January 21st 2025

Chapter 231
The Friars' California Summer - Part I

The hotel had quickly become an endless source of entertainment to the Friar children, of possibilities for fun that could only ever be limited by their imaginations. They had been living there for over a week already, and to look at them one could easily see that they had barely scratched the surface. They had stayed in hotels before, some more than others, but it was without a doubt the biggest and fanciest one yet. To hear the boys talk about it especially, they might have stepped into an alternate reality, full of magic. Within days, it came to Maya, and Lucas, and Ava with them, that they might have to be careful and see to it that the brothers did not take this stretch to their imagination a bit too far.

One morning, while Lucas was still seeing to the twins, getting them both ready for the day's planned activities, his ear had locked on to something very important. Silence… The lack of sound, where he was concerned here, left him to wonder what the others could be up to. After the previous day's 'adventures,' he had a good idea that the answer was 'exploring.' And as he hoisted up Simon and Jack, one in either arm, and moved out into the living room, he let out a sigh.

"Ell? Jamie?" he called, just in case, but he'd been right the first time. They had left the room, just the two of them. "Right," Lucas sighed, looking to his youngest two, who were now looking back at him with curiosity. "Let's go find your brothers before they get themselves in trouble, yeah?" The way they stared back at him now, he didn't know that he'd ever seen any of his children so perfectly reproduce their mother's brow raise, which was only further amusing for how little they still were. Lucas only wished he could manage to get a picture to show Maya without losing the moment as soon as he put either of the boys down. And speaking of boys…

The twins were quickly settled into their stroller, and off they went on a search for Elliott and Jamie. In the time since the family had arrived and settled into their temporary home, the children had been allowed to go and explore without either of their parents, but only ever with their big sister along for the ride, though they had never gone out of their way to highlight that fact. The boys had always gone with their sister because… well, why wouldn't they? They loved their sister very much, and next to their parents, she was kind of their favorite person. In some cases, she might have been admired the more, in such a way that even Maya or Lucas could not fault them for it.

They had impressed upon the boys for years now that they should not wander off on their own, especially in unfamiliar places. Back in Austin, in their area, there were some places where Lucas and Maya both felt secure enough to permit a bit more… roaming. They had people all around who knew them all enough to be trusted with the children, and that was something they hoped to nurture as much as they could. They were not in Austin now though, and this was neither home nor familiar to all of them. At least that was how it had been at first. Given enough time, the hotel was very much starting to feel homey to the Friars, and maybe for that, it had instilled a spirit that suggested they might be able to go on 'solo adventures.'

In all his great intentions, they had felt that Elliott saw himself as able to lead these adventures with his younger brothers. He may not have been the youngest of the Friars since Ava had come into the picture, nor did he hold so much power in the fact that she hadn't been with them all along, or that he'd been the eldest back then, but still… He was seven years old. He was starting to give off big 'I'm not a little kid anymore' energy, and his parents were trying very hard not to have some kind of 'crisis' over it. Their Sprout was still a tiny babe in arms if they closed their eyes. Which wasn't to say that they didn't trust him with Jamie, not at all. But then again, his vision of this trip out and about in the hotel and the reality of it were very likely two different things. All he saw was fun, curious things to discover. And what Lucas saw were so many ways for them to get hurt, or snatched up by someone…

He found them both sitting together on the carpet, in front of the tall railing looking down on the lobby. It was one of their favorite spots, which was why it had been one of the first places Lucas sought them out. They were big on people watching, and this was a really great spot for it. Since their first morning at the hotel, they had learned that this place was known to host a number of 'big stars,' and now they were all convinced that they would see someone they knew. Whether or not those people were ever likely to be there – if they were real and not cartoon especially – it didn't matter to them. They wanted to see. Plus, regardless of who they were, these people were so far from those they knew back in Texas that they were already fascinating enough, Hollywood resume or none.

For the time being, Lucas decided not to interrupt them. The ride had been short, but it had been enough to get the twins off to sleep in their stroller, so Lucas sat down across from where his older sons sat, caught up in their observations, and he left them to it, listening as they wondered between themselves whether they'd just seen one of the regular chefs across Jamie's favored food competitions.

While this debate went on, the rest of the Friars were in another space for wonder and novelty. It had not taken long once they'd all arrived together before the question came about: when could they go and see the studio? They had been to one of those before, back home, when they had recorded the official version of Maya and Ava's theme song, but this one was different, it was in this strange and wondrous land, and it clearly had to be just as full of potential.

Maya wanted to take them there, too, she did, but the opportunity just wasn't there, not at first. She had come here to work, and it was important to her that they did things the right way. That would include waiting for the right moment to bring them along. As the days had gone on, it had become that much clearer that, of all the children, there were two who wanted to experience this space the most. Ava's desire was no surprise, and her repeated requests made it very clear. Her vocabulary knew no bounds in how it expressed her desires. Maya had continually promised her that it would happen, and that it would be so as soon as possible, and her daughter knew this to be true, because that was the power of her promises… but her eagerness was a fierce foe, and it became a good game for her parents to engage in battle with that desire.

The other most often questioning just when they would get to go to the studio was Noah. The six-year-old was actually kind of clever about the endeavor, maybe more so in his mind than anything. He wouldn't exactly ask for it outright, but he'd find his moment in bringing up the subject, teasing out the means to know whether they were any closer to going out to the studio. The one time he'd dropped his mask was the night before, when his mother had told him that they would go, him and her and his big sister. His joy had been so complete and overpowering that he'd looked like he might cry for a moment. His energy had been brought under control in the moment when it had been suggested that, the earlier they got up, the earlier they'd make it over there. Maya and Lucas had been left laughing for the rest of the evening, imagining a smoking outline in the shape of their second born, who'd found himself very tired and ready for bed… all of a sudden… right after dinner.

It wasn't too surprising to see Noah so eager for something like this, but it still had Maya looking at her Chewie differently. He'd grown up with music all around him, same as all her boys had done, with her as their mother. It had held a special place for all of them, and yet it wasn't until very recently that they'd seen him explore it a lot more. He could often be found near his sister whenever she'd be doing 'music things,' and when he'd started to show a curiosity and a talent for singing alongside her, and their mother… They hadn't put so much thought into it as to think that he might someday be drawn to it as something he wanted to do in any serious capacity, but as they'd driven to the studio that morning, Maya had watched him, her curly little Bee, taken in the way the anticipation nearly truly vibrated from him, and the possibility made her smile.

It only got better when they did arrive, the three of them together. Both Ava and Noah were struck silent with awe as they came up to the building, went inside, and got to see more and more. By the time they made it to the space that had been like her own home-away-from-home besides the hotel, the sparks in their eyes made Maya beyond happy that she could finally share this with them. They both walked around with what she could only refer to as 'caution hands.' They kept their digits near to themselves, elbows as well, like they were afraid they would touch something by accident and break it.

"Guys, breathe," she told them, chuckling to herself.

"It's just like in movies…" Ava breathed.

"You know what, I think it might be even better than that," Maya whispered at her, and she smirked at the look she got back, like she just must have been joking, because what did she mean? "The sound's better," Maya shrugged, and Ava blinked, eyes lowering in self-reflection, telling herself 'Yes, of course, why didn't I think of that?'

Noah had found some headphones. He hadn't put them on, hadn't so much as touched them, but he was looking at them like it took every bit of his six-year-old self-control not to reach out. Maya might have allowed him to give in on his own, but she chose to instead encourage him, stepping up behind him and reaching around to lift up the headphones and place them over his ears. He barely realized she was doing it, but then he froze and let her go on. They were very big on him, almost comically so, but she adjusted them for him.

"Relax," she told him, prodding where she could see him tensing up, like he was scared he'd let the headphones fall if he moved his head in any way. He did as told, and when he realized that he was fine, he reached up his hands to touch. His smile was everything she could have wanted in bringing him here. And now that he had made contact, Ava looked less concerned over getting her own hands on a second pair of headphones, slipping them over her ears herself.

"Can we hear what you've been working on, Mom?" she asked, turning to Maya. That might have been all she'd been waiting for. She leaned to kiss the side of her daughter's head even as she held one arm around her son. He was fidgeting with anticipation, and she would have let them hear even without the request, but with it, she could do nothing but step right up to the microphone, to her waiting guitar.

She hadn't been sure, when this had all started, just what kind of music would come from her. She was no longer the young girl who had first picked up the instrument. That was six whole children and a marriage ago. When she'd started stepping back into that world in earnest, she hadn't given too much thought to anything long term, anything beyond what her music had been in the past and what it had been in the most recent present. She hadn't imagined a future with it.

But she had become a new person in the years since she'd let her band go, carrying her music like a quiet, secret companion. She couldn't see it as expanding, as evolving, but then she'd come here, and she'd gotten to work with people who'd opened the way for her enough that her companion stepped out of the shadows. She was still figuring herself out, but for what she'd gotten to do so far… She had never felt so happy in what she was doing with her love of music. She only wanted to keep at it, to see what else she could do. It forced her to consider what this might mean for her job back home, her school, her students, but she had told herself that she couldn't go there, not so long as they were here, not so long as they hadn't stepped out of the magical land and back into the real world. Once she got back there, she'd be able to think it through, to make a real decision. For now, she could just do this, as she was doing today. She could bring her son and daughter along and let them hear her sing.

When she lifted her eyes again and saw their beaming little faces looking back at her, she was smiling so much that she felt tears well in her eyes. Her promise on the sound quality had definitely been kept, but that would have been nothing to them compared to just hearing her. Ava more than any of the kids could appreciate Maya's growth, the new qualities in what she sang and how she sang it, but even at six, Noah looked at her like she'd struck him speechless. She could not have asked for more.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you next week! - mooners