March 17th 2024

Chapter 77
The Reach For Love

The Friars could always be counted on to bring themselves to a party in full excitement, but some parties were special, and weddings… Weddings might have been their favorites at the moment. They got to make themselves all fancy, there was a lot of special food, and a giant cake, and there was dancing… When it was a family wedding, that was even better than even better. And today their aunt Emma was getting married to their new uncle Dakota!

Maya and Lucas had both known to expect a whole lot of energy out of their kids, early in the morning, so they made absolutely certain to turn in early and to be awake ahead of everyone else. It ended up being kind of a close call, as they had barely gotten out of bed and stepped into the hallway that they were cornered by their pack of daughters and one small boy, looking forward to their makeovers. Ezra was mostly doing as his sisters did. Being told that they wouldn't get to have their transformation just yet was received about as well as it was anticipated, but at least they had breakfast to look forward to, didn't they?

The minute they were told to go upstairs, they were as good as running for the stairs. The one thing to slow them down was Mackenzie calling after them, and the immediate response that followed. They weren't so anxious that they'd actually leave her behind, not for a second. She was pulled on to Marianne's back, and off they went. Their 'glam team' was not far behind. All baths had been had the night before, and now they could be transformed. They didn't know where they were supposed to start, so there was a lot of looking around, running around, until they were directed to line up so they could have their hair done first.

"Do you know what you want?" Maya asked when she brought Aubrey along to do hers. Her smallest girl looked at her with those big, blue saucers, and Maya tried not to laugh as she understood what was going on behind them. "I won't make it too tight, okay? I promise. You just sit still, and it'll be alright." One bad experience with a hairdresser, and now she would get antsy whenever they did anything beyond the day-to-day type of style. "Can you do that for me?"

"I can do it, Mommy," she finally decided, nodding more to herself than anyone else.

"Good, then what should we do?" Maya asked as she brushed her fingers lightly through her baby girl's golden hair.

"I don't know," Aubrey shrugged.

"You want me to choose?" Maya suggested. "I'll make it pretty, yeah?"

"Okay!" she whirled around to sit and present herself for styling.

"Okay!" Maya laughed. She bowed to hug her from behind, to kiss the top of her head, and Aubrey twisted around so she could kiss her back, sparing one of those kisses for her mother's belly, where her baby brother lived.

In what felt like an endless effort and no time at all at the same time, everyone was in their wedding best, and they were on their way to Sullivan Stables. There was something to be said for the fact that so many of their people, family members, friends, all had taken to celebrating their unions over at the ranch. They'd had many weddings out there, and even though the decorations changed, the years, the people, they were always in this one place, and this would serve to bind all those events together, until each return here for another wedding would feel as though they were pulling the threads together, closer… It became an endless party for love, and it was really all that they could want. Now, it would be Emma and Dakota's day, and they would become part of that great tapestry with the rest of them.

"I think they did so good!" Marianne gasped with awe as they drove in, seeing the final result of all the work that had been done. They hadn't seen it like this yesterday, and they had nothing but awe in their eyes now.

"Yeah?" Lucas chuckled, and the girls erupted with praise. They couldn't wait to see even more!

Those who could run off did so as soon as they were out of the minivan. The rest of them ventured forward at their own pace. Of all those living at the Friar house at the moment, the one who had most doubted their ability to attend this wedding was Gracie. It had absolutely nothing to do with her capabilities, and they would continue to try and remind her of this. What was there to stop her from sitting out at the ranch instead of on the couch? For a while, they had tried to ask her that exact question, knowing how silly it sounded, but she'd always responded with a vague attempt at suggesting that she would have trouble and that, in turn, she would become a hassle for them, that she would be a disruption to Emma and Dakota's day. She never said it out in those exact words, and her family knew as well as she did why she couldn't do it. Those were insecurities, not reasons. What tipped the scales in the end, as they figured it might, was Nellie. She had found a great dress for the wedding, and she knew that it would perfectly match one of her twin's dresses… She couldn't leave her hanging, could she?

If this hadn't worked, they would not have been above sending in the next biggest weapon in their arsenal. Next to twin sister wishes, those of a small niece would have had to work, especially a small niece who was also her couch buddy. Mackenzie had been so beyond excited about the wedding since Emma and Dakota had gotten engaged, but now in the run up to the big day, she had been so excited that her feeling could not be quantified. The more time had gone by lately, the more she'd gotten to feel like a regular person, even if she still had her cast on, and now? In her pretty dress, with her hair all done up, everything? Oh, this was the most exciting day she'd had in a while, and they'd had Christmas a few weeks ago. She might not have been able to do all the things that the others did, but she was looking around like she barely cared anymore that there was a cast on her leg, slowing her down.

When the wonder of being at the ranch and seeing all the decorations had settled down, the kids' thoughts shifted from the place over to people. They had not forgotten who this day was about, and now the only thing they seemed able to think about was Emma, and her dress. They hadn't seen it yet, and they had been wanting to change that for a very long time. When they asked their mother if they finally could go and see their aunt, they all had such hopeful little faces that Maya would have really felt bad about telling them no. Good thing then that she could say yes instead.

