July 16th 2023

Chapter 197
We Light the Way

Lucas was all too familiar with the ups and downs of his daughters and their moods. They could be having a great time one second and then something would happen, significant to all or only to them, and they would fall apart. It could go the other way, too, where they would be so upset one moment and be alright again before anyone knew what turned things around for them. He knew that this was children in general, not just his girls, but with them at least he had a deeper intuition.

For instance, even as he carried Aubrey in one arm, feeling her little body quaking with ongoing sniffles as she held tightly to him, as she recovered from getting a very small and easily repairable tear in her bandanna, he knew that she would be just fine once they got to the archive. He had Mackenzie following along and holding his other hand, herself the guardian of the 'injured' piece of green fabric, looking up to her little sister and trying to convince her that it wasn't so bad at all, which it wasn't, of course. She'd see it in time, especially once Maya worked her magic on it.

Aubrey stayed in his lap as they sat to listen to Carson and his story for the day, while Mackenzie sat on the floor, next to her father, the better to lean her head against his leg and hold her little sister's hand. And as the story went by, it was just as Lucas had figured it would be. Aubrey brightened, becoming less prone to clinging to him until she went and climbed down to sit with Mackenzie, who opened out her arms so that her little sister would come sit in front of her and she could hold her.

Lucas was seeing more and more of the benefit of splitting his time between the groups, getting to be with all his young daughters and his granddaughter in turn instead of staying with one group the entire time. If he could, he would stay with each of them throughout all those afternoons, but he didn't have a time machine at his disposal, so 'some' was always going to be better than 'none.' When the time came for him to go from one group to another, the girls had instigated a game wherein they would tag him out, and when he'd get to the next one...

"Tag, you're in!" the triplets cried out as one, promising that, with them, the mood was already on the high side as he joined their blue group. They were just finishing up their time up in the arts and crafts room when he climbed the steps, so when they rushed at him they all had enough paint on their hands, and smocks - and faces - to make him think of their mother when she'd have been about their age and beyond.

"I sure am," Lucas laughed, carefully pulling them back to look at what marks his little artists had left on him. They didn't look overly concerned, mostly giggled. "Good thing it washes off, right?"

He got to hear all about the things they had created that day as he helped to get them and the room cleaned up a bit before they could head downstairs. There was no way that Donna Devereaux would allow paint stains - washable or not - in her studio. Lucas might very well be walked right out of the building the moment she'd see those handprints on his shirt and pants.

She didn't kick him out, but she for sure gave him a pronounced stare before she went and turned a smile on to the six and seven-year-old kids. They had earned her deep devotion when they had been the ones to request what was now called the 'Donna Dance Break' around the ranch. They would have to walk through the studio whenever they would go in and out of the arts and crafts room, and often she would be in there, dancing around, preparing to receive guests, or working with some nearlyweds or their families... and they'd be entranced by her.

The more time went on, the kids just wanted to stick around, and now here they were. Whenever time permitted, they would get to have some fun, dancing around with the old woman. If she was in a particular mood - which was most of the time - she would go and demand that Lucas join her for a few turns. And because he was not shy, he would happily do as he was told. The best part would be seeing how amused the kids would be, especially Kacey, Remy, and Lucy, laughing uncontrollably as they'd watch him and Donna spin around the room.

"Tag, you're in, Pappy Luke!" Tori whispered. She'd been sitting on the ground with the rest of the eight and nine-year-olds of red group when he came in, but she always seemed to have a sneaky sixth sense when he was around, and she turned to see him almost instantly. So she'd hurried to rise in a crouch and move over to him, grabbing his hands to do her part. "Come sit with me, okay?" she pulled him along as though she might be able to hide him, a fully grown man, among the pack of children. They all saw him coming and laughed, some louder than others, which earned him his second frown of the day, though this one coming from his mother-in-law at least ended with a smile.

It was only natural, with how much the afterschool program had been evolving as of late, that more ideas would come about, more avenues for them to explore with the children. The dancing had been one of those, and this was another, brought along by curiosity from the campers as much as enthusiasm from the one who inspired that curiosity. Here, that someone was Katy Hunter, her and castmates, on either side of the two series' divide. It was impossible for them to be this close to one another and not be as aware of and involved with one another as they were. The actors would see all those kids running around and being as kids were, and they'd happily stop for hellos. Meanwhile, the kids, if they were old enough to understand who they were and what they did, would look off to the sets in the distance with questions in their eyes and giddiness in their limbs.

And that was how they'd ended up here, with this sort of unofficial theater 'class' with red group, yellow group, the new older kids… The actors would talk to them, lead them in exercises and small scenes… Some of them were no good, sure, but they had fun, and that was all that mattered. Some were okay, some were better than okay, and maybe they would carry on developing these skills in the future. Right here, right now, the goal was the same for one and all, and the smile that Lucas saw on his granddaughter's face said it all: she was having a great time, as all her groupmates were.

"Tag! You're in! You're in!" Marianne's voice was carried on the wind even as she carried on moving. Truffle was moving at a steady, unhurried pace around the area, as others of yellow group either rode, too, or stood near horses, or watched the riders. Lucas' smile came easily, couldn't help but do so when he saw his baby girl out there, his firstborn, looking so carefree and joyful as she and her horse moved together. Marianne looked like she was going to pull to a stop and climb down to come and talk to him, but he motioned for her to keep going, so she did, for a while longer. Finally, she slowed down and led Truffle over to approach him.

"You know, I had this idea earlier," Lucas started, reaching up to touch the horse as she greeted him back, glad to see him as always. He'd tell Marianne about that, and she'd say that it was because he took care of her every day, in the stables, but he had a different idea of it. He knew his horses well enough, and Truffle here… Much as she'd be glad for seeing her caretaker, Lucas was of a mind that she instead saw him and thought of her best friend, Annie.

"What idea?" Marianne asked, straightening up her posture, curious. Lucas smiled, then leaned in for a bit of confidentiality.

"You, me, your sisters, and Tori… ice cream," he whispered.

"What about dinner?" Marianne asked, in a near scolding tone that was very like her mother's.

"Oh, suddenly you're about to hit double digits and you get all responsible?" Lucas teased, grinning.

"It's pasta night," Marianne countered, and he raised his chin, understanding.

"Right, of course. Can't mess up pasta night, can we?"

"Never," Marianne shook her head.

"Good to know… Good to know," he slowly nodded. "So, we pick it up for later then?"

"Okay, but not yet, right?" she asked, and Truffle moved with the restlessness that her rider clearly felt. She wanted to keep riding for a while more.

"No, no, of course not. I just got here. Go on, show me what you got."

"Oh, we have a lot," Marianne promised, echoing her mother all over again. Lucas laughed, and he watched the pair move off once again.

He didn't have any further tags to collect now that he'd made it here. With the years to come, he'd no doubt find himself making the rounds with teal group, too, and then purple, and orange… provided that his girls didn't get too grown up to want their old man hanging around. The groups got smaller, the older they got, which was as they'd expected it would be, and that was fine. The kids they had signed up in those older groups, they very much wanted to be here. They only needed to be seen for it to be clear.

Sometimes he wondered why they hadn't done this sooner. They had seen a number of kids age out by now, and he couldn't remember any one of those leaving with relief. They would all have stayed around longer if they'd been allowed. Lucas was glad to see that some of those had found their way back to them, donning teal, purple, or orange. He didn't know what the future held for all of them, but he could imagine some of them attaching themselves to this field in some manner or another, same as he saw with their exchange campers, or their summer campers… That wasn't what they'd set out to do by having these organizations, but if that was part of what came out of it, then he would be glad for what he'd contributed into their lives.

And when his girls were old enough to be teal, and purple, and… and orange, well… He'd just have to swallow up his Big Girl Dad Feelings and be glad that they were grown and thriving. He thought about that a lot, even as he looked to his littlest ones, both still in green, and he thought of a time, not so far away, when they would both be up there with the blues, and the reds, the yellows and beyond. Would there ever be another little Friar in green after them? He hadn't lost hope, no, and Maya hadn't either… he didn't think she had anyway. Maybe it would end up that they really didn't have any more children, and if that was the case, then he'd make his peace with his hope. It would be easy enough, he was sure. He gathered up his girls after camp was done for the day, he took them off to get ice cream (for after pasta), and he was content. He needed nothing more than each one of them.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners