AN: Leni gets a visit from two of her family members while staying at Aunt Ruth's. To her shock, only one of them is her parent. Leni wonders how Lucy could have possibly found out, when not even Lisa had figured it out. Aunt Ruth's flowers that Lucy likes are indeed real and follow that blooming pattern. I can include a picture in my next chapter if people are interested in the flowers.
The Blooming Lily – Chapter 3
The months seemed to fly by. It wasn't long until Leni and Lori were staying at Aunt Ruth's. Their old aunt was surprisingly pleasant and completely non-judgmental about Leni's pregnancy.
She told them that their late grandmother, her brother Albert's wife, had also gotten pregnant before she turned twenty. It seemed to be a family tradition. Instead of asking them to help with her cats, she helped them with stuff. Even getting the best pre-natal food and drink, along with vitamins, that she could for Leni's dinner.
Since it was several towns over, Leni and Lori didn't bother staying in Ruth's house the whole time. No one knew them, so it didn't matter if they saw Leni's pregnancy. When Rita had told the other Loud children that she was having another baby, it had been chaos. Happy chaos, but chaos. Lisa was thunderstruck.
She would finally have a roommate just like the other sisters. Lincoln was hopeful. Hopeful that her baby would be a boy. The others were just so excited that they rushed to help prepare the nursery, which would be in Lisa's room.
Luan make a lot of funny, cute mobiles and wallpaper. Luna recorded some soft, sweet baby songs for her future sister. Lucy asked Great-grandma Harriet to make sure her little sis would be okay. Lynn was thrilled to have a future playmate who might love sports. Lola and Lana were too excited to argue, for once. Lana eagerly thinking about which of her reptiles to show to her sister first, while Lola couldn't wait to have another sibling to play dress up with, regardless of whether it happened to be a girl or boy.
Together, the nursery in Lisa's room was finished in record time, while the actual time of the pregnancy also seemed to fly by. Leni pressed a hand against her bulging belly. She was nearly full term. The baby could come at any moment.
Lori had Rita on speed dial, since she was going to be the baby's mother, she should be at the hospital when she was born. The baby had indeed been identified as a girl, to no one's surprise at all. Leni felt a sharp pang against her stomach, her hand feeling the same soft touch. Things like this were what made her doubt her decision for the girl to grow up calling someone else mother, but Rita was a good mother...she would be perfect. Another butterfly touch pushed against her hand.
She smiled. The baby had kicked again! She called over Lori and Aunt Ruth. This wasn't the first time, but the baby was active today. She was kicking a lot, and Leni was sure Lori and Ruth would want to feel it. Lori walked over, a small black kitten in her hands. It had a white "mask" on it's face and a few white markings on it's feet.
"Leni, what's up? How are you?" She held out the small black tabby kitten, "Look, isn't he adorable? Aunt Ruth is literally giving him to us! Now we'll finally have a cat along with all our other pets!" Lori squealed and squeezed the black kitten tightly, causing an angry mew.
Leni smiled, "He's great! Looks like my little girl won't be the only new member of our family! Lori, she kicked again. She's doing it a lot now. Do you and Ruth want to feel?" Leni pulled back her maternity shirt and ran a hand over her stomach.
"Oooh! Yes!" Lori held the black kitten in one hand and touched Leni's stomach with the other. She felt several soft, butterfly-like touches. That was her niece! She was feeling a life! A healthy little life, according to the doctors. "She's so strong and active. I literally know Lynn will try and make her a sports player! Ruthie is in the kitchen, making you some soup, or cooking who knows what...She might want to feel in a few minutes."
Leni giggled as the little girl kicked furiously several times. "Tell Ruth thanks. I haven't...well, really thought of it, but I really love Aunt Ruth. She didn't have to do this. We should be taking care of her, not the other way around. When...when this is over, I'm going to come here as often as I can, to help her like she's helped me. Moldy pudding and extra toe be damned!" She laughed.
Leni reached out and stroked the small kitten in Lori's grasp. It gave a tiny mew and started purring as it leaned into Leni's touch. "Is the kitty a boy or a girl? Or do we not know? Oh, and what's it's name?"
Lori sat down on the floor next to Leni and put the small kitten on her belly, where it circled in place a few times and laid down to sleep, "Ruth says it's a boy. I guess that'll make Lincoln happy. Not as good as a little brother like he was hoping for, but at least he'll have a new boy to show around. I named him Cliff, after Cliff Sterret, the comic artist. I really loved his strips. They were so funny and literally super unique for the time! He's still considered an amazing artist to this day!"
Leni stroked Cliff softly. The kitten purred and stretched in his sleep, rolling over on his belly, opening one dark green eye at Leni. Leni nuzzled the small cat. So adorable. The way she felt about a new kitten...she couldn't imagine the feeling when she held her own daughter.
The thought of giving her to her parents to raise...to not being her mother anymore...it was enough to bring her to tears, if she didn't know that the baby was getting a better life, a better family. A full, big, happy family, to care for her and love her. Lots of sisters, and a single brother.
Leni felt something soft press against her legs. She looked down. A small, orange tabby kitten with bright green eyes looked up at her and meowed softly. Leni giggled and, with some effort, reached down to pick up the little orange kitten. Something about it just screamed female. She ran a hand over the kitten's back and sat her on the sofa next to their kitten, Cliff.
Lori squealed when she saw the kittens playing with each other, "Cliff likes his sister! I wish we could literally take them both, but mom said only one cat. With all our other pets, two cats would be too much. Oh! I literally did find the orange girl a home, though! You know Clyde's dads? They're literally looking to get Clyde a cat for his birthday, and I told them about Ruth's newest litter. They want to name her after an Egyptian queen. Cleopawtra. How punny...at least that's what Luan would say." Lori rolled her eyes.
Leni smiled at the orange kitten and Cliff, batting at each other playfully, "Well, I guess we'll still get to see this little girl sometimes. If Clyde isn't so protective of her that he never lets her leave the house. I know how Clyde is. Especially with his obsessive crush on you!" Leni giggled.
Lori threw a pillow at her sister, glaring, "Stop that! Clyde is literally a dummy! He's cute and nice, but he's just too young and literally NOT my type at all. Even if I were interested, he's way too smart for me. I mean, LISA, a three year old, has to tutor me for me to even get a C in Calculus!"
"Well, maybe you should just tell him that. Tell Clyde that he just isn't your type, but you like him a lot as a friend. Maybe spend time with him as a friend. Well, if he gets over that 'fainting in your divine presence' thing." Leni threw the pillow back at Lori.
Lori put the pillow down as she heard a knock at the door, "I'll get it, Aunt Ruth!"
To Lori's surprise, it was her mother and...Lucy!? Her mother wasn't wearing the pregnancy belly from Dr. Feinstein, which meant Lucy had somehow figured out the truth...or Rita had told her. Lori gaped.
"Wha-mom, what's Lucy doing here? I thought we were-" Lori was interrupted.
"Shh, it's okay, Lori! Lucy knows. She won't tell anyone, she swears. She wanted to tell Leni in person how she figured it out...and I'd kind of like to know, too." Rita put a hand on her gloomy daughter's small shoulder.
Lucy wrapped her pale arms around Lori and gave her a small smile, "I would like to see my other sister, and my niece, please. Normally, I care only about what happens at the end of life, not the beginning, but I was asked to speak to Leni," said Lucy in her dull monotone, a small smile still on her grim face.
Lucy walked past Lori and all of Aunt Ruth's cats. Ruth was still cooking dinner, apparently, since Lucy did not see her anywhere. She stared through her mop of black hair at her beautiful older sister Leni. Leni seemed to be more beautiful than ever, if that were possible. All the female Louds had been jealous of her at some point. Her perfect, light skin, always unblemished, except for that time Lisa had used her for an experiment, and her long, nearly glittery silver-blonde hair.
Two kittens were playing on the sofa next to her, while she watched, one hand on her large stomach. Lucy cleared her throat, not wanting to startle Leni as she normally startled her sisters. Leni looked away from the kittens and gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in shock.
"But...Lucy...why...I thought mom would-would-" Leni stammered.
Lucy sat down on the edge of the sofa, avoiding the kittens, "The living never spoke of my future niece. Our great-grandma Harriet told me. She told me to talk to you. And to protect my niece, always. I will, and I will keep your secret, I just wanted to see you. To tell you that your baby has protectors in the spirit world."
Lucy ran a small hand over Leni's belly. Leni grabbed her hand and pressed it against her as the baby kicked a few times. Another smile forced it's way on to Lucy's face. The gloomy girl laid her head on Leni's stomach and listened carefully for the sound of another heartbeat. Most would say you couldn't hear it, but some part of Lucy knew that she heard the sound of a life within her sister, and another part, the part no one believed in, felt the energy of a new life. A spirit and a soul within.
Lucy knelt in the floor next to Leni, "Great-grandma Harriet said she thinks you'll be an amazing mom...or rather, sister. She said that you have depths none of us ever knew about, that you're special. I think so too."
Tears brimmed in Leni's eyes, "Oh, Lucy! Thank you...and thank great-grandma Harriet, if you know, you can do that stuff for real. It's...it's hard to believe stuff like that is real...but I guess...you found out from someone...why can't it have been from beyond?" Leni hugged her little sister. The gloomy young girl squeezed her tightly.
"I love you, Leni. I love you, too, little niece. Little sister," Lucy gently hugged Leni's belly and drew back, examining the small black kitten and the orange one. She seemed very interested in the little black one. Black cats, of course. Lucy's superstitious stuff.
Rita sat down next to Leni, after putting the kittens on the floor to play with Lucy.
"How are you doing, honey? Good? Any weird cravings?" Rita smiled.
"Well...I got a craving for those peanut butter and sauerkraut sandwiches Lincoln always tries to get us to eat. I don't know if I'll still like after she's born, but they're really awesome. Lincoln was right...or it's just a weird craving, like you said. Oh, and pickles and popcorn. Especially popcorn dipped in pickle juice," Leni blushed slightly at the confession.
"That's no worse than my many cravings over my many pregnancies! When I was pregnant with you, I couldn't get enough of pizza topped with chocolate mints. When I was pregnant with Lori and Lucy, I had cravings for cabbage mixed with ice cream...and then there was this time I was obsessed with the smell of your dad's feet...don't tell Lynn that it was because of her." Rita bit her lip and looked disgusted with herself, but laughed.
"Ewww, mom! That's literally the grossest thing ever!" said Lori, following Ruth from the kitchen where she'd gone to help her.
"Rita! My sweet little niece! I'm so happy to see you. Having your daughters here has been a delight! Lori really helped with the cats. That's why I gave one of Pepper's kittens to her!" said Ruth. Pepper was the name of the cat who had birthed the litter that Cliff and the small orange kitten had come from.
"Here, my darlings, I made a nice dinner! Thanks for calling to tell me who all was coming, Rita, dear," Ruth beckoned them into her dining room where a large plate of rolls and a steaming hot pot of what looked like homemade broth and dumplings awaited them. "I have bread pudding for dessert, too! Don't worry, it's not moldy or old! I made it today."
Together, the family sat down and enjoyed Ruth's oddly excellent homemade meal, eating silently, occasionally having to shoo away the cats who thought the table was a bed.
Rita gave a slight cough, "Leni, honey, how do you feel? I mean, I know how I felt all nine times, but you're...well, you."
"I'm okay, mom. I just...I just want her to be born already. I'm not looking forward to the pain, but I am looking forward to, like, meeting her. I...haven't even thought of a name. Should I be the one to name her, or you?" Leni asked, biting her lip. She wanted to name her daughter, but Rita would be the one she would call mom.
Rita leaned over and stroked Leni's silky blonde hair, "I think you should name her. Just one...request. Please pick a name that starts with an 'L'. All my children have names that start with 'L'...so naming her that way would be perfect."
"I don't know...I never thought of what to name her, really. I just know that...well...I wanted to, even though she's going to be your daughter," Leni sighed and took a bite of dumplings and a roll.
Lucy sighed in boredom and stared through Ruth's patio door, which was in the dining room. She had what looked like a dead garden, except for some brilliantly colored flowers, ranging from pale to bright pink, on what looked like a leaf-less dead stem.
"Aunt Ruth...what kind of flowers are those? Are they fake? I've never seen anything like it before," said Lucy, pointing at the dead stems topped with brilliant pink flowers.
Ruth looked at what Lucy was pointing at and smiled, "Oh, those are special flowers. Very special indeed. They seem to die off in the early summer. They sprout beautiful and vibrant leaves for a few months, and then start to wilt and look as if they're dying. Around August, surprising everyone who doesn't know about them, those beautiful pink flowers appear. I love them."
Lucy smiled. She liked flowers, not just because they were a large part of funerals, but because they represent life and death...and eventually birth and rebirth. Light and dark. Even Lucy needed a break from the darkness, and flowers were part of that break.
"What are they called?" asked Lucy, wanting to plant some of her own around the Loud house.
"They have several names, but the most common is 'Surprise Lily'. If you would like, I can dig a lily up for you to take home and plant at your house. The lilies spread rather quickly and the bulbs are very hardy," Ruth chuckled, "My cats love them for some reason. I think the sudden appearance of the bright flowers from what looks like a dead plant shocks them and they're curious. Curious as a cat!"
"I would love one. Thank you, Aunt Ruth," Lucy smiled again. She had smiled more today than she had in the last month, she thought.
"Lily..." said Leni, thoughtfully, "Surprise Lily. It's perfect. It's wonderful." Tears welled in her eyes.
"What is, dear?" asked Rita, worried about her daughter.
"Her name, mom. Lily. That's it. She's like the flowers. Appears when you least expect it, looking to be nothing but something that will cause problems...but in the end turns out to be something amazing. Something so beautiful."
"That's wonderful. Such a beautiful name, Leni. Such a wonderful inspiration. We'll definitely have to plant some of these around our house. The baby...Lily...is probably going to ask where her name came from someday," Rita smiled and reached over to hug Leni.
Leni nuzzled her mother's shoulder, smiling with relief. She had finally picked a name for her daughter. One she and Rita both liked. A perfect name. For a perfect little girl. No matter what, even if the doctor said something was 'wrong' with Lily, she would always be perfect in her mother's eyes. Both of her mothers', Leni knew. Little Lily would bloom in a few days or weeks, and she would see her parents and siblings for the first time. A surprise Lily, for everyone.