really need to get ready," he nodded. "We're on the Melinda clock, now, can't be late."

After a speedy shower, Lucas finished getting ready for the evening, coming down to find Maya waiting for him like she'd been anxious to see what he'd put forth to 'match' her. Going by her not entirely exaggerated expression, he had done very well for himself.

"If I walk into the restaurant and very loudly announce 'yeah, that's right, that's my husband,' will that be too much?" Maya asked.

"Not if I get to return the favor," Lucas laughed as he reached her.

"Done," she agreed, sealing this 'pact' with a kiss soon interrupted by the other half of this evening's Friar Four. Soon, they were in the car and headed out, leaving Sam for a night to himself, likely to soon include Cecilia, and maybe some others as well.

In the car, as Lucas drove and told his parents about his day, Maya found herself briefly drifting back to work, and this first school week back from the break. It had been everything she could have hoped for, generally speaking, with her students being as they usually were, and then adding to it her lessons with Phoebe, which had not necessarily been meant to be at every lunch period, but inevitably had become just that, as she and Stella had now taken to being out on the bench every morning when their art teacher showed up, and the first thing they would ask would be if there would be another lesson that day. It took until Thursday for Maya to figure out that they had been showing up this early not just to ask this but so that Phoebe could practice some more and show her best friend. That morning, she'd tripped up a bit and ended up with a new band-aid on her calf after a collision with the bench.

"I'm getting better, right?" she'd asked, with hopeful eyes, earlier that day, as the cancelled lunch date had made for a fifth consecutive dance class in the art room. She had just done the routine Maya had shown her at the beginning of the week.

"I can honestly say that yes, you are," Maya had proudly smiled. The big question was whether she was improving as far as the tendencies which had required the classes in the first place. The calf-bench hit might not have played in her favor on that part, though from everything she'd seen of the girl as the week progressed… maybe she was starting to make a turn on that as well.

For all the good of this week, Maya could not pretend as though there hadn't been something else occupying her mind, other than Phoebe's dancing. She still had August to contend with.

When she'd made it to school on Tuesday morning, after her sleepless night and her chat with her mother-in-law, the question of what she would find upon seeing August again was back in full force. Part of her worried that he wouldn't even show up that day, that he would realize his secret was not so safe anymore and be too scared to show his face. But then he was there, walking into the room with the Janaceks, and Maya hid her relief by turning to the board for a moment. That was only the first hurdle, of course. Now he was here, sure, and as much as she felt compelled to check on him, to make sure he was doing alright, she couldn't draw too much attention to him, just as she couldn't look to Milena too much. She couldn't say what it was, but she had a feeling there was more to the story for her.

All week long, on the whole, it had been business as usual for August in her classroom, and in the school. He still had a lot of that same stance to him, the same one he'd been showing since September, or at least since before the break, where it all depended whether he was interacting with Tony or Milena or any of his fellow basketball players or not. When it came to her, he was his usual respectful but not overly vocal self. She took it all as his way of saying 'I am just going to keep showing up, please don't draw attention to me.'

That was all good and fine, but she was still left with a dilemma, now that she knew what she knew. She had been handed this thing now, and she wasn't sure what to do with it. Whenever she would run into Mr. Matthews, she would feel a twinge of guilt, knowing she had this secret about his son and was keeping it from him. All this did was give her a taste of what August had to be feeling every day, and make her more determined than ever to see this through.

She had to put it out of her mind for now though. She wouldn't do anyone any good by obsessing over what she could or couldn't, should or shouldn't do, all day and every day, especially right now, as she was meant to be enjoying this night with her husband and her in-laws.

Maya could tell Lucas was aware when she retreated from her thoughts and became focused on the world and the car once again. They shared a brief look where she smiled and nodded at him. All was well.

"What did I miss?" she covertly signed, and he smiled back, looking forward.

"Mom, are you sure?" he asked, and just like that, Melinda insisted that she was sure by launching into her story once more from the start and thus bringing Maya into the loop.

When they arrived at the restaurant and they got out of the car, Maya soon fell in step with Lucas, and she took hold of his hand as they went, ensuring that he would look at her and she could pass on a loving look. There could not be words to express how much he meant to her in times like these, when something would come along to claim her mind, and he would be there, so patient and understanding, showing nothing but support. He made her feel safe in her thoughts, knowing he would always be on the other side, waiting, if she ever decided she needed to air them out. Right now, when it came to August's situation, she couldn't let them out, not yet, but if ever the time came where that changed… Lucas would be there to listen. Before they could walk into the restaurant, she leaned in to whisper at his ear, telling him her reason for loving him today. He responded by lifting her hand to his lips.

Dinner with the elder Friars was never a dull affair, and that night was no exception. Even though Lucas and Maya would have enjoyed having this meal to themselves on a whole other level, they couldn't pretend as though they didn't have a great time here, with Thomas and Melinda.

It quickly became that the subject of conversation turned to the summer. Specifically, Lucas and Maya shared Maya's previous thought of a trip, with the two of them and their families. The moment it was put on the table, the idea took flight, as both the elder Friars expressed their interest – in their own ways – in making this happen. As far as they were concerned, it would be such a wonderful way to bounce back from what had happened before Christmas, and any time spent with the kids, well… they were on board.

They didn't exactly lay down some specific plans that evening, especially as the Hunter Hart side still needed to be consulted, but it didn't hurt to discuss potential locations, and past vacations. Lucas and Maya managed to pull loose some memories of their honeymoon they had not yet shared, and Thomas and Melinda were happy to hear them. They in turn went on to share stories of their first big trip as a family, when Lucas was all of a year old. Maya was promised photos, the next time anyone went to the house to continue work on the kitchen.

"Will it be any surprise for me to say that I am picturing you right now in floaties and a little sun hat?" Maya teased, later, as they had made it back home and were in the process of changing before heading to bed.

"Will it be a big shock to hear I'm pretty sure they've got some photos just like that?" Lucas had struck back, earning an intrigued smile from his wife.

"I have known you this long and this is the first I hear about it?"

"Like you don't have any surprises left," he challenged.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she returned, and they could only grin, knowing they could keep this going for ages if they allowed it. Instead, Lucas turned the subject elsewhere.

"So, earlier, in the car…" he asked.

"Yeah, that… I'm sort of working on it," Maya sighed. August's face, that night when they had spoken… It was the image that kept flashing through her mind, over and over. She looked back to Lucas, and after a moment it felt like she knew. "Maybe he should talk to you."

"Me?" Lucas asked, surprised. "Why?"

"I…" she started to reply, but… no, this wasn't the time yet. "I need to figure this out, before I say or do anything," she nodded, confident now. "When I'm ready though…"

"I'll be right here," Lucas promised.

"That much I know," Maya smiled. He was her certainty, every day, by no means taken for granted.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners