A/N: [October 24th 2024]

October 24th 2023

Chapter 297
We Imagine What They Were Like

There was no way to put into words just how happy it would make him to see the way his older children would rub off on the younger. They would move slowly but surely in that space between babyhood and toddlerhood and suddenly there'd be these small mannerisms showing up, words, too, as they'd start and learn to speak, and it'd be the funniest thing. Oh, it had been as emotional as ever when Ezra had started to say Mama and Dada at them, as he'd started to learn his sisters' name (or what approximation of those as he was able to say them), but then it was also hilarious when he picked up on the way his sisters would try and convey that something was impressive, or amazing, or nice. It treated them to a constant array of his squeaky little voice going 'wow!' or 'oooh!' or a loose sound they took to be his version of 'yay!'

Lucas heard a lot of those that day as he sat by the open trunk with his son, showing the eleven-month-old a few of his great grandfather's things. He was careful about what he might put in his reach, knowing that Ezra could get carried away and accidentally break or damage things, but he also felt that it was important to trust him with these. He could hardly believe that his baby boy would be a year old before very long, that it would make one year since he had been left outside their door, but then December was fast approaching, and it would bring this first year with him to a close. What a strange and wonderful year it had been…

Even without Ezra there in the office, his curious fairy boy, Lucas would probably have ended up in the trunk anyway. Whether he'd meant for it or not, it had become a sort of habit for him, part of his daily routine. Now that he'd started looking at all that was inside – and there was really a lot – he couldn't seem to leave it alone. The more he looked at what was in that trunk, at the things that had felt important enough to be preserved and cherished, it was as though he was being given this chance to reconstruct his grandfather. Simon Sullivan had for the longest time been little more than a vague notion in his mind, for what he'd known about him. Some corners had been filled in over time, but it wasn't the same as what Lucas gained from looking through belongings. He would never have the man standing before him, able to speak with him, but what he had here… That was really as close as they were going to get, and all he could think was that, had he been given the chance to know his grandfather, he would have loved the man.

"Wow, look at the time…" Lucas told Ezra as he checked his watch.

"Wow…" Ezra echoed him, and Lucas chuckled, scooping him up. He started to wriggle and cry at once, reaching for the open trunk.

"It's time to go get your sisters, EZ," Lucas revealed. He'd said the magic word. "Want to go get your sisters?" he repeated it for good measure, and there were no more tears, only smiles.

With everything put away and the lid shut, the Friar boys set off for the schools. As they collected Aubrey from preschool, Lucas was very aware, as it would hit him from time to time, that this might have been their last year with Miss Alma had they not been granted their son, as their lucky girl would be heading up into kindergarten the following year. They were still a couple of years away from Ezra starting to attend, but they would likely see the girls' teacher in the in between. She'd been in their lives and them in hers long enough now that she was much more than 'the preschool teacher.' She was one of few people outside their immediate family and friends who even knew how they'd ended up with Ezra in the first place.

When they'd made it to the elementary school, there were none giddier for him to arrive than the triplets. The seven-year-old sisters knew what was in store for them once their father came to get them that day: it was time to head back to the ranch for their riding lesson. They got plenty of opportunities to be over at Sullivan Stables, whether they were there for lessons, or group day, or just because, but nowadays, the riding days were the best, no contest.

They were still very much in the learning stages, yes, but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. When they'd first started, just getting to put on the protective gear had been a thrill, just being helped up on to horseback had been one as well. They could do more now, and they loved any time they learned to do a new thing, or when they got better at something they'd been shown. The best part there might have been to see how happy that would make them, how proud and eager for more, but as far as Lucas himself was concerned, it was times like these that were best, when he got to watch them all out there together and see how they encouraged one another, celebrated one another's small victories and big ones, too. If any of them got hurt in any way, they would crowd in together, the other two tending to them, just as they'd done for the better part of their lives. And once they'd get home and had their mother or their aunts and uncles there to hear, they would share the story of the day's lesson, missing no opportunity to go ahead and hype up what their fellow triplets had accomplished with their horses either.

"You got this, Lucy!" Marianne called from where she stood, perched up on the fence next to her father and little sisters. Lucas smiled, even more so when her cheer made Ezra squeal and raise his arms to back her up. "Yeah, EZ!" Marianne giggled. When he reached for her, she hopped down from the fence and held up her arms expectantly, so Lucas passed her brother over to her. "Got you now, yeah, yeah," she kissed his cheek, holding him in front of herself so he could see their sisters and their horses. "Wooo!" Marianne cheered, and as she'd likely hoped, Ezra imitated her.

"Wooo!"

"They're great, right?" Marianne told him before looking over to their father. "I was really sure Kacey was going to be the best one out there," she stated, and Lucas looked down at her, curious.

"And you don't think so anymore?"

"I didn't say she wasn't as good as I thought she'd be, just… I was afraid Lucy might fall behind, or that Remy would be too… Remy," she explained, and he couldn't help but see what she was getting at. "Oh! Dad! You know what we could do?" she spun to him now, making Ezra lodge a complain as he no longer saw his sisters and the horses. Marianne adjusted her hold on him before getting back to this grand idea she'd just had. "We could do a whole thing, all of us and our horses, like that show that Pappy Joe and Gram-Gram took us to last year? Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Sure," Lucas smiled, remembering all those bright blue eyes, wide with wonder. "You know it'll be a while before any of you could do things like that, yeah? Those three, and then…" he nodded to Mackenzie and Aubrey, both glued to the fence as they watched their older sisters.

"Someday maybe?" Marianne smiled, and he smiled back. Someday, maybe.

"Daddy, I want to ride, too," Mackenzie chirped up as soon as her focus broke away from the riders.

"Me, too!" Aubrey hopped around. "Me, too!"

"You will," Lucas moved over to them and crouched to get at their eye level. "Not yet," he added before they could get the wrong idea. "Not lessons anyway. You can still get taken around like we've done, okay?"

"Why?" Aubrey asked, and it was about the most effective blue eyed maneuver in the whole bunch, complete with a trembling little lip. Lucas could tell her that they were just too small at the moment, had to, but it would be a matter of finding the right way, sidestepping the whole tantrum if they could help it.

"Because your horses have to get here first," Marianne offered, and Lucas looked at her, coming off very much like an echo of her mother in that instant. He knew what she was getting at and he ran with it.

"That's right," he told the little sisters. "Your horses, the ones you're meant to ride out there, they have to join the ranch first. I'll know it's them, and you will, too. And as soon as they're here, I'll let you know. I promise."

It wasn't exactly what they would have hoped to hear, but it was better than nothing, so they ran with it. After the triplets were done with their lesson and the horses had been brought back to the stables, Marianne wanted to go to the archive, so they all went off in that direction. She was first through the door and already up the stairs, calling a quick hello to Carson and Lee Beaumont on the way, by the time the rest of them made it, too. The two men welcomed their regular visitors with all the energy of the kindly grandfathers they both were. They could always manage to find one thing or another, one story, that they hadn't seen or heard yet, and the kids came expecting to be shown or told, and so they would, and it would be a treat, nothing short of it. Today was no exception and, as they went about it now, Lucas went up the stairs with Ezra, the better to see what his firstborn was up to.

She had her favorite table, her favorite chair, and if ever the two were separated, she would reunite them, carrying the chair back to its proper position, looking out the window best angled for her to see the ranch at large. In just a few minutes, she'd already managed to pull several documents and stack them on the table. Now she was sitting up on her chair, turning pages, looking, reading… He knew better than to sneak up on her, so he gave a whistle, much quieter than his and Maya's call but perfect for announcing himself in a way she'd recognize as belonging to her. She didn't turn around now, but he knew she'd heard, could tell she'd be smiling to herself.

"What are you looking for this time?" he asked, approaching now.

"I saw so many things in Great Grandpa Simon's trunk, and I wanted to know more," she shrugged.

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Lucas smiled. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Some things, yeah. Look," she reached for the nearest chair, pulled it next to hers in invitation, so he accepted it and sat, with as rapt of attention as his younger daughters were likely giving Carson and Lee below. Even Ezra, in his lap, was being a very quietly attentive one while his sister spoke. He was familiar with her voice for a storyteller, as she'd told him so many in his short lifetime. By the time she had finished sharing her discoveries, her little brother was sound asleep in Lucas' arms. "Can I stay a little longer? I'll do my homework when we get home, I promise."

"Tell you what, I'll take the others home, and I'll come back to get you in time for dinner?" That was perfect, and she thanked him profusely. He got up, and she went back to her research with the same interest as she'd left it. "You can tell me all about it on the ride home."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners