Chapter 131
Friendship Whenever

Lucas' Saturday at the bookstore started with Tilly coming up to him, a look anchored right on the border between giddiness and fear. She'd felt something, but she couldn't say for certain if it was good or bad, and her fears had a tendency of putting all their weight on to the bad side, like she might have been about to lose her baby. She would be at about eighteen weeks by now, by his count, and while she was on the smaller side, they could really tell she was pregnant now. He asked her to describe what she'd felt, and she did so, in as much detail as she could give. When she was done, Lucas smiled.

"I'm pretty sure you just felt your baby move, Tilly." She blinked, feeling a tip on to the good side.

"Are you sure?"

"You could ask Maya, I mean, I can't say from personal experience, just hearing her tell it, but I'm pretty sure, yeah," he nodded. Tilly took a breath.

"Good… okay… yeah…" she slowly nodded. "Did you guys know what you were having? When you could find out… I know it's still too early for me, I just…"

"Honestly, both times we found out sort of… by accident," Lucas admitted. Tilly looked confused, so he explained how he'd arrived late, with Elliott, to find that Maya had inadvertently figured out they were having a son. And then with Noah, when they were so intent on being surprised this time, he'd gone back to get her vest, and then he'd seen the image on the screen… The memories still made him smile. As much as they'd wanted that surprise, in the end they were just happy to know so they didn't get themselves down for having 'spoiled' it.

"Wow," Tilly laughed. "What about now? Are you…"

"Oh, we're just going to find out, on purpose," Lucas nodded. "We figure, if we're having another boy, then we're ready with a lot of things, but if we're having a girl, well…" He could just imagine the influx of dresses and frilly pink things his mother would rain upon them the moment she'd be made aware of any granddaughter in the offing. "What about you?" he asked his co-worker as they moved from the back of the store on to the floor proper.

"We haven't decided yet. We both would be okay with either waiting or not waiting, we just can't decide what we want to do, if we want to find out early and be prepared or wait until the baby's here and then…" she gestured to indicate their being handed their child.

"You could ask them to write it down, put it in an envelope, if you haven't decided by then. You either open that envelope or you don't."

"Yeah…" Tilly considered this, smiling as she smoothed her apron over her little bump. "I think that could work. Thanks," she turned back to him, her eyes saying this gratitude extended to the gender advice and the reassurances over the movement.

"Anytime," Lucas told her before moving off to the escalators that would take him to his floor.

When the store opened, customers started to come along and start browsing, calling on employees when they needed assistance… Lucas started going about his day as usual, which today involved him continuing some rearrangement which he'd started the night before, knowing he'd be back the next morning and have the hours to get through it. He was kneeling on the floor, tending to a bottom shelf, when a pair of feet stopped next to him. He only had to see the boots, speckled with paint and sized to small feet, to know who was wearing them.

"Morning, Stella. Hold on just a second," he told her, grabbing the stack of books next to him and finishing out the shelf before sitting back to look at her. "Hi," he nodded and moved to stand up again.

"I need a book," the girl told him. Her tone suggested that, while she was familiar with the employees at the art store and could easily talk to them now, she only really knew him here, and she was glad she'd found him.

"I'm guessing it's a specific book, otherwise…" he pointed around them, which made the girl smile. She held up her phone to show him. "Okay," he frowned as he inspected the information. "This is upstairs, but…" he considered the quiet girl before him. She was better off sticking with him, wasn't she? "Let's just check first if we have it."

"It says there's one," Stella pointed to her phone.

"Which isn't always true, unfortunately," Lucas explained. "Come with me," he led her to the counter and started his search for the book in question. "Should be there. Why don't I just…" He picked up the phone and called upstairs. A minute later, he hung up. "Someone will bring it down to me," he told Stella as he passed her back her phone.

"Thanks. It's for my dad."

"Gift?" Lucas asked and Stella nodded.

"Going to make the wrapping paper. Maya showed me videos on how to do marbling," she went on, with a turn for excitement.

"Yeah, she mentioned that," he chuckled. "So, you're going there next, I'm guessing?"

"I am," Stella confirmed.

"Well, in that case," Lucas grabbed a piece of paper and pen as an idea came to him. "Would you mind giving her… this?" his words trailed off while he wrote and finally folded the paper in two and passed it across the desk. Stella beamed brightly and took the message at once.

X

Maya's attention was drawn at once to the great thumping clatter of a sound that came from somewhere nearby. She only had to move across two aisles before she came on the scene of several sketchbooks sprawled on the floor and a girl working to gather them up again. The click of her shoes must have announced her arrival, as it led to a rise of apologies.

"I'm so sorry, I was just trying to grab the one in the back, and then they all started to slide… It's all my fault, I… I'll buy these ones, they got damaged and… oh, this one, too," she held one up and frowned before setting it on top of two more she'd set aside. "I think the other ones are okay… except this one," she sighed and added it to the pile. Maya cleared her throat and she looked up. Recognition flooded over her, taking her face from shame to relief… then to more shame. "I should have known," Phoebe shook her head, sounding closer to defeated now.

"Hey, don't worry about it, look…" Maya approached and carefully crouched to get a look. The girl had already piled up all the books, one pile for the undamaged ones, of which there was about a dozen, and one for the damaged, of which there were four. Maya inspected these. "They're not that bad, you know, sometimes they get scuffed like that coming out of the box."

"Yeah, but…" Phoebe tried to protest.

"Will buying these two here make you feel better?" Maya asked, singling out the two most affected and putting the other pair on top of the taller pile.

"I guess…" Phoebe slowly took them.

"Alright then, that's settled," Maya held to the pillar next to her to pull herself back to standing. When this had been achieved, she let out a breath. Mobility was not so much a problem at this point as it was an occasional inconvenience. "Hand me those, will you? Two or three at a time?" she indicated the good pile, and Phoebe helped her at once. After everything was put back where it belonged, they moved out of the aisle. "You already filled the other one?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, well, a lot of the pages got crossed out because I was trying something, and it didn't work out so I started over. But there's a few that turned out pretty good, I think."

"I'd love to see those, if you want to show them to me some time," Maya smiled.

"Sure!" Phoebe smiled back, bursting with pride, which made Maya laugh. "I wish you were still in our class."

"How's it going in there?" Maya asked her. She'd been telling herself that maybe she needed to put it all in the past, not to think about it so much anymore, but it was impossible. She was invested now.

"Okay, I guess. Mrs. Cartwright is trying to buy us back I think, but she's not doing it the right way. We can all tell that's what she's doing. We're just trying to get through the class. I don't know if I'll take it again next year, I might try something else," Phoebe revealed with some disappointment in her voice. She might have stuck with art if not for the teacher, the pride she had in her work said it all, as did her carrying on with the sketchbooks. Maya felt bad for her, too, but she could hardly blame her for the switch.

"You know what you might try? You should do dance instead," she suggested. Phoebe looked at her… and she laughed, like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. Her. Dancing. "I'm serious," Maya chuckled.

"I'm going to need a bigger kit if I do that," Phoebe finally affirmed.

"Or you won't need one at all… eventually," Maya tapped her arm. Phoebe looked doubtful. "I'm serious. It could help you with the clumsiness. If you really give it all you've got. Think about it." For a moment, she did.

"Well… I guess if I did that, then… I might have a shot of making the basketball team in a couple of years…"

"You play?" Maya grinned at once.

"When I don't fall on my face, yeah. My dad played, in high school and in college, too. Me and my brother and him, it's kind of our thing, you know? Except they're great and I've broken all my fingers at least once… and seven out of ten toes."

"Dancing… definitely," Maya blinked. "It'll be a better use of your time than dealing with you-know-who. And if you have any art questions, well, you know where to find me."

"Okay," Phoebe's smile knew no bounds. "So, you played?"

"I did, yeah, in eighth grade, and ninth… and twelfth," she frowned.

"Oh! Were you on those years where they got rid of the teams?" Phoebe asked. Maya nodded. "I was like eight, I think, but I remember my dad was upset about all that, because he played in college with the boys' coach that was fired. He took us to see the first games when the teams came back, he was so glad. You were on those, yeah?"

"Yeah, I was the captain," Maya couldn't keep from smiling, imagining a nine or ten-year-old Phoebe out there in the stands while she was on the court, neither one of them knowing they'd meet all this time later. "So, do you need anything else today?"

"I don't know, maybe… I do have to think of what to do for my mom's birthday that's coming up. Maybe I could make her something, that's more personal, right?"

"You're talking to a wannabe art teacher… and a mom… I'd say yes," Maya whispered. "I'm sure between the two of us we can think of something. I'll point out a few options, you take a look and tell me what you think?"

"Maybe nothing with scissors… or anything else sharp… or that could burn… or stain…" Phoebe offered as she followed her. Maya stopped and turned to her. "Really doesn't hurt to be cautious," she shrugged. Maya resisted the urge to laugh and guided her along.

Midway through this trek along the aisles, Maya spotted a familiar shy form coming into the store and scanning her surroundings in search. She held up her arm and waved to get her attention and finally Stella came striding in her direction.