She'd been wanting to see it, too, of course. This was her little sister, even if she'd come into her life later than most, even if the link between them might not have seemed like genuine sisterhood to some… She had seen the dress, in part, a while ago, but the end product, complete hair, makeup, accessories… Today would be its unveiling for her, too.

Finding their way over to the room where their bride would be waiting ever nervously for the time to walk down the aisle, they were let in by Eliza, who had the misty eyes of one who'd already seen her best friend and sister in all her bridal glory. She was matron of honor, of course, and her reaction was very accurate. The sisters and business partners had created the dress together, and it really showed. If anyone knew Emma, really knew her, as the Friars did, they would see the dress, the whole look, in ways that others really would not. The best finishing touch for her, as it should have been for anyone in her position, really was her smile. Nervous or not, she was about to marry the man she loved, and at this point she could have been happy to be wearing the least fancy thing, and so would he.

For all that, she did walk down the aisle looking like a magical goddess, and the reactions were all as they should be, especially where Dakota Day was concerned. Easily the funniest part there was how Roman and Anton flanked him, tissues at the ready. They would deploy those tissues occasionally, leaning to inspect their brother's face and dabbing where needed. It had the others laughing, and it allowed Dakota to continue seeing his future wife as she got closer to him. When she was within arm's reach, he didn't need the assistance of those tissues anymore. He offered his hand, and she took it, and the two of them did not break eye contact, not for a second, not until after they were pronounced as husband and wife. The closer they had gotten to this day, they hadn't known how they would feel, thinking about those they had lost, those who couldn't be with them on this day, and they had done all they could to ensure that they would be with them, in spirit if nothing else. Already now, they truly felt like they had made it happen.

"I really wish I wasn't pregnant for this," Nellie sighed as she came and sat next to her sister. Dinner was over, people were mingling, people were dancing… Nellie was looking at those in particular, and the longing in her eyes was a lot funnier than Maya could describe. Her lips were pressed together like a vice, trying not to let out a laugh.

"You do love a wedding dance floor," she stated, and Nellie sighed.

"I really do. I still remember when you got married," she turned a grin to her big sister, and Maya snorted before breaking into a laugh.

"Oh, so do I," she told her little sister, with a nod to confirm she was recalling her enthusiasm for dance. "But, you know, I don't think you'd want to trade this one off just for a spin on the floor, would you?" Maya asked, reaching her hand over from her own belly to her sister's. The contact made Nellie smile, and she reached out her own hand to do the same to her.

"Not for a second," she confirmed. "Especially this, you and me, and the two of them…"

"Yeah…" Maya matched her smile. Never in a million years would she have predicted that she would ever find herself pregnant at the same time as one of her little sisters, her little Hunters, and yet here they were. And before they knew what hit them, their little boys would be running around together, not even a month to separate them. She couldn't wait to see it, but also she would bask in the time when her Colby would be small, and she knew Nellie would want to do the same with her own boy, her firstborn babe…

"Mom! Mom, we have to go up there, it's our turn," Marianne came running up to the table where her mother and aunt sat together. There was no need to ask what she was referring to, so Maya slowly got up and followed her.

She had loved the idea of their doing a song together on principle, but got to love it even more because of the opportunity it granted them. The two of them would go up there and sing their song together, and it would be great, but it would also be the perfect cover. Emma would have to know that Maya would want to sing for her. It came with the territory of being the sister who was also a singer and songwriter. And they would smile, seeing Marianne go out there with her, because they looked great together and sounded even better. And it wouldn't occur to them that there might be anything else coming, especially this performance that the Hart-Lane siblings had all put together, not until they sprang that surprise on her.

Before they got there, they'd still have this. They'd have the performance, mother and daughter together… Maya had gotten plenty of opportunities to sing with her firstborn over the years, and it never ceased to be one of her favorite things to experience, did it? To see her there, to feel her passion for what she did, what she sang and why… She was getting so big, and memories of those old songs would only remind her of that each time. How her voice had changed, how she'd grown from one to the other… It was a wonder that she made it to the end without her voice breaking from the emotions.

"You are a mess, Friar," Maya chuckled when she rejoined Lucas. The big surprise wasn't happening just yet, and he'd come to find her after the song, to benefit from the moment and take her for a dance.

"Who, me?" he asked, as though his face didn't clearly show that he'd gotten weepy, seeing her and Marianne up there. Maya pulled him closer to her height, the better to press a few kisses to his face, the places where she could guess there had been tears especially, before locking her arms around his neck for the dance. "She sounded so good up there, didn't she?" he finally had to say, and she nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing. They may have been her parents and prone to embellishment, but it didn't feel like that to them here. It felt a lot more like recognizing genuine talent.

"Definitely sounds better than I did at her age, so I have to wonder what she'll be like when she's older," Maya hummed.

"Well, she did grow up around a lot of things, a lot of people, things you didn't get to do," he suggested.

"True, true," she agreed. If she had started as early as Marianne had been exposed to everything, practically before she'd ever left the womb… It was really something to be proud of.

They could not have done better, the siblings banding together for their surprise to Emma and Dakota. The song choice, from the first note, had her breath lodged in her throat, knowing what she was in for, and it continued that way as she stood there, Dakota with his arms around her waist and his head in the crook of her neck as they took in the performance… The gift would stay with them, especially whenever they heard the song again and got to think of lost loved ones never too far away.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners