A/N: Thanks to azuliara for catching a big ol' issue. Fixed it now!

October 20th 2020

Chapter 294
Their Work With Books

"Hey, I need a favor."

Lucas made a noise to say 'ask away' as he kept looking through carts of books in search of the one his client was seeking. Out of the corner of his eye he could just recognize Maeve's striped pants, a staple of fall and the run up to Halloween.

"It's quiet out there, and at the risk of jinxing us, I'm pretty sure it's going to stay that way," his co-worker and friend stated.

"Uh-huh…"

"So, Ben and Ramona are taking Erin to the park, for the festival, and they were wondering if I'd go with them. I explained how I was working today, and obviously I am, but now I keep wondering if I'm really supposed to be there with them. I know how it might sound, and it's really not about the kid, or me feeling all mother-like about her, more just… aunt-like… a little… You've seen her, you know how giddy she gets around people, she did not get that from me… Anyway…" Her voice was just going all over the place, taking twists and turns as though to narrowly escape any suggestion whatsoever that she might have been feeling anything more than affection toward a cute toddler, even if she was her biological mother.

"Maeve," Lucas stood up now and faced her.

"I know, I know," she sighed, leaning on one of the carts. "See, this is exactly what I was trying to avoid by not seeing her. Whenever I'm around her, everyone just looks at me and at her like they're waiting to see if I'll start to cry or something."

"That bad, huh?"

"I made the mistake of mentioning to my parents how I'd been spending time with her, and now they want pictures, they want to see her."

This was new to Lucas. Last he'd heard of her parents was when she had finally come clean with them, revealing that she had not been a surrogate like she'd led them to believe, that Erin had been hers, free and clear, how she'd relinquished her rights and left her to Carter, and how brother Ben was helping raise her, along with new wife Ramona. According to Maeve, her parents had used the fact that it had been 'her choice to make' like punctuation… a lot, letting her know without saying it in so many words that they would never have made that choice, which only served to convince her she'd made the right call in keeping them in the dark. Since the revelation had been made, the relationship with her mother and father had been tense, and now this new development didn't seem to bode well either.

"What are you going to do?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, I… It's not up to me, and I really don't want to complicate things for Carter, Ben, or Ramona. They're really good with her, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Lucas smiled. They were over at the house easily once a week, two or three or all four of them, usually when the band got to hold practice.

"Anyway…" Maeve started, like she briefly couldn't remember what she'd wanted to say. "Right, so… I was wondering…"

"I'll cover for you, you go ahead," Lucas cut in with a sympathetic nod.

"Are you sure?" Maeve asked, looking like she was trying to buckle down a rush of joy.

"Yeah, yeah, go," he turned back to his carts, by chance landing right on the book he was after.

"Thanks, I owe you one!" Maeve was already dashing off to clock out.

After bringing the book to his waiting customer, Lucas returned to his usual circuit around his floor. He had nothing else to do tonight except to keep an eye out for anyone in need of assistance, which could be both a blessing and a curse. It allowed him to think, a lot of the time, but then it all depended on just what subjects he had floating around his mind at any given time.

Tonight at least he had plenty of good things to think about. He was looking forward to the festival, too, couldn't help it when he had a direct line to all the preparations for it living with him and sharing his bed. His schedule this semester tended to make things tricky, as far as getting to go with Maya, in the daytime, but then Juliet had told him to take Monday afternoon off and go enjoy himself, so the plan was for him to pick up Maya from the school in her two-period gap between her freshmen and juniors. He was also supposed to meet her there, after the store closed and if she'd finished with Ree, for them to catch some of the late-night activities. Saying it like that sounded so far from what it would actually be, although by the nature of the hours on hand, it was definitely adults only.

His attention was pulled back to the store around him by the sound of a strange clash, followed by mutterings, and he turned to find himself almost face to face with…

"Cecilia?" The girl looked up, bordering on 'deer in headlights.' From the looks of it, she'd knocked a few books over and was now struggling to make a graceful descent, crutch and all. "Here, I got it," he moved in and collected the books.

"I almost had it…" she promised.

"I know, but this is kind of my job, so…"

"Oh, sure, yeah…"

They fell into an awkward silence for a few seconds. It had been weeks since she'd been at the house. Much as both Lucas and Maya had let her know that she was still welcome, anytime, they couldn't get around the fact that she and Sam had not been seeing each other either. They were trying to let the break breathe, they said, but really it felt more like they still weren't able to be around one another. Now, they wondered if the girl would just fade away until they never saw her at all. All signs were pointing to her leaving Texas once she finished high school, so that might have been where they were headed, shame as it was. Cecilia had become almost like family to them, for near on three years.

"How've you been?" Lucas ended up asking her, not because he felt he had to but because he genuinely wanted to know, and he hoped she knew that. The way she smiled, he guessed she did.

"Good, good, yeah, uh… My dad started seeing this woman from the university, Janet. She's nice. It's weird, seeing him with someone, it's the first time since Mom and all, but… He looks happy, and that's what matters, right?" she asked with a small, hopeful expression.

"Absolutely," Lucas nodded.

"She's been coming over for dinner a few times now, and we went to her house, too. She's a pretty good cook. I can tell she's not sure how she's supposed to act, with my leg and the crutch, like her instinct is to help me but she doesn't want to make me feel like I think she thinks I need help. It's actually kind of sweet."

"Glad to hear it," Lucas smiled. "What about school?"

"Oh, well, I've been really putting in more effort, senior year, you know?"

"Yeah," he chuckled.

"I guess… well… I have more time now…" her eyes flickered aside, and Lucas fumbled for a new topic to take them away from that. Thankfully, Cecilia changed the subject for them. "Would it be weird if I still went to you guys' Halloween party?"

"You are always welcome," Lucas assured her.

"I know," she smiled. "At first I thought 'well, if I wear a really good costume, I can just go and no one will know,' but then…" she lifted up her crutch. "We always found ways to make it a part of my costumes, Sam… He's really clever about that," she sighed.

"He is," Lucas had to agree. "You know, once the party starts, you just get lost in the games, the maze… We have our first pumpkins this year, can't miss that," he tried to sound encouraging.

"Do you know… Is he… Does he have a new…" Cecilia asked, looking very much like she could kick herself for asking a question like that, for even caring.

"If he does, he hasn't said anything to me or Maya," Lucas told her.

"Okay… I don't meant that he shouldn't, you know? If he met someone, it'd be…"

"I know," he cut in, keeping her from digging deeper.

"I should go, my father will be waiting for me, he's up in reference books, and if I leave him there he'll buy a bunch of books he won't even get to for five years," Cecilia explained, sounding like she really just wanted to extricate herself from this conversation before she stuck her foot further in her mouth.

"You know, he's working tomorrow, and so am I, so Maya will be at home by herself," Lucas called after her as she started to walk off. She paused and looked back at him. "If you want to brainstorm costumes." Cecilia blinked before smiling, nodding as she waved and went off to find her father.

After Cecilia had gone, Lucas found himself helping four customers back to back, which ate up much of the time left before the store closed. He'd had no one else to assist after those four, so he went around, casually doing his end-of-day circuit until the last customers headed down to the registers, clearing his floor. With the rest of his closing duties behind him, Lucas headed out of the store.

Lucas: Leaving now. Are you home?
Maya: At the park with Ree and Christina, but they're leaving soon.
Lucas: Be there asap. 366
Maya: 366!
Maya: I have cotton candy, hurry!

The image alone of his twenty-six-year-old wife hopped up on pink sugar was enough to send Lucas laughing off to his car and eager to join her. As he went, he also found a text from Maeve. Along with a picture of Ben, Ramona, and little Erin, making quite the photogenic family unit and Maeve herself, stretching out her arm and her phone to capture the shot, his co-worker checked in to make sure the rest of the night at the store had gone off alright. Lucas assured her that everything had been fine.

Pretty soon, he wouldn't be there to bail her out like this anymore. Much like with Coleman's in Houston, when he had finished his four years out there, he'd be resigning somewhere in early summer. It wouldn't be because he was moving out of the city this time, of course. But he would be for the first time in his life working solely toward his veterinary career, and that he looked most forward to. Still, like when he'd had to leave Coleman's behind, he knew that he would miss this store, too. It wouldn't even be about the store itself. He still spoke to Pete from time to time, and of course he got to see Tracy Coleman every now and then, seeing as she was Rosa's mother and all.

Much as he loved all the people at the store here, he knew most of all he would keep Maeve in his circle. After three years of working alongside her, of seeing her go through everything with her pregnancy, and finding her place with Carter and the child who had once been hers, of just being her friend… She was and would be part of that great extended friend family he and Maya had cultivated over time. Thinking this, his mind wandered back to Cecilia again. She'd become family, too, in ways independent from her relationship with Sam. Somehow, it felt like she was the kind of family they had to fight for, to keep her from becoming a memory of the past.TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners