October 13th 2020

Chapter 287
Their Celebration of Friends

Once dinner had ended, the party could finally and properly begin. It kicked off, naturally, with Cory Matthews taking his newly wedded daughter on to the dance floor. Many in attendance lost their battle with maintaining a dry eye as they looked on. Slowly but surely, the dance floor opened to more pairings, until they could all get their turn. The band was on stage from the top, playing and singing for their bandmate as she was led along by her father, and her new husband, and so many others.

Maya had taken out her father's guitar for this. It just felt right for the occasion. And as often as she had been on stages over the years, she had to say occasions like this one held a special place for her. Oh, nothing could compare performing to a crowd of hundreds of people, but then more often than not they would just be countless unknown faces, and it would be more about the energy they shared than anything else. But at a wedding, at her friends' wedding especially, it was just something else. She could look on to those people on the dance floor and beyond and know exactly who they were, and she could enjoy watching them as they moved along.

She looked to her best friend, her oldest friend, and she saw so much happiness radiating off of her, happiness now and not a drop of concern anymore. The anticipation was so heavy, in those last hours before the wedding, and Maya understood exactly how that felt, just as she understood now the flood of joy, and love… Right now, Riley probably felt like she had superpowers.

Maya also had to work not to let her smirk press into her performance, as she spotted Lucas being more or less dragged on to the dance floor by his young sister-in-law. He had promised her this, hadn't he? He would be a man of his word. When they found an empty spot to stand, Lucas crouched forward to tell Haley something, and the four-year-old nodded before holding out her hands to him. He lifted her very carefully until her small feet came to rest on top of his larger, adult-size feet. This was not the first time Haley had exercised this maneuver, and she was agile enough to hold on as Lucas started to move and lead her in this careful dance. To watch the two of them, it made Maya want to play nothing but songs for them to dance to.

Lucas would carry on dancing with his sister-in-law until she'd be called upon by Hunter Matthews. The two of them had been easy friends from the start, having grown together over the four short years of their lives so far, which could only make their respective parents very happy to see. Here, Lucas had barely set the girl down that she and the Matthews boy were dashing off on some unknown adventure together.

From there, as he found himself still minus his wife and favorite dance partner, Lucas went seeking another. Much as he had promised Haley Hunter that the two of them would dance, he had also made promises to other people. He'd promised Sam that he'd keep an eye on him as he dealt with being around Cecilia tonight while trying not to make any sort of scene. So far, he'd been doing well enough on his own. Lucas had heard how Cecilia had come along, dropped off by her father, and from there had been left to realize that even he was not yet aware of his daughter's breakup with her boyfriend. Why she chose not to tell him, Lucas couldn't say, but he trusted the reason had been a valid one. Now as to the matter of Sam…

They were still playing up as though they were together, for most people, and though they managed to fool most people, for those who knew what was really going on… It bordered on painful to watch. They were going through the motions, as though they were still so happy together, so in love, when in reality they didn't know how to be with each other except to hide behind fake smiles. Lucas could see them, and up on the stage Maya did, too, and all they saw was a deep sadness in them, mourning this relationship which had meant so much to them. It really was over.

"Lucas!" a voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to find its source. He eventually found Chiara waving her arm at him from where she sat, with Sophie, Bishop, and Leona. He smiled, moving toward their table.

"Hey, you alright? Do you need anything?" he asked, earning a look from Sophie as though to remind him that she was right there and could look to the needs of her very pregnant wife. Chiara responded to that with a raised finger to her. Just wait.

"I need you to dance with her," she told Lucas, continuing before Sophie could protest. "She will not leave my side, not one second, and her feet are doing all the dancing under the table where she thinks I can't notice. Please, please take her. I will be here, not alone," she indicated Bishop and Leona, who were both trying not to laugh at how 'affronted' Sophie looked for being called out. Lucas was also reining in a smirk of his own, before holding out his hand to the redhead.

"How about it, Zvolensky?"

"One. One dance," Sophie told him and Chiara in turn. Chiara held up three fingers, reconsidered, added a fourth. "What if he wants to dance with other people?"

"Then he will find you another partner," Chiara told her, turning to Lucas, who gave a nod.

"Fine," Sophie sighed dramatically, taking Lucas' hand and letting him lead her away.

"You know, if this keeps up, we could make a tradition of it," he told her, trying to get her to concentrate on having a bit of fun instead of how long it would be before she could go back to the table. Lucas had to stop her from signalling Asher and Ray so they might go back.

"What, you and me dancing at weddings?" Sophie asked. To look at her now, one would likely never know how big of a deal it was that she could do that, just one year prior. "We're running out of single friends," she pointed out.

"We probably won't be around anyway," he nodded, and he realized what he had said – almost said – even as Sophie looked at him, curious.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He had to think of something quick, to redirect them and not blow the secret of the tour with Ree. He went with the first thing that came to mind.

"Just that, if all goes well, I'll be in the same position you are now, and I won't want to leave Maya's side," he smiled, inwardly crossing his fingers. When Sophie smiled back, he relaxed.

"I'll just have to return the favor then."

Lucas and Sophie were still in the middle of their Chiara-appointed dances when the band announced they were leaving the stage and the music became the responsibility of Riley and Dylan's playlist. The group dispersed, most of them going off in search of their significant others. Knowing that Lucas was dancing with Sophie and not wishing to get in the middle of that, Maya followed Isadora. Seeing Sophie out there, she'd known what she wanted to do next. They approached the table where Farkle waited with the kids, and before they could even get there, a small dark-haired girl came dashing toward them, almost bolting to lock her arms around Isadora's legs.

"Oh, I missed you, too," she scooped up the two and a half-year-old Ada, who happily hugged her mother now that she was closer. She would just burrow her face at the crook of her neck, and for how much Isadora used to have to will herself into participating in embraces like this, she never looked so at ease as she did when she had her daughter close like this. "Did you like the music?"

"Uh-huh," Ada nodded emphatically, prodding at her mother's necklace. "I like the singing."

"You hear that?" Isadora turned to her former/forever bandmate, who received this with a bright smile turned to the girl staring back with her father's smile.

"Yes, I do. Thank you very much, Miss Minkus," Maya held out her hand, receiving a determined high five. Moving to the table, she caught Farkle's eye, her old friend so grown, so contented in his growing family. He held six-month-old Bertie in his arms, the boy fussing like he had just been awakened by the music. "Why don't I take these guys for a walk away from the noise while you guys go and dance for a while?" To their credit, Farkle and Isadora knew better than to suggest anything of the 'you don't have to' variety.

So, Bertie was passed into her arms, soon balanced expertly in one, so she might take Ada's hand with the other and lead her away from the party. For such a little kid, with the night sky in full starry darkness, she didn't look the tiniest bit sleepy, something her friends would appreciate being remedied, if she had any hope of sleeping through the night. Once they'd had their turn on the dance floor, Farkle and Isadora were planning to call it a night anyway.

"Bertie's crying?" Ada looked up as they walked.

"He didn't like all the noise, he'll be alright," Maya promised. The girl was still looking up, to the point where she would probably trip and fall if she wasn't careful, so Maya stopped and, minding her dress, she crouched until Ada could get a look of her baby brother. The boy saw her and looked just a bit calmer all at once. "Look at you with the big sister powers," Maya chuckled. To this, Ada gave her most capable rendition of the lullaby she heard her mother sing to Bertie every day. It might not have been the most on pitch or contain all the right words, but the sentiment was there, and the baby certainly responded to it. "You know, I'm always so happy when I get to see you?" Maya whispered, smiling at her friends' daughter.

The girl nodded easily, and the way she stood almost resting her head on her shoulder, she showed how much the feeling was mutual. She so often spoke to 'Aunt Maya' over Skype, and she was overjoyed every time, but when they got to see each other 'in real,' oh… She hadn't let her go for a solid half hour, when they'd come over to the house the first time after arriving from New York.

By the time Farkle and Isadora came seeking their children to head on out to the hotel, Maya was sitting on the porch with them, Bertie asleep in one arm, while her free hand lightly ran through Ada's hair, the girl's sleeping head rested in her lap. They all said their goodnights very quietly, and after the kids had been buckled into their seats in the car, the Minkus family took off. Maya watched them go, and like a wish granted, the car passed by and revealed Lucas, waiting to cross the lane and join her. Maya smiled, meeting him halfway.

"I think I owe you a few dances," she stated.

"More than a few," Lucas agreed, smiling back as he caught the hand she held out and they turned back for the party.

"Okay then, all the dances," Maya nodded. "It's not far to go home, we can stick around long after everyone's left."

"I'm liking this plan a lot."

"I thought you might." They waited a moment before entering the dance floor, watching the newlyweds slow dancing together under the lights. After all the twists and turns, they had made it to this moment, and everything was perfect

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners