September 17th 2020

Chapter 261
Their Step to Dance

Lucas would later Maya how much of her agreeing to chaperone the senior prom had to do with her getting to spring a promposal on him. She would play coy about it, which would be almost as much of an answer as if she'd used actual words. He'd also be left to wonder if this would become a regular thing for them, as the years went on and she continued to teach. If it was, well… he was definitely on board. Knowing her, it could be thirty years from now, and she'd still pull stunts because it made her happy… and because she knew it would do the same for him, to see that happy glow in her.

He was at work, a weeknight in May. It was one of those quiet ones, and Maeve had recruited him to use that time and get a few things done on their floor. As they'd go along, the two of them, while the others looked after their few clients, they would talk about this and that. Maeve told him about Erin's first birthday party. The girl was still too young to even begin to understand the entire situation of her life, the fact that the woman who visited her and sometimes babysat her was more than 'Auntie Maeve' and was actually her birth mother, but that was all she could ever be, and so that was essentially how she behaved with her. As hard as it had been in the beginning, after she was born, she had adjusted, they all had, and now she was at peace with all of it. Her baby girl had a wonderful family unit. She had her father, and she had her uncle, and she had her new aunt.

Ramona had married Ben, just at the start of the month. It had been a very short engagement, a small wedding. From what their friends had heard, a conversation had led to Ben asking, and Ramona accepting, and this had led to the two of them deciding they didn't want to wait, and they didn't need a great big ceremony. They had gone to a courthouse, and they'd had a party, and their friends had not been surprised for this turn in the slightest when they'd gotten the invitation. Really, it had felt like they were headed in that direction for months already. It was one of those times when everything fell into place so smoothly that it made time feel insignificant. They were already there, and waiting was unnecessary.

"The way Erin clings to her, sometimes I think she looks at her like she's her mom," Maeve told Lucas, as she moved a stack of books. "Ramona's so good with her, I think she wishes she was that for her, too. If she and Ben aren't having one of theirs before the year's out, I'll be shocked."

Not five seconds later, she looked past Lucas before tapping his arm and nodding for him to look. When he turned around, he came upon a sight that would have stood out regardless, in the middle of the bookstore, but seeing as it was his wife standing there in her sparkly best, her head seemingly crowned by the flowers she barely managed to hold behind herself. She had that grin on her, the one that said she was quite proud of her sneakiness.

"You know, my birthday was last week," he told her, his face trapped in a smile as he approached her. The few people milling about the floor were looking back at them, inevitably wondering what this was about. Some might have believed a different kind of proposal was about to take place.

"Oh, is that why we had that party?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Lucas replied, echoing her tone of 'wonder.' "You know, you just come in here looking like this, I'm going to become very bad at my job," he pointed out. He just could not stop smiling. She was the most beautiful person in the world on any day where he was concerned, but then she'd go and throw this kind of play, and he'd feel his knees genuinely looking to give out from under him she was so stunning that night.

"Don't worry then, I'll make this brief, and I won't even raise my voice too much, because from what I see, we've already caused enough of a scene," she indicated their surroundings with a tip of the head before clearing her throat and pulling the flowers from behind her back with a needed flourish for the size of the bouquet, which she then had to pass into her free hand as she shook out her arm. "Heavy…" she laughed, and so did he. "So, dear husband, I have a very important question to ask you."

"Oh, you do?"

"Yes, I do. I would like to know if you would be my date and co-chaperone at this year's senior prom," she declared, presenting him with the flowers and barely contained laughter. Lucas could easily have forgotten he was at work in that moment, for how much he wanted to kiss her. But he contained himself, instead accepting both the flowers and the invitation.

He had to hand it to Maya, she did not lack in surprises. When the night came for them to dress up and head to the school, he sort of expected her to be wearing that very same dress she'd worn when she'd come to the store to invite him. But then when he'd heard her coming down the steps and turned around, he had been treated with a whole new look, which made for a whole new reaction out of him, which had naturally been her intention. He extended his hand to her as she reached the bottom of the stairs, and she accepted it, allowing him to lead her on toward the car.

"You know, this is our second year in a row going to prom," he reflected as they approached the school. "Which means it's also been a year since you got your job up there."

"Yeah…" Maya laughed, realizing it. Now she was even happier to be here.

As she'd done the year before, she had helped with the decorations, along with Miss Alcott, and Morgan the music teacher, and several students, most of them her own. It had been the true first blow, the first big reminder that the year was coming to an end, which meant she was about to see her seniors graduate and leave the school. She tried so hard to play it cool, but to no one's surprise, least of all her own, it affected her emotionally. She did her best to focus on the good parts, the fact that they were all headed into the world, going to college, or chasing some dream… That was just going to be something she needed to get used to, every year gaining new kids, every year losing some old ones, too.

"What do you think, are we too old for this now?" Maya asked, when the gym had grown packed with the students, some accompanied by others of their class, others by juniors or kids who went to different schools than their own.

"To chaperone a prom? No, we're good," he smiled. She gave him a look. "Well I was feeling good about twenty-seven, now I don't know anymore," he gave her a mildly abashed look in return, smirking when she snorted.

"You know what I mean," she insisted, and he hummed, locking his arm with hers as they walked through the gym.

"I don't think you would be able to be anything but yourself, no matter what age you are, and neither could I. I am looking forward to many of these nights with you," he vowed, and she pressed a kiss to his shoulder which felt a lot like 'do you know how much I love you?' His response was to give a kiss of his own, landing at her temple. "We are here, watching over them, and as a bonus we get to look like this, maybe dance a bit, and…" He paused, as the music over the speakers turned to a familiar air that made him smile down at his wife. "And things like this happen." Keeping Secrets (Hush)… Performed by the Violets, written by Maya Hart. "Do you think they know?" Lucas wondered, nodding to the students out on the dance floor, bopping along energetically.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Maya admitted, grinning nonetheless. "Most of them know about TXNY, the ones in my class for sure, but the other part, not so much."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I guess I want to make sure that they just see me as their teacher, that they know when I'm here with them I'm here for them, not just… passing time or anything. I couldn't exactly hide TXNY, my face is out there…" The way he tipped his head at this, she could practically hear him formulating a compliment toward said face.

"Okay, well, what happens once they find out about… summer after next?" he asked, sneaking a look around them as she pieced together his reference to the tour, Ree's tour, where she would be heavily featured. Once that happened, yeah, they could very likely discover her other career.

"Crossing that bridge when we have to," she waved this off.

"Uh, is that going to be a problem?" Lucas directed her attention across the way from them, where he had spotted what felt to him like the preamble to the throwing of fists. A trio of boys was giving eyes to where Tony Janacek was dancing a girl Maya didn't recognize, likely a student from another school.

"From those three, I'd say, yeah," she sighed, moving in their direction. Feeling him on her heel, she paused and stalled Lucas. "It's fine, I got it. You're a civilian," she teased before carrying on.

Lucas still felt the urge to follow, but he stayed where he stood and looked on as Mrs. Friar, the art teacher, planted herself before the trio, pulling their attention away from Tony and his prom date. He couldn't help but smile, seeing the boys' stances shift every so slowly. They were taller than her, every one, but they looked small all of a sudden. By the time she turned and started back toward him, the boys had shuffled off, finding girls to dance with.

"All good?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, yeah. Girl used to date one of them and he wasn't too happy to see her show up with Tony tonight. Just one of those few things I have to deal with again now that I teach in a high school."

"High school boys," Lucas nodded, understanding.

"Yeah, well, thankfully they're not all like that," Maya smiled up at him. When the music turned to a slow song, he nodded to himself before looking back to her.

"Do you think it's time for us to get a turn on the dance floor? We can keep an eye out in case those guys try anything? Not that they should, after that talking down you gave them."

"You're a little proud, aren't you?" she chuckled as they made their way to the outer edge of the dancing space and turned to face one another.

"More than a little," he nodded, putting his arms around her.

Of all the things she saw that night, Maya had to say that one of the best she saw was a smiling August Matthews, taking Milena Janacek for many a turn on the dance floor. They had some upbeat songs keeping them jumping around, willing the goofy side to emerge out of August and making Milena laugh, and some slow songs, bringing them closer and warming their cheeks. They had come together as friends, but who was to say what they'd leave as by the end of the night?

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners