Chapter 29

A Pivotal Year – Not Yet

Nolan almost 18, Lissa almost 18, Ryder almost 14, Olivia almost 11

Annabelle nearly 6, Victoria nearly 6, Lucas 4½

Wednesday, December 29

Christmas came and went in much the same way it did each year. Even at almost 18, the oldest kids still received a stocking full of silly goodies from Santa. Nobody ever seemed to notice that Santa prepared stockings for everyone but Amelia. She knew she could have filled one for herself, but, really, watching everyone else discover the contents in theirs was far more enjoyable. Owen, for example, received a set of surgeon tools from the Dollar Store. Lissa, Anna, and Olivia discovered cheap makeup in theirs and the boys and Ria each received a blow up soccer ball. All of the stockings were overflowing with chocolate coins and candy canes as well.

Ryder continued to spend as much time at the treehouse as he could manage. Given his age, Amelia and Owen both reasoned that he simply wanted some privacy. They wanted to give him that space even though their guts tried to whisper to them that all was not well.

Nolan had decided not to tell Lissa or his parents about Ryder's drug use just yet. Instead, he was hoping to steer Ryder in another direction and avoid the drama of upsetting their parents. Ryder seemed to be handling the drug and hadn't moved on to anything more intense; knowing that, Nolan reasoned that he had time to consider other interventions and options before running to Owen and Amelia with the news.

As they prepared dinner on the 29th, the day before his birthday, Nolan had velcroed himself to Amelia and Owen and fumbled to find the right words to explain his plans. Rather than the expected family cake and celebration after dinner, Nolan was hoping to take Lissa to dinner alone. In his head, he was clear about wanting to spend the evening with his girlfriend. However, he experienced deep angst about the possibility of disappointing his parents.

"The big 18 tomorrow, huh, Nolan?" Owen stated cheerfully. "Does it feel any different?"

"Not really, but hey, I was going to…" Nolan began before Amelia interrupted him with a smirk.

"Here, Nole, chop up these green onions and hide them in the casserole before the littles see them. Then shred the carrots and sneak those in, too."

"Sure, Mom," Nolan agreed as he began to assist. "Anyway, I was about to…"

"Lucas Owen, I wish you had three or four more middle names that I could spout out to remind you again not to run in the house," Owen bellowed with frustration.

"Sorry, Daddy," Lucas apologized as he walked as fast as he possibly could.

Owen glanced over at Lucas seriously and warned, "Sorry won't cut it next time."

"Owen, settle down," Amelia mumbled. "He's playing. Kids play. What's going to happen if he runs? Really?"

"Hey, guys, I wanted to mention something," Nolan attempted yet again.

Spinning her around to face him, Owen leaned closely toward Amelia and pulled her tightly toward his body, "Forget that…the question is what's going to happen here?"

Amelia rolled her eyes and tilted her head toward Nolan before slapping Owen's ass. "You're incorrigible," she whispered.

Sputtering, Owen attempted to laugh but couldn't quite bring himself out of the shock of her words, "I am?! Really, Hurricane Amelia?"

"Don't call me that," she grinned as she stirred the contents of a pot on the stove.

"Why do people call you that sometimes, Mom?" Ryder inquired as he grabbed an apple and bit into it.

"It's almost dinner time. The apple can wait," Owen stated plainly.

"And I need to tell you something before dinner," Nolan insisted, only to be ignored yet again amidst the chaos.

Ryder shrugged and bit into it again while looking at Owen directly, "What? An apple's healthy, right? What's the saying? It might even keep you and Mom away from me… win-win all around."

With a heavy sigh, Owen returned to his task. Surprisingly, Amelia volunteered an answer to Ryder's question even though ignoring it at that point may have worked well. "Hurricane Amelia…" she began as Ryder pulled out a barstool and sat down. "Let's just say I wasn't the easiest teenager to raise, Ry."

"Yeah? More. I want the dirt," Ryder begged.

Owen glanced at Amelia, wondering what she would disclose. She stopped what she was doing and leaned on the kitchen counter. "I was a hellion. Hurricane Amelia – that was Uncle Derek's name for me after he saved my life."

"Like, he grabbed the steering wheel before you hit a mailbox or something dumb like that?" Ryder pushed.

"No," Amelia breathed in deeply. "A little more serious than that. After he revived me from a drug overdose after I passed out. I also totaled his car, snuck out at night, and raised all kinds of hell."

"What the…?" Ryder began as his lower jaw dropped to the ground. "You're just messing with me."

Shaking his head, Owen inserted, "No, she's not." He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead as he pointed out, "Your mom's come a long way since then."

"Mom…" Ryder said slowly. "You were badass, huh?"

Standing up as tall as she could, Amelia mocked an offended response and suggested, "I still think I'm pretty badass. Hell, I operate on people's brains."

"Granted," Ryder nodded.

"I know this is an important discussion but I've been trying to say something," Nolan declared a little louder than normal.

Everyone stopped and stared at him, which made him uncomfortable. "I just need to talk to Mom and Dad," he explained as some siblings went back to what they'd been doing and others locked on for the next line of information.

"Sorry, Nolan," Owen apologized. "What's going on?"

"About tomorrow night…" he began haltingly.

Amelia interrupted with joy, "Oh, I invited Derek and his family over for cake and ice cream. Won't that be great?"

"Mom," Nolan stated as he grasped Amelia's forearm. "I was hoping to celebrate with Lissa tomorrow night… alone. Go out to dinner with her or something."

Deflated, Amelia looked down into the pot she'd been stirring and let out a quiet, "Oh. Of course. I should have checked with you first."

"Never mind," Lissa interjected as she sensed Amelia's disappointment. She walked toward the counter and grasped Nolan's hand. "Nolan, let's go out for my birthday. It's only a few days later. We can celebrate both our days then."

"Absolutely not," Amelia scoffed, trying to seem convincing. "No… you guys are adults now. We can't expect all the same traditions forever. Really… we'll still have Derek over and all the kids can run wild and wear each other out. No big deal." Owen could sense the pain just beneath Amelia's words.

"I hadn't even thought of Lissa's suggestion. Let's go for that," Nolan stated as he caught the nuances of Amelia's words. "We'll celebrate both our birthdays tomorrow with the family and then Liss and I will go out on her birthday."

"You sure?" Amelia hesitantly inquired.

"Yeah," Nolan nodded. "And actually, could the four of us chat alone after dinner?"

"Sure," Owen agreed with mild curiosity.

Once everyone gathered around the table, Ria suggested, "I want to play a game that I played at school before break."

"Can you explain it to us?" Owen inquired.

"I'll start and I say that I am thankful for something that starts with 'A,' then the next person picks something that starts with 'B,'" she detailed.

Ryder groaned sarcastically, "This sounds so complicated. Does the third person say something that begins with 'C'?" Nolan kicked his brother under the table and glared at him. Amelia glanced at Owen with disappointment.

Ria, missing the teenage contempt, beamed and sounded like her kindergarten teacher when she shared, "Yes! Great job, Ry!" Her adorably naïve response was better than anything Amelia or Owen could have stated. Ria continued, "I'm thankful for…applesauce!" She looked to her left and encouraged Nolan to go next.

"I'm thankful for… Lissa," he declared as he winked at his youngest sister.

"Lissa doesn't start with 'B,' Nolan!" Ria giggled.

"It doesn't?" he teased. "What is the first letter in Lissa's name?"

"Leh…ulll… Lissa…" Ria pronounced before proudly announcing, "'L'! And 'L' comes later. What about 'B'?"

Nolan praised Ria's efforts and resumed, "Let's see… I'm thankful for brothers."

"Yeah, right," Ryder snarked as he rolled his eyes.

Lucas sat up a bit straighter and celebrated, "Hey! I'm your brother! Cool."

After smiling toward his youngest brother, Nolan turned to Lissa and looked at her expectantly. Lissa stated, "I'm thankful for candy."

Mostly for his own entertainment, Lucas stated softly, "Candy…dandy…handy."

Following along without a prompt, Olivia smirked and shared, "I'm thankful for dogs like Barkley and Bogey."

Again, Lucas stated aloud, "Dog… fog, hog, log…"

Ryder gazed toward the ceiling, displaying an expression of deep boredom and disengagement. Rather than admonish him, Amelia encouraged, "You've got the first tricky one, Ry. Let's see your brilliance shine!"

"Eating," Ryder grumbled as he swallowed a large bite of food.

"You say 'I'm thankful for' first, Ryder," Anna instructed as if he'd missed the technicalities.

Lucas mumbled, "Eating, meeting, needing, zeeting."

"Zeeting isn't a word, Lucas," Ryder corrected with disgust. Lucas, disheartened by Ryder's correction, said nothing.

"Go ahead, Annabelle, pick something for 'F,'" Owen urged with cheer. He then turned and shared a reassuring grin with Lucas.

Anna sighed, frustrated that the game was not being played according to its rules. Moving on, she placed her forefinger on her cheek as she thought. "I'm thankful for family!" she announced with joy. "How about you, Mama? Use 'g,'"

"G… Hmm… I'm thankful for Grey Sloan Hospital," she grinned. "What rhymes with 'Grey,' Luke?"

Smiling, Luke shared, "Day, Hay, Say."

"H?! Easy," Owen quipped. "I'm thankful for Hunts and the Hunt family."

Lucas bit his lower lip and leaned toward his dad, whispering, "What rhymes with 'Hunt'? Bunt…"

Interrupting quickly as Ryder smirked at the next rhyme, Amelia offered, "Punt! Shunt! This is fun, Luke."

"What's my letter?" Lucas questioned, distracted by the rhyming efforts.

"I," Ria told him.

"I is hard…" Lucas declared to Owen.

Whispering back as if nobody could hear the conversation, Owen offered, "What do you put in your water if you want it to be colder?"

"Ice," Lucas answered. "I'm thankful for ice. Ice…mice, dice."

"J," Ria stated as she considered a response. "I'm thankful for jam and jelly."

"Jam…ham…lamb. Jelly… belly… smelly," Lucas offered to whomever might be listening.

"Good job," Nolan praised. "I'm thankful for kicking soccer balls." Realizing the next letter, Nolan pointed out to Lissa, "Awww… you have 'L'."

"Kicking, ticking…" Lucas began before Lissa popped up quickly before Lucas tried 'D.' Ryder leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grin.

"I'm thankful for laughing," Lissa declared as she looked at Olivia for the next answer.

"Uh oh," Lucas worried as he looked to Owen for assistance, "What rhymes with laughing?"

"Hmm… just go to the next one," Owen advised with a shrug.

Olivia thought quietly before spouting, "I'm thankful for Mama!"

"Mama, llama," Lucas giggled. Amelia offered a wink.

"I'm thankful for nighttime," Ryder stated in a monotone voice. Lucas whispered to himself, attempting to find a rhyme.

Anna, thrilled with her epiphany, announced, "I'm thankful for operations that help my sister walk better… is operations an 'o' word?"

"It is!" Amelia celebrated.

The game continued around the table with Owen offering, 'Quick lab results' for 'Q' and family assistance when Anna ended up with 'X.' As Owen ended the game when 'Z' landed on his turn, he gazed at everyone and inquired, "What's everyone going to do after dinner?"

"Nap…" Ryder responded. "I'm thankful for naps."

"Silly!" Ria giggled. "People don't take naps at night, Ryder."

"I do," he shrugged as he yawned. "Actually, can I be excused please? Liv already agreed to cover my chores tonight."

"It's true, I did," Olivia stated proudly.

"We were going to watch a movie together, sweetie," Amelia grieved. "Why don't you come snuggle up in a blanket on the couch and watch with us. If you fall asleep, that's fine."

"I don't think so," Ryder shook his head and offered a hint of a grin. "Good night, everyone."

After everyone else finished their dinner and went about their chores, Nolan and Lissa pulled Owen and Amelia aside to talk. The young couple sat next to each other nervously and Nolan's leg bounced up and down rapidly. After much discussion, they had decided to break their big news in stages. This would be part one.

"What's up, guys?" Owen inquired gently.

"Well… hey, this is…" Nolan paused to look at Lissa. She grinned back at him with encouragement. "We probably don't even need to ask since we'll be 18 and everything…"

"Ask what?" Amelia questioned curiously as she subtly grasped Owen's hand.

"Liss and I, we've been talking about some really fun ways to celebrate our birthdays," Nolan smiled. "Lissa's never left the US and I've really been wanting to go up to Canada before I go back to school. It's… umm… well, it's been a long time since I've been there."

"You're right," Owen nodded. "It has." With a resigned smirk, he continued, "What are you asking?"

"Maybe I'm just in the habit of asking for your consent…" Nolan stalled.

"What is it, Nolan?" Amelia urged.

Nolan leaned closer to Owen and Amelia as he softly asked, "The house in Victoria. Where we started growing up. Did you… sell it? Or is it still ours? Does it belong to me, Ryder, and Olivia?"

"It's still yours," Owen confirmed. "We've rented it out seasonally, usually in the spring and summer. Only to friends and friends of friends. The neighbor across the street – I don't know if you remember her - anyway, she helps us with it. Why?"

"I'd like to take Lissa up there – to see where I was born and everything. We were thinking we'd take the ferry up on the 31st and stay a few days," Nolan detailed.

"Just the two of you? Alone?" Amelia confirmed, more with motherly protectiveness than judgment.

"Yeah," Nolan confirmed.

"Of course you two can do that," Owen consented. "I mean, I guess you can do whatever you want as long as Lissa is back when school starts." Amelia squeezed Owen's hand, realizing she wasn't quite ready to let her eldest baby bird fully fly on his own.

Lissa piped up, "Remember? I'm doing independent study next term. I don't have to attend classes."

"Oh…right," Owen responded with a thoughtful tone. "I suppose we should sit down and figure out the details about how that will all shake out. We'll need to figure out what you'll be doing with all your free time, Lissa." He smirked with a fatherly nudge, hoping to steer her toward a part-time job or a volunteer opportunity.

With an awkward smile, Nolan jumped in, "Yeah. Right… that's an important conversation to have soon. Ok, then. Lissa and I are going to head over to Chris' and hang out with Chris and Linnea. We won't be too late." Nolan hurriedly stood up, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. He wasn't ready to discuss part two of the plan he and Lissa had envisioned, and he wanted to save Lissa from fum

bling her way through it without being fully prepared. As the couple headed out the door, Nolan looked over his shoulder and forced a smile, "Umm… thanks, Mom and Dad. Canada… it's going to be great."

With hesitation, Amelia confessed, "I think I missed something…"

"Actually," Owen opined, "I'm pretty sure they have more to tell us. Nolan… umm… he shifted into awkward as soon as I mentioned Lissa and how she'll spend her time next term."

"Why would that freak him out?" Amelia questioned. "He'll be in LA and she'll be here." She raised her eyebrows playfully and grinned, "Weird children."

"Yeah, your influence creates all sorts of weird behaviors," Owen quipped in a deadpan tone. Amelia responded by laughing and gently pushing on his arm as Owen broke into a sneaky grin.