A/N: Fourteen days behind...

September 10th 2023

Chapter 253
We Prepare For Sunshine

It was only a matter of time, every year, before the Friar girls caught on to the all important fact that summer was nearly upon them. It would only take one thing coming along and clueing them on to the turn of the seasons and all at once it would just about all that any of them could think about. They all actually enjoyed being in school, and though it was entirely likely that this feeling would change as they got older, for now, it didn't change the fact that they could not wait for the weeks they would soon spend away from class.

This year, it all began with shirts, a stack of them, discovered by the triplets. Kacey, Remy, and Lucy hadn't planned to find them, and none of them specifically stated what they had been doing in their parents' room when they'd found these shirts, but the important part was that they had found them, and they knew what they were even before they could read what was written on all of them. Those were their shirts for summer camp, which their father had picked up earlier that day after their registration. They all couldn't wait to go back, so the process had begun, though the unveiling of the shirts had been meant to be a surprise that Maya and Lucas would actually be involved in. There was no choice now but to pivot toward sharing in their daughters' excitement, so they asked them all what they were looking forward to the most, and they gladly responded in turn. With the triplets, there was no surprise, the big thrill was camp, and they confirmed as much here.

Oh, they had loved camp for as long as they had attended it, in any shape or form, but that love had only been further encouraged by their new favorite movie, which took place in a summer camp. They watched it any chance they got, which was at least two or three times a week, more than that if they could. The rest of the family wasn't necessarily opposed to the movie, but the trio of six-year-olds were the biggest fans of it in the Friar house by far. Now, with their own camp days approaching, that love was bound to reach fever pitch.

"What about you, Mack?" Marianne looked at her little sister, who hadn't said anything but still looked like she was thinking about something and giving it all of her attention. It took Lucas reaching over to tickle her, which startled her out of her thoughts, and a repeat of the question before she could answer. She knew exactly what she was looking forward to, except the thing she was looking forward to wasn't the summer itself so much as what would come on the other side of it. Of course, she would have loads of fun, and summer was, as ever, a time that she loved, but after that…

"I'm going to the bigger school," she declared with that might Mack Attack grin, which made her parents laugh. It almost sounded like she'd said 'big girl school,' and it wouldn't have surprised them if that was what she'd said. It wasn't even much of a secret that she would be looking forward to starting elementary school, with the way she had been looking on to her sisters, and her young niece… The only part that would hold her back in any way would be that her little sister wouldn't get to come along. She'd still be in preschool for another year.

To look at her here though, Aubrey was clearly not putting the pieces together and thinking about how she'd be without her big sister when she returned to Miss Alma's class. As it was, she had been contemplating what summer vacation would mean to her, and of the many things she could think of, there was one that stood out above the rest, and when she thought of it, she sat up at once and had to share it.

"I can play with my brother!" she declared, looking over to Ezra. Even though she had not specifically said his name, the six-month-old heard her words from where he sat up in their mother's lap and let out an amused and properly giddy squeal, which made Aubrey even happier. "And I can play with the dogs, too," she added as an afterthought, though still very important in and of itself. As much as she would look forward to spending more time with her pets though, there was no competition. Ezra would always come out on top with his big sister, whether he was old enough to understand it yet or not.

"Well, I can't imagine what you'll be doing this summer, huh?" Shawn wasted no time getting involved in the conversation when he and Katy arrived, MJ and Haley with them, for dinner with the Friars. They'd come just before Maya or Lucas could make a statement roughly to this effect, aimed at their firstborn, and the vaguely eye-roll like look that Marianne gave them – tripped up by a smile as it was – was probably not so far from what her parents' question would have created.

It was hard not to be three steps ahead on the matter when they had been hearing Marianne go on and on about it already for a while. Of course she would be doing all the things that summer had meant to her for a while already, with camp, the ranch, swimming, hanging out with her friends and playing… But summer meant one more thing, as it had done for a couple of summers already. Summer would bring her faraway friend a lot closer, as the Farrell kids' cousin Haru would be Austin bound for the length of the holidays once again.

This year, the ten-year-olds had been planning ahead. They had a whole list of fun things they were going to do together. The theme was very much summer itself, and their list was full of the kinds of things they associated with the season, inspired in one way or another. And because she was turning into more and more of a performer and he was only growing into a more invested budding filmmaker, they wanted to put together their own movie over the summer. To hear Marianne go on about it, they kept going back and forth on what the actual movie would be, a documentary, a drama, a comedy, a musical, and in all likelihood it would stay this way until Haru arrived… probably after he was here, too.

"So, does that mean that you guys wouldn't want to go on a trip this year?" Maya asked, later on, as the girls were getting ready for bed. Lately, they had taken up this thing of all six girls wanting to do this in the same room, together, instead of three and three, all in their own rooms. Every evening, they would alternate, leaving the trio from the other room to carry their things over.

The suggestion that they might not go on a trip was met with six pairs of blue eyes turning on Maya and Lucas in turn, as though they'd all cried out their protest at once. They had been supposed to go somewhere together over the holidays, until Ezra had been left on their doorstep, so now that they had this new chance and a six-month-old boy ready to get his traveling legs moving, they were left with a dilemma of sorts, if a good one. Summer vacation did inspire images of fun in the sun, of beaches and swimming, but would it be completely out of bounds for them to try and make up for their last trip and go somewhere that would have snow and the opportunity to try skiing, or skating… They could always wait until the winter break and go then, but wouldn't this be more memorable?

Presented with these options, the girls were understandably at a loss for unanimity. Nothing had been decided as of yet, but they would have to decide very soon, so the best they could hope for was for everyone to sway to one side or the other, so they might have a great time together as a family.

"Which side do you think's going to take it?" Lucas asked Maya as they got ready for bed, too.

"Are we betting now?" she asked, smirking when he nodded. "What do we get if we win?" she wondered. He tipped his head, uncertain. "Are you sure you want to leave that up to me? Could be dangerous."

"I trust you," he promised, to which she replied with a look that ready as though this might not have been the brightest of ideas, for his own safety. When she felt his arms loop around her from behind, she went on grinning, figuring some distraction ploy was at hand. "What about your summer wishes?" he asked her. "Vacation aside," he specified, and she nodded, understanding, before giving it some thought.

"I mean… The biggest thing is right there, isn't it? Getting to spend more time with our kids instead of everyone else's for a change," she stated, which made a load of sense to the both of them. Of course, they had to go to school, and they would have their activities, their friends… but it would get to feel as though they barely got to stop and be with them sometimes, wouldn't it? "And when they're not around, then… I might spend a lot of time in the Hex," she added, turning her head to find his face and give him a smile, which he received and returned in kind. It was as clear an invitation as any for him to join her whenever he'd like.

She didn't know exactly what she would do in there yet, except of course their anniversary song, but her hopes were that she would come away from it all with something she could work with, once fall rolled around and brought a new school year for everyone.

"Me now?" he asked, guessing, when he felt her fingers poking at his arms. She nodded. What did he want for his summer? Besides the obvious? Besides a chance to make new memories with her, with their children, with family and friends near and far? When it came down to it, he really couldn't think of that much more he could want. Maybe he just craved simple things, but really this felt anything but simple to him, not with how far they had all come together, how much work went into moving their family forward from day to day… To him, there was no worthier cause where his own life was involved.

"New XCs?" Maya offered, like she could read right through him… and she probably could. He took a breath, let it out with a chuckle.

"Yeah, them," he agreed. "This year, we might actually try and expand some more," he told her, and she made an interested noise. "Two locals, two internationals… Maybe see about bringing in some middle schoolers again…" They hadn't really gone outside of high school since the early years of the program, had they?

"One of these days, you guys could have a reunion, bring all of them back around, see how they're doing… Not that we don't know anything," Maya added, making him smile. To some degree or another, they had kept in touch with a fair number of those exchange campers, hadn't they?

Even as they settled in, they could just hear enough of noise from beyond their room to know that, across and down the hall from them, there were discussions happening, quietly so, as to whether the Friars would go to sunny beaches or frosty slopes that summer. The curiosity could not be helped, not in this house, not for a second.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners