As soon as Elizabeth woke up the next morning, she got a text from Blake. Together with Henry, she had been working on resolving the debt her daughter had in the Netherlands. It was barely what they paid for one kid a year at college, but they could imagine it was a lot of money for a student. Especially since they were rushing her to pay it back.
"Do you have a minute?" Elizabeth asked as she saw Lauren join them downstairs. Everyone, except for Stevie, was already downstairs having breakfast.
"Sure." She sat down at the table and waited for her mother to continue.
"We know you said you got it, but we didn't want you to have to worry about the depth you have in the Netherlands." Elizabeth started and got an encouraging nod from Henry. "We pay for the other three their education too and this isn't even a tenth compared to what we already paid for them."
"You paid off my depth?" Lauren needed a moment to process what she had just told her. She knew her mother told her she wouldn't mind, but to actually do it was something else.
"We know we overstepped and if it really is that important to you, you can pay it back to us." Henry told her.
"But you don't have to." Elizabeth quickly added. She didn't want her daughter to think she needed to pay them back.
"Well it sure does give me more time than the six months the Dutch government gave me." Lauren smiled. "Thank you."
"Good morning." Stevie joined them downstairs and both parents figured now would be a perfect time to talk about an upcoming trip.
"So, I have to go to Cuba for a work thing, but I was thinking we could make it a family vacation."
"I can't, I have a new job." Stevie spoke as she started eating.
"You do?" Both parents were surprised this was the first time they were hearing about it.
"Yes. With the microloans program."
"I can't either." Jason informed them. "I have standardized tests."
"I can go." Alison said excited, already planning some outfits in her head.
Elizabeth looked over at their other daughter who seemed deep in thought. Thoughts she was snapped out of quickly when she found her mother looking at her.
"Me too?" She asked, and Elizabeth pushed down the pain she felt when she realized the girl still didn't feel part of the family. That she needed to be reminded that she was one of them.
"If you want."
"Yes!" She smiled excited and it warmed Elizabeth's heart.
"Alright. Now I really have to go to the office." She kissed Henry quickly. "Bye."
The following day had been hectic, but there was one thing she was looking forward to. Alison had told her she would be coming by the office after school, so when Blake told her she was already in the office, she happily went in.
Happiness that quickly subsided when she heard her daughter complain before she had even set foot in the office.
"I'm not going to Cuba." It was the first thing she heard as she walked into her office. She found her youngest daughter behind her desk on her phone.
She sighed as she took off her jacket. "Well, good afternoon to you too, Noodle."
"Dad's still mad at me about the car and you'll be busy, so it'll just be me and him." Alison whined and swirled around in the chair.
"And your sister." She corrected her, "He is really looking forward to spending time with you."
"To lecture me on the perils of lying."
"You're being unfair."
"He's the one being unfair. Stevie can't go 'cause of her stupid Microloans job and Jason has standardized tests. Why do I have to be the only one going?" Alison got up to make room for her mother and slumped down on the couch instead.
"You won't be the only one going, Lauren is coming too."
"Like that makes it any better." Alison sighed and Elizabeth walked over to the couch. She was aware Alison was having a hard time adjusting to her new sibling.
"I'm really sorry you're feeling left out, Ali. Remember how you toured churches with dad in England? He just wants to spend time with you."
"I know, but what fun is it when he is spending most time getting to know Lauren? And I know you guys have eighteen years to make up for, but still." She felt her mother lay and arm around her shoulder.
"How can we prove to you that you are just as important as the other three?" Blake interrupted just before Alison could answer.
"Ma'am, you're needed in the White House." Blake already grabbed her coat, but she stopped him.
"Can you give us a second? I'll be right out." She waited for Blake to close the door and turned to her daughter, hoping to get a reply.
"Talk to dad, please. Tell him he's got two kids going on the trip." Elizabeth promised she would and walked out with Alison.
"She said that?" Henry asked surprised. He was packing for the trip while his wife was sitting on the bed.
"She just wants you to devide your attention." She helped him fold clothes so they fit better in the suitcase.
"I had no idea she felt this left out." He sighed as he sat down on the bed, causing it to dip.
"We have three kids who all feel like we're not paying enough attention to them and one kid who doesn't even feel part of the family." She wondered how she was supposed to raise four kids. No matter who she tried to please, it always seemed to be at the cost of another child.
"We really need to have that conversation one of these days." Henry closed the suitcase. He had done enough for today. He was tired and just wanted to sleep.
A few days later, they were on a plane to Cuba. Everyone felt a little bit of tension between Henry and Alison after she confessed to denting the car, but they pretended it wasn't there.
They had rented a beautiful old car while they left Elizabeth to work. Lauren just came along as they visited some churches until she picked up on an argument between father and daughter.
"How am I belittling anyone's beliefs? I'm taking the picture because it's beautiful." Alison tried to grab her phone, but Henry held it in a tight grip.
"You're taking it to get "likes." You're becoming someone who I don't even know." She could see he was furious, but also felt like this was getting way out of hand.
And it did.
"Then maybe you should get to know me. I'll be in the car." Alison stormed out and she moved to her dad.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." He rubbed his face, "No."
"Talk to her. I'll wait here for a minute." She told him and he walked after his daughter.
She took a moment to look around the church. Noticing a stand on the altar, she out in some money and lit a candle for her parents before standing in the doorway to see if Henry had talked to Alison yet.
"Once you grow up, things get really complicated. Today I just wanted to go back in time to our trip to England when touring churches was our thing."
"You should wake me up the next time you watch Gunsmoke. Maybe that can be our thing."
She heard her dad chuckle before agreeing. Part of her felt guilty. She knew from the beginning Alison felt left out. That she felt like her parents didn't care about her.
With her return, there was even less attention on her younger sister. Their parents spent a lot of their time getting to know her and it was at the cost of her other siblings. She knew they had eighteen years to make up for, but she never meant to take up so much space in their parents' lifes.
Henry whistled when he noticed his middle daughter waiting for them to finish their talk. She got into the backseat while Alison drove and he felt like something had changed. She was quieter and it didn't go unnoticed by him.
When he turned around, he noticed her absently staring at the scenery passing by.
"Where to?" Alison asked after a few minutes of driving.
"You girls can pick."
"We could go to a market?" Alison suggested and waited for her sister.
"Yeah, sure." She told her, and Henry wondered what happened that got her so quiet all of a sudden.
Henry watched while Alison drove around. His life had changed so much over the past few months. He had his daughter back and she was finally home.
It was hard to watch his daughter suffer in silence. For some reason she wouldn't come to them with her problems. He knew she didn't want to be a burden, but he wasn't sure how to make it clear they didn't think that.
Telling her she wasn't demanding hadn't seemed to make a difference. She still kept things in.
This wasn't the trip he had been hoping for. Fighting with Alison hadn't made it any better. All he wanted was a nice family vacation, but with two of his kids at home, it wasn't what he imagined.
He felt the car come to a stop and noticed Alison had parked the car. They got out, and in no time, Alison had grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her to a jewelry stand.
"Dad, can we get this for mom?" She held up a light blue necklace and Henry handed her some money.
"You want anything?" He asked Lauren while Alison paid.
"No. Thank you, though."
"Are you okay?" He asked bluntly. Her face formed an almost pained expression that worried Henry.
"I don't know." She bit her lip as her eyes shifted to her feet.
"Is it this trip?"
"No. Yes. I don't know." She noticed the confusion on her dad's face and sighed. She had no idea what was going on with herself either. "I'll be okay."
Alison interrupted before Henry could push for more and they drove back to the hotel.
TBC
