August 31st 2020

Chapter 244
Their Question for Blessings

Maya's arrival was signalled with the flood her minivan's lights sweeping into Dylan's car, where Lucas waited. After she flashed the headlights, he got the message and climbed out of one vehicle's driver's seat to go and settle in the other's passenger seat.

"Hey, you're right on time," he leaned in, smiling as they kissed in greeting.

"What did I miss? Tell me everything," she insisted as soon as they pulled back and settled into their seats again.

"Well," Lucas cleared his throat, looking over to the Matthews house. "He spent the whole ride here checking his hair in the mirror, popping mints… It's like he got it in his head that they were going to tell him no. He's probably not even worried about the proposal, but that part, that's what freaks him out. You'd think he was a kid all over again, instead of an adult, which is what he is, talking to two other adults, doing nothing but showing politeness and respect."

"Have I mentioned how much I love that goober?" Maya hummed, tipping her head against the head rest. "He will make a fine brother-in-law," she declared. "Then what happened? Did he make it to the door on his own or did you have to walk him up, ring the bell, and dive behind the hedges?"

"Uh," Lucas looked down at his clothes, touched the knees of his pants. "No grass stains, no diving," he reported. "I did have to tell him to get out of the car after a while, before any of the neighbors saw us and called the cops and told them we were spying or something." Maya snickered. "He finally got out and went up there."

"So what do you think they think we're doing out here right now?" she asked, her eyebrow arching.

"Focus," he pointed at her. That eye on her, it had been the start of more than one… Alright, maybe he needed to start focusing, too.

"Right, sorry, sorry, back to Dylan. Did he make it up there fine?"

"Well, number of times he tried to fix his hair, I'm afraid he'll start going bald before thirty, but yeah, he made it. He's been in there… twenty-odd minutes? I have no idea what's going on, but I'm not seeing any signs of trouble, so I figure he said his part…"

"How long before he actually started?" Maya wondered, barely cutting in.

"And now they're talking. I'm not completely sure we still need to be here, not sure he remembers I'm here, waiting. Maybe I can leave his car keys in the mailbox or something, then we can go h…"

"Wait, he's coming now," Maya tapped Lucas' arm. He looked up, seeing a decidedly more relaxed Dylan come walking up from the Matthews home. "Does he look like he needs a drink? Maybe we should get him one anyway, it was a big step."

"Save the drinks for after the proposal, yeah?" Lucas suggested as he rolled down the window to call out to Dylan when he seemed to be looking for him back in his own car. "Hey, back here." Dylan turned, saw them, and jogged over to the open window.

"Hey, man, looking sharp," Maya grinned, leaning over to wave at him.

"How did it go?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, yeah, it was great, everything…" Dylan nodded along. The jitters were gone, he was himself again, possibly his peak Dylan self. He had done what he had come here to do, and he had gotten the words he had hoped to get. Now the next step was about standing before the woman he loved and asking her his big question.

"See? You're all good to go," Lucas nodded, and Dylan nodded back, with a smile like the sun resided in him. "You okay to drive home?"

"Yeah, definitely," Dylan promised.

"Alright then, we'll see you on Saturday," Lucas told him.

"Thank you so much for this. I don't know that I would have made it otherwise," Dylan shook his head as he was handed his car keys.

"Text us when you get home, please?" Maya asked him. He promised he would, wishing them a good night and walking to his car. They let him pull away from the curb and on to the road before doing the same, the two vehicles tagging one another until Dylan had to turn one way while they kept going, their paths diverging toward their respective homes.

"You so wanted to be in there, didn't you?" Lucas asked his wife as she drove them along. "You wanted to hear what they all said to each other."

"I mean… He could just have easily asked me for that blessing," Maya grinned.

"Why, because he wouldn't have met her if it wasn't for you?" Lucas wondered.

"No, no, although… that is also true," she conceded. If she had never moved to Texas, neither would have the Matthews family. If they hadn't moved to Austin, Riley and Dylan would never have met, fallen in love, sought to spend the rest of their lives together… "But Riley, she's just…"

"Your sister in everything but blood or parentage?" Lucas provided.

"Very much," Maya smiled.

"He did ask you," Lucas pointed out. "When he came to us, last weekend, it's not me he needed to see, not my help he wanted, to make sure that she would get the absolute best wedding proposal she deserves. He needed you… the sister," he 'bowed.' Maya tried to keep her smile reined in, but oh how was she supposed to do that when he had gone and made her feel so happy, knowing he'd hit the nail on the head about Dylan and this 'sisterly blessing.'

"So… Can we have those drinks anyway?"

It was a breezy night, and sitting out on the porch, just the two of them and a couple of drinks was absolutely the best way they could have ended this evening together.

"So if I remember this correctly, you never actually asked my parents about us, did you?" Maya inquired, that small grin on her face being almost too much. He could just hear her chiding him in her best drawl about propriety and all manners of… well, manners.

"In my defense, someone else got there before me, and those were my parents, when they all went and made the attic for us while I was recovering from that whole mess with my foot." Maya made a small noise at this, like she would have rather not recall this time ever again. "So, I just sort of… had to infer that they we were all on the same page about this."

"We can go with that, sure," Maya fixed him with a look, shifting position a moment later as she turned about to face him and gave the immediate impression that she was no longer herself. She didn't even have to say anything, he could see it in her eyes. She wanted to know what he would have said, and so she presented herself as a collective entity representing her parents.

"Oh, we're doing this, huh?" he asked, chuckling. She nodded. "Alright, I have a feeling I won't get out of this even if I try," he set his bottle down and sat up.

"Such a charmer, such words," she shook her head, resuming her previous impersonation, the better to give him the floor.

"Well… Parents…" he gestured toward her in a general fashion. She nodded. "The reason I am here tonight is Maya. Now, I have known your daughter since I was fourteen years old, and I have loved her… easily just as long, whether I knew it or not. The two of us have been through a lot together over the years, and one thing I know is that I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. I plan to ask her to marry me, and I would be honored to have your blessing beforehand."

It had been easy to find the words and say them, when she was just sitting there with him, slowly but surely forgetting her 'parental stance' and just smiling back at him. He had come so close to forgetting himself and just speaking on and on. Much as she and others would tease him for always 'having the words,' the way he saw it this talent of his was in great part bound to her. She just inspired it right out of him, his heart connecting with hers.

"Alright, alright, that was pretty good," she replied, and it amused him to see how she struggled to come off as joking as she tried to, so caught up as she was in this moment between them. "I can't stand waiting for Saturday, can't we just do it now?" she 'whined,' moving to rest up against her husband's shoulder even as he lifted his arm to welcome her near.

"Sure, yeah, we'll all pack in the car and head out to Houston, middle of the night, less people around," Lucas humored her, hearing her snicker into his chest.

"We could get some lights up, it'd be romantic," she suggested.

"It would be that, yes," he agreed. "What about school tomorrow? You've got your kids, you've got a lunch date with your loving husband…"

"Oh, him, love that guy," she chimed in as he carefully stretched to reclaim his bottle without disrupting her too much.

"You've made it this far. It'll be Saturday before you know it," Lucas promised, kissing the top of her head.

For a few minutes they just sat there, quietly enjoying the night and the other's presence as it warmed them. Then, just as he thought she was moving to sit up for a second, he heard her clear her throat instead.

"Hello, Parents," Maya spoke.

"What are you doing?" he asked, curious, only to be signalled not to cut her off. "Sorry," he whispered. Soon enough, he understood exactly what she was doing.

"Now, I realize it's not exactly 'the normal way' for me to do this, but I personally don't see why I shouldn't, so here goes." Lucas resisted the urge to commend her on a 'good start.' As much as it could be seen as them just joking around, he didn't doubt for a second that she would find and say these words with the utmost honesty and emotion, so it would not in him to belittle them in any way. "The moment I met your son, my life changed. And sure, people change people, no matter who they are, but it was different with him. He changed my life in ways no one else did or could, and I have known, for a long time now, that if there was one thing that was sure in my life, it was him and how we had this future ahead of us. I'm here today to tell you that I wish to marry your son, and I would be honored to have your blessing to do so."

"And if you listen closely, you can hear… yep, there's my mother crying her eyes out," Lucas whispered at Maya's ear, making her laugh. "Are you going to ask them, whenever you unleash this secret renewal proposal on me?" he wondered.

"You know, I just might have to," Maya slowly nodded. "Would be kind of awkward if they said no though…" she added after a beat.

"What do you think the odds would be?" Lucas pondered.

"Well, considering that this would be years from now, and we'd have kids by then, probably not that high," she had to shake her head. "What's the benchmark for a renewal?"

"I don't know, don't think there's really one, although I have a feeling my father is starting to get some ideas lately, after everything with the fire… He might go ahead and ask my mom again." Lucas could just about feel the intrigue coming from Maya. "One proposal at a time, alright?"

"Right, no, of course. Saturday… Nearly there…"

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners