Friday was a day full of pros and cons for Rita Loud. Well, it was more accurate to say that today carried a delightful assortment of pros vs one con that hindered her enjoyment of those positives.
On one hand, instead of going to work, she got to rest in bed all day. Not only that, but her husband had taken the day off from work just to stay at home and feed her his delicious cooking. Once the kids came home from school, the afternoon quickly became one full of considerate gestures and wonderful gifts. Leni had gotten her a bouquet of daises, Luna played her cheerful tunes on her acoustic guitar, Lynn came by routinely to fluff her pillow, and Lily (bless her little cotton socks) had tried her hand at reading one of her favorite bedtime stories to her—Rita was certain that she'd never hear a better (or cuter) retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in her life.
Of course, she normally wouldn't get half those luxuries. The con, a nasty cold that had left her bedridden since yesterday, inspired all that attention. Rita didn't mind taking a day or two off her feet every once in a while, but not at the expense of her health. A sore throat, stuffy nose, and groggy disposition wasn't worth the price of a few days to sit back and enjoy her husband and children spoiling her, especially since her sickened senses couldn't take everything in to the fullest degree.
Still, at least the house was quieter than usual. Everyone had made a conscious effort to keep the noise down as low as possible while she rested. Presently, she was savoring the colorful splendor of the dusk's night sky via a live stream on her laptop, thanks to a roof-fastened camera that Lisa had installed for her. It was a simple pleasure, but one that Rita appreciated before she'd be served dinner in bed.
And then, her ears perked up on a series of steady, loud thuds coming from outside her bedroom. Curious (and a little perturbed) by the interruption, Rita shut her laptop down, set it off to her side, and waited for the noise to either peter out or continue long enough to warrant her intervention. The sound not only persisted, but grew in volume. Before Rita knew it, the racket was right outside her door, but it didn't take long for it to suddenly stop.
Suddenly, the door flew open, and Rita was instantly put at ease. There, looking as proud of herself as she had ever been in her entire life, was Lola.
"Mommy! Mommy!" she cried as she stood at the doorway, waving a piece of folded paper in her hand. "Look at what I made!"
Rita smiled and beckoned for her daughter to come forward with a come hither gesture of her hand. "Well, don't just stand there, Lola. Come on in and show me."
She chuckled as Lola squealed excitedly, tickled that whatever Lola wanted to show her was causing her so much joy. She figured it was probably some sort of gift for her, and her suspicions were confirmed once Lola ran up to her side of the bed and held up the paper up to her.
The construction paper was plastered with colorful doodles, most of them appearing to be of doe-eyed, singing forest animals and sparkling candy falling from the sky. In the middle of the sugary display appeared to be none other than herself, dressed in the poofiest, frilliest pink dress she had ever seen in fiction or reality. Right above the drawing's crown-covered head were the words "GET WELL SOON" in pink coloring. Of course, the sketches weren't made with expert craftsmanship, but that didn't stop Rita's heart from melting at Lola's thoughtfulness.
"I made you a 'get well soon' card," Lola chirped, "and I made it like this because you're the prettiest, kindest mommy ever! I may be a princess, but I'd never get anywhere without my queen always taking care of me!"
Rita smiled, the symptoms of her cold melting into a distant pain as the heartwarming effects of Lola's card soothed her. "Lola, this...this is wonderful! I'd hug you if I wasn't afraid of getting you sick, but I still want you to know that I really−"
She was interrupted by the sudden but familiar succession of heavy thuds. Having an inkling of what to expect, Rita calmly sat by and waited for the arrival what she thought would be another guest.
Lola, on the other hand, didn't look the least bit pleased. Her once sunny smile shifted into a frown as she whipped her head around and glared at the open doorway. "What?! No way!"
Before Rita could ask what she meant by that, she was cut off by the noisy stomps reaching their peak, which stopped once her new visitor was in sight. Now, bracing herself against the doorway with one hand— bent at the waist and inhaling generous helpings of air—was Lana with a folded sheet of paper of her own in her other hand.
"Not...n-not so fast!" Lana said, having enough oxygen in her body to stammer that out. "I made a 'g-get well soon' card for you t-too, Mom!"
Lola jabbed a finger at Lana. "I thought I barricaded you in my closet! How'd you get out?!"
Rita, not taking too kindly to Lola's admittance, cleared her throat and glowered at her. Lola, as if realizing her mistake and sensing her mother's disapproval, shyly turned around and grinned innocently. "Uh...j-just kidding?"
