Hi guys, this is going to be a short one this week. I hope you enjoy it though. I will be out of town next week celebrating my birthday. So hope this holds you over until I get back.
After Olivia got Teddy home and to their family doctor. He agreed that Teddy needed to at least be on anti-depressants for at least three months to bring his hormones back in line. Teddy spent about a month at home to make sure he was on the correct dosage before he left for Florence. The medication and the time away lifted his spirits so much. Modesta seemed to help with bringing a calming affect on Teddy. He was a God send for the ladies.
In all the hubbub of Gerry and Teddy, Olivia and Fitz finally told the family they were expecting another little Grant. The family was ecstatic except Ava. She was two but she knew that she was the center of attention and with another baby around she wouldn't be such the show stopper. She had such an adverse reaction to the news that she started to have nightmares of the baby taking her parents away from her, hence her starting to sleep in the bed with Fitz and Olivia.
"Fitz I don't know what to do with Ava? She can not continue to sleep with us every night. She needs to be back in her bed."
"Maybe we should start off with her in her bed, then wait for her to go to sleep, and then we can have our bedroom back. Cause Daddy needs to take advantage of pregnant Mama."
"Fitz!"
He chuckled. "Jokes aside Livy, we need to make her understand that no on will take us away from her. Maybe we should include her in your check ups and maybe we need to have some one on one time with her."
"Just a thought, maybe we can get one of the boys to tell he what it's like to be an older sibling."
"Yeah that's a good idea. We can use the boys to reinforce how great it is being a big brother or big sister."
There suggestions turned out to be a win for Ava and the family. She especially believed she was going to be the best big sister according to Gerry. Anything he said was gospel. Her nightmares stopped and she became Olivia's little helper. She looked forward to all the appointments they went to.
The school year was about to wind down and Phillip especially had a great junior year. Philip was a bit of a surprise to the family in that he blossomed at his new school. He had grown to 6'3" and was about 195 pounds. He wasn't Gerry size but he was bigger than Teddy. Olivia was astounded by how big her boys were, but Philip used that size to become one of the best Lacrosse high school player on the East coast. He was already getting recruitment letters from some of the best schools on the east coast.
He was looking forward to his senior year, not only because of Lacrosse, but his painting had improved so much that his teachers believed he was a savant. He had already had a gallery showing the previous fall, and with his summer internship in Florence with some of the greatest art teachers, he was not sure if he wanted a Lacrosse scholarship or just an art degree.
Going to school was non-negotiable. That was the deal with his parents. They would help in any way to reach his dreams but it had to go through a four year degree after that they were on their own.
Olivia had turned her old playroom into a sort of art room for both boys. Philip would be in there for hours. Olivia would have to pry him out of the room just to come and eat. This summer was going to be big for Philip. He submitted some of his work to the Louvre for a two week seminar on Parisian impressionist painting. He was so excited. He was the only American in the program of 20 students and he was the youngest.
After the world wind that was about to take place with the family, which included Gerry's graduation from Michigan. Summer in Florence as usual. Then his Dad and Gerry were going to take the train to Paris with him to drop him off. The Grant's in Florence for the rest of the summer. Then back to school to start the best year of his life in his estimation.
With everything that was about to ensue with the Grant family, Fitz decided that Olivia needed a baby moon while they were in Europe. She takes such good care of their family and she rarely takes time for herself. Once he gets his family settled for the summer he is taking her to Valencia Spain. The city sits on the Mediterranean and it happens to be one of the most highly rated cities to relax in. They still observer siesta during the day. They would be there for a week just the two of them.
He was sure his mother would love to have the kids all to herself especially Ava. Those were like two fashionistas in a pod. His mother would spend to her hearts content on Ava and the boys if Fitz let her. Ava liked to cook with her grandmother and great-grandmother. Olivia had several pictures at the house with Ava in the kitchen with them.
Since Modesta was already into her 90's the family made trips to Florence twice a year now. Xmas and their summer trips.
Before the mayhem began for the year, Philip pulled his parents into his Mom's office to talk.
"Mom, Dad I've made my decision about which school I want to attend."
"Well don't keep in suspense son." Fitz said.
"I want to go to Yale. It's the best of both worlds for me. It has the number on rated Art program in the country and they have a Lacrosse team. They are ranked 15th, but I can deal with that, maybe me being there might help. What do you think?"
"I think that you've shown you've really thought this thourgh and I'm behind you one hundred percent." Fitz said
"I agree with your Dad. I'm really proud of the way you've reasoned this out for yourself."
"Glad to hear that Mom. Can you help me get ready for the admissions process when we get back home?"
"Oh course baby."
He gets up and hugs both his parents and walks out.
"Well! That was unexpected." Fitz says.
"What do you mean?"
"Of all our children Philip seems the most closed off to us. I don't know if he still holds a grudge against me or he still feels a since of loyalty to Mellie?"
"You've got it all wrong babe. Philip isn't closed off to us. He just the type of person who only comes to us when he needs help, and believe me he rarely needs help. I talk to his teachers at least once a month and they say the same thing. He is fiercely independent. It's not a knock on us, just who he is."
Fitz grabs Olivia into his arms. "You amaze me Olivia Carolyn Pope Grant. You always know what is going on with our kids more than I do. I feel kind of bad that I didn't know that about our son."
"Fitz. We are a team. You are locked in on school and getting the Grant clan to and from destinations. I do the day to day and I get to see and interact with the kids more than you. Believe me if there was something you needed to know about our children you would know it. Don't beat yourself up about it babe."
"Thank you Livy."
