February 3rd 2023

Chapter 34
We Gather In The Light

It was one of the funniest things they were privileged to experience as parents: they knew their daughters very well, in many ways almost more than they knew themselves. Would that stay the case, especially as they grew up? Maybe, maybe not. But right now, they were all still so little, save for Ella of course, and maybe Marianne to some degree, and so they were still fully in that period of their lives. And the thing that their parents knew just now was very critical to it being Christmas morning: they would not go down the stairs and go see what presents Santa had brought them if it wasn't all of the sisters together. It was a good thing then that the smallest of their group had spent the night with Mommy and Daddy and remained there even as the rest of them started to wake up.

"Dada, hi! Hi, Dada!" Aubrey was all smiles as she woke and the first face that she saw was his.

"Hey there, Lucky girl," Lucas beamed even as he braced himself for the mighty grab of excited hands. She did not disappoint. If anything, at nineteen months, she had never seemed so devoted to grabbing hold of him specifically. They suspected it might have something to do with the image there on her mother's arm, which she knew to be a portrait of herself and her dear Dada. No, they couldn't know that for sure, but it was as good of a reason as any. "It's Christmas. Can you say 'Christmas?' Christmas?" She stared at him for a moment… then grabbed on to his ears again and squealed.

"Good answer," Maya laughed, which only brought the girl's attention over to her.

"Mama!"

"Hi!" Maya moved up to kiss the little face she loved so. Even as she stayed there and greeted her youngest, there was movement in the hallway. Incoming.

"We can't go in, we have to ask first!" they heard Marianne speak, and it took a lot for them not to laugh at this. Ella must have surmised that they were in the clear, what with them having Aubrey in the room, as soon the door opened and there was a deluge of many daughters and one granddaughter. Maya suspected there was one future son-in-law hovering in the hallway, not quite 'there' yet about bursting in his future mother-in-law but former teacher's room like it was nothing. Yes, they'd all made it very clear that they considered him family already, but there were limits.

After a mess of Christmas wishes, and hugs, and inquiries as to why Aubrey had spent the night in there instead of her room – Lucy wanted to know if she'd been sick and if so why she hadn't been informed – they made their way out into the hall and toward the stairs.

"Pumpkin, will you go get your uncle?" Lucas stalled Marianne and, with a nod, she hurried to the stairs.

"Good morning, Taylor, Merry Christmas," Maya greeted the young man with a smirk and a hug.

"Merry Christmas," he chuckled, both looking and sounding so like his older brother, Dylan.

It was, as ever, a lot of surprise and excitement followed by stalled anticipation for them to have the children see all the presents that hadn't been there the night before but then to also have to tell them they'd need to wait to open them all. Given enough time, they would surely try their hand at it, with some impression that they were able to do without anyone noticing – they weren't – but then it became easier to direct them away when they were reminded that, first and foremost, they had to wait for those who would be joining them, for presents and for breakfast before that. They wanted to go out and collect the Hart-Lanes from across the road, which would definitely make their morning, so they went about getting the children dressed. While the presents would be opened here, the breakfast this time around would be hosted by Abigail and James, who were so very happy at the prospect of having all of their children and grandchildren at their own table for the first time in so many years on Christmas morning. That meant the trio across the lane would definitely be up and about already, not likely to be startled awake by the greeters.

"Hey," Maya laughed when Wyatt came climbing down the stairs with his niece backpacked around him. Marianne's height was unavoidable here, but that wasn't about to bother him. He had a smile on his face, one to suggest that when Marianne had gone to get him, she had also granted him a good first dose of Christmas cheer, which he truly and deeply appreciated. He still looked visibly tired, which suggested he hadn't had that great of a night's sleep despite everything, but he was here, and he was looking forward to this day, no matter what. Maya didn't say it aloud, but just then she realized that there was some chance, come next Christmas, that they'd have Wyatt's son or daughter with them, too.

"Merry Christmas," he went and hugged his sister once Marianne had hopped off his back and run right back up the stairs to go get dressed.

"And Merry Christmas to you, too," Maya hugged him back.

"I guess I should go get ready, too," he pointed the way Marianne had gone.

"Yeah, we really didn't think this through properly, did we?" Maya reflected.

"No, it's alright, it is," Wyatt assured her.

They made quick work of the family transformation, the better to get out and collect the Hart-Lanes. Somehow, the girls had yet to discover the fine covering of snow on the ground. It was nothing to make much with and it would likely be gone soon, nowhere near enough for snow angels, or snowmen, or snowball fights, but it was enough for several small girls to get excited over as they walked along out of their house. It was also enough to give an early alert to those they sought, as James came out on the porch even before they made it there, leading to a mad dash to the finish line. He came down to greet them, the better to prevent one or more of them tripping on the steps in their eagerness. There were more of them than his arms could have managed to hold at once even on his best day, but everyone would get theirs in time, no worries.

When Wyatt came up, James took the time to give him a good check-in hug, and it was great to see, especially for the power it had to lift away some of Wyatt's concerns. Both Maya and Lucas just managed to hear James asking if Alicia would be joining them, and here they learned that Wyatt had spoken to her earlier and she'd declined. She wanted the day to herself, and he wasn't going to force her if she wasn't up to it.

With Abigail and Maisie collected and everything good to wait until after presents, the group migrated back to the Friar house, even as the rest of their group started to arrive. Sam, Cara, Teddy, Eliza, Emma, all the significant others, the children… Theo and Lea rounded out the already crowded gathering, the better for the gift exchange to finally begin. The youngest among them, at nineteen and thirteen months respectively, Aubrey and her cousin Tim Calahart would be getting a much better experience of this than they could have had, being as little as they'd been the last time. They still didn't get exactly how it all worked, everyone taking turns and bringing gifts to the next in line, but so long as they were directed, they would do as was required of them, and they'd do it with great, curious smiles, as it all came off as one big game to them, where every once in a while, they got to rip at paper and unwrap gifts of their own. The jury was out on which part they liked best, the giving or the ripping.

When all the gifts had been opened – the paper, the bags, the bows, and the ribbons all diligently collected by Tim's big sister, six-year-old Francesca, throughout the whole process – it was time once again to head across the road to the Hart-Lane house for breakfast. It was as chaotic as it was bound to be, with so many of them and so many kids among them, but that was just how they liked it.

Wyatt would remain home with his parents and little sister when the Friars headed out to make their rounds. They would have gladly brought him along, but he needed this, so they let him be. Ella, Taylor, Theo, Lea, and Tori had some stops of their own to make, but they would all be back together again come evening, for dinner at the elder Friars'. They'd be the last stop for Maya, Lucas, and their six little ones. The plan, which felt like a challenge to everyone's patience with how many times they'd be gearing up to head out, buckle into the minivan, drive off, get out, get the outdoor things off, then eventually do it all over again, but the hope was that the promise of those people they'd be visiting would balance things out. It was friends here, family there, friends some more, and family in the end…

At lunch, they were at the Hunter Hart house and, thinking of Wyatt again, Maya was tempted to discuss his situation with her mother, but she resisted. When the time was right, it would be up to him to decide, and so far, he hadn't done it, so she wouldn't either.

"I can't wait until next Christmas," Gracie smiled as she hugged her big sister. Still thinking of Wyatt, Maya hesitated as she looked back to her little sister.

"Why?"

"Well, we'll be at your house already… probably," Gracie reminded her, giving an uncertain look as though to ask, 'we will, won't we?' Maya beamed.

"You're right… Then I can't wait either. Hey, uh… Where's Mom?"

"Uh…" Gracie looked back and pointed toward the kitchen. "Lucas went with her, didn't he? Thought I heard her say she wanted to talk to him about something."

"Oh?" Maya hadn't even noticed them leaving, as she'd been caught in a near tackle of a hug by thirteen-year-old Haley, followed by the recently turned sixteen-year-old MJ, and then the eighteen-year-old twins.

By the time she was able to go and find either one of them, which had involved wishing Shawn and the Clutterbuckets a Merry Christmas and the triplets showing her what Santa had left for them here, they were both coming back from the kitchen. Katy caught her firstborn in her arms and gave her as good of a squeeze as she'd done, all her life. She very much had the opinion that she would always hug her children the same, no matter how old she or any of them would be, and none of them, not even at the height of adolescence had ever complained… so long as she didn't do it in public.

"What was all that about back there?" Maya had to ask Lucas. He just smiled, shrugged. "Oh? That much, huh? Scheming? On Christmas?" she mock gasped.

"You'll find out soon enough," Lucas assured her.

"Yeah, I better," she whispered as she squinted at him. He rebutted by kissing her, which was, generally, a 'dirty move,' but one she would never argue against. It was very effective.

"Hey, I did wish you a Merry Christmas, right?" he asked, and she bit back a laugh at his doubling down. Yes, he had, somewhere around midnight and again as they'd woken up, the words signed so not to wake the then sleeping Aubrey. "I might say it again a few times, just to be sure."

"Wise move, I'd say," Maya smiled. "But be sneaky about it, that'll be even better." Lucas slowly nodded.

"I can work with that."

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners