Chapter 175
The Future Begins Here

She was settling into this new pregnancy and finding… familiarity. Considering how she'd already gone through three pregnancies and deliveries in the last five years or so, it meant that she had spent the majority of that time pregnant and less of it not. With that in mind, it could be understandable that finding herself back at the beginning of another round again would have just a bit of this feeling like 'ah, here we are now.' If things went as she and Lucas had it in mind, that might continue to be so for a little while longer after she had the twins.

Twins… That was the part that still blew her mind, made her smile out of nowhere. It was as though their Nugget and their Peanut had gone and decided that their parents were in need of some surprise in this planned pregnancy, and so they'd come together. Maya tried to imagine them in there, still so small now but together, and she liked that, this notion that they were never alone from the start, that they both had someone there with them. Obviously, it didn't take long to make her think about her mother, her own twin sisters. As happy as she expected everyone would be about the news, she already knew that no one would be near as excited as Nellie and Gracie would be to learn that their new nieces or nephews would be identical twins like them. When the doctor had confirmed it for them, Maya and Lucas had looked to one another and they'd known without a doubt they were both thinking of the Hunter twins.

Now that they did know what they knew, it was becoming more and more of a question: when were they going to tell everyone? How would they tell them? The last time… Oh, the last time… She'd been so sick that the news had had no choice but to come out, and it had been Grandpa Shawn and his camera to the rescue, but things were so different now. Maya still had to deal with morning sickness, but she at least could cope better with it this time, small favor that was, so the telling would still very much be in her hands and in Huckleberry Dad's.

Lucas was as he always had been, with any pregnancy of theirs. Maya would tease him and say it wasn't necessary that he be twice the dork because there were two babies, but he seemed to take that as a challenge. He'd be back at it with his hand at her tiny curve as they slept, and he would talk at their unborn children in the morning when he woke up… Now, with the twins, even if they were still a secret for those next few days after they found out, he very much had them on the brain. Whenever they'd go out somewhere, or sometimes even at home, and he would pick up one of something, he'd pause and turn to her after grabbing a second, and his smile would threaten to make her spill the beans every time.

Once they had learned about the twins, aside from all the inside jokes between them, Maya and Lucas had considered all their options for how and when to tell everyone, but one thing was for sure: they weren't going to wait for very long. Already, it seemed like everything was falling into place kind of quick, which could have been due to anything from this being the fourth time to the fact that there was not one but two this time. They hadn't really had any kind of time frame for when they would have said it if they were still having just the one, but it would probably have been a tiny bit later.

They didn't actually get to tell the boys… not exactly. Maya had come home from work, the Friday after they found out about the twins, and she was just spent. It had been a long, hectic day, and by the end of it she felt just… supremely aware of her condition, and she needed a breather, maybe a nap. She walked in, set her things down, kicked off her shoes, and dragged her feet over to lie down on the couch. Yes, this was better. Although… She undid her pants, took another breath. Even better. She was definitely going to have to think about going up a size soon.

In her state of total relief, she'd ended up falling asleep. She couldn't have been asleep more than ten, fifteen minutes, but when she woke up again, she felt like Snow White and the Three Brothers. There they were, her boys, standing by the couch. They didn't notice that she was awake at first, only stood there, looking at her. Elliott and Noah were talking between themselves, while Jamie was lightly prodding his fingers near her belly button. Elliott seemed convinced that there was a baby in their mother's belly, but Noah wasn't convinced. What did they know, right? But Elliott was sure. He was a big kid: he was going to be five very soon. He remembered when Jamie was coming, and he was not going to be convinced otherwise.

"You know what?" Maya quietly spoke, and all three froze. Jamie removed his hand with a squeak. "You're right," she told Elliott. Oh, he was thrilled, doubly so because of the news and because he'd figured it out. Noah and Jamie were right there with him. "Actually, mostly right," Maya added, and the 'celebration' halted. She sat up a bit and looked at them. "There's two babies, not just one," she revealed, holding up two fingers for emphasis. Jamie imitated her. "Just like that, Tadpole."

"Like Nellie and Gracie!" Noah declared as he understood.

"Just like that, yes," Maya nodded, then, "Well, maybe not just like them," she quickly added, seeing the start of a thought growing on her eldest's face. "It could be two girls, but it could be two boys, too. We won't know for a while, they have to get bigger first."

Elliott had a frown of deep contemplation. Ever since last summer, with his cousin Caitlin coming into the picture, it had been her sprout's dearest wish to have a sister. Now there was a chance that he could get two of them… or none at all and instead end up with two more brothers. He seemed to be thinking it through, before finally coming to the conclusion that, sisters or brothers, this was still good. Maya quietly reached out one arm to pull him into a side hug and kiss his head.

"You can't tell anyone yet, okay? It has to be a secret, between the four of us and your dad," she told all three, and they all nodded.

Whether they'd actually keep the secret or not was impossible to tell, but either way, now that they knew, it could only mean one thing: they were on a clock. The sooner they got it out there on their own terms, the less likely it would be that one of the boys slipped somehow. When Lucas emerged from the kitchen, Maya quickly caught him up on their sons' expert sleuthing. He took this easily in stride, naturally; he'd been eager for them to know, too.

After dinner, Lucas took care of bath time – as he'd done since they'd found out about the babies, not wanting for them to have a repeat of Maya's slip and fall a couple years back. He'd been the same when Jamie was coming. This left Maya with the happily accomplished task of getting each one in his PJs, hair combed… In time, it was everyone off to bed with stories, and then they were asleep, leaving their parents to contemplate 'the telling.' They wanted to do it over the weekend.

"We can do something with a bun, only there's two of them," Lucas suggested.

"Or we give them a pear and a bun, or I can make one... A pear bun! Stick a couple in their oven and... ta-da, two new grandchildren..." Maya gestured, then turned to look at him when she heard him laugh. "It would be on theme for this year, wouldn't it?"

"It would," he nodded.

"Come on, trial run, you can be my assistant," she tapped his leg as she got up, and he watched her go in awe before following her to the kitchen.

By the end of the night, they had their buns, and they had their plan, which inadvertently gave Maya an even grander idea. They would go to their families, their friends, everyone they wanted to surprise with the news, but no oven would be required. Instead, they would be presented with this new item that Maya wanted to start selling at the bakery. But it wouldn't just be a story to get to tell them about the babies; they would follow through with the idea, and they wouldn't stop there.

Even as they worked on the pear buns for the twins, Maya and Lucas discussed ideas for other baked treats they could add to the menu, treats inspired by Elliott, Noah, Jamie... They had a few ideas for ones they could do for Caitlin and Harry Olsen, but ultimately those needed to be concocted by their parents, not them.

"Right about now, I think these are my favorites," Lucas hummed as they each grabbed one for themselves, well-earned after this night. As tired as Maya had been when she'd come home, this had made it all so much better. "Hey, so… I've been thinking this idea over for the last few weeks, about me and the ranch…" he started as he sat by and watched her decorate the boxes. Maya lifted her head to look at him, her eyes asking the question. What we talked about at Christmas? Giving it time? "Yeah," he smiled. "Talked about it a bit with Juliet, and my dad, they're both on board with me giving it a shot, but I wanted to run it by you, too." He had a good feeling that she'd be on board, too, that wasn't what this was about. He needed to figure out how he'd go about things, and he knew no one better to help him do that than her.

The next morning, when they came into the kitchen, the Friar brothers had a curious look on their faces. They could smell it... Their mother had been baking. What had she made? Where was it? Most importantly, could they have any? Under the circumstances, they absolutely could. They were told what they were for, and they all loved to eat the buns, even if they didn't quite get the play on words behind it.

Because it was Saturday morning, Lucas would be on his way to the ranch for riding lessons with Ava Nash. Before he went, he asked Maya if she minded him bringing one of the buns to his student. He wouldn't tell the ranch at large, not until after they'd told their families, but his instincts told him to share this news with the girl, and Maya agreed. She saw like he did that it would make her happy to hear it, to be included.

Like he'd done the previous week, Lucas went and picked Ava up from her house before bringing her to the ranch. They had their lesson, where the girl continued to thrive and grow as a rider. When they were done, they walked back to the minivan, where Lucas asked the ten-year-old to wait before getting in. From the back, where he'd stashed a cooler, he got the small box and brought it back. Ava stared at it, curious, especially when it was handed to her.

"For me?"

"Yeah," Lucas nodded. "Maya and I made them last night and I wanted to bring you one to see what you think," he explained, then, "You don't have any food allergies I should know about?" She shook her head. "What about food dislikes? Anything that grosses you out?" he made a face for show and it made her laugh as she shrugged. None that she could think of. "Alright then, go for it." Ava looked at the box, hesitated. "Something wrong?"

"My mom wouldn't want me to," she awkwardly shared. "She says it's never too early to watch your figure." By her tone, he guessed she hated when her mother said things like that, but she felt compelled to do as she was told. To him, it brought plenty of other feelings, all of them boiling down to 'it might not be my place to question this, but she is only ten...'

"What about special occasions? Like birthdays, parties, weddings?" he asked. She shrugged. Loopholes were fun until they might cost Ava her riding lessons. He knew there was a solid chance that, if her mother got to it first, she'd never get to eat it, but he had to take a chance. "Look, the thing is, what's in there is for a special occasion. I'll tell you what it is and then you can maybe ask your father if it's okay?"

This worked for her, so he smiled and he told her that the box contained a pear bun. This box did not have the benefit of being like the other, pre-arranged boxes for the other reveals later that day, which Maya had drawn over to look like ovens, so he let her know about those. Ava stood there, her eyes showing that she understood there was a message to be discovered in all this, and she was eager to find it. She loved puzzles, of any kind.

"A pear bun in an oven box..." she stated, and at once her back straightened. "A pair of buns in the oven! Twins! I..." she gasped, the full meaning now connecting. "You're going to have twins?" she asked, and he nodded. Ava happily teetered on her feet and then, after a moment, she made a decision. She opened the box, took a moment to look at the bun, and then she picked it up and bit into it. "Special occasion," she told her instructor, after having nudged her bite into her cheek so not to talk with her mouth full.

Lucas laughed. This small rebellion may come to bite her later, but he had a feeling that she might be okay. If her mother ever found out about the treat, he could see Ava coming up with a solid excuse. Even if she didn't, even if this led to her mother pulling her out of lessons, he felt like she would be okay, rather this moment in her life would help her in many ways that did not involve horses.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners