You
"A ladybug, Liv," Jerry said as he walked in holding Ava.
"It's cute."
"It's cliché. You should have dressed her up as a pirate."
"She looks adorable."
"And she kind of matches my costume," Teddy threw out.
It was Ava's first Halloween and Olivia was currently trying not to be one of those moms who overdid it. She wanted them to all dress like the Incredibles but Fitz said he wasn't doing that and Karen was having a sleepover at her mother's house with a few friends because at thirteen, she was 'too old' for Halloween. So instead of a family of Incredibles, they had a ladybug and iron man.
"She wanted us to dress up like the Incredibles," Fitz appeared from literally out of nowhere.
Jerry laughed.
"It was a cute idea but some grumpy old man shut it down."
"You could have still done it."
"It makes no sense to do it with just the three of us."
"It makes no sense to do it with all of us either."
"You are no fun."
"Where's your costume, Liv?" Jerry asked.
"Upstairs."
"Go get changed so we can leave," Teddy walked Olivia towards the door, "I don't want all the good candy to be gone."
Olivia went upstairs to change into her Halloween costume. She was really excited because having child gave her a chance to dress up and have a little fun with the holiday. It was great to see Teddy's excitement and Ava's curiosity.
It took Olivia thirty minutes to do her hair and makeup to match her costume. When she was satisfied with her look, she made her way back downstairs.
Olivia was dressed as a mermaid. She had a floor length green mermaid dress with embroidery crystals on the top portion of the dress. Her hair was braided to the side in a fishtail braid and she had a headband with seashells on her head.
When Fitz laid eyes on her, his mouth fell open and for a moment, he found himself unable to speak.
"Damn," Jerry looked at Olivia.
"Ooh Jerry said damn," Teddy shouted loudly.
"Don't say damn," Fitz hit Jerry on the shoulder lightly without taking his eyes off of Olivia.
"Libby, you look pretty."
"Thank you."
"Are you a princess?"
"No. I'm a mermaid."
"Oh, like Ariel."
Olivia despised Ariel but since she was sure that Ariel was the only mermaid that Teddy knew so she just nodded her head.
"There is this girl in my class named Ariel and she lets everyone know that she is named after a mermaid. She's so annoying," Teddy looked around the room at the way everyone was looking at him, "What?"
"You have a girlfriend," Jerry said.
"Ew no. I'm too young for such big responsibilities."
Fitz let out laugh.
"What responsibilities?" Jerry asked, curious to see what his little brother thought having a girlfriend was like.
"You have to feed them, spend time with them, and sleep with them. Sometimes you shower together and play dinosaur."
"What's dinosaur?" Jerry asked.
"It's when your shower together and make dinosaur noises."
Olivia's looked at Fitz but he said nothing, looking unashamed.
"There was the one time dad and Olivia played dinosaur when they first got up."
"Did they now?" Jerry asked, finding humor in his brother's innocence.
"But Olivia said dad fell out of bed so maybe dad makes the dinosaur noise when he is in pain," Teddy was trying to make sense out of the lie that Olivia had told him, "If that's the case then Olivia hurts dad a lot."
Olivia buried her face in her hands, mortified.
"Really?" Jerry said amused.
"Yeah," Teddy nodded, "Dad is always like 'uh uh ah ughhhhh'," Teddy gave his best impersonation of what he thought was his dad's dinosaur noise and Fitz eyes got wide.
"I don't know if they are playing right because they talk sometimes but dinosaurs don't talk."
Ava looked at Teddy as if he had grown another head. Her attention was suddenly directed at Jerry because he laughed. Seeing him laugh made Ava start trying to make her own version of the dinosaur noise. It was a mix of a scream and a giggle. Then came Teddy trying to teach her the proper way to make a 'dinosaur noise'. Ava let out an, 'uh ah' in response to Teddy's second round of grunts and Jerry fell back in against the couch laughing.
Olivia guess it took corrupting his baby girl for Fitz to reach the level of being mortified enough to stop it because he finally spoke up once Ava joined in.
"Okay. That's enough," Fitz said.
"Oh God," Jerry wiped tears from his eyes as he tried to stop his laughter. "These two are hilarious."
Teddy didn't know what he said that was so funny but he just kept on with his line of thinking.
"Maybe dad has an old man back."
That brought a laugh out of Olivia and sent Jerry into another fit of hysterical laughter.
"My back is perfectly fine," Fitz said.
"I don't know. You make a lot of dinosaur noises. Maybe you need to drink some more milk. Mom says milk makes the bone strong."
"How did we get on this topic?" Fitz asked.
"We arrived here after Teddy talked about his commitment issues," seeing his dad's discomfort, Jerry decided to change the subject, "But we have more important things to discuss at the moment."
"CANDY," Teddy shouted.
"Yes. Who is ready to rack up on candy?"
"I am," Teddy said excited.
"Are you ready for candy, little bit?" Jerry asked Ava.
She smiled at him and clapped her hands excitedly.
"Here is the game plan," Jerry looked at Teddy, "This ladybug is the key to all of your candy dreams and desires," he held Ava out lion king style.
"She's cute, adorable, and young enough to not know what her share of the candy should be. Three lollipops, banana flavored Laffy Taffys, a reese cup, and a kit kat will be more than enough for this little bit. The rest of the candy shall be all yours."
Olivia and Fitz watched as Teddy's eyes lit up at the prospect of two bags full of candy.
"Your plan is to gyp my baby out of her candy?"
"She will never remember this moment," Jerry said confidently, "Karen never saw more than five pieces of candy a year for her first three Halloweens and she turned out fine."
Turning his attention back to his brother, Jerry asked, "Are you ready iron man?"
"I'm ready."
Jerry and Teddy made their way to the door. Olivia and Fitz shared a look and she held out her hand to help him up.
"Come on T-Rex. I know how your old man back can be."
Fitz groaned and Olivia laughed.
"You have traumatized my children. They will need therapy after this."
"Me? I did nothing at all. This is all you and your showers to save water and earlier morning quickies."
"I don't sound like a dinosaur."
"Nope. More like a grizzly bear."
"Go," he slapped her ass.
Olivia giggled as she walked to the door with Fitz following not far behind her.
It was the night before Ava's birthday and Olivia had been busy for the greater part of the evening on party prep stuff. Olivia had no clue how difficult it was to plan a small party for a one year old. Since Olivia is a working mom, she didn't know any other moms or have play dates for Ava. She felt bad that she didn't have her daughter interacting with other children around her age. Had it not been for Camille, Olivia would not have known that Ava had three little friends that she played with at the park sometimes.
It was going to be a small gathering of people but since there was only going to be five toddlers there, Olivia had to make sure everyone would enjoy themselves. Teddy and Karen were both inviting friends, there would be family members, so this had to be a kids party without being a kids party.
Olivia had been working on party favors when Fitz walked over to her.
"What?"
"We're pre-gaming it," Fitz pulled Olivia up out of her seat. She didn't say anything but he saw the question on her face. "One year ago today you were in the last hours of your pregnancy, screaming at me because Ava refused to come out."
"She was in there a long time, pressing on my bladder and trying to bend it like Beckham," she said unapologetically.
Fitz laughed but she was serious. If she ever had another kid, she hoped the baby would come when the child was due or even a little before. She didn't think she could handle going past her due date again.
"What goes into pre-gaming it?"
Fitz smiled at her but said nothing as he led her upstairs.
Olivia let out a gasp when they made it to their bathroom. The room was lit by about twenty five candles, different color rose petals were scattered around the room and inside of the bubble filled bathtub. There was a tray with a bottle of wine, two glasses, strawberries, and honey on it.
Fitz walked over and grabbed a wine glass, handing it to Olivia.
"How did you? When did you have time to do all of this?"
"You read three bedtime stories tonight and was a little preoccupied with party favors," he said simply.
Olivia felt a rush of emotions as she looked around the bathroom. It was all so beautiful, romantic even.
Olivia took a sip of her wine. She closed her eyes and allowed the wine to settle into her taste buds. This had been her first time drinking alcohol since her surgery. God, she missed wine.
"That's the face I was looking for."
Olivia smiled at him.
"I missed wine."
"I know you did. Hold your arms up."
Olivia took another sip of wine before sitting her glass down on the counter. She held her arms up and Fitz lifted her shirt over her head.
Olivia felt her heart race. She felt nervous and a little insecure. This was the first time since her surgery that he was going to see her naked. She had stretch marks and a long scar at her bikini line. The smaller scars had faded, only she—and maybe someone was studying her closely—would be able to pick out those scars, but for some reason they still bothered her. Olivia refused to kill the mood with her insecurities so she stood there and let him undress her.
After Fitz undressed her, he took off his pajama pants. Olivia couldn't stop staring at his dick. When she was finally able to pull her eyes away, Olivia was met by a smirking Fitz. She wanted to cry tears of joy, and relief. It had been a long two and a half months to get them back to this place. They had forgiven each other for the wrongs, slowly crawling back to one another but the last two and a half months really took a toll on Olivia. Her recovery had been the hardest because she didn't have Fitz there for her. He made sure Ava was taken care of and cooked for her, and made sure she took her medicine but because they were in a middle of a huge fight, they spent the first three weeks avoiding each other while allowing Big Jerry to be the middle man between them. The next two weeks after they finally talked, Fitz gave Olivia the time she said she needed. It was torture not having him there in the ways she needed him to be. It wasn't his fault, they were both climbing out of the holes they had dug themselves into but it was still hard.
Olivia hated how their lack of intimacy made her so unsure of herself. They were no longer fighting, and had shared a kiss for the first time in two months, just two weeks ago. They were slowly getting back to their jokey selves but she had not made a move. Olivia craved intimacy, and to just be connected with him but their argument had taken so much out of her, she was scared to reach out to him. Scared that seeing her scar would turn him off, or bring back that feeling of her not trusting him. Scared that it would bring them back to that place, the darkest place they had ever been, the place that almost broke them.
Olivia forgave him and knew Fitz didn't mean the words he had said to but those words still hurt. Now knowing about her mother's mental illness, Olivia had moments of questioning her own sanity. Questioning her behaviors that were similar to her mother's behavior. She hadn't told Fitz about the talk she had with her mom because they weren't there yet. They had to fix their relationship before they concerned themselves with any outside situations.
Fitz smiled at her, his hand rested on the side of her neck and he pushed her chin up with his thumb.
"You're so beautiful," he said simply, as if he knew that she needed to hear that.
Reaching his hand up the back of her neck, he tugged on her hair tie, pulling out her ponytail. Her hair fell past her shoulders as Fitz took her hand and walked her over to the bathtub.
They settled in the bathtub with her straddling his lap as she faced him. Olivia couldn't remember the last time they took a bath together. Was it when she was still pregnant? If it had truly been that long, Olivia would have talk Fitz in to doing it more often. Olivia loved the closeness, and how intimate it was to share a bath with Fitz. It was just this long, romantic, relaxing affair.
Fitz reached up and coupled her face, Olivia was anticipating a kiss but instead he used his thumbs to rub small circles on different parts of her face—the sides of her mouth moving up to the space between her upper lip and nose, then along her cheekbones, temples, and forehead.
Olivia closed her eyes under the feel of his fingers massaging her head. Fitz pecked her lips and Olivia opened her eyes.
"Hi," he smiled at her.
"Hi," she kissed him.
"I was going to wash your hair but I figured I would ask you before I just wet your hair," he said lightheartedly.
"Great choice," she laughed, "As you were, sir."
Fitz grabbed the bottle of shampoo and drizzled some into his hands. Rubbing his hands together, he began to massage the shampoo into her scalp. He gently used a combination of his palms and his fingers to apply pressure to her head as she worked her way through her hair.
"Can you believe that you're a mother to a one year old?"
"No. It seems like yesterday that we were just bringing her home and I was scared to leave her in her nursery by herself."
Fitz smiled at the memory of having Olivia falling asleep in the rocking chair in the baby nursery for the first three weeks at home. He constantly had to search for her in the middle of the night, and try to convince her that Ava would be fine sleeping in her nursery alone. The end result ended up being the bed in the nursery and a Pack 'N Play Playard for their bedroom. Ava spent almost every night for the first four months sleeping in the room with them.
"You've come a long way in the last year," Fitz began to rinse the shampoo out of her hair.
"I had great people helping me."
Olivia was truly astonished by her growth as a woman since becoming a mother. She was still very much a work in progress but to go from being completely terrified about failing as a mom to have caring for Ava come as easy as breathing to her, was amazing. Ava helped her grow so much.
Fitz traced small circle patterns up her spine to the nape of her neck. Holding on to the back of her neck, Fitz kissed her lips.
"Thank you, for all that you do for me and kids, and for giving me Ava."
"Thank you for giving me a family."
Fitz used his free hand to get reacquainted with her body. He cupped one of her breast, using his thumb to trace her nipple. Fitz leaned down using his mouth to shower her other breast with attention. He kissed and sucked on her breast, tracing her nipples with his tongue, pulling her nipples in between his teeth.
Olivia moaned, her hand reaching down to stroke his penis. Fitz grunted at the feel of her hand gripping him. It had been so long since he last felt her touch him in this way that Fitz forgot how much he needed it, how much he needed to feel her, how he needed to make love to her so that he could truly know they were okay. He needed to make her feel good after hurting her so badly.
Fitz fingers trailed down Olivia's body until he reached her center, inserting two fingers in her. Olivia instantly gripped his fingers and started to rock back and forth on his hand.
"That's it, mama. Take what you need," Fitz encouraged her as she rode his fingers.
"Fitz, I'm gonna come," Olivia moaned.
"I know. Come for daddy, baby," Fitz massaged her clit and watched as she came undone.
"Fuuuuck baby," Olivia leaned into his frame, bringing their lips together. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and he hungrily sucked on it.
He swallowed her moans as he held her close. His hands trickled water down her spine as he moved to grab her ass.
Fitz squeezed her ass as he kissed her tenderly, letting his tongue glide across her bottom lip before slipping his tongue back in her mouth.
"Fitz, I need to feel you, baby," she said in between kisses.
"Where?"
"Everywhere," she whispered against his lips.
Fitz knew exactly what she wanted. Olivia wanted to be engulfed by Fitz. After being without him for so long she needed to feel everywhere. She wanted to breathe him in and suck him up. She needed to connect with him.
Fitz lifted her up and Olivia eased down on to his penis with a hiss. She had forgotten how big he was. Olivia leaned forward so they were chest to chest. Fitz ran his finger along the crack of her ass, spreading her cheeks, Fitz inserted his middle finger in her ass.
"Go slow," Fitz instructed, pecking her lips.
Olivia nodded and started to move against him, slowly rocking back and forth. She knew that they both needed this. They both needed to slowly come back to one another. She needed to feel him inside of her. She needed to make love to him and feel him love her too.
Fitz thrust up, matching the moment of her hips. Fitz fingered her ass as he thrust became more powerful. Olivia held on tightly to his shoulder, her fingers in his hair as she rode his dick and his finger.
"Mmmm baby. You make me feel so good," Olivia's head fell back as she moaned.
Fitz licked along her neck up to her chin.
"I missed you like this," Fitz spoke against her neck. "Shit. That's it. Ride me just like that."
Olivia clenched around him, moving up and down on him. She picked up her pace, she was so close she was chasing her orgasming and trying to bring Fitz over with her.
"Oh my God. Oooh baby. Yessss," Olivia moaned.
"Fuck Liv," Fitz bit her neck.
Fitz thrust matched her as their pace picked up, both so close that they abandoned their slow lovemaking. Fitz dropped his hand between them, massaging her clit. Olivia closed her eyes and brought her lips down to his. Fitz sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, swallowing her moans as she began to come.
"Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuuuck," Olivia screamed, her body shaking against Fitz.
Fitz held her close, thrusting frantically.
"So fucking good," Fitz grunted.
One, two, three more thrust and Fitz was finding his release inside of her. He screamed her name into her neck.
Olivia looked down at him. His eyes were close, a look of complete bliss on his face. She kissed him—first on his lips and then random spots all over his face until he finally opened his eyes.
"I love you," she said, kissing his lips once more.
"I love you too."
The theme for Ava's birthday was A Year In A Flash: Ice Cream Bash. Olivia had gotten the idea from combining two party themes that she saw online. There was going to be lots of pictures of Ava and ice cream, who wouldn't love that?
Olivia had went all out with the ice cream theme. There were pictures of Ava throughout the first year of her life hanging in little ice cream cone decorations. There was an open ice cream bar with four different flavors of ice cream—vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and butter pecan, and sixteen toppings that you could choose from—strawberries, bananas, cheesecake squares, shortbread crumbles, graham crackers, brownie chunks, sprinkles, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, m&m's, marshmallows, funfetti cake chunks, frosting sauce, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and caramel sauce.
There was a table for ice cream floats. Since the party was taken place from one to three, Olivia had sandwiches cut in the shape of ice cream cones, a fruit tray, juice boxes, and little cupcakes.
The party favors were ice cream container with pictures of Ava on them. Inside of the containers were rice crispy treats in the shape of ice cream cones, a keychain with a picture of Ava on it, and little snacks. Olivia knew that she had went overboard but she didn't care, it was all worth it for her baby.
It was only 12:30 but there was already people downstairs. Olivia had just dressed Ava in her birthday outfit—a white onesie with Doc McStuffins, a large number one, and her name on it and a purple tutu with a matching headband.
"Ava Belle, my beautiful big girl," Olivia gave Ava kisses, "Happy birthday baby!"
Ava grabbed her mother's face and gave her kisses back.
"Thank you, my sweet girl."
Ava started talking in her baby babble and Olivia listened and nodded, talking back to her. Olivia picked up Ava and continued their talk as they headed downstairs.
Olivia was shocked the number of people that was there by the time she had come back downstairs. When she went upstairs to dress Ava, it had just been the normal people who lived in the house and a few of Teddy and Karen's friends. There was now at least twenty five people scattered throughout the ground level of their house.
"Doesn't she look adorable?" Big Jerry took Ava from Olivia. "Happy birthday Angel."
Ava smiled at her grandfather. She was such a loving baby who lived for the attention and smiles of others. Ava began talking to Big Jerry. Olivia saw Denise staring in their direction from her spot on the living room couch.
"Thank you for being the bigger person and inviting her," Big Jerry said.
"I couldn't really control her buying a plane ticket."
"But you could control her being here today."
Olivia hadn't invited Denise here. They had talked, well Denise talked and Olivia listened. Olivia told her that she couldn't stop her from buying a plane ticket. She was here now but as long as she kept her distance from Olivia, all would be well.
The doorbell rang.
"Don't leave my baby alone with her."
Big Jerry nodded and Olivia went to open the door. Olivia's mother and sister came with a group of people, two women who she didn't recognize, two toddlers, Olivia's grandmother, her uncle, and brother-in-law. To say that Olivia was shocked was an understatement. She hadn't seen her uncle since she was a little kid. Her uncle Harvey was in the military and moved around a lot over the course of his twenty year career. After his career was over he had settled in North Carolina until his father got sick and he moved back to Philadelphia to help his mother take care of him. After Olivia's grandfather passed away five years ago, Harvey and his mother Joyce moved to Boston. Olivia talked to her grandmother three times a year—Christmas and either one of their birthdays.
"Noni," Olivia hugged her grandmother, "I didn't know you were coming."
"It's great-granddaughter's first birthday. I wouldn't miss this."
Olivia greeted her mother and uncle and Camille introduced Olivia to the two women—Camille's best friend Ashleigh and her daughter Ariana and then there was Sasha and her son Liam. Ariana and Liam were Ava's friends who she hung out with while she was with Camille.
Olivia showed them all around and then left them to mingle while she went to get Ava so her grandmother could meet her.
Fitz saw Olivia before she saw him and he made his way over to her.
"I was just looking for her," Olivia took Ava from his hands, "My family is here."
"That's great."
"My grandmother and uncle came from Boston."
"You have family in Boston?"
"My mother's mom and brother. Come on, you have to meet them."
Olivia walked Fitz over and introduced him to her grandmother and uncle.
Upon meeting Ava for the first time, Olivia's grandmother kissed Ava on the cheek. The look that Ava gave almost made Olivia laugh. Ava look at her parents and then back at the woman holding her. Seeing her mother smile made Ava smile. She didn't know who this woman was but with both her parents there, she felt safe. Ava returned the kiss, grabbing Joyce's face and giving her an open mouth kiss on the cheek.
"Aww, she is so precious," Joyce looked at Ava, "Such a loving baby."
"She is. She loves kisses and making people laugh."
Ava started bouncing around, clapping her hands.
"Is she too much for you?"
"No, she's fine."
"She's an active baby."
"She has her older brother to thank for that."
Olivia heard Teddy call his name.
"Olivia, can Brandon and I have some ice cream?"
"What happened to your manners?" Fitz asked.
"Sorry," Teddy said, "Can we please have some ice cream?"
"You're supposed to excuse yourself when people are talking," Fitz looked at his son.
Teddy looked around, noticing the two new people for the first time.
"Sorry, again," he flashed a smile that reminded Olivia of his father. "Hello. I'm Theodore but everyone calls me Teddy," he introduced himself.
"Hello Teddy. I'm Joyce but most people call me Joy or mama. My granddaughter here calls me Noni."
"You're Olivia's grandmother?" Teddy asked.
Joyce nodded.
"Whoa," Teddy looked from Olivia to Joyce and back again.
Olivia already saw the question on his face.
"Let's get you guys some ice cream," Olivia said before Teddy could ask another question.
Olivia walked the boys away to go get them some ice cream.
"She must be really old if she's your grandmother," Teddy said once they were in the kitchen.
"She's in her eighties."
"Wow. That's older than grandpa Jerry."
"Yeah."
"I thought he was the oldest person in the world."
"No. Believe it or not, there are people out there who are one hundred years old."
Teddy looked as if his mind was blown by the fact that there were people out there in the world older than his grandfather.
Olivia watched the boys as they went down the line picking toppings for their ice creams. When they were done, Olivia instructed them to sit at the dining room table to eat.
She was wiping off the ice cream table to avoid a mess when she heard Denise's voice.
"You've been avoiding me today."
"There is really no reason for us to be around each other."
"I thought we could at least be civil."
"We are. Sometimes keeping your distance is the best way to be civil."
Denise was quiet for a moment.
"Thank you for letting me come today."
Olivia just nodded. She really hated this woman. It was best she be quiet or she might say something just because she didn't like her.
"This is a very cute setup. A creative theme. Ava looks beautiful."
"Thank you."
"I know that we didn't end off on a good foot and now is not the time for us to talk but I really appreciate you allowing me to be here today."
Olivia remained silent. She didn't want Denise here, in her mind, she wasn't, that's why it was so easy for her to ignore the woman.
Realizing that she wasn't going to get anything from Olivia, Denise left the kitchen.
Olivia took a moment to compose herself. Olivia didn't realize how much Denise got under her skin. Even though she was trying to be nice, Olivia didn't like the woman because Denise was literally satan.
After grabbing a drink. Olivia left the kitchen to enjoy her daughter's birthday.
Fitz was going to propose to Olivia. He had brought the ring months ago but Maya's sickness and the fight between him and Olivia kept him from popping the question. Their fight had been awful, the worst thing that had happened within their relationship. Fitz had to take a step back and really look at his behavior. There was still guilt there for the words he said to her but they were working on their relationship.
Fitz was serious, when he said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life proving to Olivia how much he loved her. He had learned the hard way, the pain that he could cause by allowing himself to get that angry. Despite his cruel words, his anger, and her lying to him, Fitz knew more than ever that he wanted to be with Olivia for the rest of his life. Yes, she was sometimes impossible to deal with but almost losing her put reality in his face, and he would rather take a million years of her impossible then one day without her. They were in a good space now and Fitz didn't want to wait any longer.
Now that Fitz was ready to take the next step, he just had to talk to his kids. He figured they wouldn't have a problem with it but he still wanted to talk to them. One of the biggest problems with his divorce was that although, he knew he was doing what was best for himself and his children, he didn't communicate with them and let them know what was going on. Karen had still thought he would be coming back home after being separated for two years. Mellie and him had both dropped the ball on that. Mellie because she was in denial, and him because he was trying to shelter his kids. It led to more confusion about their situation. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.
Fitz had taken Jerry, Karen, and Teddy to the movies and now they were seated at Big Jerry's dining room table. All eyes were on Fitz. It was now or never.
"Are we going to sit here staring at each other until it's time to go back to mom?" Karen asked.
'He really had some smart ass kids,' Fitz thought.
"I wanted to talk you guys and get your opinion on something," Fitz started, "I brought a ring and I plan on asking Olivia to marry me."
Three pairs of eyes stared at him blankly. Fitz didn't know how to read their expressions.
"How do you guys feel about that?"
Jerry shrugged, he really didn't care. Teddy's brows knitted together, he was in the processes of thinking, or maybe he was just confused. Karen was the first to speak.
"I feel like it is about time," Karen started but never one to bit her tongue around her father, she quickly elaborated, "Do you know how hard it is explaining who Liv is to people? Girlfriends are nobodies. Fiancée is good, stepmom is better. It's easier to say that is my stepmom vs. my dad's girlfriend. It seems very informal and dismissive."
"You are so damn dramatic," Jerry shook his head at his sister.
"Ooh," Teddy started after hearing Jerry say the word 'damn'.
Fitz looked at his son.
"My bad," Jerry said.
"I am not dramatic. Liv and I do a lot of things together and at first it was weird introducing her to people. 'Oh, yeah this is Olivia. My dad's girlfriend and my little sister's mom. Yeah, she's cool. I've known her my whole life. No, she's not a homewrecker. My parents are divorced now'," Karen said.
Fitz, Jerry, and Teddy stared at her.
"What's a homewrecker?" Teddy asked.
"It's nothing you need to know about," Jerry said quickly before looking at Karen, "You've never had to say all of that."
"I did. It is the reason Meghan and I aren't friends anymore. She had it in her mind that Olivia was a homewrecker because she heard her mom saying something about how a two decade relationship was down the drain because dad couldn't keep it in his pants. That's what she told everyone. I really think that she was mad because I hung out with Brianna more than her but for whatever reason, Meghan and her mom went around telling folks Liv was a homewrecker."
Fitz was shocked hearing this. He wondered was Carla worried about his marriage when he fucked her in her car.
"Keep what in his pants?" Teddy asked.
"Nothing," Fitz said.
Fitz wondered if he should have talked to his kids individually.
"But it wasn't a lot of people. Mainly the soccer moms and housewives who have nothing to do with themselves. I told Meghan that her mom should get a new hobby that doesn't involve gossiping about people she don't know and sleeping with older men to sponsor her lifestyle. Needless to say the friendship ended there."
Fitz would have laughed out loud if he wasn't supposed to be a mature adult. Karen definitely got her—at times—lethal mouth from him. They could really go for the jugular and tear folks down with their words.
"So a homewrecker is a bad thing?" Teddy asked.
"Yes," Karen nodded.
"Olivia is not a homewrecker," Teddy stated adamantly, "She is nice and she cooks and watches animal planet with me. She treats me like a big boy instead of a baby like you guys. Olivia is not a homewrecker. You guys are homewreckers," Teddy pointed at every single person at the table with him.
Yeah, he should have talked to them separately. His older kids didn't know how put a muzzle on it. Jerry for the most part was laid back but the older he got, the more he talked to and engaged his father in conversations like a man would. He was seventeen and going into adulthood so Fitz let him come into his own voice. Karen being the only girl in the household for years with Fitz, Jerry, and Teddy, she made sure she was always heard. If nothing else, she was going to give you her opinion. Teddy was now embracing his newfound voice since becoming a big bother and turning five, he spoke his mind and asked so many questions. More questions than Fitz ever remembered.
"That's not how it works, Ted," Karen said.
"You said a homewrecker was a bad thing."
"It is but Jerry and I can't be homewreckers."
"Why not?" Teddy asked.
"A homewrecker is someone who breaks up a marriage," Karen tried to explain.
"So dad is a homewrecker," Teddy stated trying to make sure his understanding of the word was correct.
"Yeah, sure, will go with that," Karen said.
Fitz shot her a look and she just shrugged. They had gotten so far off topic.
"Dad is not a homewrecker and neither is Liv. Homewrecker is a word that you will not understand the meaning of until you are an adult. That's why I said you don't need to know about it. Just know that when it is said, it is meant to be a bad thing," Jerry clarified for Teddy.
"Okay," Teddy nodded, grateful for his brother's attempt to explain the word to him. "Is Olivia going to be my new mommy when you marry her?"
"No. Your mom will always be your mom."
"Oh," Teddy sounded disappointed. "Are you sure that Olivia won't be my new mom?"
"Yes," Fitz nodded, "She would be your stepmom. Kind of like a second mom."
"That's cool," Teddy looked at his dad, "When are you marrying Olivia so she can officially be my second mom?"
"I have to ask her first but I wanted to talk to you guys before I asked her to make sure that you were okay with it."
"Why wouldn't we be okay with it?" The look on Teddy's face registered as disgust, confusion, and annoyance.
"Duh, dad. Liv is already family. You have known her for like a gazillion years. I can't remember a time when she wasn't in our lives. You play dinosaur with her. Just go ahead and make it official already."
"What's dinosaur?" Karen asked.
"Nothing," Fitz was not trying get his sons started.
"When are you going to propose?"
"Soon."
"Soon when? What date? What's your plan?" Karen looked at Fitz as she rattled off questions.
"I don't have it planned out yet."
"Flash mob," Karen suggested.
"No. That's a horrible idea," Jerry said.
"It's cute. Did you see the one on YouTube in Disneyland?"
"I did but that's not for dad and Liv. They are way too old for that."
"How did you propose to mom?"
"We went ice skating but she didn't know how to ice skate so I was teaching her. Halfway through the lesson I skated away from her and ended up getting off the ice. It took her like fifteen minutes to me. She was pissed at me for leaving her out there and didn't want to skate anymore. When I was helping her take off her skates, I just asked her."
"That's such a mean thing to do but it's beautiful."
"I have an idea," Jerry said, "It's not a flash mob but you will have to perform."
ONE MONTH LATER
Olivia couldn't believe that today was her last day at her job. The last three months had been extremely crazy, between surgery, recovery, and working to find her replacement, Olivia felt like she hadn't had the time to really process all the changes that were happening in her life. She wouldn't be starting her new position until the new year so she had a three break ahead of her. Olivia hoped she could use that time to get settled because the last few months have been jam packed.
Olivia looked up when she heard the knock on her office door. She smiled when she saw Fitz.
"Hey babe."
"Are you almost ready?" He pecked her lips and when he pulled away he saw her slight confusion. "We're supposed to be meeting Camille and Michael at the karaoke bar in an hour."
Olivia looked at the time on her computer screen. It was 6:48 and it had completely slipped her mind that her and Fitz were supposed to meet Camille and Michael tonight.
"Is it too late to cancel?"
Fitz nodded.
"I'm not really dressed for a night out."
"You look fine."
In black and white striped sweater, black ponte pant, and knee high boots, Olivia was ready to go from work to a night out but she wanted and needed rest. Just a relaxing night in.
"You know Camille trying to go out as much as she can before the baby comes," Fitz reminded her.
The last few months had been so hectic and flew by so quickly that Olivia often forgot that her sister was just three months away from being a mom. Camille's pregnancy was a joy to see. Camille was an adorable pregnant woman. At six months, she was doing everything that Olivia hadn't done in her pregnancy. She had a pregnancy photo shoot, created a baby book, and just two weeks ago she had a gender reveal party. It was a cute little gathering of family and friends. Camille was living out her excitement for the world to see. No matter how tired Olivia was, she couldn't deny her little sister.
Olivia shut down her computer and started gathering her things to leave.
"What's all of this?" Fitz asked as he pointed at the boxes and bags on her couch.
"A few people got me going away presents. I told them I didn't want a party so they took me to lunch and gifted me some things."
"That was nice," Fitz looked around the office. It still looked like a full office. Had it not been for missing photos, you wouldn't even be able to tell she was leaving.
"It's a shame we never had sex in here."
"What type of person do you take me for? This is place of business, sir. I don't know what you're into but I try to conduct myself as a lady."
"Yeah, okay. Is this the same lady who has had sex in my office eight times?"
"A lady never tells."
"We're going to break in your new office. I'm sure of it."
Fitz grabbed the boxes that sat on the couch and Olivia grabbed her bag and they were out the door.
Olivia had forgot all about being tired. From the moment her, Fitz, Camille, and Michael entered the karaoke bar, it had been non-stop laughs and fun times. The atmosphere in the bar was very friendly and open. With each performer stepping up to the microphone, there was a crowd to cheer and sing along with them. There were even a few people who went on stage to serve as background dancers to the singers.
Under peer pressure, Olivia had been added to the karaoke performer list. After watching four other performers, Olivia's name was first to be pulled out of the fishbowl to perform. Everyone at her table had signed up to perform and Olivia prayed that she wouldn't be first but such was her luck.
Olivia walked up to the stage and confirmed her song choice. She was nervous but with two drinks in her, she was more than ready to let go.
"Your love is wonderful, yeah. And I don't wanna lose you. So, baby, soon as I get home, I'll make it up to you. Baby, I'll do what I gotta do. Soon as I get home, I'll make it up to you. Baby, I'll do what I gotta do. Sleepless nights and lonely days are all that fill my head all of the time, oh baby. But all I do is think about the way you make me feel cause, baby, this love is so real. Soon as I get home, I'll make it up to you. Baby, I'll do what I gotta do. Soon as I get home, I'll make it up to you. Baby, I'll do what I gotta do," Olivia sang the first verse and chorus of the song while looking at lyrics.
Feeling more confident from the crowds reaction, Olivia took the second verse and chorus with a little more passion. She looked at the crowd, specifically Fitz as she sang, "If I try to spend some time with you to make you happy, would you feel better? And if I could, with you, I would be forever, forever in love, so in love. Making love all through the night, we could hold each other tight. I can take away the pain if you would only let me. Just forget about the past cause I want to make it last. Baby, I apologize cause, boy, I really need you in my life. Soon as I get home, I'll make it up to you. Baby, I'll do what I gotta do. Soon as I get home, I'll make it up to you. Baby, I'll do what I gotta do."
By the time Olivia took the bridge and final chorus, Olivia felt like she belonged on stage. The crowd away of hyping her up, especially the woman in the front row singing along loudly with her.
Olivia took her final bow to cheers and stepped off the stage.
"Way to kill it, Liv," Michael held his hand out and Olivia slapped it as she took her seat.
Two more performers were called to the stage and then Michael got called up and Camille walked up on stage with him.
"What song are you doing?" Olivia asked Fitz.
"Lady In My Life."
"You can't do Michael Jackson."
"Why not?"
"Because he is Michael Jackson."
"I'm doing Michael Jackson."
"You don't do Michael, Prince, Sade, or Stevie unless you are an actual singer. I don't want you to embarrass us. I have set the bar pretty high."
Before Fitz could respond, they heard Michael start off with, "My mind is tellin' me no but my body, my body's tellin' me yes..."
"Oh my God, they're not," Olivia laughed.
"They are," Fitz chucked before cheering them on.
Olivia and Fitz sat their table watching as Michael sang R. Kelly's Bump and Grind to his wife live on stage.
"See I know just what you want and I know just what you need girl. So baby bring your body to me (bring your body here). I'm not fooling around with you, baby. Baby my love is true (with you) with you is where I want to be. Girl, you need someone, someone like me to satisfy your every needs."
Camille turned around and grinding up against her husband.
"I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind. I don't see nothing wrong, hey baby, hey. I don't see nothing wrong (I don't see nothing wrong) with a little bump and grind. I don't see nothing wrong, hey."
The crowd completely lost it when, belly and all six months pregnant Camille dropped it and the slowly gyrated her hips as she stood back up right.
"Woo," Fitz cheered.
"Oh my God! That's my sister," Olivia cheered through her laughs.
Michael and Camille managed to get through a very freaky, yet cute performance of Bump and Grind. The crowd loved it and they were met by cheers and actually took a few pictures with folks on their way back to their seat.
"You guys were amazing," Fitz said.
"I'm not a singer so I figured I'd back him,"
Camille was still dancing.
"And back him up, you did," Olivia said.
"I thought it was very fitting considering that bumping and grind got us here," Camille rubbed her belly.
Six more people performed including a very entertaining performance to the Thong Song. So far Bump and Grind and the Thong Song had been the crowd favorites.
Olivia looked at Fitz.
"Did you sign up?"
Fitz nodded.
"You sure? It doesn't look like there is any more names in the bowl."
Fitz nodded and finish the last of his drink as the DJ was announcing the last karaoke performer. Fitz was name was called and got up and headed to the stage. As with every other performer he confirmed his song and stepped to the center of the stage.
"We had some really great performances here tonight. I don't know how I'm going to top Bump and Grind and the Thong Song."
That earned a laugh from the crowd.
"I'm a little nervous," Fitz admitted, "I promised my girlfriend that I wouldn't sing Lady In My Life. She set the bar high with Soon As I Get Home and she doesn't want me embarrassing her. I can't make any promises on that front but here goes nothing."
When the intro to Let's Get Married remix start playing, Olivia froze in her seat.
"See first of all, I know these so called playas wouldn't tell ya this but I'ma be real and say what's on my heart. Let's take this chance and make this love feel relevant. Didn't cha know I loved ya from the start? (yeah) When I think about all the years we put in this relationship. Who knew we'd make it this far? When I think about where would I be if we were to just fall apart and I can't stand the thought of losin' you."
Midway through the first verse, two women joined him on stage and started dancing in the background.
"Is that Nina?"
"Meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't gettin' no younger. We might as well do it. Been feeling you all the while girl. I must confess. Girl let's just get married. I just wanna get married. Meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't gettin' no younger so you might as well do it (yeah). Been feelin' you all the while girl. I must confess. Let's get married. Baby let's get married," Fitz sang as the two women danced in the background.
Olivia turned to her sister just as Michael stood up and made his way to the stage.
"What is happening right now?" Olivia asked.
Camille said nothing and just pointed to the stage. When Olivia looked back at the stage, the women—one of whom Olivia knew was Nina was joined on stage by Michael and Jerry. The four danced as Fitz sang.
"Said I done it all and frankly girl I'm tired of this emptiness. I wanna come home to you and only you. Cause making love to just anyone ain't happening. I just gotta be with you. Do you think about us finishing something we started so long ago? I wanna give you my all. Do you think about maybe us having some babies? Come on won't you be my lady? Forever girl..."
When he sung the part about having babies, their baby appeared. All of a sudden Karen was on stage holding Ava with Teddy by her side.
"What's going on across the seas? It ain't nothing. I ain't fronting. Shorty coming with me. Now I done already gave you the keys to the Range and your last name about to change. Now you Mrs. Grant. Gotta a betta living What a difference the reverend made. I used to be the snake type. Hanging out late night. Girl you made me change my life. Ever since you met me. Keys to the Bentley. Now they call you the doctor's wife. I'm the type of guy that take you out and buy that. Ring with the rock that'll break your arm. Playa won't try that. Now you can't deny that. Triple dub rev to the run dot com," Fitz rapped Rev Run's verse and for the first time Olivia's mind registered the crowds reaction.
Olivia turned to her sister who simply redirected her attention to the stage.
Jerry approached her first and handed her a bouquet of roses and calla lilies. Then Karen who walked over with Ava and Teddy.
"We have a very important question to ask you, Liv," Karen said as they stepped back and lined up in order.
Each of the kids shirts had one word on it and with them in a line it spelled out, 'Will You Marry Us?'
Olivia couldn't breath. Was this really happening to her? Was Fitz proposing to her?
Olivia read their shirts repeatedly. She was in shock and didn't notice Fitz walking off the stage coming towards her.
"Meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't getting no younger. We might as well do it. Been feeling you all the while girl. I must confess. Girl let's just get married. I just wanna get married. Meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't getting no younger. We might as well do it. Been feeling you all the while girl. I must confess. Let's get married. All I want you to do is meet me at the altar in your white dress. We ain't getting no younger. We might as well do it. Been feeling you all the while girl. I must confess. Girl let's just get married. I just wanna get married," Fitz sang as he walked towards her.
Kneeling before her, Fitz pulled out a wedding ring.
"What do you say, Livvie? Will you marry me?"
Olivia looked at the ring and then at Fitz. She opened her mouth to say yes but no words came out. Seconds passed and finally she nodded her head, seeing at though her mouth at betrayed her. It took long seconds before she was able to speak.
"YES! Oh God. Yes. Yes. Yes," Olivia repeated the words for the seconds she was not able to speak.
Fitz put the ring on her finger and the whole bar erupted in loud screams and cheers.
Fitz pulled Olivia into his arms and kissed her. Everyone in the room seemed to disappear in Olivia's mind. The only thing that mattered in that moment was Fitz and her.