A/N: [November 3rd 2024]

November 3rd 2023

Chapter 307
We Rise With Holiday Cheer

Ezra Friar started his second Christmas Eve ever in a grumpy and sleepless mood, crying until his mother came and collected him from his crib. She carried him, snug in her arm, back to the bed, where she sat with him and rubbed at his back, hushing until he grew quiet again. Maya had said before how she could not forget for a second what each of her children had felt like in her arms, whether they were babies, toddlers, or older, even teenagers and young adults in Ella's case. And her baby boy here was no different. The way he clung to her, like her presence was an instant and overwhelming peace in his universe... Maybe part of what helped him was the drumming of her heart, a mutual reaction between them as mother and son.

Whether it was because of their brother's crying or the fact that it was Christmas Eve and they were excited, the girls didn't take long to come hurrying along and join them. If Ezra hadn't already started to take a turn and become cheerful again, their presence would have done it for sure. Next to his parents, there was no one he loved in the world quite like his sisters. The feeling was mutual.

"Hey, EZ! It's Christmas Eve!" Lucy told him after climbing on to the bed and coming up close to him until he crawled over to her. "You had it last year, too, but you were still little back then... More little than now," she added, after having to acknowledge that he was still small on the whole.

"What are we doing today?" Aubrey asked her father after he'd pulled her up to join him.

"Depends. What do you all want to do? It's up to you."

There was nothing more for him to say after that. Presented with the challenge, the Friar girls all submitted more than enough suggestions for activities on this Christmas Eve. They would be seeing family and friends over the next few days, but this one was all theirs, and they were going to make it a great one. Before long, as ideas had been thrown around, an actual plan emerged. The spirit of the holidays won out, as the girls didn't just put forward activities that they wanted to do. They started to think of activities that they knew one of the others would be happy to have placed on the roster.

Lucy started them out when she said they should go up to the skating rink. It wasn't such a big stretch for them to want to go there, especially when one of them, her fellow triplet, was an aspiring skater. They would likely have gone anyway, but it was Lucy's own wish for Kacey to get to go out on the ice, and the smile that came on to her face when the idea was put forward… It was enough to get the ball rolling. Marianne sat up, smiled as she looked at her little sisters and brother and thought. Finally, she had an idea, a memory, really. She remembered going to the art store a few weeks ago and seeing the way that Aubrey looked at this station they'd set up for decorating tree ornaments. They hadn't joined in, hadn't gotten any supplies to maybe do it at home, and the moment had slipped by, but Marianne remembered, and she also remembered the way her youngest sister looked at their ornaments like she was thinking about it. So why not do it now? They would do it that day, and it would be everything Aubrey had wanted and more.

As busy as their day ended up being, it flew by in what felt like the blink of an eye, if not faster. One thing that had been so important for the kids that year had been to spend this night and the following morning in matching pajamas. They all thought it would be so fun, and so they had gone about picking the design, leaving the rest up to their parents. This had been their very first, early present that day, right after dinner, and the girls ran off excitedly to go and get changed at once.

The one who got the biggest laugh out of this, as they settled in for their next activity, was Ezra. They were having a movie night, snacks and all, and after he'd been changed into his own PJs, his mother went and changed, too... in the same outfit? He looked at himself, and at her, and at himself again, and at her again... It was so strange! Oh but then there was one of his sisters, and another, and two more, and Shonagh, and more sisters, and his dad... They were all wearing the same thing! The one-year-old could not stop laughing.

That laughter came in and out over the first movie they watched, until he started to nod off and eventually fell asleep in Kacey's arms. A few of his sisters would start falling asleep, too, until they decided that it was time for all of them to go off to bed. The sleepers were carried up one and two at a time, even as those who'd soldiered on campaigned for one last thing, for hot chocolate and a board game before sleep, but they were reminded of what would come the next day, so they finally turned in, too.

"We could have let them stick around for this," Lucas quietly pointed out as he and Maya went about bringing in the presents and setting them under the tree.

"But this is our thing," Maya argued back. "Besides, they haven't found our hiding spots yet, and the last thing we need is for that to get out..."

"Okay, good point," he relented, and she smiled, making him laugh with the way he could see their girls in her expression. "Anyway, it's like you said. Our thing."

"It's like a date, every year, you, me, the tree, and the calm before the wrapping paper storm..." she intoned.

"Yeah, I'm ready for them on that one," he vowed. She gave him a look back at this that confused him for a moment before he understood. Huckleberry jar... "Wallet's upstairs."

"I know you're good for it," she smirked.

They finished arranging the presents and, as Santa's official representatives in the Friar house, sat down for a helping of carrots, cookies, and milk, before heading upstairs to check on the girls in both rooms, and their boy in his crib, and getting into their own bed to sleep into Christmas morning.

It was a good thing that they went as soon as they could, because all it would take would be for one of the kids to wake up for the rest to soon follow suit and insist on hurrying down to see what Santa had gotten them. As much as they had all been instructed to wait, some of them were younger than the rest and could have far less self-control.

Thankfully, everyone got down to the living room in time to be part of the present discovery. They had changed things up along the way as far as when and how they opened everything, sometimes waiting until after breakfast. This year they gathered in the living room first, leaving the meal for after, with all the stories of what they had received. They did keep up the tradition of going one at a time, presenting each gift to the next person after they'd opened one of theirs, and it was probably Lucas and Maya's favorite part.

"This one's for you, Finny!" Aubrey could proudly show that, while she could only read the odd word, usually names, she could spot her cousin's name, and that was exciting.

When all the Santa presents had been opened, for everyone who was in the house - leaving those who had been 'accidentally delivered' for others here - everyone set off to see about breakfast until the girls started talking all over one another, the mess of voices boiling down to their asking their parents to stop and wait. So, they did, and the seven of them scrambled off together, disappearing into the basement and returning with two wrapped boxes carried by Marianne and Shonagh and presented to Lucas and Maya with great big smiles.

"That's not Santa, that's from all of us," Mackenzie informed her parents, nodding firmly. Just how much of a 'budget' they could all have at their disposal might have been questionable if both Maya and Lucas hadn't separately been called upon to help fund the other's gift from their children. They could play very well as though they had no idea, so much that even their elder girls could be fooled.

With that in mind, they went ahead and sat on the couch once again, to open their gifts in turn. Lucas found a selection of writing implements, journals and pens, even a very nice fountain one, all to contribute to his efforts with his Simon project.

"You can write about yourself, too, Dad, in that one," Lucy pointed to one of the journals. "For when we're older." The gift itself, with the book in mind, was already as touching as it could get for him, but then this notion, whether or not his bun-bun could see into the same implications he did, made his heart feel warmer, lighter, and he promised he would do just that before thanking the girls in turn. Informed that Ezra had of course been part of this effort, too, Lucas caught up his son to thank him, too. Ezra hugged him back without question.

When Maya unwrapped her present, she found more presents, a series of wrapped objects of the same size, and the thought that first came to her at seeing this was soon shown to be correct. Each package held a frame, each girl's name marked on the front to let her know who it came from. Each frame had started out blank before being painted and decorated.

"You can put them in your class," Remy told her, grinning. "And we can make new drawings to put in them sometimes."

"I like that plan a lot," Maya nodded, brushing a tear from her eyes as she smiled.

Breakfast soon followed, with the story of how they had chosen their gifts, acquired them with a trip to the mall with Ella and Taylor, then decorated the frames and wrapped everything across the road at their grandparents' house... When the plates had been cleared, they hurried on upstairs to get ready.

"You love this part, don't you?" Maya came up behind Lucas as he stood near the door, fixing the cuffs on his shirt but clearly off somewhere else in his mind. He blinked and turned to look at her. She smirked, especially as he became newly distracted at the sight of her, just about done with her look for the day. She'd joke that she'd gotten very good at getting dressed in a hurry, with all the kids out there who might need her assistance.

"What..." he asked, realizing now that she'd been talking to him before.

"You're listening to all of them out there," she nodded to the rooms across and up the hall. "Getting ready, too." He smiled. Of course, he had been. The sounds of their daughters as they prepared for Christmas day were just too funny, and it only got better from year to year. They couldn't make out everything they were saying, especially the ones in the green room, but they could catch on well enough, and it was hilarious to fill in the blanks.

"The special lockets are coming out," Lucas reported.

"Ah, yes, yes..." Maya nodded, pausing as a thought occurred to her. It made her smile the smile she'd get at the thought of their babies growing. "What are we going to do about Ezra next year?" They always got their lockets when they were two... What about their son, though? Lucas wasn't worried.

"We've got a year to think of something."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners