Liv 20 later story 5
The Grant family is now living in Vermont. One shot to describer amoment in their life.
Peaches:
Fitz looked at the group around the table. The the conversation was loud ongoing with everyone interrupting everyone else with every sentence. Six children 4 grandchildren and a wife he loved more today than the day she blasted iife. Being an only child he often wondered what it would like to be from a large family and now he knows..They were loud and sometimes did not display proper table etiquette but one could always feel the love around their table. He had been concerned about not being able to enjoy this , this Grant family gathering . His headaches had kept him resting the last few days but today felt like his old self again. As he watched his children he recognoized there would not ne a lot mpore moments exactly like this. No because of the headaches but everyone was growing up and the last child would be leaving for college in the fall. They would always be his children but these moments are hard to repeat.
He had not told his wife about the headaches or the pain, headaches which seem to be coming more frequently now but somehow he knows she knows something is wrong but she is waiting for him to tell her. During her last outing with their twin boys he flew to Seattle to consult with a friend , and specialist , at Seattle Grace telling his wife it was concerning his foundation . He knows he will pay for the deception but he wanted to find out the good , and the bad , before he shared it with the family.
His family, 6 chiildren 4 boys and 2 girls, all doing well. This time the family was gathered for his youngest child's 16th birthday, . His youngest child was a girl, a precocious child from birth that had inherited the best from both parents. and tomorrow was her 16th birthday.. Martha is a daddys girl and totally spoiled by her dad and all four of her brothers. Her mom lamented she would never find a husband that met her expectations , or the expectations of her brothers or father, because she compared every boy to the men in her family.
He smiled as he proudly looked over at the people at the table . Karen with husband Phillip was the mother of three with a new baby expected in early winter,she ran his foundation , husband Philip was a teacher at the county High School. Philip had the credentials for promotion or to teach at a college level, but perferred to remain in the High School classroom. He decided it was more important to reach tomorrows leaders before they became too jaded . Both Karen and Philip loved a simple life and Fitz loved that his oldest daughter lived nearby. Fitz also was able to enjoy the grandchildren in real time sometimes surprising other parents by sometimes showing up in the carpool. Son Jerry, ran the family business in Ca. and but divorced from wife Kara,. They seemed to get along better as friends than as spouses and was the father of Art, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant IV . No one liked the nickname Quad so the family started calling him Art after aunt Martha shorted and rearranged the spanish name for four. .
Son Teddy was in medical school, still unmarried and there did not seem to be a mrriage in the near future for him. He told the family Karen and Jerry was ensured the Grant lineage so the pressure was off him. The three youngest childrren were twins Tommy and Michael who would be entering their second year of college this fall and the birthday girl Martha(Maddy) , who was three years younger was about to overtake her brothers in school , graduating 2 years early and would be entering college this fall. . She seemed to have inherited the smart genes from both her parents . No one seemed interested in politics but Fitz guessed if one would it would be her, their youngest. She had all the answers and would not let a discusion about anything politicial end until she had won it. She did lose the one about college, she wanted to attend an east coast college but stay in a dorm. The family gave her a choice California to stay with brother Jerry or stay with the twins and attend the same school as them. She choose Ca. which was what Liv hoped. Jerry was older and would maintain as much control as her parents. Both Abbys son(Sam) and Quinns daughter (Pam) were students there already . California was the family seat and she would thrive in it's diverse culture and on its beaches a thought that left parents with a throbbing in their chest. . . . Oh yes, lets not forget the matriarch of this group Olivia Carolyn Pope Grant the glue that held this family bound together. Fitz proudly looked out over the table and smiled
Olivia looked her husband and saw the wide smile on his face. She never imagined they would ever get here. It had been 25 years since she first saw her husband standing in a school gym and except for the small amount of gray at his temples he had not changed a lot. She was worried about him but she did not say anything,. They knew each other well , she knew he knew she was worried about him, that something was wrong. They vowed, no secrets, to always talk , so she knew if there was a secret it was about him. Now she worried what was he not telling her. She knew the headaches had become more frequent and more painful
Olivia knew he had flown out to Seattle see a specialist while she was in NY with the twins enjoying a last outing with them before returning to college. She wondered if the twins knew because they had insisted on spending the week in NY but it soon because clear the trip was all about them and their mom. The boys recognized they were growing into men and these moments were fading so they wanted to be with mom and not share her with anyone, siblings or dad.
Just like Martha was a daddys girl the boys were the same withn their mom, especially Tommy. So while she took the boys away for a week dad , unknown to all, scheduled a trip to Seattle to see a specialist about his headaches. Olivia knew about the trips, about the increased frequency and pain of the headaches but remained mute. She was Olivia Pope, well Olivia Grant what did he expect . Did he think he could kep anything important to this family from her esecially something about his health.
The group volunteered for cleanup after dinner and sent their parents down to the lake to relax until they were done and ready for pre birthday evening games .
Olivia and Fitz sat and looked out over the lake as the sun slowly disappeared behind the trees. Fitz put his arms around liv and pulled her into his lap, "Oh so its going to be that kind of "relaxing" , Liv said
"Yup," Fitz said as he pulled her closer and started to nibble at her ear.
"Don't start something you can't finish "
"Have I ever"?., Fitz replied
"Nope, there is always a first time ," Liv said as she unbuttoned his shirt and stroked his ads. "How will we get back to our room through the kids"?
"No need , ", Fitz replied "remember they know this is our spot and they are never to trespass unless invited and they were not invited."
"Fitz, if you think I'm going to drop my skirt in the grass at my age you are crazy."
"You did a week ago , how soon you forget wife", Fitz said with a smirk
" That was special and definitely unplanned"
"What was special , any time we make love we make it special , right?"
"Well, its not goimg to happen today, the Grandcildren are here and all the kids. Its not like sneaking an intimare moment in the fruit orchard while the kids are at school."
"A moment , you mean many manyy moments." How many trees have we destroyed with our moments?"
"Not enough "Liv smiled. "I look forward to more , many more"
Fitz gave her a look and said "Thats why I just ordered a new batch of quick blooming apple trees to plant this fall , I'm going to plant some new ones to give us something to look forward to. Dont want you to have any excuse to lose your inhabitions"
Fitz pulled his wife closer and nestled her head in his chest, as they sat breathing in sinc.
Olivia , "I love you"
"I know", Liv replied
"I have loved you since you insinuated I was sex deprived"
"I know",... "you were sex deprived"
Livvie know , you do know , you are the love the love of my life"
"I know,"
"You have given me a reason to breathe, a reason to live"
"I know"
"and , you have sacrificed so much for me,"
"I did not mind, Fitz it wasn't a sacrifice for you it was a sacrifice it was for us. I sacrificed for us ..., we scarificed for us ...,we knew today, this day would come, that we would be here together with our family "
"I do love you , do you know how much,? I fear Livvie you will never know how much"
"I know", Fitz, I know
" you are everything I ever wanted"
Liv smiled putting a soft kiss on his lips
"I know,,Fitz . It took me so long to say I love you now I dont ever want to think about ,ever waking up without you in our bed , in my arms"
"I know"
"I wanted difficult hard love, you gave me tender joyful fulfilling love"
"I know"
"even when I hated you I loved you even more"
"I know, sweet baby, Im sorry about all the hurt all the false starts ."
"I know, but it was worth it , dont you think?"
"No, "
"No, " No," ...Liv pulled back to looki into her husbands eyes
"Livvie ... I know it was worth it"
Fitz hugged Liv closer as she laid her head back on his chest and sunggled closer to her husband as they enjoyed the calmness, the settimg sun and each other
.
So , ...Liv said as they got up and began to walk back to the house, " when are you going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"About your trip to Seattle"
"not now"
"Is it anything I need to worry about?"
"Nope"
"Is it anythig the children need to worry about?"
"Nope"
"Is it anything that will prevent you walking Martha down the aisle."
Fitz recognized his wife was very worried to refer to their daughter by her given name she usually referred to her as Maddie.
:"Maybe!"
"Maybe?"
"Yup , maybe , our daughter will not marry until she is 50 because she will not find a man that meets all her expectations. At 50 she will marry Ben , they are perfect for each other."
"You have picked out the husband for your 16 year old daughter, we are living in the 21st century not the 17th ."
"Dont worry , they are perfect for each other , he is perfect for her and he will wait for her."
"How do you know?"
"He told me"
"You discussed our 16 year old daughter's marriage with an 18 year old , that is really 17th century extreme male bonding."
"Yes, he said he would wait for her, said she was like her mother and it would take time to woo her."
"You talked about me to someone barely shaving?"
"Not only me , he has talked to and heard a lot of stories from his parents and he has read your memoirs"
"They are not published how could he have read them?"
"All the children could have read them but only Maddie did, she the rebel remember"
"And how did she accomplish that ?, Liv asked"
"You forget , remember our daughter is an overachiever. Did you believe she would wait to read about you first hand ?"
"Well how did she and Ben get them did you give her a copy?"
"She found them two years ago on your computer"
"She could not just find them , they were hidden well and encripted "
"Evidentently not hidden , or xxxxxx encripted ,well enough"
Huck!
"Huck and working in your office every summer since she was in 6th grade. I don't think Huck helped her but she learned enough from Huck and Quinn to break through your firewall."
"How did you find out?"
"She gave me some what if, senarios and I guessed the rest. "AND "I asked Huck to check "
"The sneak", .
"yes,...she's your child what did you expect?"
"She's toast"
"She may be toast but she has your genes"
"Our genes 50/50, she has your subtle deep temper , your eyes, hair and smile ."
"YUP and our fierceness. and stubboness " Fitz added "She is going to be something to deal with. It's good that she has 4 older brothers to give her cover"
"Brothers and a trust fund so there isnt any way to intimidate her"
"I think we created a monster"
"Created her in the peach grove"
"Please dont ever tell her " Fitz said, "she may never eat a peach again. If she ever finds out she may one day hate us when she discovers why we sometimes call her peaches when she misbehaves."
"I wasn't going to ever tell her but since she insisted on reading my memoirs I think I wil amend it with a couple of paragraphs just to let her read that part about the perach orchard but it delete before publication" ..."So she and Ben read them, they just were kids",
"Inquisitive kids , no mature content thank heaven. , they thought it would be fun to hear your own words from you, unfiltered for their teen ears."
"I've often wondered how sometimes she is able to turn my arguments with her into a defense againse me."
"Yup ,using her mothers own words againse her, she will thrive at the firm, she is a mini Oliva Carolyn Pope " .
"Olivia Carolyn Grant."
"Livvie , Grant or Pope I dont mind, "
"But , Fitz I do"
"After an erratic beginning Livvie we have done good"
Stop deflection , "Are you goimg to tell me now or are you going to make we wait until the birthday festivities are over? But , You will tell me before Maddie cuts her cake. I will not celebrate our daughters 16th worrying about her father, my husband. "
"I was going to wait, then tell everyone tomorrow evening,"
"There is some scar tissure thats pressing on a nerve that needs to be removed but its a very easy survivable surgery and it should not stop me from living to 100 to walk Maddie down the aisle".
Fitz leaned over and gently kissed her but not before saying just before their lips met, " Liv I know you knew about my trip to Seattle".
That gentle kiss slowly became passionate and that kiss brought the same feelings as they both first felt in that hotel in Ga. many years ago. They are proof that true love grows stronger and is eternal , All that is necessary is One must believe, truly believe