Lana intruded on the tension as she slipped her hand under her hat, pulled out a small sledgehammer, and waved it at her.
"Pssh, have you forgotten who you're dealing with?" Lana chided as she tucked it back in its place. "Now then, step aside and see what a real card looks like."
It was obvious that there had been a squabble between the twins, but Rita felt better to address the matter after Lana had presented her gift. Call it selfish, but she was interested in seeing where Lana was going with this, and it wasn't like she was going to neglect her responsibilities to keep her children in line.
"See, unlike a certain sister who thinks you're all sissy and junk," Lana said as she idly brushed past Lola and quickly stuck her tongue out at her before she turned back to her mother, "I made you something that shows how cool and tough you are."
Once again, Rita ignored the provocation in favor of looking at the new card, which Lana showed by unfolding the paper and holding it high over her head. Much like how she felt about Lola's drawings, Rita wasn't about to call an art museum over Lana's artistic technique. Still, she couldn't help but smile at the picture.
She was drawn in Amazonian garb, wielding a spear in her hand as she let out a bestial shout. Encircling the Rita sketch was a horde of dangerous, wild animals all bowing down to her. The words "GET WELL SOON" stretched out across the top of the paper in blue coloring.
"Why, thank you, Lana!" Rita cried. "What a fine piece of art you drew!"
She'd be sure to set both those cards away soon, but now Rita knew that it was time to get to the bottom of her daughter's falling-out.
"Now look," she said with firmness in her voice, "I don't know what's going on between you two, but−"
No sooner had she gotten a few words out than Lola interrupted her by jeering Lana with a haughty smirk. "Ha! See?! I told you she wouldn't like it as much as mine! You should've just stayed in that closet!"
"Yeah right!" Lana retorted. "Like I'd miss the chance at proving you wrong!"
Lola shot her a scowl. "The only thing you proved is that you stink at card-making more than you stink in general!"
Lana gave her one back. "Then why'd you have to lock me up, huh?! Afraid that I'd embarrass you?!"
"What part of 'you stink at card-making' do you not understand?!"
Rita's temper, which had flared up by the time the twins started throwing barbs at one another, was close to boiling over at this point. It was one thing for the girls to insult each other over a petty matter (something she refused to tolerate), but she wasn't about to have her demand for an answer ignored.
"Girls, that's enough!" Rita yelled hoarsely. "Knock it off this instant!"
Unfortunately, Lola and Lana were beyond the point of obeying. Lana, in particular, looked like she wanted to start a fight from the way she threw her card down at her feet and put up her dukes. "That does it! You're going down!"
Lola cast her own card down and slipped off her gloves before bawling her hands into fists. "Bring it on, you insufferable snot eater!"
"With pleasure, you goofy-looking namby-pamby!"
The twins charged at one another headfirst, colliding into each other as their thrashing limbs batted against each other. It didn't take long for them to start rolling around in a ball, tumbling across the floor as they bumped into furniture. Though a bit lethargic from her cold, Rita managed to spring out of bed, race over to the quarreling children, and yank them away from each by pinching one twin by the ear and pulling them apart. Even though they were separated, Lola and Lana were still raring to trade blows.
"Let me at her!" Lana said.
"No, let me at her!" Lola said.
"No! Me!"
"No! Me!"
"No! M−"
Rita tugged at their ears harder, eliciting a grimacing whimper from both girls. They both timidly looked up and were instantly cowed at the sight of their mother's stern gaze.
"Sorry, Mom," they said.
Sensing that they were finished trying to tear each other's hair out, Rita let them go, and pointed at the floor. "Sit down. Now."
As Lana and Lola did what they were told, Rita noticed shreds of paper littering the floor. She sighed sadly and shook her head—all that work on those cute "get well soon" cards were wasted now. It was a shame, but she'd have to put her feelings of loss aside to sort her daughters' issue out.
"Alright, I want to hear an explanation from the both of you about what happened, and I had better not see any of you interrupt one another." Rita looked to Lana. "Lana, you start first."
Lana nodded, her eyes pointed at the floor and her hands in her lap. Lola mirrored her motions point-for-point.
"Okay, so both of us wanted to make you 'get well soon' cards, right?" Lana asked as she lifted her head. "Well, I wanted to make you something that showed you just how tough you are."
Feeling a little woozy with being on her feet for as long as she'd been, Rita shuffled back under the covers and looked to Lola. "Lola, is this true?"
"Uh-huh. But see, I wanted to make you a card that showed you how pretty you are." Lola looked over to Lana and, instead of glaring daggers at her like Rita expected, gave her a wounded look. "But Lana said the idea was stupid."
Lana eagerly opened her mouth—clearly to interject—but Rita was having none of it.
"What did I say about interrupting, Lana?" Rita asked, her steely tone complimented by her no-nonsense glare.
Lana muttered an apology before Rita said, "Go on, Lola."
By now, Lola's eyes were focused on her mother. "Then, I said that her idea was dumb too, but only because she hurt my feelings. I really didn't care that she wanted to make you a card at first, but she made me want to prove that I could make a better one. So then, after we both rushed to make our cards and show you what we had..."
Instead of continuing, Lola trailed off as she fidgeted, looked off to the side, and blushed. At first, Rita was confused by her demeanor, but then she remembered Lola's slip-up from earlier.
Her guess behind Lola's actions filled her with disappointment, which is why Rita hoped that she was wrong when she asked, "You pushed her in your closet and made sure she couldn't get out? Is that it?"
Lola winced from what Rita could only guess was guilt, and her heart sank as she watched Lola feebly nod.
Rita sighed. "I see. Lana, do you have anything to add?"
Prepared to see Lana have a few scathing choice words for Lola's actions, she was surprised when Lana scooted closer to Lola and put her arm around her shoulders. Even more shocking, but equally as touching, was the fact that Lola didn't shove her away.
"Look, I'm sorry, Lola," Lana said. "I shouldn't have said that it was stupid to do things the way you wanted. I didn't mean it when I said your idea was...well, 'stupid'. I just didn't think it was the best way to give Mom a 'get well soon' card."
Lana glanced up at Rita with a smile just as proud as the one she had for Lana.
"I mean, Mom's the coolest, toughest mom that can be," Lana continued. "She just broke us up without even trying, and she did while she was as sick as a dog. If that ain't tough, I don't know what is."
Though flattered by the compliment, Rita was eager to see if Lola had taken anything out of this experience. Lola's grin indicated that she'd be getting what she was asking for.
"Good," Rita said. "Now Lola, isn't there something you'd like to say to Lana?"
Lola nodded and brought herself closer into Lana's embrace. "I'm sorry too, Lana. I shouldn't have made it hard for you to show Mom how much you love her. It was wrong for me to do that."
"Hey, if it means anything, your card was pretty...well, pretty," Lana said.
"Thanks," Lola said. "Yours was as tough as they came."
Their moment of restoration came to a grinding halt when the twins looked away from each other and surveyed the damage that their scuffle had caused. Rita already felt bad enough being sick, but watching her little girls regarding their destroyed cards with sadness in their eyes was worse than any cold.
"Yeah," Lana said. "Too bad they're both ruined now."
Rita wanted nothing more than to give the both of them a hug, but she thought better of it—getting them sick was the last thing they needed. The most she could do was offer them words of solace, a reassurance that their mistakes didn't mean that she still didn't appreciate them for what they had tried to do for her.
But when Lola suddenly got a big grin on her face, Rita was both taken aback and interested in what she had on her mind to warrant such a mood change.
"Wait a minute!" Lola cried. "I've got an idea!"
Lola cupped her hands around Lana's ear, leaned in, and whispered. Rita watched as with each passing second, Lana's face slowly shifted from guarded uncertainty to unbridled glee. When Lola was finished, she turned to Rita. "Hey, Mommy?!"
"Yes, dear?" Rita asked.
"How would you like to see a little group project from your favorite twins in the whole wide world?"
Rita discovered what that "little group project" was about an hour after dinner. Once again, the two had another "get well soon" card for her—Lana held open one side of the card while Lola held the other as they showed it off by her bedside. This time, however, it appeared as if they had worked together to make her this one.
The sole sketch, that overlapped across both pages, was one of her in that same queen ensemble from Lola's old card. However, instead of being surrounded by majestic grandeur, she was riding on top of a white horse that breathed fire from its nostrils. Once again, "GET WELL SOON" was written on top, but both pink and blue coloring were used for different letters.
"To the kindest and prettiest..." Lana said.
"...and coolest and toughest mom ever!" Lola finished.
Rita beamed, not just because her daughters had collaborated on a new card, but because they were able to see the merits of being what they used to think didn't matter as much as what they thought was important. And maybe, if they hadn't already, this would mean that they would both come to appreciate each other even more.