While Jack and Lisa were outside, looking after Katie as she was trying to point out Pogie in the field, Amy had asked Lou to come to the barn office to have a talk with her before they went to lunch. She was willing to guess that after the one-sided talk she had had with Georgie this morning, things were still going to be tense over lunch as they sat around the table and she wanted Lou to know why. In fact, Amy thought Lou deserved to know what was going on with Georgie from her point of view. Maybe this was something that had not been noticed by her or maybe Peter either.
"What is it, Amy?" Lou asked as they stepped inside the office after noticing the look of concern on her face.
"It's about Georgie", Amy began. It immediately made Lou more alert as she was on this personal quest to help Georgie as well. "I was trying to talk to her this morning about something she said to me yesterday", Amy started, trying to give a little background for Lou so she would hopefully understand what had happened between them. "Yesterday she gave me her take on why Merlin is having problems. She said she thinks Ty and I are at fault, that we were bad parents to him that we screwed him up."
Lou's tilted her head to the left and stared. "Oh come on, Amy, you don't seriously think–"
"I know, I know", Amy stopped Lou before she would go any further. She knew her sister well enough to know that Lou was about to try and talk her out of thinking that way. "It sounds silly, and I don't say I believe it - nor am I saying I don't believe it, because I still don't know what's going on with Merlin - but that's not the point."
Lou could see the frustration building up in Amy as she spoke and wanted to help her not feel that way but before she had a chance to speak Amy continued.
"The point is, I was surprised and wondered where and why that train of thought was coming from with Georgie. It felt like she was taking it kind of personally, as if we weren't talking about the horse at all. And this morning, when I tried to let her know that what she had said had hurt my feelings, I also tried to ask if something was bothering her. And I don't think it was the Olivia thing or the fact that she's suspended from school. I figured maybe it was your situation with Peter", she continued to explain calmly.
Lou and Peter's separation wasn't something the family talked about much even though it was what was happening. It was almost as if nothing had changed, since mostly it didn't feel like it had, as Peter was in Vancouver like he had always been and Lou was with the girls at the Heartland ranch, and the way they acted around each other had not really changed because of the pending divorce. But Amy figured maybe the family's way of not talking about it was the problem. Maybe it needed to be talked about so that Georgie could process it better.
Lou wanted to give Georgie a little more credit than Amy was. She knew Georgie was a tough girl and they had talked about the divorce, though maybe not in depth. But then again how much more could she take - or was even expected to take - before she would have had enough? Throwing in what had just happened at school and with Katie, was it fair of her to expect Georgie to be able to handle it all just because she had been through hard times in the past. Or was it because it would make it easier for herself and her guilt of ending up separated from Peter to just decide for Georgie what she could and couldn't handle.
Amy watched as Lou's stood there, looking as if she wanted to say something but nothing came out and since she looked more bewildered than hurt or angry, Amy continued.
"So, I talked about my own experience with mom and dad and their divorce, hoping that she would see that people around her have gone through what she is going through too, and maybe there's someone willing to listen to her if she ever wants to talk about it. She said to me it was nothing new to her, so I figured maybe this has happened to her in the past too", Amy continued, pulling Lou back into the conversation. "But… the more empathy I showed, the angrier she got. She snapped at me and said she wanted to keep what was past in the past. – Now… I don't know if you already know something that could explain her reaction, but I just thought I should let you know in case you didn't already. I don't know any more than that, but I figured I'd share what I know because I want her and you guys to be okay."
Lou nodded as she gathered her thoughts about all that Amy had said and then replied her sister. "I appreciate that, Amy. Thank you for telling me."
"Of course, I just want things to be okay", Amy added one more time.
As Lou searched her mind, she couldn't come up with anything from the files she had read about Georgie's past or talks they had had about her foster parents that would fit in with what Amy had just shared. Maybe it was worth rechecking the files and information just to make sure she had not missed something that could explain Georgie's behavior.
Inside the house, Georgie had seemed fine, but that didn't mean she wasn't hurting underneath. Surely she was a master of hiding her hurt by now, after everything she had been through and after all the places and people she had seen. If that was the case, Lou was starting to worry about her even more. Who knew what she had missed while thinking Georgie was okay because she had been too busy with her own problems to have seen her daughter's problems or her coping mechanisms. This punch, that she had thrown at Olivia, had already proved that she didn't understand Georgie's way of handling troubling situations. Lou had never been where Georgie had, so she didn't understand the way Georgie thought or why she reacted the way she did and thus brushed it of as "problematic behavior" that needed to be punished. But, because of what Peter had shared and what she had seen this morning, Lou had begun to understand that maybe Georgie didn't need punishments to correct her ways as much as she did understanding.
When Lou, Amy, Jack, Lisa and Katie got back to the house, the table had been set and the food was already waiting for them in the dining room. Peter helped Lisa get seated while Georgie was putting spoons and ladles in the dishes with food.
"Well, would you look at that…" Jack said as he admired the food he saw, something that at lunch time especially he was often in charge of. The smell of it alone made his mouth water, not to mention seeing it laid on the table.
He let his eyes rest on the offerings while he took a hold of his chair, but not only was he happy about what he was about to eat, Jack was pleased to see Georgie and Peter being in the charge of something that usually wasn't their responsibility. It felt like so many changes were in the air and these were the kind of changes he was okay with (since it mostly didn't involve him and his need to change his ways).
Jack was willing to bet Peter probably felt good about being able to do something to get a chance to feel like a real family member too and he was also proud to see Georgie out of her room, taking part in the things everyone else was doing. Just because she was grounded, didn't mean that she had to sulk in her room all day; in fact, Jack had hoped that she would quit with the rebelling act and start acting like she was mature enough see she had made a mistake and accept the consequences and to be able to still handle social situations.
After all, was that not the measure of being a grown person which Georgie so often insisted of being called and treated like.
"Seems like we should go on trail rides more often, eh?" Lisa joked to Jack as she took a seat next to him. Even though she loved cooking, whenever she was presented with a set table with food on it, Lisa was happy to enjoy the meal. This moment was no exception.
Jack chuckled. "Seems like it…"
"Wow… This looks so great, guys", Lou commented as she sat next to Lisa after helping Katie take her seat. She smiled proudly at both Georgie and Peter, gently laying the napkin on her lap. They both exchanged pleased looks and took their seats.
"I'm starving", Amy commented as she took her usual spot next to Georgie. The girl seemed a lot happier now, but her words were still bothering Amy. Georgie didn't glare at her, but she didn't necessarily ignore her either, but it still made Amy uncomfortable having this unresolved issue hovering over their heads. With all this food and everyone so seemingly happy around the table, she was hoping to have another try in settling things between them. "You doing anything after lunch, Georgie? Because, if it's okay, I would like for you to come help me with the horses."
"Not that I know of", Georgie said, her eyes drifting toward her father. She didn't know if Peter would insist her doing dishes too, but since he didn't interrupt their conversation, Georgie figured maybe she was off the hook.
"Good, if it is alright with everyone we can start right after we enjoy this meal", Amy proposed as she handed the bowl of salad to Georgie as the family passed around the rest of food.
"Uh, yeah, sure", Georgie replied, shrugging a little, unsure why Amy was making such a big deal out of wanting her to help her. That was what they did most of the time anyway, when she was not doing other chores.
This reminded Jack of something. "About the help you asked about earlier", Jack said to Amy, cutting into the conversation. "Lisa and I had a talk about it while we were on our ride", he glanced at his wife, "and she might have a ranch hand in mind. But, we'll need to check on it first."
Amy looked impressed. "Aah", she said, looking gleefully at Lisa. "Note to self: bring up things in Lisa's presence so I actually get Grandpa to do something about anything," she said with a smile and a wink, not so subtly hinting about her grandfather's slow reaction speed to most things.
It made the whole family chuckle, outside Jack, of course, who didn't appreciate the teasing at his expense, as he thought his "sluggish way" of doing things more of a good thing than a subject of a joke.
"How about adding that extra wing to the barn…?" Amy said knowing she was pushing her luck even in a teasing manner.
"You'll need five Lisas to have him even consider that", Lou replied taking part in the conversation, making Jack glare at them all, with his best tough guy stare.
"And here I thought I'd have so-called "happy meal" now that Tim is not at the other end of this table, but I guess I should have known the snide remarks run in the family", Jack fired back, "and that's not on my side!" he added to ensure that everyone knew it didn't come from his side and he wasn't to blame for Amy and Lou's running their mouths like that.
Jack's comments made everyone laugh, easing any tension that might have been between anyone. In the middle of passing bowls and digging in, Peter looked over at Lou, wondering when was the last time he had felt like part of his own family like this.
