Chapter 25
A Pivotal Year – Oh, Daddy
Nolan almost 18, Lissa almost 18, Ryder almost 14, Olivia almost 11
Annabelle nearly 6, Victoria nearly 6, Lucas 4½
Saturday, December 18
At the breakfast table on a slow Saturday morning, cereal boxes were passed around the table and everyone picked out his or her favorite. Nolan and Lissa returned to their familiar, endearing and borderline-disturbing routine of silently tending one another. While Lissa poured milk for both her cup and Nolan's, Nolan filled both bowls with cereal. Working like a surgeon and scrub nurse in a well-rehearsed surgery, the synchronicity was evident.
Lucas, having learned over the years from watching Ryder and Nolan, joined the Shepherd-Hunt boy tradition of mixing a little bit of each cereal into one bowl.
"You do know you'll need to eat that creation you're making, right?" Owen asked with raised eyebrows and a grin.
"Mmm Hmm. This is what my brothers do. I wanna be like them," Lucas explained clearly.
Nolan glanced over at Ryder, "Such a brilliant prodigy."
"He's lucky to have us," Ryder nodded with certainty.
Other than the humble young males, yawns replaced the customary family banter at the morning table. With Nolan's return the previous day, Owen and Amelia suspended regular bedtimes so the kids could reconnect and play with their big brother. Olivia, determined to begin proving that she no longer needed a set bedtime as she neared 11 years old, tried to conceal her yawns. She pretended to cough and covered her mouth, then she dropped her fork so she'd have to bend down and retrieve it. Lastly, she stretched her neck so she was facing the windows and reported spotting a seal in the lake.
"You did not see a seal," Ryder groused as he outed his little sister. "You're just looking for a reason to yawn without being seen."
"I am not," Olivia grimaced as she shook her head.
Laughing, Ryder retorted, "Olivia, don't lie. Every time you do something unusual this morning, you yawn like a snake with an unhinged jaw."
"Daddy! Ryder just called me a snake," she whined beyond the reaction Ryder's words might warrant.
Owen peeked over his coffee mug as he swallowed a sip of coffee and chose to ignore the drama. Instead, with a perky tone, he inquired, "Who has plans today? What's up?"
Amelia shared, "Ry, Olivia and I are going shopping. We have two monkeys in the house who won't stop growing." In response, Olivia imitated a monkey as the littles roared with laughter and joined in the monkey moves and sounds.
"I wanna go to Forever 21 first," Olivia claimed.
"We can do that," Amelia agreed. "What about you, Ry? Where do you want to go?"
"Away…" he grumbled. Amelia let out a big breath and glanced at Owen. Ryder's attitude seemed to be worse each day. Sure, he was in his early teens, but his snarls and snark seemed to pervade every moment of his existence. Round one with teens, when Nolan was younger, had been more of an unpredictable up and down emotional roller coaster. So far, Ryder's same years were more like a fast-flowing water slide that headed only in one direction: down.
"Lissa and I thought we'd do a little Christmas shopping," Nolan offered in an attempt to revive the conversation.
"You want to ride with us to the mall?" Amelia perked up.
Nolan paused, wanting to be pleasant and not scoff in disgust. After smirking at Lissa, whose expression begged for him to decline, Nolan gently explained, "Well, Mom… we're buying presents for you and Dad. We don't want to take a chance that you'll see them ahead of time."
As she brought a bite to her mouth, Amelia innocently shrugged and suggested, "You could put your bags in the back and ours could go up front. We'll figure something out."
"Mia," Owen whispered. Amelia glanced up at her husband with confusion. Without another word, he placed his hand gently on her forearm and shared a silent signal that he'd explain later.
"Anyway," Lissa peeped, "what are you doing, twins?"
Looking toward her parents, who normally set the social schedule, Ria raised her shoulders and inquired, "What are we doing?"
"The little brigade will be stuck with Daddy," Owen smirked. Faking a stern and gruff voice and expression, he detailed, "We are not going to have any fun, there will be no laughing, and absolutely no snacks."
"Daddy!" Anna groaned as she slapped her hand onto her forehead, "You're being silly."
"He didn't say 'No Barbies'!" Ria pointed out with a giggle. "Lucas, you and Daddy have to play Barbies with us."
"Nuh uh," Lucas protested. "Me and Daddy are doing Legos. Right, Daddy?"
"How about if the employed Barbies build homeless Barbie a new Lego house?" Owen attempted.
With lowered brows and an expression that declared Owen was the nerdiest Dad ever, Ria grasped Anna's hand and shared, "Daddy…. Barbies don't live in Lego houses." Her tone of voice indicated that she was concerned she was disclosing surprising news.
As breakfast concluded, everyone went about their chores. The littles cleared the table, and Olivia wiped it down and put cereal boxes, milk, and other food away. Grudgingly and with great disgust, Ryder began the dishes. Nolan, no longer part of the regular routine, leaned over to Lissa. He wrapped his arm around her and whispered, "Let's give Pollyanna a break and take over the dishes."
Lissa smirked at Nolan's name commentary and agreed. She stood up and walked toward Ryder. Bumping into him on purpose, she ordered playfully, "Get outta the way, Mister. My man and I have this covered."
Looking at Lissa with a mixture of contempt and confusion, Ryder responded, "Huh?"
"We'll do the dishes," Lissa stated more clearly. "Go on. Feed your dogs and go about your day. Get out of our way."
Turning off the water, Ryder narrowed his eyes and skeptically considered Lissa's words. He slowly questioned, "What's the catch?"
Nolan interrupted with a smile, "No catch. It's called 'being nice,' Ry. We're being nice. Get the hell outta here."
"You guys are weird, but I'm not going to stop you," Ryder sighed as he shook his head and dried his hands with a dishtowel. He headed out to the garage to greet the only living beings in the house that he seemed to like.
Amelia, her hands full of unfolded blankets she'd gathered from around the house, called over to Lucas, "Mr. Man, come hold my hand. It's time for your half hour."
"My what?" Lucas questioned, honestly having forgotten about Amelia's creative consequence for the running loose at the airport.
"Remember?" Amelia asked mildly. "You and Ria ran away from Lissa yesterday…"
"Oh, yeah," Lucas responded as he stood up and walked toward Amelia. "What do I do now?"
"Since you couldn't hold Lissa's hand the whole time at the airport, you need some practice. We're going to hold hands for a whole half hour. If I do anything, you'll be right there with me," Amelia re-explained.
Without excitement, but also without an attitude, Lucas reached out his hand. He and Amelia attempted to find ways to collaboratively fold the blankets she'd collected. When those efforts became comical, Amelia had Lucas hold on to her t-shirt as she folded the blankets. Once the folding was complete, the duo returned to hand holding as Amelia straightened up sofa pillows and tidied the living room.
After fifteen minutes of the hand holding half hour, Owen came bouncing down the stairs in his ratty sweats and faded Army t-shirt. He surveyed the room and beamed, "Hey, Luke, come see Daddy. Let's play Legos."
Cherishing the rare invitation to have one-on-one time with his daddy, Lucas began to pull on Amelia's hand. She uttered, "Uh… uh…"
Taking a step back, he dropped his eyes to the ground and admitted to Owen, "I can't play right now."
Owen, not knowing about the hand holding discipline, walked over to Amelia and Lucas. Amelia had moved on to wiping the kitchen bar counter with her free hand. Kneeling down, Owen questioned, "Of course you can play Legos, Buddy. Let's make something cool… like a boat or an operating room." Nolan and Lissa, finishing the dishes at the kitchen sink, scoffed softly at the OR suggestion.
"He can't, Owen," Amelia flatly shared.
Owen stood up and looked at his wife with confusion, "Why not?"
"Why not, Lucas?" Amelia prompted the 4 year old.
"Because I runned away from Lissa at the airplanes yesterday. Now I gotta hold Mama's hand for a half hour," he admitted with a slightly pouty lip.
Mouthing his response, Owen's lips communicated, "Really?!"
"I get first round, remember," Amelia stated clearly. Owen nodded and walked off while running his hand through his hair. Amelia's creative discipline seemed ineffective to him. Besides, he'd really been in the mood for Legos. Now that he'd lost his playmate, Owen wasn't sure what he'd do. Like one of the kids, he wandered around the house aimlessly. Finally, he ascended the stairs and disappeared.
Around 10:00 am, the chores were complete. Amelia continued to drag Lucas around the house as she completed miscellaneous tasks. Lucas' boredom increased as the 30 minutes counted down. Ryder and Olivia were getting ready to head out to the mall. Owen kicked back in the comfortable chair in the Master Bedroom, and the twins played together in their bedroom. Nolan and Lissa, frustrated by the continuing rule about only hanging out together in public spaces of the house, sat on the living room sofa whispering and laughing as they held hands, softly stroked one another's cheeks, and slipped fingers into each another's hair. When the stars in their eyes began to dim, they headed to the mall where, ironically, they'd experience more privacy amidst the many shoppers. The quiet morning flowed along peacefully.
After a while, in anticipation of Lucas' freedom, Owen hopped up and retrieved some Legos from Lucas' room. He dragged the large Rubbermaid bin into the Master Bedroom and began to set up an area on the floor for some interlocking creations. The second Amelia knelt down and concluded the hand holding lesson, Lucas ran full tilt to his dad and jumped into his arms. "Let's play, Daddy, let's play!" he exclaimed.
"Buddy, don't get in trouble like that again… I had to wait sooooo long to play Legos," Owen shared.
Lucas patted Owen's shoulder and praised, "You waited nice, Daddy. Good job." While Amelia hopped in to the shower, the two buddies commenced in creating a Lego world that would eventually take over a large portion of the Master Bedroom.
A few minutes later, as Amelia hopped out of the shower, her pager sounded. She sighed deeply as she called in to answer the page. Calling out to Owen, who was on the floor creating a Lego hospital, Amelia walked toward the father and son. With disappointment, she explained, "Hey, Handsome, the hospital needs me for an AVM. Can you take Ry and Liv shopping for me? I'll owe you forever."
"What do you think, Lucas? Should I help Mommy out?" Owen questioned.
Lucas nodded, "Helping is a good idea, Daddy. Helping is nice." His parents exchanged grins.
Standing up, Owen approached Amelia and kissed her goodbye. "I'm sorry you've been called in," he sympathized. "Go save a life, Super Mia," he winked.
An hour later, after convincing Ryder and Livie that the littles had to come along, Owen reluctantly loaded everyone up for the drive to the mall. He was not thrilled about their destination or upcoming adventure, but he was happy to spend time with the kids. As they approached the mall, Olivia and Ryder both advised where Owen should park. Of course, they had different opinions. Compromising, Owen explained he'd park near the middle of the mall so no store would be too far away.
As Owen unloaded the littles, each one was assigned to someone older. Without deep consideration, Anna and Ryder were paired together. Olivia and Ria were thrilled to be buddies, and Lucas proudly grasped Owen's hand and repeatedly declared that he now was a hand holding expert.
Horrified at walking through the mall with his embarrassing family, Ryder brainstormed how to escape. Guessing Owen would have no idea about Amelia's expectations in a mall, Ryder explained, "Mom usually lets me wander around and then check with her when I've picked stuff out."
"Really?" Owen inquired, not sure if he was being snowed. "I'd feel more comfortable if we did that store by store, Ry. Let's go in here and then you can wander. You have your phone, right?"
"Yep. I'll get to be alone and without a buddy, right?" he confirmed as the word 'buddy' dripped with contempt. Owen simply nodded as he held out his hand for Anna to grasp.
Olivia smirked as she gazed up at him dreamily, "We get you all to ourselves, Daddy!"
"I get you guys all to myself," Owen smiled as he twisted the phrase around. "That means everyone really, really needs to stay together, kiddos." All four kids nodded or agreed.
Olivia, keeping hold of Ria's hand, rushed forward to the pre-teen section. She made sure Owen was nearby and in sight as she proceeded. "Is this too far, Daddy?" she wondered.
"You're good, Livs. Thanks for checking," Owen confirmed. "Let's try to stay close enough to see and hear each other."
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Olivia began when she spotted a pink faux fur vest. "Oh my favoritist daddy in the whole entire world and universe. I need this."
Huffing with fatherly disbelief, "You need it, hmm?" He grabbed the item and examined it and tried out the zipper.
"It's the most gorgeous thing in the whole store, Daddy," Olivia attempted to convince.
"What did Mom say you needed to buy today? Do you need a coat?" Owen shrugged.
"Daddy," Olivia responded with a hand pat on his hand, "This is a vest not a coat. You wear it all day not just outside."
"Mmm Hmm," Owen mumbled as he sent a text to Amelia that read, What's Liv need? Everything? Just some things? How much?
Meanwhile, in the OR, Amelia requested that one of the staff members read the text aloud. Wearing magnifying glasses, she laughed as she carefully examined the tiny blood vessels in her patient's brain. For a moment, she stood up and held her head away from the surgical field. "Could you please text back, Needs skirts and pants more than shirts, a new winter coat and a couple cute accessories. She has great taste, follow her lead.
Receiving Amelia's response, Owen still had no idea about the faux fur vest. "Put it on, Liv, and we'll send Mommy a picture," Owen instructed. He warned the littles, "The rest of you stay right here." After snapping the shot, in which Olivia offered a modeling pose, Owen sent a new text that read, This? He had no solid reason why he was reluctant to decide on his own.
The nurse chuckled when the text came through. "What now?" Amelia asked without much emotion yet obviously beginning to be mildly frustrated.
"Pink faux fur vest. He's looking for your consent, I think," the nurse reported. "He sent a picture."
Without looking up or pausing, Amelia questioned the nurse, "What do you think? Would you buy it for your kid?"
"It's adorable. Definitely an extra and not a necessity," the nurse described.
Shaking her head as she tied off a tiny suture, Amelia requested, "Can you please respond something along the line of it being fine as long as she buys what she really needs and doesn't choose any additional extras?" Leaning closer to the patient to analyze her next move, Amelia added, "And in some wifely way, remind him that I'm performing brain surgery and am not available for fashion advice."
The nurse, attempting to type gentle and Amelia-sounding words, typed, Sure but no more extras. Really needs what I typed before. I'm in surgery – difficult to provide ongoing input.
Owen rolled his eyes as he read the response, then he explained to Olivia, "Here's the deal: you can get one special thing today. If you choose this, that's fine, but then no more clothes unless they are pants, skirts or a winter coat."
Bouncing over to Owen, Olivia hugged him tightly, "Oh, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. You are the bestest. I love, love, love, love you. Thank you, Daddy."
He offered a grin and suggested, "Let's look at pants and skirts."
"I've been thinking. I'm not going to wear pants this season. Just leggings and skirts," Olivia shared in a matter-of-fact tone as she sashayed toward other racks.
"Are leggings an extra?" Owen wondered aloud.
"No, silly," Ria assisted, "Leggings go with skirts, Daddy. Especially in cold weather." Owen nodded and caught Lucas' eyes. The two shrugged as Owen winked at his son.
"This skirt," Olivia declared with certainty, "would be perrrrrrrfect with the new vest." She held up a brown corduroy skirt.
"Ok," Owen agreed, "Just grab it in your size instead of that little one and you can try it on."
"Daddy, this is my size," Olivia explained.
"There's not enough skirt there for it to be your size, Olivia," Owen stated clearly.
Olivia exhaled and suggested, "How about if I try it on and then we see?"
"I guess," Owen acquiesced.
This process continued over and over as lengths of skirts received constant commentary and as Owen ensured that the few shirts they considered fell no higher than Olivia's hip bones.
"Daddy…" Olivia sighed at one point, "Look… this is how they make clothes for girls now. It's not like when you grew up in the 50s when skirts had dogs on them and almost went to girls' feet."
"You need to work with her, Daddy," Anna agreed by nodding.
"The 1950s?! I wasn't even alive in the 1950s," Owen clarified with wounded shock.
Convinced he was pretending to act stunned, all four kids laughed heartily. "You are super funny for someone so old, Daddy," Ria giggled.
"How about if we look at pants. Maybe there will be something there that we can agree upon," Owen urged.
Olivia immediately spotted a pair of faded and shredded jeans. "These are the best. I could wear these."
Scoffing, Owen rolled his eyes and declared gently, "I'm not buying something that's already ruined, Olivia."
"These aren't ruined, Daddy. They're pusposed to be this way," she shared with desperation. "Please… please? Mommy would let me get them. Honest."
"I'm not buying ripped up clothes," Owen re-declared as he shook his head. "Besides," he added as he grabbed the tag and gasped, "they cost $75."
Ria, leaning over to Anna, suggested, "Let's never let Daddy take us shopping, Anna."
"I know," Anna whispered back as she folded her arms. "Poor Livie."
"Daddy…. I'm borrrrrrred," Lucas whined.
"I know, Buddy, I know," Owen comforted. "Not too much longer, I promise."
"We're not almost done," Olivia shared with shock. "I only have two skirts, three pairs of leggings, and one vest picked out."
"Olivia, this isn't fun for the littles, Honey," Owen responded. "We can't stay much longer. Maybe you can come back later with Mommy."
Olivia offered her largest puppy dog eyes and adorable tilted head. "Daddy," she pointed out softly, "By this time with Mommy, we'd already have everything picked out."
"Why is it taking us so long then? Let's get moving," Owen encouraged.
"We're not moving because you have too many opinions," Olivia sighed. "Every single thing… you think about it and grumble and groan and look angry when you see the price. Every piece. Mama looks at those and shrugs her shoulders and keeps a total in her head. And she likes every single thing in the store every time."
"Maybe I need to have a talk with Mommy," Owen considered.
"I think, Daddy, that Mommy needs to have a talk with you," Anna stated with concern and her sisters nodded in agreement.