"Hey! Is it weird that I missed you out there when I got here?" Maya smiled. Her reflex would have been to reach out and hug her, but she wasn't sure yet if Stella was a hugger, and if she was, maybe they weren't 'there.'

"I had to go to the bookstore first," Stella explained, lifting up her tote bag, which hugged around what appeared to be a tall and heavy book. "I want to do the paper like you showed me in those videos, the marbling? Do you have all of that here?"

"You bet I do," Maya nodded confidently. "Are you going to have time to get the hang of it in time?"

"I think so, yeah. Anyway, my dad's birthday isn't until Friday, so I have time to…"

"That's my mom's birthday, too!" Phoebe spoke from where she'd been standing, behind Maya. Stella gave out a little yelp drowned in a gasp as she was startled. She hadn't noticed the girl until now. Maya was caught between finding this so very sweet and feeling sorry for Stella that she hadn't realized anyone else was there. She gave her a look which she hoped would read as 'it's cool, she's a friendly' to the shy girl.

"Stella, this is Phoebe, she goes to the school where I did my field work," she indicated the very not shy girl. The added context helped to settle her a bit. "Phoebe, this is Stella, she's a friend of mine and I'm also her art tutor." Phoebe took this in and started by giving Stella a genuinely cheerful wave and a smile. Stella responded with a smaller wave and smile which were no less genuine coming from her. Then the second part of Maya's statement left Phoebe with a confused look.

"Art tutor?" she asked.

"Yes, well, Stella is home schooled, and a brilliant artist and art lover in her own right, so I'm… adding to her curriculum," Maya explained with a small flourish. It made both girls laugh.

"Oh, Lucas wanted me to give you this," Stella reached into her bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She passed it to Maya, who opened it with curiosity before letting out a snorting laugh.

"Yeah, we'll see about that, Huckleberry," she told herself before looking back up to find Stella and Phoebe staring back at her. "Never you mind," she pointed to one and the other. In the next moment, she spotted something across the store and sighed. "I'll be right back, need to take care of something," she explained while sticking Lucas' message in her pocket. "Hey, maybe you can help her find what to do for her mom," she told Stella, pointing to Phoebe. Stella looked uncertain, but Maya squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "It'll be like practice for when you work here," she smirked. The girl received this and stood up straight, nodded at once. "Great, I'll be back as soon as I can."

'As soon as she could' turned out to be something like twenty minutes. After she'd dealt with the situation which drew her away in the first place, she was stopped by another customer on her way back to the girls, so she had to go and help there. This happened a couple more times in quick succession, so she could never manage to get there. But then she could see the two of them going around together, with Stella pointing some things out and Phoebe following and listening, and they looked to be okay, more than okay, so… maybe she could give them more time, right? She followed that hunch and went to help a couple more customers before finally returning to find the pair.

"Hey, so, did you decide what you want to do?" Maya asked Phoebe.

"Almost. We narrowed it down to two, I think," she looked to Stella, who nodded and looked back at the girl she'd only just met with what felt like an innate trust. Immediately, to Maya, it called up the feeling she'd had, years ago, when she'd crawled through Riley Matthews' window and found the girl who would become her best friend, her sister.

"I'm going to make paper for her, too," Stella informed Maya.

"Yes! We still need to get all of that," she raised an index as she remembered. "Okay, we'll figure out the present, and then we'll get you sorted for your marbling."

"We were also talking about cake," Stella told her.

"I always wanted to make one for my mom, but me in the kitchen isn't really a good idea," Phoebe added.

"Knives, hot things?" Maya guessed.

"Spills, slippery stuff…" Phoebe nodded.

"Maybe we could make one for her mom," Stella suggested. "And she could make it with us." They both looked like eager puppies, staring back at her, and Maya couldn't have turned them away if she had wanted to.

"Okay, well, first things first, you need to ask your parents if it's okay for you to come to my house," she told Phoebe, who nodded at once. "And then if they do say yes, when would we make this cake? Your mom's birthday's on Friday, as is your dad's," she pointed from Phoebe over to Stella, thinking to herself how this coincidence had inadvertently opened the door for them to start talking to one another.

"What about Thursday?" Phoebe asked. Stella nodded; she was free.

"Okay, let's just…" Maya took out the pad and pen she carried at all times, in case she had to write something down for a customer, and scribbled down her number. She ripped off the page and passed it to Phoebe. "Talk to your parents, have one of them give me a call to confirm either way. I'll see if the others are available. If they're not, well, we can still make it happen, no problem. Sound good?"

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners