April 2nd 2024

Chapter 93
The Return to Summer Days

Over the years there had been several changes to the Sullivan Stables landscape through his involvement. They had added the archive, the dog retreat… Now they were raising up the camper house, and no matter how many times it happened, there was always this moment that came along and caught them off guard, where suddenly this brand new project seemed to go and become the thing it was meant to be overnight. The house was standing now, it was there, it was real, it had power, it had water… It was very bare still, so it needed decorating, but that was what they were doing now, so in another blink of an eye, they would be all set to welcome their campers for the first year of their new camper house.

Back at the bed and breakfast, Cristina was looking to a summer season where she would have the whole house available to potential guests, no longer occupied by packs of teenagers that might make things complicated for regular guests. She was going around like it was all very stressful and too much at once, but then they'd see the look on her face and know she was actually looking forward to it all.

Lucas had been doing his best to prepare the house in a way that would be what the campers both wanted and needed. After years of hosting campers over the summer, he had a pretty good idea of what they needed, and some of what they wanted, but he'd taken it a step further and reached out to his former campers, some still repeat/present campers, to know what they would like to see, and he would include as many of their suggestions as he could. For all that, he had to be honest in that his favorite element was already going to be the murals that Maya was working on.

He'd been watching her over the last few days, in the kitchen, on the couch, up in their room, outside on the porch, always just sketching away. He could see the light that would fill her eyes whenever she did something that was really inspiring her, and she could have lit up the whole neighborhood right about now. She had picked out a brand new sketchbook - always a good sign - and each room that was to get a mural had its pages, separated by a tab, and once she had figured out the theme for each room, they would be identified. She had the Hunter room, the Hart-Lane room, the Turtle room, the Friar room… The kids were all over that one. She'd started out having two Friar rooms, one of those for his parents and grandparents, but when she'd brought it up with Thomas and Pappy Joe, the room had become the Melinda room. This had given way to the addition of a Sullivan room, for Simon and Marianne the first… They still had a few to go, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be long before they had their theme, too.

They were going to have to get a move on with actually getting everything painted and decorated before long. He wasn't worried about their being ready in time, although he was very aware of the fact that his availability and his energy were about to take a hit as he would soon be seeing to a newborn again. They would be ready, he was sure, and that was a good thing. Registration had begun, with their expanded capacity firmly advertised, and they were already looking to have the most families looking to send their kids out that they'd ever had. They never had to worry about having enough campers to fill their rooms, and seeing how many there always were, he'd feel bad about having to turn people away, so he'd often end up trying to see to it that those he had to turn away had alternatives to look into, either in their cities or anywhere else in their area. By now he was getting to be known for having connections all over the place, something he continued to curate with pride for the community it created for all of them.

Part of that community were their exchange campers, and this year's group had gotten to watch the camper house evolve like no others would get to do. It was so much so that whenever they were out at the ranch, which was just about every day, they would make a routine stop over at the house. While it had been in construction, they could only get so close, but that was alright. The other three would tell Himari about the new developments whenever there were any to share, which wasn't all the time. The best day had been the one where they had gotten to get up close to the house, to actually walk inside… For having gotten to follow its growth, it was like no other house they had ever been in.

Of course, once it was all ready and the campers would come out to stay in the house, the XCs would be very close to the time where they'd be returning to their homes, and as they'd realized this, they'd been a bit bummed out. Lucas had promised them all that they'd get to stay out at the house for a little while before they left, with their hosts, and that was that at least. They couldn't wait to get to live that experience. Sophia had decided that she couldn't go into the house anymore, not until it was done, so she'd get to be like the campers. This had gotten Calvin to want to do the same thing, and in the end Deanne and Himari had fallen in line with that same plan. Nowadays, when he'd go out to the house for one thing or another, he would sometimes see them standing several feet away, watching, only for them all to get hold of Himari's hands and lead her into running away with them.

He saw them today, and he had to chuckle, not just for their reaction but for the fact that he wasn't alone. His father and grandfather had come out to look at a few things around the house, and the two of them had spotted the quartet as they squealed and made their escape. They both looked so confused and they turned to him for an explanation, so he caught them up on the 'no peeking' rule they had instigated and now constantly challenged.

"Let them be curious," Thomas smiled. "By the sound of it, all this work on the house this year has brought them all closer." Lucas agreed completely, and it was something that made him so happy whenever he saw it. The camp, the XCs, the afterschool program, all those elements he'd brought to the ranch, it brought kids together, created friendships that would maybe last a lifetime. He hoped they would have those, wished it for as many kids as could get it.

In the meantime, he was here, with his father and his grandfather, and it reminded him of the time he had spent - in secret from his then girlfriend - in renovating the house where he would propose to her, where they would build their lives, and their family together. He would still go around sometimes and see something that would take him back to the countless hours they had spent out there together. They were some memories he would cherish forever, the kind that nowadays felt more important than ever, ever since he'd lost his mother, and then Patty, and as he was forced to face the reality that those people he'd counted as unmovable pillars in his life were growing older, and before he'd ever be ready, they might be taken from him.

His grandfather was doing better than he was right after they'd lost Patty, for sure, but to say that he had recovered would be a lie. At this point, it felt as though this was as good as he was ever going to get, and they would only ever see him lose ground rather than gain it. He wished it wasn't so, and his father did, too, but they'd had to accept this as reality and try to handle it as best they could. Right now, his having the house to come and work on, that was something. He would show up, and whether or not they had a specific task in mind for the day, Pappy Joe would go around and find something that needed doing, and he would set himself to it, off in his own little bubble, and they would leave him to it, doing their best not to look as though they were hovering, keeping an eye on him. He'd know if they were there, and he would stop and turn back to look at them until they moved on before getting back to his work.

"I've got a special request from the girls," Lucas told his grandfather as he tempted an approach. Pappy Joe would always make exceptions from his great grandchildren, and that continued to be so now, which was kind of reassuring nowadays, and he smiled as his grandfather invited him to sit by his side. Lucas showed him the drawing that they had all done together, with Marianne's handwriting here, and Kacey's there, all the way down to Aubrey who could trace letters and would ask them all to spell words out so she could write them down. Pappy Joe took the paper with near reverence and promised to give it some thought.

"How many more days do you think it'll be before that baby boy of yours is ready to come and meet us?" he asked as he carefully folded the drawing back up and stuck it in his shirt pocket. Lucas couldn't help but feel a tremulous breath run through him at the idea of finally meeting his son, his Colby, and seeing the way that reaction brought out a small, knowing smile on to his grandfather's face, he let himself feel it as much as he needed to, nodding slowly as he thought about it.

"We've been trying to guess, but if the previous times have taught us anything, there's really no predicting it. He's going to come when he's ready. If you ask Maya right now, she'll say any day now, but that might be wishful thinking."

"Sounds about right," Pappy Joe agreed. "I remember when you were coming along. I bet Thomas can tell you all about it. Your mother would be one way one day and the other the next. She'd swear she needed to be done being pregnant, and then the next morning she'd be sitting there, hugging her arms around herself, not wanting to let you go."

He'd never heard it this way, though he had for sure heard some version of this in his lifetime, especially… after they'd lost her… Now, it brought up the memory of some pictures they had, from those days before his birth, and they suddenly felt very different in his mind, enough that he really wanted to get his hands on them, to see them with his own eyes again.

"This is going to be a good place, when it's all done," Pappy Joe told him, drawing him out of his thoughts again, and he felt comforted to hear it from him. It wasn't as though he needed convincing that it would be, but this further solidified his conviction, and he was glad for it. "When you were little, telling us all that you'd be working out here, I don't think we had any idea of what you could actually do. Tell you what though, right now, I'm really just so proud that I get to see it."

"Thank you… Thanks, Pappy Joe," Lucas nodded, feeling his heart flutter again at the way his grandfather patted his shoulder. "Can I help you out with this?" he asked, as they looked back to the task before them.

"You know what, I think this could use an extra pair of hands."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners