A/N: [July 1st 2024]

September 16th 2023

Chapter 259
We Prepare For the Future

Maya had had the privilege of watching many of her former students grow up into adults, start careers, follow dreams, get married, become parents… One of those had gotten to do most of that already, and very close to the Friars, too. But there was still one step she had not taken… but she would on this day. On this day, Stella Buckley would marry François Lejeune, also known as The Young Frank. Both of them had had plenty of comments, from people they knew and from complete strangers who knew the French singer, about the fact that they had a daughter already and had yet to say their vows, but the sequence of events hadn't been nearly as important to them. They'd always known they would get there eventually, and they were going to get there at the right moment. To look at them as they'd gotten close to The Day, it was just the time for them to take this step at last.

The Friars would naturally be in attendance and part of the wedding in several ways. Before they could do anything, they had to get there. And before they could get there, they had to get ready. It was not their first time having to wrangle all members of the family and get them prepared and out the door on a special occasion, so the chaos was not one to throw them off balance by any means. They had a routine, complete with contingencies, as those were very much needed in a situation like this. Something would always go wrong, and usually about two minutes before they were meant to get out of the house, but they usually knew enough to be ready when it happened.

They were not headed straight for the venue. Their first stop was over at the Russell house, the better for Mackenzie and Aubrey to practice their flower girl routine with the ringbearers. Phoebe and Khalil's boys understood the assignment for the most part. Myles, coming up on his fourth birthday, knew exactly what he had to do and would accept no deviation whatsoever. As for his little brother KJ, who'd recently turned two, he seemed to struggle with the concept that the (practice) ring – which was not a ring yet – would very easily be thrown far away if he wasn't careful with the way he held to the pillow. When they had the real thing, it would be secured in place, sure, but they wouldn't put it past him to find a way and misplace the object he was charged with delivering to his Auntie Stella. As much as his excitement might have come from the event, it was far likelier due to his father being home again.

"How come Mattie's not a flower girl, too?" Mackenzie asked as she stirred at her petals.

"Well, she's going to have her own thing to do," Maya reminded her, even as she kept a close eye on Aubrey, busying herself with collecting her petals after they'd gone and practiced with bits of paper.

"Oh… Okay…" Mackenzie slowly nodded, still looking uncertain all the while. She forgot the whole thing in favor of approaching Phoebe where she sat and watched her sons, a hand atop her belly, where their baby sister was anywhere from weeks to days away from being born. "Is she moving?" she quietly asked.

"Only a little, she's peaceful," Phoebe reported. "I'll let you know if she starts kicking around, okay?" That was good enough for her, so Mackenzie went to help Aubrey with her petals.

Finally, the two families made their way out, the better to gather in wait of the wedding. Maya was understandably excited to arrive and interact with the guests. A lot of them would be former students as well, classmates of Stella's. There would also be a great contingent of former quiz team members in attendance, as even if some of them had been far enough as to have had no chance of competing together, they would have been introduced into the great, extended family of the Born Curious. And by the connections that had grown between their families in the last several years, thanks to the series and their respective mothers' involvement, Maya's parents and siblings were also roaming about. Shawn had swept in and collected his grandson as soon as he'd come along, the better to stroll him around, just because he wanted to, and Maya did not argue. Grandpa Shawn was and would always be the version of her father she loved the best. It wasn't an unexpected side of him, really, it actually made sense once you knew him, but it still just made her smile.

As great and powerful as his talents were there, Ezra was back in his mother's arms by the time everyone was sitting in wait of the ceremony's start. It was a good thing that he had fallen asleep, and she did her best to keep him that way, as she kept her eyes out for her youngest girls about to have their big moment along with the Russell boys. They did pretty well for themselves in the end, no rings lost, all petals landing roughly where they needed to be. The highlight, in the five and under category that day, could not help but be Miss Mattie Lejeune. She was all of a year and a half, but her father had foregone a best man in favor of seating her as his best girl, because wasn't she just? She stood with him, holding his hand, right up until they both saw Stella coming. In that moment, François' eyes welled over with tears, while Mattie let out a gasp and a 'Maman!' and took off at a dash. The guests laughed, even as Stella stopped and reached down to scoop up her daughter, who reached up tiny hands to pat at her face, running with happy tears.

In what felt like an instant, it was done. Stella and François were married, leaving many more to reach for tissues and dry their faces. At least now they would have a bit of time to pull themselves together before the reception began. Whatever mingling happened here was for the most part recalling the ceremony itself, all the kids and the parts they had played, the vows from both bride and groom, which had been made in equal measures in English and French.

"Dad, I want to be a flower girl next time," Remy informed Lucas as he escorted her and her sisters to track down some light snacks to hold them over ahead of dinner, which had been packed away in the car for this very occasion.

"The next time there's a wedding…" Lucas guessed with a slow nod, as he wondered just who this next happy couple would be. "Depends who it'll be. They might have people in mind already. And you've been a flower girl before," he reminded her.

"But I'm going to be too big soon," she insisted, which gripped at his heart in ways she could not understand.

"First of all, I don't think there's a limit on how old you can be to be a flower girl, not if that's what everyone wants. And then… I guess maybe you can ask Theo and Lea if…"

He barely had the words out that she was off at a run, back toward the mingling guests, which drew Kacey to follow her, and Lucy as well, and then Aubrey, and Mackenzie, until Marianne just went to keep an eye on them. Lucas quickly gathered the snacks and went after them, if only so he might see the result of the request.

"Hey, all I have left is fruit snacks and… one cookie… most of one cookie…" Lucas reported when he found Maya sitting with Ezra. "Trade you?" he asked when she smiled. He took up the baby, who had just woken up and was feeling extra clingy, and she accepted the offerings. "So, what are we thinking about?" Lucas asked, aiming the question at their son even as Maya knew it was for her.

"I was just in my head…" she shook her head with a hum.

"That's a good place to be," Lucas declared, brushing at Ezra's hair, which made Maya snort.

"That first day, my first one as a teacher, I remember so much of it, but meeting her…" she smiled, remembering. "Stepping out of that bathroom stall, paint on her clothes, her hands… She was my shy bird right then and there, and sometimes I still can't believe how much time has gone by."

She could not forget that fifteen-year-old girl, so lost and uncertain on her first day back in a 'real' school. Now she stared at a twenty-eight-year-old woman, a fellow teacher, a mother, now a wife… Some days she felt like one more little sister, others like a daughter, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Mattie Lejeune once again stole the spotlight as she and her parents made their return among their guests, and Stella and François both looked more than happy to let her have it. The guests were cheering the return of the bride and groom but then as she sat perched on her father's shoulder, she looked under the impression that they were cheering for her, so she just clapped her hands along and laughed, which made everyone laugh even more. She was put in the care of her grandparents for the time of the dinner, though she was fully expected to end up in either of her parents' laps by the end of the night, which would be more than fine by them. For the time being, she sat between Mr. and Mrs. Buckley, in her seat, and waved over at the two of them, who waved back at her each time she did, so maybe the game would be as much satisfaction as she would require to entertain herself when she wasn't busy making her way through her dinner plate and then some.

At one time, when Mattie did wander off from her seat, it wasn't to go see her parents but instead her buddy of many an afternoon outside the school. Whenever the opportunity would present itself, it would be all of them out there, Maya and Lucas and Ezra, and Stella and Mattie and whoever was watching her that day, and to look at the way she responded to being around him, it was hard to say for sure if Mattie saw Ezra as her friend or whatever understanding she had of a brother. Sometimes it would be them and KJ when Phoebe was able to bring him.

Stella came up from her seat to collect her daughter after a while, and by the smile on her face, maybe she had been eager to find a reason, any valid one at all, to come and talk to her former teacher and colleague. She was bubbling over from the emotions of the day, and Maya knew that she found it calming to speak to her. She sat there, with Mattie in her lap and contented at last to poke at the beads in her dress, and she looked so overwhelmingly happy that Maya had to reach out one arm and embrace her.

"So it was worth the wait, huh?" she told her, and Stella nodded and smiled.

"Every second," she confirmed, looking over to François, who was ever so 'discreetly' making faces in order to make Mattie laugh. He was succeeding in every possible way. He was about as extroverted as his new wife was, but to their daughter he was everything she could ask for when it came to entertainment. Soon, it was enough that she started to wriggle around, trying to get on her feet, so Stella excused herself and carried her back to where François could receive her in his lap.

When dinner was over and dessert wouldn't come just yet, many people left their tables and had themselves a dance or two to pass the time. A lot of these counted the children, who would soon grow restless from just sitting in their seats with so many people around and nothing else to do. So, off they went to get moving to the music. This wasn't the wisest move in some cases, as they quickly discovered. Some of the meals were not nearly far enough in their stomachs, and as soon as Maya saw a pack of her girls looking a bit green in the face, she looked around.

"Agnes, will you watch him for a minute?" she held Ezra out to her newest Born Curious captain, who didn't get a chance to reply so much as her hands had gone out in reflex, and then Maya was gone, cutting in to collect the girls and direct them to the nearest bathroom before any incidents could spoil the night.

"Hey, how are we doing in here?" Lucas' voice was heard from just outside the bathroom door a few minutes later.

"No spills yet, looking a bit more pink in the face, yeah?" Maya informed him as she inspected the girls sitting shoulder to shoulder with faces so miserable that she just want to pack them in the car and take them home. She might have done it, too, but she figured she might as well give them a chance to bounce back before pulling the plug.

As soon as one of them went to get up, she got sick, and the others weren't far behind. It was a wonder that they didn't make more of a mess than they did. Either way, they couldn't just allow to drag out the night for them, so Lucas offered to take them home, the better to allow Maya a bit more time at the wedding. She appreciated the gesture, though they both knew that she wouldn't stick around that much longer once the rest of them were gone.

"Hey, thanks for keeping an eye on him," Maya gave a tired smile as Agnes came along and returned Ezra to her.

"Sure… Are they okay?" Agnes asked, looking off to where Lucas was escorting the triplets, carrying the little sisters in his arms.

"Not the way they would have liked to end the night, I'm sure," Maya sighed. "I'll see about getting them some cake for when they feel better…"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Agnes nodded, looking back around. Ezra stirred in Maya's arms. "I should go, I promised I'd be back early, got a thing tomorrow, but… I'm glad they're okay." She looked stuck for a moment, then Ezra made a squeak and she blinked. "Good night, Mrs. Friar," Agnes headed off.

"Good night…" Maya frowned, puzzled for a moment at her demeanor. She looked like she was forcing herself not to run, or not to look like she was running, and it felt so odd that Maya couldn't stop thinking about it as she stood there, with her baby boy staring up at her. She smiled for him, cradled his head, and she swore, for a moment there… his eyes… they looked like her, they looked like… "Agnes…" she breathed, heart thudding. Maybe he felt her distress then, because he started to cry, and if not for that, she might have run up to catch up with her. Instead, she had to let her go, but she was certain, absolutely certain, that Agnes Killian was her son's biological mother.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners