Chapter 38
An Imperfect Life – Expectations
Tuesday, July 23rd
Nolan, Lissa, and Molly returned to Los Angeles the next day. They received an offer on the house while in Seattle and needed to review the details. Even though his supervisor had offered to conclude the internship early given Molly's adoption, Nolan wanted to complete his original arrangement. Since Lissa resigned from her job after the adoption, she'd be able to manage their day-to-day life. Olivia, when she found out that Lissa would no longer be teaching dance, opted to stay in Seattle.
Wednesday, July 24th
Olivia's re-entry home was bumpier than anyone anticipated. While Nolan and Lissa were visiting, routines were more casual and less strict. Once they left, Owen, Amelia, and Lynne re-emphasized the well-known patterns and expectations of the household. Olivia couldn't wait for Ryder to return the following week. Having him around would make the place more bearable. Until then, she was resigned to the reality that Lynne would treat her like a baby and clump her in with the twins and Lucas.
"Olivia?" Lynne called upstairs at 12:05. It was the third reminder. "It's lunchtime." The other kids were already at the table and the food was ready. Even though sandwiches, sliced fruit, and milk were on the menu, more formal expectations about eating together remained in place.
"You already told me," Olivia responded impatiently. "I'm coming."
"Come now, please. Not in a minute," Lynne urged.
Olivia tromped out to the open hallway over the living room and yelled toward the dining room, "Like this? You want me to come down like this?" Two strands of her hair remained unbraided and hanging loose. From Olivia's point-of-view, she was on the brink of a serious hair crisis. From Lynne's perspective, a power struggle was beginning to brew. "I'll be down in a minute. Just start without me."
Smiling curtly at the Littles, Lynne suggested, "I'll go help Olivia. Why don't you three begin?" All three sets of eyes followed Lynne's movements until she was out of sight.
"What's she gonna do?" Ria wondered aloud.
"I think Livie's in trouble for being sassy," Anna surmised as Lucas quietly listened in and ate his lunch.
Rapping firmly on the locked bathroom door, Lynne called to Olivia, "Miss Olivia, you are expected at the table."
"I told you I'm almost done," Olivia snapped. "If you'd leave me alone, I'd be down there by now."
Rather than argue through the door, Lynne leaned on the hallway wall and waited for Olivia to emerge. When she did, Lynne offered a stern look and proceeded into the bathroom.
"What are you doing?" Olivia questioned.
"Go eat, Olivia," Lynne instructed.
Olivia rolled her eyes and headed to the dining room. She sat down and began eating without comment. When she noticed all eyes were on her, she put her sandwich down and inquired, "What?!"
"Are you in trouble?" Ria wondered with hesitation.
"No," Olivia snapped.
"But you were sassy to Miss Lynne," Lucas observed.
"I was not, you little pest. I needed to finish my hair," Olivia argued.
The four kids ate their lunch without much chatting. A few minutes later, Lynne returned downstairs, but said nothing. She had stripped Olivia's bathroom of every possible hair tie, brush, and product. Lynne reasoned that if Olivia's hair was going to delay her, then Olivia didn't need to primp.
After Olivia took her last bite, she stood to clear her plate.
"Excuse me, Miss," Lynne warned.
With a shrug, Olivia stated, "I'm done eating."
"And in this house, there are rules. When children have finished eating, what do they ask?" Lynne tutored.
"May I be excused?" Olivia asked with a tone that dripped inauthentic, syrup-level sweetness.
"Yes, Olivia, you may. You may also continue walking past the kitchen sink and head to your bedroom," Lynne insisted. She'd forgotten the joys of the young teen years.
"My pleasure, ma'am," Olivia responded in saccharine melody.
Lynne helped the Littles clear the rest of the table and clean up from lunch. She heard Olivia's door and then the bathroom door open but thought nothing of it. A moment later, Olivia raged at full volume, "Who do you think you are, you witch?"
Drying her hands on a dishtowel, Lynne smirked and commented, "Ah, apparently Olivia has discovered the consequence for being late to lunch. I'll be right back."
Lynne walked calmly up the stairs and attempted to be reasonable with the furious redhead.
As she did so, Owen arrived as planned. He would be taking Ria to the hospital with him for the afternoon. The garage door opened and the Littles looked up from their clean-up efforts.
With a cheery tone, Owen stepped inside and greeted the kids, "Hi, guys." Looking around and not seeing Lynne or Olivia, he asked, "Where are the others?"
"Fighting," Anna offered in a matter-of-fact report.
"What?" Owen asked, certain he had misheard her words. He turned to Ria and clapped his hands, "Let's go, Ree, you have PT in half an hour."
Anna repeated herself, "I said they're fighting, Dad."
"What's that mean?" Owen questioned with confusion as he furrowed his brow.
From upstairs, Olivia's screaming words clarified the situation. "You b#$ch!" Olivia sounded loudly. "Give me my things… now!"
Setting down the mail that he was casually leafing through, Owen sighed and nodded, "That… that's what you meant."
"Uh huh," Anna nodded.
Owen strode up the stairs and offered, "Lynne, need a hand?"
"If you like, Dr. Hunt," Lynne responded. "I can handle it otherwise." The three adults had an understanding that they would not usurp one another's authority. Any intervention in a situation was checked out before proceeding.
"I'm not sure what's going on here, but I would like to weigh in on what I just heard," Owen stared at Olivia with seriousness. Olivia squared her jaw and stared right back at her dad. "Would you like to repeat that, Olivia Elise? I'd like to confirm what I heard you scream."
"I'd rather not," Olivia mumbled.
Owen nodded. "Perhaps you'd like to explain what led up to your tantrum?"
"No, Sir," Olivia answered as she shifted uncomfortably.
Glancing at his watch, Owen ran his hand over his mouth and chin before commenting, "I need to leave. You and Lynne can sort out whatever brought this on. For my part, I expect to find you in your bedroom when I come home. We'll talk then." He lowered his chin to his chest and kept his eyes on his daughter.
"Ok," she mumbled in response.
"And I'd like your cell phone," he ordered as he reached out his hand.
Without stomping, knowing that would only make it worse, Olivia sighed and walked into her bedroom to retrieve her phone. As she set it in his hand, Owen instructed, "Clear this up with Lynne, Olivia. Make me proud." Then he motioned toward her bedroom. She entered the room and softly closed the door.
"You're good with her?" Owen whispered to Lynne.
"Yes, Sir. Really," Lynne assured him.
"I can insist she come with me," Owen offered.
"Not necessary," Lynne replied.
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Amelia arrived home from the hospital with Ria about half an hour before Owen returned. After changing upstairs, she met Lynne downstairs to hear about the day.
"I had two emergency aneurysms and one full throttle brain bleed today, Lynne. How was your day?" Amelia smirked as she poured herself some water.
"The younger ones were lovely, Dr. Shepherd. Olivia seems a bit unclear about the expectations," Lynne reported.
"Meaning?" Amelia turned from the fridge to inquire.
"She was late to lunch. I reminded her multiple times before going upstairs…" Lynne began as she shared the play-by-play. She ended by sharing that an hour after Owen left, she went to clear the air with Olivia and received a similar attitude. She concluded, "With that, I stated that we would have to finish our discussion when she was calmer and more respectful. She's been in her room since."
"I'm sorry, Lynne," Amelia sighed. "Some days, I don't know why you stay."
"Because I love you all," Lynne smiled. "She'll make her way back into line. She's just returned. She's testing," Lynne reasoned, able to accept that the drama was not personal.
"Owen's home tomorrow," Amelia summarized. "We'll make sure Olivia is clear that you'll be speaking with her on Friday. Until then," she added playfully, "feel free to use her hair goop and come up with new hairstyles."
Patting Amelia on the shoulder, Lynne chuckled and declined the offer. She promised to be over on Friday morning in time to make breakfast.
Amelia settled in to a chair in the living room and browsed through her email. When Olivia walked down the stairs, Amelia glanced up and stated plainly, "Where are you supposed to be?"
"Dad said he expects me to be in my room when he comes home. He didn't say anything about before that," Olivia reasoned.
Smiling and shooting her glance to the side, Amelia shook her head and laughed, "Oh, Olivia, Olivia. You haven't learned how to get out of your own way yet, have you?"
Walking toward her mom and slumping onto the couch, she answered, "What's that mean?"
"Just you and me here, Livs. Not Mom and daughter. Just Amelia and Olivia," Amelia began.
"Ok," Olivia shrugged.
"What do you suppose Dad meant? That you should do whatever the hell you like all afternoon and run to your room when you hear the garage open or that you should spend the afternoon in your room?" Amelia challenged.
"Yeah…ok," Olivia sighed.
"I don't have a dog in this fight, Livs," Amelia pointed out.
"But if you were me…" Olivia began.
Amelia nodded and pursed her lips, "Yep."
As Olivia slowly made her way to the stairs, Owen surprised everyone by coming through the front door. Customarily, he'd park in the garage and come in through the hallway by the kitchen.
"Hey," Amelia coyly smiled. "Did you walk home?"
Owen glanced at Olivia and raised his chin. She ran upstairs and into her room. He turned to Amelia and explained with a laugh, "Bogey is in front of my garage door and refuses to move."
"Did you check his ABCs?" she teased.
With a small scoff, Owen confirmed, "He's alive."
"Damn dog," Amelia quipped.
"Why was she down here?" Owen questioned.
"To see if I was in the loop, I suspect," Amelia responded as she read an email. "She was in the process of redirecting herself and making a wise choice."
Owen walked over to his wife and kissed her repeatedly. "Want to go out to dinner tonight?"
"How are we going to manage that?" Amelia challenged.
"Olivia can babysit if Lynne's at her place, don't you think?" Owen attempted as he loosened his tie.
"Not after a day like the one she had today," Amelia commentated.
"Damn," Owen grimaced. He walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer before asking, "Ria say anything about pain?"
"No. She was chipper and chatty all the way home," Amelia described. "Why?"
"It seemed like she worked especially hard during her appointment today," he mentioned as he kicked off his shoes and stretched his legs until they rested on the coffee table. "Then again, Patricia probably spoiled her rotten afterward." Rubbing his hands over his face and downing another gulp of beer, he continued, "Did you hear details about the cat fight today?"
Amelia set her phone beside her and repeated what Lynne had shared. "I'm not wild about the mouthiness. Being a few minutes late to lunch, whatever. Calling an adult a bitch? Not ok."
Owen happened to notice Olivia was sitting in the open hallway above the living room, listening to the conversation. He subtly motioned to Amelia who mouthed, "Olivia?" He nodded subtly.
"I hear you. I can't decide if I should fill her mouth with soap like my mother would have done or smack her back end," Owen declared, completely not intending to do either but fully expecting Olivia to overhear his ponderings.
Amelia played along. "When I was her age, I think Derek would have throttled me within an inch of my life. Then one of my sisters would have taken a turn."
With a loud exhale, Owen leaned forward, grabbed his dress shoes and stood up. "Our kids don't understand how lucky they are," he mused as he walked toward the stairs. "I'll be down in a few. I'm going to throw on some sweats."
As he climbed the stairs, both he and Amelia heard quiet footsteps and the gentle closing of Olivia's bedroom door.