Chapter 25 – Summer's Here
An Imperfect Life
Wednesday, June 12
"You have your phone, right?" Owen fretted as his 14 year old daughter rolled her eyes outside airport security.
"Daddy," Olivia exhaled deeply, "I'll. Be. Fine."
Amelia swept a section of Livie's hair behind her ear, "Red, this is a big step. You're flying alone, and we're a little anxious. Humor us, ok?" Meanwhile, Owen looked on with angst as if he were about to run and buy himself a ticket so he could accompany Olivia to LA.
With as much patience as she could muster, which was minimal, Olivia gazed upward and reassured her parents, "Guys… I'll go through security, walk to Gate D-12, get on the plane to LA, fly to LA, follow the signs toward baggage claim and look for Nolan or Lissa just outside security. No. Big. Deal. I can handle it."
Forcing a grin to overpower his overly-fretful frown, Owen caught Amelia's eyes and suggested with a twinkle in his eye, "I think we've just be told off."
"Daddy…" Olivia begged, embarrassed and acting as if everyone in the airport could hear her over-protective father.
"Livie," Owen mimicked before raising his eyebrows and reminding his daughter that he would always be her father. "Listen, kiddo, until you are 40, I have the right to protect my girl and worry about you to an unreasonable degree. It's my job."
Olivia attempted to receive his words with grace and love, although internally she felt nauseous. She wanted to scream that she was competent and fully able to travel solo. At the same time, she knew that any sort of protest or disrespect would drastically change her summer plans in a heartbeat and that she'd find herself at home in her bedroom rather than on her way to Los Angeles. Now was the time to be sweet – to be Daddy's little girl, not Mommy's little monster.
With distress written on her face, Amelia glanced at the clock and declared, "You need to get through security, Livs. Now you have everything? Our note, the medical release for Nolan and Lissa, your plane ticket, your passport?"
"It's all in the front pocket of my backpack, Mom, right where you stashed it," Olivia reassured her. Amelia opened the section and double-checked the documents.
"And you'll call or text when you're at the right gate and when you get on the plane?" Amelia confirmed.
Owen added, "And remember to talk to a flight attendant if you feel uneasy about anyone or anything."
"I know, I know," Livie smirked. "I love you guys," she offered as she wrapped her arms around Amelia and kissed her mom's cheek.
"Be good," Owen urged as he hugged his daughter and resisted the urge to pick her up. "Same rules at Nolan's as at home, right?"
"Love you, Daddy," Olivia whispered as she eased her embrace and ignored his question. She threw on her backpack and began to wheel her bag toward security.
Grasping one another's hands firmly, Owen and Amelia stood still as their not-so-little girl stepped away. Horrified that they remained in place and watched like hawks until she was through the body scanner, Olivia offered a final small wave before turning toward the gates and heading out of sight.
"She'll be fine," Amelia stated plainly without moving.
Owen wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed her temple, "She will." Determined to sound as if he were attending to Amelia's needs, he offered, "Should we grab a bite to eat before heading back to work?"
"There's a place over there where you can see all the planes landing and taking off," Amelia pointed out.
With a small chuckle, he responded, "We could eat lunch and watch Liv's plane take off." Amelia nodded as the two walked hand in hand to the restaurant. Clinging to one another, they found strength in each other's grasp.
After being seated at the window, with a clear view of Livie's gate, Amelia stirred her soda mindlessly. "And tomorrow, we'll do this all over again."
"But it's Ryder. That won't be so tough," Owen reassured her, projecting his own feelings onto the situation. For him, letting go of Olivia was far more painful than seeing Ryder off.
"Exactly," Amelia frowned as she glanced at her husband, "It's my baby bear."
Laughing, Owen rubbed Amelia's hand with his thumb, "I'm sure he'd love to hear you call him that."
She smirked, painfully aware that her babies were growing up. Staring at the table, she shared with distress, "I miss the days of holding their hands and teaching them how to cross the street. I'm not sure I'm ready for them to be crossing the country, and, hell, crossing the ocean to England."
"And yet back then, we couldn't wait for them to become more self-reliant and independent," Owen mused as he gazed at the runway.
"Well, we were wrong," Amelia declared with a playful grin. Owen brought Amelia's hand to his lips and tenderly kissed it.
~~~~~~~~~~~``'
After texting her father that she was at the gate and then texting that she was seated on the plane with a row to herself, Olivia let out a sigh of relief as she turned off her phone. The sheer surge of freedom pulsed through her veins, empowering her to feel mature and grown. She was on her own, completely unsupervised for the flight to Los Angeles. She was tempted to run up and down the aisles of the plane in celebration; however, she was far too mature for such childish behavior.
When her movie concluded on her phone, Livie heard the Captain announce that they were beginning their descent into LA. She raised the window shade and admired the view as they approached the runway. Living with Nolan and Lissa for two months would be wonderful. She anticipated being their equal, not a little girl in need of care. When she returned to Seattle, she anticipated showing her parents how much she'd grown up. Her dream of her upcoming experience in the big city would soon encounter reality. How different the two would be remained to be seen.
The airplane landed smoothly and Olivia dutifully sent a text to Owen to let him know she made it to Los Angeles. A response came within seconds, with hugs and kisses filling the screen. If anyone else had seen it, Olivia would have been horrified. Instead, she slid the phone to her mouth and kissed it as she thought about her daddy and how much she'd miss him. Of course, she'd miss her mom and the Littles as well; however, Daddy was the key person in her life. Even if she felt conflicted at times about being his little girl and even if she had recently begun to test his boundaries, she treasured him deeply.
Predictably, Lissa had arranged to leave work early so that Nolan could stay at his office. While he respected her job, they both knew on some deep, unspoken level that his career always came first. Arranging time off was not convenient for either of them, but both assumed Lissa would be the one to do so.
Walking through the secured area and toward those waiting to greet friends and family, Olivia strode tall and with confidence. She had successfully managed to arrive in Los Angeles on her own. In her own mind, she had successfully conquered a rite of passage.
"Look at you!" Lissa exclaimed as she hugged Olivia. "I swear you're at least three inches taller than a few weeks ago."
"No, I'm not," Olivia groaned as she rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Maybe two, then," Lissa insisted. "I think you've passed me up, Livs."
Olivia raised one eyebrow playfully and simply responded, "Hmm…could be." Lissa had grabbed Livie's backpack and the two were already proceeding toward the car. "What's first on the list?" Olivia inquired.
"I thought we'd head home and drop off your bags. No checked luggage, right?" Lissa confirmed before they stepped outside. Olivia nodded. Lissa continued, "The box Amma sent down arrived yesterday. That was smart – to send something down instead of dealing with baggage."
"It was Miss Lynne's idea. She actually did all the work. I don't know why Mom's name was on it," Olivia declared with the slightest hint of resentment.
Lissa registered the tone, but did not comment. Instead, she continued to answer Olivia's question, "After we stop at the house, I thought we'd take a ride into the city. We can bum around a little until Nolan's finished and then have dinner downtown."
With a shrug, Olivia agreed, "Sounds good."
"The realtor is showing the house this afternoon, so we can't be there. I figured downtown might be a fun adventure."
"Sure," Olivia responded.
"We have a bunch of options. There's a cool market on Olvera Street with lots of little booths. Grand Park is beautiful and has botanical gardens. We could hang out outside. There's also a really sweet bookstore downtown that has tons of new and used books and a bunch of funky art or we could head to the Fashion District – sometimes there are some great deals on clothes and there's also a fashion museum in that area. What sounds good to you?" Lissa inquired after offering various options.
"The Fashion District," Livie responded with excitement.
Once their destination was determined, the two stopped by the house before heading into the city. As Lissa made a quick phone call, Olivia wandered into what had previously been designated and decorated as the nursery. Instead of a crib and changing table, a twin bed and dresser occupied the space. Next to the dresser was an antique rocker that had come from the Tremblay house in Victoria. Olivia sensed that she'd seen it before, but couldn't pinpoint where that might have been. As one would expect, Lissa had fresh flowers and an understated lace doily on the dresser along with a bevy of small picture frames adorning the surface. A picture of Nolan, Ryder, and Olivia's great grandparents hung on the wall next to an intertwined T and H ironwork that Nolan had custom ordered for Lissa at some point in the past.
All signs of the room ever having been intended to be used as a nursery were stripped away. The paint had been changed to a soft taupe and the overhead ceiling fan had been replaced with a simple fixture. A simultaneously eerie and sad feeling enveloped Olivia as she thought about the niece she'd never met and the other niece or nephew nobody discussed. Stepping closer to the dresser, Olivia admired the various pictures. An early picture of Nolan and Lissa at about age 12 sat beside a wedding photo. Near those, a picture of the whole family at Nolan's graduation was encased in a larger frame. With a trembling hand, Olivia picked up a picture of Nolan, Lissa, and Karina that she had never seen. As she studied it, Lissa walked in.
With a reserved smirk, Lissa offered, "You're welcome to take all those down if you want to use the space for your own stuff. Feel free to make this your room."
Unsure how to proceed and uncomfortable holding the frame, Olivia hesitantly put the picture back on the dresser. Apologizing, but not sure why, Olivia offered a soft, "I'm… I'm sorry."
Lissa walked further into the room and put her arm around her sister-in-law. "Sorry about what?" She picked up the picture and smiled, commenting, "This is one of my favorite pictures of all time." Softly, Lissa ran her forefinger over the image of Karina and softly said, "She was so tiny and delicate. So, so beautiful."
"I wish I could have met her," Olivia admitted.
Squeezing Livs in a side hug, Lissa replied, "Me, too, Livs."
~~~~~````'
Before long, the girls had amassed a collection of shopping bags and exhausted themselves in the Fashion District. Lissa had only purchased one item, a dress, because she was keenly aware that she could only move a limited amount to England. Livie, on the other hand, was enthralled with the bargains and beautiful outfits.
As the two sat outside Nolan's office building on the cement lip of a fountain, they sipped on Starbucks drinks and chatted about their afternoon adventures. Wearing well-shined shoes, a dark red tie, a crisp white shirt, and a grey suit, Nolan approached with the beginnings of a 5 o'clock shadow. He signaled to Olivia to stay quiet as he snuck up on Lissa from behind. He wrapped his arms around his wife and smothered her with kisses as she reacted. Her initial shrieks transformed quickly into giggles as she turned toward her husband and returned his sentiments. With admiration and joy, Livie looked on and admired the connection Nolan and Lissa shared.
Nolan stepped away from Lissa after he greeted her and walked over to his sister. Although Owen could not have gotten away with it, Olivia was far from embarrassed about her big brother picking her up and grabbing her in a bear hug in public.
"Holy hell, Red, look at you!" Nolan admired. "You look fantastic."
With her trademark smirk, Olivia sounded confidently, "Thank you."
"Actually," Nolan mused as he stared deeply at his sister, "You look exactly like Mom. It's kind of mind-blowing."
Olivia received Nolan's observation as a huge compliment and questioned enthusiastically, "Really?"
"Absolutely," he confirmed. "After dinner, we'll find some pictures at the house and you can see for yourself. Now what sounds good to eat?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
Thursday, June 13
The next morning, back in Seattle, Lucas was emotional and beside himself due to all of the recent changes. School had just ended, his sister was in Los Angeles, and his brother would be even further away all summer. Even worse, he had just learned that Amelia was unable to attend the end-of-the-year soccer dinner.
"But, Mama, I don't want Daddy to take me to the soccer banquet. I want you," Lucas whined as he followed Amelia. Her arms overflowed with toys, shoes, and random kid items as she tidied up the stairway.
"I know, Monkey. I really wish I could go," she sighed as she grimaced his way.
"How come the surgery can't change to another time?" Lucas complained.
Squatting down and meeting Lucas eye-to-eye, Amelia smirked and explained, "The lady has already waited three days for surgery. I'm sorry her operation is at the same time as the soccer banquet. If you give Daddy a chance, I think you'll have fun with him."
"Daddy's mean," Lucas whined. "And he doesn't like me."
"Lucas," Amelia sighed. "You know that's not true. Why would you say that?" She stood and proceeded into Ria's room to drop off some of the items collected from the stairs. Lucas dragged behind her in misery, determined to convince Amelia to attend the banquet with him.
"Mama…," he offered as he strung out the word over many seconds, "I want you there."
Walking from Ria's room toward Anna's, Amelia responded, "I know. Lucas, listen, you and Daddy will have a great time together. Think about it – you''ll have him all to yourself."
"Noooooo!" he persisted, nearing tears and increasing his volume.
With the worst possible timing, Owen, having overheard the tone of voice but unaware of the conversation, stepped into the hallway as he tied his tie. Snapping his fingers, he firmly instructed, "Mr. Hunt… enough."
"See?!" Lucas melted onto the floor in tears as he grabbed Amelia's pants, "He hates me."
Amelia glanced at Owen with desperation as Owen regarded her with impatience and whispered firmly, "Don't pick him up." Owen's opinion on fits was consistent and clear: ignore the drama and do not respond. Knowing more of the context, Amelia yearned to intervene. Lucas howled and cried desperately as Owen encouraged Amelia to follow him into the bedroom.
Leaving Lucas in the hallway, Amelia whispered an explanation, "O, he's overwrought. The last few days have had so much transition. Added to that, I just told him that I can't attend his soccer dinner tonight and that you're going instead."
"At this rate, he's not going either," Owen shrugged. "This is ridiculous."
"Mom?" Ryder called out over his little brother's screams. "Don't we need to go?"
"Soon," Amelia responded as she checked her watch. Looking at Owen, she added, "He's overwhelmed. This week is taking a toll on him."
"He's out of line," Owen declared as he grimaced.
Amelia returned to the hallway and bent down, "Monkey, let's take some deep breaths and go talk in your room. C'mon, sweetie."
Sniffling and slowing his sobs, Lucas wiped his nose on his shirt and dragged his feet as he followed his mother. His bottom lip stuck out as it quivered. "I wish Livie was here," he sniveled.
Looking at her baby, Amelia frowned, "You miss her?" Grasping his mama, Lucas fell into Amelia's chest and resumed his sobbing. "Oh, monkey, too many changes lately…" she empathized. As she rubbed his back and rested her cheek against his head, Amelia suggested, "Lucas, how about if you hang out in here for a few minutes until we leave?" Sadly nodding his head, he agreed. Amelia handed him a toy and he examined it as he lay on his bed sniffling and sucking his thumb while grasping his Puppy blankie.
Amelia stepped out and headed back to her bedroom. The second she stepped in, Owen stated with disappointment, "Mia, he can't get away with that behavior."
"Owen… he's six. His siblings are leaving for the summer. School just ended. There's no new routine yet. He'll be fine. He's allowed to have an off day," Amelia gently reminded her husband.
"He's almost seven," Owen corrected.
Approaching her husband, Amelia held her arms wide and then wrapped them around him. Sympathetically, she observed, "Tonight is important. If the two of you have fun, he'll be delighted. If you're a big meanie all day, you'll both be miserable. Don't you want to start off the summer with happy memories?"
"If that were my primary goal," Owen flirted, "you and I would steal away to the closet before taking Ry to the airport."
"I love when your mind is in the gutter," she smirked. His hands wandered onto her rear and squeezed as they kissed. With closed eyes and a growing bulge, Owen led his wife toward the wall and leaned her against it. She giggled between kisses as her hand slid on top of his jeans but below his waist. With hums of delight, Owen's noises indicated his joy.
"Oh, for God's sake, you two!" Ryder exclaimed as he invited himself into their room. "Aren't you too old for that? My eyes are burning."
"Then don't watch," Owen chuckled as he remained against his wife but pulled his lips from hers.
"You two are beyond gross," Ryder grumbled.
"What did you need, Ry?" Amelia inquired as she slid out from under Owen's embrace.
"I need your advice. Can you come see what I have packed and tell me if I have the right amount of casual and formal and shorts and slacks and all that?" he requested.
"Sure," Owen responded as he stepped toward the door.
"Umm… thanks… Dad," Ryder uttered. "Actually, I was asking Mom."
"Oh, of course," Owen forced a smirk, feeling like his sons didn't seem to have much use for him. He extended his arm, inviting Amelia to follow Ryder.
As Amelia exited the room, Owen's phone vibrated. He checked it to see a text from Nolan, that read, Hey, does she have a bedtime?
Knowing Nolan was referring to Olivia, Owen responded, Needs about 9 hrs a night. Is she giving you trouble?
She's fine. Last night was special – first night here, etc. Just wanted to get the routine established if there was one, Nolan explained. You good?
Taking Ry to the airport soon, Lucas is emotional, twins at dance camp, I'm off today, Owen shared. Nolan could hear the groaning as he read Owen's words.
Give Ry my best, Nolan asked. Love you, Dad.
Owen smiled as he was reminded that even his ultra-responsible, wise eldest needed him sometimes.
Amelia returned to the bedroom, wiping tears from her eyes. Owen's shoulders sagged in sympathy as he cocked his head and caught her eye, "You ok?"
"It's just hard to see him leave," Amelia confessed. "I guess this summer is good practice for next year when he enlists."
Owen pursed his lips and hugged his wife. He kissed the top of her head and assured her, "That's a year away, Mia. Let's get through today."
She gazed up at him and nodded slightly, "Yeah… let's get him loaded up."