Chapter 132
Baker's Half Dozen

"Mommy, it's raining!" Elliott greeted his mother as she walked through the door on Thursday afternoon.

"Yeah, you don't say," Maya breathed, blinking water away from her eyes. She hadn't bothered with her umbrella for the short distance from the car to the porch, which had been a calculated move even if it now left her halfway drenched. "Hey, hey, stop right there," she stopped Noah as he shot out from his big brother's side like he wanted to go run through the rain something fierce. "Bath time isn't until tonight," she told him.

"Wanna go splash," he pointed to where Lucas was coming up to join them now. He had opened the umbrella, if only to guard the bags. It was really coming down hard.

"Well, I don't know about that, but I can start the shower in the tub, later, it'll be almost the same thing. Just no running. Deal?" By now, both he and Elliott would know this meant a promise, and promises were kept. He nodded and looked to his incoming father. "Light ones?" Maya asked him.

"Here, sprout, you take this one," Lucas passed one of the bags to Elliott, who took it at once. "And one for the bee," he gave one to Noah as well. They always found a way now to have a couple of bags that wouldn't be too heavy for the boys to carry around, to get them involved in and used to the process. He gave Maya another of the bags and set the rest inside the door so he could close the umbrella and get his shoes off before following the 'procession' into the kitchen. In no time, this included the animal contingent of their household, cats and dogs alike. Pappy Joe remained on the couch, in the middle of a phone call.

"Here, Mommy," Elliott held up his bag when they reached the kitchen.

"Thanks, bud," Maya took it and set it on the counter. Noah, for his part, set the bag he'd been given on the floor, moved to bring his step next to his mother, grabbed the bag again and climbed on the step before bringing it to rest next to the others. He topped this off with a sound of effort, not because he'd exerted himself but because that was what his great grandfather did – not always for exertion either, mostly to make the boys laugh – and he figured it was necessary. "So helpful, thanks, baby boy," Maya laughed.

"That's for cake?" Elliott inquired, planted on the other side and peering as best he could from his vantage point at everything that was being pulled from the bags.

"Most of it, yeah," Lucas told him as Maya passed the items bound for the refrigerator.

"Bake! Cake! Make!" Noah tapped the counter at once. It was inevitable now, between mom life and music life, for Maya to latch on to quick rhymes in a sing-song way and then teach them to her sons. This one was a current favorite, and in Noah's case, it was also an action. He wanted to help her. He loved putting things in the bowl and stirring – with assistance – if he could.

"You want to help me?" Maya asked him and he nodded vigorously, tapping the counter again.

"Me, too!" Elliott chimed in before hurrying to get his step and bring it to the counter.

"The junior junior bakers," Lucas told Maya as she passed him the pantry items. She just had that big happy mom smile on her and it was no wonder. The boys were really too much sometimes, and the more they'd do, the happier she'd get. It did the same to him.

"Well, I don't see why not, but we will have to see what the others think when they get here," Maya told the boys on their steps. "There's someone new coming today, too. Her name is Phoebe, and I know you're going to love her."

"And do you know who else is coming?" Lucas leaned over the counter to get closer to the boys' line of sight. Elliott and Noah both shook their heads. "Do you remember who gave you that shirt?" Lucas asked Elliott. The boy looked down, then up to his father again with a smile.

"Ri-Ri!" he answered. His mother snorted. Riley had apparently become determined that this would be the boys' nickname for her. Maya wasn't entirely sure they understood her full name wasn't Ri-Ri anymore.

"That's right," Lucas told him. "So then who else could be coming with her? I'll give you a hint, there's two more," he held up two fingers.

Rosa had borrowed a couple of things from Maya earlier that week, for some baking of her own. She'd been reminded that she'd have to return them by Thursday, as they would be needed to make the cake with the girls coming over. It wouldn't be the full compliment of junior bakers today. Cara and Eliza couldn't make it, and neither could Daphne, but Ariel would be here along with Stella and newcomer Phoebe, so that would already be something. Rosa would bring back the borrowed equipment, and because the friends didn't miss a chance to see each other as often as possible, it was an easy choice to invite her and her roommates – Dylan and Riley – to have dinner with the rest of them.

The Friar brothers had been surrounded by their many aunts and uncles, their parents' friends as worthy of the title as they were, from the day they were born. And the more they grew, the more they got to spend time with them, the love they had received from each one of them would go and grow, too, to be reciprocated. It could be seen in how giddy they got whenever any of them arrived. As soon as they'd known that they were on their way, the boys had abandoned the kitchen and returned to watch out the window, just as they'd done in anticipation of their mother and father's arrival. The rain was still coming down, and the wind was going just as strong. When they'd seen this, Maya and Lucas had both wondered if they might not be better off cancelling the whole thing, even though it had meant so much to Phoebe to make the cake for her mother's birthday. But they waited it out. It was only rain, and if no one cancelled, then they would be welcome without hesitation.

"Car!" Elliott called out when the first of them arrived. Lucas went over to see who it was, finding Noah with his face and hands pressed at the glass. "Who is it?" Elliott asked his father.

"That… looks like Uncle Dylan's car," Lucas informed him. "Come on, step back here before they come in," he guided both boys back. The trio was coming in hot… or cold, more like, as they all employed the 'make a run for it' method of getting out of the rain. Pappy Joe had gone upstairs after his phone call and he now returned with a stack of towels, like he'd known exactly what would be needed of him while just hanging in the background as he'd been.

The towels were very appreciated after the cold shock of the rain. While Riley and Rosa went about toweling off, Dylan had a different approach as he spotted his friends' sons and decided it would be hilarious to catch them in a hug and see how they reacted to the rain on him. Elliott and Noah seemed to think, so, too. When they got to hang out with their uncle Dylan, it would be like unlocking the wildness in them. They would climb over him and run after him and laugh, laugh, and laugh.

"Here," Lucas smirked before draping one of the towels over the pack that was Dylan and the boys. They were plunged in 'darkness,' and Lucas could see the little legs dangling excitedly from under the cover of the towel.

"They're like puppies, all of them," Rosa declared. Riley agreed with a good nod and a smile turned toward what could be seen of her boyfriend.

The puppies had separated, with Elliott and Noah following their aunts back into the kitchen while Dylan went after them and tied up his wet hair in a high bun over his head, when the doorbell brought Lucas back on towel duty. When he opened the door, he found Ariel Su stood there on her own, a puddle forming at her feet. She held what remained of what must have been her umbrella.

"My books…" she held out her bag almost pleading. Her eyes said plainly that she didn't care about being drenched, not nearly as much as she did the state of everything in her bag.

"I'll take care of it, come in," he pointed to the towels before moving upstairs with the bag, leaving a trail of water as he went which would need to be cleaned up as soon as possible. As he went, he could hear Pappy Joe stepping up to assist Ariel.

The old man called out to Maya back in the kitchen, and when she saw the state of the eighth grader, she let out a sigh. Maybe they should have cancelled after all. Well, she was here now, and likely to get sick if she didn't dry and warm up soon, so Maya took her upstairs, too, into her own room, where she pulled out sweatpants, an old school hoodie, and some slippers. They'd be a bit big on her, but not so much, and right now it wouldn't matter so much as her not being in those wet clothes. Maya stepped out into the hall and shut the door while Ariel changed. This happened a lot faster than she expected, as the door soon opened again and the girl sped by past her, changed in the slightly too big clothes and pulling her wet hair around her shoulder. Maya followed as Ariel went to the bathroom.

"Is it bad?" she asked. In the bathroom, Maya found that Lucas had emptied out Ariel's school bag – which now hung to dry from one of the towel hooks on the wall – and spread out its contents before checking to see if any of it had water damage.

"It's actually fine, all of it, from what I can see. Then again, I would have been surprised if it wasn't, when you put everything in a plastic bag, and then another plastic bag, and then all of that in your bag," Lucas indicated the two discarded bags.

"I saw it was supposed to rain today, I planned ahead, I just didn't know it was going to be that bad," Ariel breathed.

"What would you have done if you did?" Maya had to wonder, but the girl just shrugged. "Okay, well, if you need the hair drier, it's right over…" she pointed, just as they heard the doorbell from below. "That should be Stella and Phoebe," Maya nodded. Ariel straightened up at this. She looked to Lucas.

"I'll take care of your things, go," he insisted.

So, down the stairs Maya and Ariel went, in time to find Pappy Joe ushering in the last two of their party. Mr. Buckley had picked up Phoebe from school and had gone ahead and taken her and Stella up to the Friar house on the lane. The two girls were protected from Ariel's fate by a sturdy looking umbrella and the fact that they hadn't needed to walk from the bus stop and up the long road. Now Maya felt bad that she hadn't thought to suggest they bring her as well. Phoebe and Ariel may not have been in the same grade, but they went to the same middle school, and had evidently gone to the same elementary school as well, so they sort of recognized each other on sight. All Ariel had known was that they would be making a cake for a seventh grader's mother, never which seventh grader it was.

"Stella, why don't you see if your dad wants to stick around? No sense him having to drive back home and here again to get you later. Plus, we can always use some more kitchen expertise," Maya smirked, thinking back to Mr. Buckley's 'miracle cooking' in those earlier weeks of her pregnancy.

"That's okay, he has to go to a thing," Stella told her. "And Phoebe's dad is going to come and get her and the cake when we're done, so he's going to drive me home."

"We're going to sneak it in," Phoebe whispered with sparkling eyes and a smile.

"Okay, then I guess we should get started," Maya directed the three girls toward the kitchen.

Ahead of the cake making which was to take place, the visiting trio had recruited the young Friar brothers in helping with dinner preparations. Dylan was looking after something on the stove, while at the counter Riley stood behind Noah on his step and added ingredients to a bowl as he stirred with a spoon to the best of his abilities. Next to them, Elliott was being guided by Rosa to measure out the next thing that would be added to the mixing bowl. Both boys looked ready to go play in the rain more than cook, as they'd been outfitted in their raincoats and boots.

"I have to ask…" Maya asked. Her friends turned around.

"We didn't want to get their clothes dirty," Riley shrugged.

"Mommy, we did lemonade for chicken!" Elliott happily informed her, as Rosa quickly stopped his hand from travelling with the little cup, which they'd just filled with the amount of honey that was to go in the bowl next.

"Lemonade?" Maya repeated curiously. Elliott's face scrunched at this, like hearing it back now he realized he'd gotten it wrong before. He looked back to Rosa.

"Marinade," she slowly said the word again, and he repeated. "Nailed it," Rosa nodded.

"More!" Noah demanded, poking the mixture in his bowl, and looking to his brother with the cup. With Rosa's help, Elliott emptied out the honey in the bowl, and with Riley's help, Noah made sure to get the most of it scraped from the cup. Now, the mixing could resume.

"Right, better not disturb the culinary geniuses at work," Maya whispered, making the girls lightly laugh. "The one there in the green coat, that's Elliott, he's almost three," she told Phoebe. "And that one there in the yellow, that's Noah, he'll be two in a few weeks. Then that's Rosa, we've known her since college, although she was still in high school at the time. She worked with Lucas at a bookstore in Houston. And that's Riley, we've known each other since we were six, before we moved here from New York. She's been my best friend since, just don't ask her how we met, I don't want it to look like I'm encouraging the behavior… Kind of hoping not to pass it on to them…" she muttered to herself, looking at her sons, before getting back on track. "And that there is Dylan. He was friends with Lucas since little league, but I met him after I moved to Texas in the seventh grade." At hearing his name, Dylan had left the stove and come almost sliding toward them, the better to present a beaming smile to the stranger and extend his hand in introduction. Phoebe accepted the offered hand and shook it with her own, presenting a remarkably compatible energy.

"Nice to meet you," Dylan told her.

"You played basketball back then, too, didn't you?" Phoebe asked, still smiling broadly. Dylan was surprised by the question, but he nodded at once. Maya explained about how her father had taken her to a lot of games after the teams had been reunited. "He pointed you out, said you were really good, I remember," she pointed to his hair the way it was tied up, as it had often been whenever they'd play.

Watching them, Maya was quietly amused. Ever since she'd met the girl, she'd been telling herself how much Phoebe reminded her of Dylan, her clumsiness calling up his many scars from whatever stunts he'd pulled. Now that she saw them side by side though, she was struck with how they actually looked remarkably alike. Neither one of them seemed to realize it, but at the same time there was this sort of underlying air between them, as though they both picked up on an unspoken vibe coming from the other and they simply couldn't explain what it was. Maya saw it well though, and she couldn't unsee it. They could practically have been siblings.

Maya sat at the table with Ariel, Stella, and Phoebe, the better to get a look at what needed to be done for this cake. Phoebe had given Maya carte blanche about the cake's flavors and design. She really wanted to be part of making the cake, but she figured the teacher in training would know how to make it the best for her mother's birthday.

"Okay, so for the cake itself, you said 'anything but mango,' yeah?" Maya asked.

"Right," Phoebe nodded. "She's allergic to mangos. So am I, actually. And my brother. Dad keeps joking how he hasn't been able to eat any in almost fifteen years because of us."

"That's so weird, Dylan's allergic to those, too," Riley spoke up as she held Elliott's hands to aid him in hopping off his step.

Maya looked to her friend at the stove, and she could not explain what was going on in his face. He appeared concentrated on keeping an eye on the vegetables, but there was something else, sort of… guarded, sort of… like trying to support walls that were crumbling all around. But then he heard his name, and he just went and took a breath, and he turned an open smile and a nod to the group at the table.

"Yeah, that's right," he nodded.

"Dylan? What's the matter?" Riley asked her boyfriend.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, I just remembered I forgot to stop by the library for this book I need, but it's alright, I'll just have to go tomorrow," he shrugged, looked around. "Where's Lucas?"

"Basement, should be," Maya told him. "He went to get Ariel's clothes dried up."

"Great, I'll go see if he needs help." He went off, leaving the rest of them to wonder what had gotten into him. But then they needed to get moving on the cake, and dinner, so that was what they did.

In the basement, as promised, Lucas was seeing to Ariel's clothes, so they could send her home in them again. When he heard his name called, he responded. He looked back and found Dylan standing there, looking almost fearfully pale.

"You okay?" Lucas frowned. Dylan shook his head. "What…"

"The cake…" Dylan mumbled. "What… What's it for?"

"Uh, Phoebe's mother's birthday is tomorrow, and she wanted to make a cake for her, but she didn't want to make a mess, so… Hey, maybe you should sit, you don't look so hot."

"Don't feel it," Dylan shook his head. Lucas tapped his arm. "Do you know what tomorrow is?" He wasn't sure what to tell him. Obviously, it was Phoebe's mother's birthday, they'd established that. It was also Stella's father's birthday, but he didn't see how that would be what Dylan was talking about. Finally, he just shook his head. "It's my mother's birthday," he reminded him, as he would have had to. If Lucas had ever known Jocelyn Orlando's birthday, it was a decade and a half ago, definitely not now. The only mother of Dylan's he knew was Gina Orlando, and her birthday was not in April.

"Okay… But…" Lucas shook his head, still not getting it.

"My mother, who's allergic to mangos, like me and Kyle, and like Phoebe up there, and her brother, and her mother… whose birthday is tomorrow," Dylan went on, pointing to upstairs. Lucas blinked. "Tell me I'm imagining it, tell me it's just a-a coincidence, because none of this makes sense right now, and there's this girl upstairs, I can't explain it, man, but I think we might be related, I think… I think she could be my sister."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners