November 21st 2020

Chapter 326
Their Possibility to Lose

When Lucas came home that day, he had barely walked through the door that had to stop at once, finding his wife and his brother-in-law in the midst of carrying one of the guest bed mattresses up from the basement and now toward the second floor.

"Woah…" he blinked, and Maya turned her head, saw him, nearly dropped her end and then just as quickly caught hold of it again. "Can I…" Lucas pointed, and she sighed, nodding, so he went over and took her place.

"I could have done it, I just… Yeah…" she turned on her heel and headed back down the basement steps. Lucas looked up to Sam, crouched in hold of his end of the mattress. His brother shrugged, showing he didn't have much more in the way of clues as to what this was about.

"I got here and she made me start helping her. The frames are already up there."

"Okay," Lucas nodded for him to keep going and they brought the mattress into the third room, across from his and Maya's. "You got this?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Sam promised, pulling the mattress on to the empty frame, the first of three.

Lucas went back down, all the way into the basement, where Maya was in the process of sliding the third mattress to join the second, ready to be taken up. She looked at him when he sat down in the stairs. What's up? She stood quietly for a moment.

"I should have waited for you to get here and asked you if it was all good, I figured it would be and then I… I don't know, I needed to do… something, and I didn't trust myself not to do anything super depressing if I went to the attic or the Hex." Lucas didn't like seeing her this way, but the only way to get her to the other side was to go through, wasn't it? He reached for her hand, led her to sit with him, which she did, landing in his lap.

"Going by the beds, I'm guessing the kids are going to be staying with us for a bit?" he got her started, clearing up the question of whether it would be 'all good' or not at the same time.

"Yeah," she replied. "My mother has to go to LA again, Dad's going with her. The people from Heal Thyself want her back, as a regular."

As much as it took him by surprise, too, it couldn't affect him nearly the way it did her, and she only needed to tell him this for him to fill in the blanks. She was looking at the very real possibility that the Hunter Harts would leave Texas. He had gained siblinghood to those kids solely through his marriage to their big sister, but they were family all the same, and he would hate to think of them not being nearby. But Maya…

He put his arms around her now, and she set her head against his, neither of them saying a word for a time.

"When are they coming?" Lucas asked after a while.

"Sunday afternoon, they'll all have dinner here and then Mom and Dad will head home, flying out early Monday morning," Maya stated flatly. "Can't tell them any of it."

"Okay," he breathed, kissing the side of her face.

It was a good thing they were just a day off from the weekend at this point, and Maya had no idea how she'd managed to get through Friday without being the art teacher who'd lost all her colors. The only place where any of her students came anywhere near that hidden dark cloud was at lunch, with the girls of Born Curious, but she didn't see her getting them involved in this, like they were her girlfriends instead of her students, so she navigated around the subject.

The one thing that helped to at the very least look forward to the next few days was that, on the very little information her siblings had, her siblings were all excited about staying with her and Lucas. As much as they'd missed their parents the last time Katy and Shawn had gone to LA, they'd gotten through it, and they'd seen that it was fun, and on the end they got to swap stories with their parents about all they got to do, so that just made this like a little adventure, and they were eager to have another.

The room had been prepared for them, and Maya and Lucas had gotten hold of everything they'd need to host the little Hunters from Sunday night through Wednesday evening. If they could focus only on this part until after Katy and Shawn returned, too, maybe they'd have a shot at making it through, too, and this could be an adventure for them, too.

Sunday afternoon rolled around, and clearly the kids had decided that 'right after lunch' was sufficiently part of afternoon so that they could head out to their sister's house, as that was exactly when they arrived. Lucas was still at work, Sam, too, so the welcoming committee consisted of Maya and a quartet of dogs soon made five. The minivan's sliding door had barely been open that Una hopped out, barking eagerly, soon to be met by Crowley in a similar spirit, the brother and sister coming together in a tumble of canine joy, leaving the others laughing.

After this, MJ had climbed out, and he was already looking for something, which Katy went and got out of the back for him. It was his small suitcase, which he brought along the grass and then the gravel, whether or not the wheels responded to his prompts.

"You're all set, huh?" Maya laughed, holding out her hand, to which MJ quickly tossed a high five. "You just want to go unpack, don't you?" she guessed, and her brother nodded at once. "Alright, are you okay to carry that up the stairs?"

"Maya, I'm seven," he reminded her, smiling nonetheless, and she could only accept this with a nod.

"I don't know what I was thinking. Go ahead, Mr. Hunter," she swept her hand toward the door, and off he went.

Less concerned with suitcases and more so with hugs, Haley came barrelling toward her sister, who caught her up and brought her into her arms, holding her close and pressing a sustained kiss to her squishy little cheek, swaying along with her. Haley held on fairly tight, too, and right then Maya's resolve was strongly challenged, thinking of how she might not get to hold her this way for weeks and months at a time. The kiss migrated to the top of that blond head, maybe to better hide the shadow of that thought from this sister or either of the others as they went out and helped their parents with the bags.

"Una, come back!" Haley called, and Maya looked back, setting her down and watching as she quickly ran off to stop the dog running behind the house.

"I'll get them," Katy smiled to her eldest, running after her youngest. "Haley Hazel, stop there!" she called, jogging the last bit and scooping her up, making her laugh, which in turn made the dog turn back and run up to Katy. Haley was set back down again, and now was able to lead her dog back toward the house and go inside, soon followed by the other dogs.

"Maya," Nellie appeared at her side. Once she'd turned to find her there, she was compelled to lean in. "I didn't finish all my homework," she whispered. "I said I did so we could go. Can you help me after they go?"

"You got it," Maya whispered back, trying to keep her smile down. She was fairly certain that their parents were well aware of this but, maybe out of some compensating mood, they'd let it pass, deciding they trusted their daughters enough that it would get done in time in the end. Nellie rejoined Gracie at this, the two of them joining forces to carry their things and the others into the house.

By the time Lucas came home from work, Sam was back, and evidently had inherited the contract of helping Nellie with her homework. Maya would later explain how they'd finally gotten her to 'own up' and tell the truth, the better to keep her from having to do it when she'd be too tired. Nearby, MJ was practicing his reading with his mother. In the meantime, Maya was in the kitchen with Gracie, Haley, and their father, preparing dinner together. Whether they knew it or not, the Hunter-Harts were enjoying the kind of family time those who did know about the potential move could only seek to hold and cherish.

There was nothing fun about saying goodbye to family for any extended period of time, whether or not they looked forward to the things they'd be doing in that time. When it came time for Shawn and Katy to head home after dinner was over, the hugs were long and often repeated before they managed to go. Haley didn't want them to go all of a sudden, and she had to be held in Maya's arms for a long time after the parents had gone away before she'd stop crying as she did. Maya poured in as much love as she could ever have within her for her littlest Hunter sister, patiently enduring those screeches, thinking what it would be like for her if/when she went to live in California.

She remained sitting with her after she'd stopped crying, didn't let her go so long as she didn't show any signs of wanting to be let go. In that time, Lucas and Sam saw to the other three, getting them sorted through bath time and into PJs before bringing them back downstairs for a movie until bedtime. In time, Maya felt Haley had turned her head, the better to see the television, but otherwise she didn't move from her hold, so there she stayed, until in time she was found to have fallen asleep, and rather than bringing her upstairs and leaving her all alone when she was fragile from the split, she simply stayed upstairs with her, laying her at the heart of the big bed and lying at her side, humming and gently tracing her finger along the bridge of her nose.

"Did they all…" she whispered, later, when Lucas came to join her. By now, the other kids should have been put to bed, and Lucas confirmed it was done with a nod. "Sorry I couldn't go and help," she told him, but he shook his head. She was right where she was supposed to be.

"Did she wake up at all?" he quietly asked.

"Little bit earlier, when I got her changed, but she went right back to sleep." She was curled up at her side now, clinging to her big sister but sleeping peacefully. "I always think she's getting so big, but I look at her right now and… She's actually so small, isn't she?" she asked, never looking away from her.

"No doubt," Lucas agreed, sitting on his side of the bed and looking to the sleeping girl, his pensive wife along with her… There was no question that the next few days would prove more of a challenge than she'd anticipated. She would be with her siblings, and she would be happy, so happy… but she'd also be reminded each time, sooner or later, that they could all have been on borrowed time as far as living in the same state, and then she'd have to work her way back to that old happy feeling. She was looking at her now, and she was barely keeping from crying, seeing the way the four-year-old held to her.

"I know I'll still see her, talk to her, if they really go, but… this, here…"

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners