August 25th 2023
Chapter 237
We Write A Family Story
Dear Mrs. Friar,
I asked Mama if I could write you a letter like she does sometimes, and she said that I could. She said that you would be very happy if I did, so that's why I'm doing it now. My teacher says I'm the best writer on my class, and she got me this set of paper and envelopes before Christmas. I wanted to use it for something special, so that's what I'm doing with this letter. Mama says that I have a funny face when I'm writing important things, so I told her she should draw it for you in the corner of the page since you were her art teacher before. It's so funny, isn't it? I wanted to start my letter over on a new page so I wouldn't have to send this one away, but she said she'd do the drawing again on a normal paper so I could keep it. She's sitting across from me now, drawing, and I think she's imitating me. It's so silly, but I love it.
Mommy and Mama say that I have an accent now, because of living out here as long as I have. I don't really remember when we lived in the US. I mean, I do remember some little things, but that's all. Mostly I remember our old apartment. I remember living with Mommy, and Mama, too, and then us being here, that's what I remember most. I love it here. I like when we go see my grandparents, but I don't think I would want to live out there all the time.
Our house now is the best. I think Mommy and Mama feel that way, too. I see them smile a lot, more than I did before. They don't tell me everything that's going on all the time, but I'm nine, I can tell a lot more of what's going on than they think I can. I know that it was hard when Mommy and I came to England and Mama wasn't Mama yet and she was in our old town without us. I know that it was hard for Mama after she came to England, too, at first, but only at first. Then she and Mommy got together, and that's when they got all magic and happy. I just want them to be like that forever now. Maybe they'll get me a little brother or sister somehow. Maybe they'll get me a kitten. Both would be perfect. Mama's looking at me now, so I have to cover my paper, so she won't read our letter. I guess I'll end it here. Will you say hi to everyone at your house from me? Especially Marianne. We had a lot of fun the last time I was in Texas. I wish I had a friend like her here.
Have a nice day,
Danielle Maitland Zimmerman
.
Dear Dani,
Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope with your address on it, expecting to read a letter from your Mama and instead finding your neat handwriting. It's very good, by the way. I definitely did not write half as well as you do now when I was your age, let me tell you that. My teachers were absolutely discouraged whenever they saw my work come up. They couldn't make out half of it, and my spelling wasn't good either, so that only made things worse. You, I'm sure, do not have that problem, so good on you there. I can see why your teacher was this proud of you, with how well you write already, not just your letters but the words that they make, too.
I know plenty about all of it from your Mama, but I'm sure you knew that. She just keeps talking about you, and I don't think she could be any prouder of calling you her daughter than she already is. You tell her thanks for that little drawing of you that she did. It was very effective in painting the picture of what it's like when you write. I think she would be okay with me telling you about how much she missed you and your Mommy both, back when she still lived in the US after you two moved, but I think you know it pretty well as it is. If there's one thing you can trust, it's how much your Mama loves you and how happy you've made her. She wasn't in my class for nearly as long as some others have, but you can trust me when I say she is one of the students I remember most fondly. Every time she writes to me or calls or visits, it's like getting one of my kids back.
Now, as to this magic, and your wishes for what's to come, I wish I had more that I could give you on the matter, but really this one will be all on your moms to figure out. If you do get that kitten, please let me know all about it, alright? And if you end up with a new sibling, well, please let me know all about that one, too, yeah? I will pass on all your wishes to the rest of the house. I already showed Marianne your letter and she was so glad to see what you said about her. I think she's planning to write back to you, too, so who knows, you might have more chances to use that stationery set of yours again before you know it.
Until then, giving you big, big hugs,
Mrs. Maya Friar
X
Maya generally tried not to think about how she used to comport herself in the kitchen, but every now and again that tiny blonde she had once been would pop up again, silly goose that she was, whenever she was cooking, and it would make her laugh to herself. She had a bit of that now, and it felt inevitable as she stood in her kitchen, surrounded by four of her sisters and one of her sisters 'in law' – whether one could call Priya that or not, as she and Teddy weren't married, she didn't really put much thought into it.
Right now, what mattered was that Maya, Cara, Eliza, Emma, Maisie, and Priya were all working together, the better to put together some meals to be had by their brother, his wife, and their children, once Dora had the baby which was to happen any day now. It had all the potential of turning to chaos, but they actually worked very well, all of them together, and little by little they were building up their stock, which was to last the Calaharts for a good while, along with the occasional take-out, fast meal, or visitor dinners they were bound to have. Whatever they'd need, they would have it, right there in their freezer and all set to be taken out on those days where they were just too tired from being back in Newborn Time.
Really, they might have seen this coming, but even as they all were working away in that kitchen, they were visited by James Lane, who ran across from his house to let them know that Sam had called to tell him and Abigail that he was taking Dora to the hospital. She was in labor, no doubt about it, and the baby was on its way. The sisters had no choice but work fast and put away everything they were working on if they could and sacrifice that which they could not leave and return to later. They might have volunteered one of them to stay behind and keep cooking, but that wasn't going to happen. They all deserved to be out there today.
They were all pros of the hospital waiting room on birth days by now, and it showed. Several of them had prepped ahead of time for the occasion, and they showed up ready for the long wait. They had the kids with them, too, including Francesca and Tim, the eager big sister and big brother to the baby being born, and if they didn't have some strategy of how to go forward, they would lose the thread and fast. This led to what was fast becoming a tried and true family trick, as inspired by the Friars. Find a picture, tell its story. Plenty of them had photo albums full of possibilities at hand's reach, and that became a game in itself, even before they'd decided that they needed a story. Everyone was scrolling through their phone, not seeing that the others were doing the same and painting a picture of a family that could not care less, which could not have been further from the truth.
"Ah, here, here," Wyatt sat up, triumphant, as he held up his phone and Finn tried to grab on to it from his perch in his father's lap. The others looked up, taking in the whole scene for what it had become before turning to Wyatt. He showed them the image on his screen, which made some of them burst out laughing while others moved forward at once, needing to confirm that what they were seeing was what they thought they were seeing.
"Why's Daddy dressed like that?" Francesca asked, blinking, while her little brother giggled uncontrollably.
"That was Halloween," Lucas told his niece. "That was actually the day Marianne was born," he went on to reveal, and the kids all around turned to their smiling cousin. "And she was going to be his first niece, and he was going to be Uncle Sam…" he explained. Most of the kids stared back at him, clueless as ever, save for Francesca and Tim, who'd had some notion of the connection between the iconography and their father, though somehow never in this direct of a way as now. "You guys really never saw these pictures?" Lucas asked. The kids shrugged. They probably had seen them, but right now… "Well, the point is, he was…"
The entire tale of 'Uncle Sam' was laid out with as many points of view as there were people in the waiting room who had been there that year. By the time Sam came around to announce the birth of his and Dora's new daughter, everyone found it difficult not to look at him and chuckle, which was intriguing to him, but not so much as to obscure the fact that he was now a father of three.
When the Friars got to go in and meet the new Calahart babe, her older siblings were right where they needed to be, which was to say right by their mother's bedside. The sweet baby girl they came to spy in Dora's arms would very much remain the baby of the family, as it had been agreed between her and Sam, and for that she had been gifted with a meaningful name of her own. It might have been that her older sister would have gotten the name, but she had been named in honor of her late paternal grandfather and her aunt, and that was very good and fine. Now this girl… She would be named as her mother had been named, and her grandmother before her. As it turned out, Lucas' Aunt Dot, Dorothy of her full name, was not the first. She was already the third, and Dora had been the fourth, also Dorothy of her full name, and so her second daughter would share the name and become the fifth.
They would call her Dottie on the day to day, and for being no more than an hour old at this point, little Dottie Calahart wore her name well. She would have plenty more time to grow even further into it, and in the meantime, she had a very large family standing in wait to know her and love her and make her part of their own.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
