Chapter 69: Am I In Trouble?
When the family arrived at home, Amelia sent the kids upstairs to change out of their uniforms. She unbuckled Gwen and informed Owen that she was going upstairs to call the Principal. Owen held Ella and walked inside to throw a snack together.
After listening to Mrs. Tonnington 'express her concern' about Bronwyn's behavior for fifteen minutes and then move on to spend ten minutes discussing Finley's 'promiscuity,' Amelia was ready to throw the phone and Mrs. Tonnington off the balcony and into the water. Thinking silently to herself, Amelia ranted, Seems like the issue is that Mrs. Tonnington needs some promiscuity in her life. What an uptight, snobby, prude nightmare of a woman. She needs to get laid. Holy hell.
"What shall we do now that we know Mrs. Tonnington's concerns?" Amelia asked Gwen. Gwen giggled and smiled in response as Amelia continued in a baby talk tone, "That woman is a nightmare, yes she is. She's an uptight prude who needs to get…"
Owen walked in and stopped at the doorway. Laughing, he inquired in baby talk with a charming curiosity, "Who needs to get what, Mommy? What does Mrs. Tonnington need?"
Caught, Amelia charmed her way out of the situation with a coy smile and half a shrug. Owen approached her. He embraced her with his free hand and kissed her as he slid his hand onto her rear and pulled her in closer. In a sultry tone, Owen mumbled, "Does she need a little of this?" Then he ran his hand under her shirt, kissed her again, and wondered, "Or this?"
The twins watched their parents and then began to babble because they were being ignored. Owen stepped away from Amelia, bounced Ella in his arms, and asked, "Is someone upset she's not the center of the universe?" Ella giggled in delight as her daddy raved over her and interacted.
Speaking in an adult tone just to Owen, Amelia commentated with hostility, "That school is going to ruin Bronwyn's creative spirit, Owen, and I won't allow that."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down," Owen said calmly as he maneuvered himself and Ella onto the bed and propped himself against the headboard. "Tell me about your conversation with Mrs. Tonnington."
"First off, the bitch needs to get laid," Amelia proclaimed. "She shared that Finley's 'promiscuity' today was a 'concern.' Hell, I'll show that bitch some promiscuity. She hasn't seen anything yet…" Amelia ranted.
"Whoa, Mama Bear, slow down," Owen chuckled. "Amelia, come here. She obviously pushed some buttons in you and now your wound tighter than a top. It's actually kind of funny to watch." Owen grinned widely as he threw in his last line.
"There is nothing funny about this woman, Owen," Amelia retorted with dire seriousness.
"I didn't say she was funny, I said you are funny. I'm waiting for steam to start shooting out your ears like in the old cartoons," Owen laughed. "Why are you letting this woman get under your skin?"
Amelia, snuggled under Owen's arm, took a series of deep breaths. Owen kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm as they watched the babies talk to one another in their own twin language.
"Where are the kids?" Amelia asked as she continued to snuggle with her husband.
"They're downstairs eating cheese and crackers and apple slices," he reported. Just then, a full volume scream echoed up the stairs as Bronwyn began to rant at one of her brothers.
"Bronwyn, knock it off," Finley insisted. "You are fine."
"Yeah, you big baby," Oliver added.
Finley yelled at Oliver as Bronwyn's screaming speech continued, "That doesn't help and you know it. Why don't you go find something to do?"
"Why don't you?" Oliver retorted.
"Go play with the dogs, Oliver. Go!" Finley ordered. Surprisingly, Oliver stood up and went outside. On his way out, he slammed the door. Bronwyn was continuing to scream as Finley attempted to calm her down.
The babies looked up when the screaming began and their gazes were fixed on the doorway that led down the hall. When Oliver slammed the door, both girls began to cry and worked their way up to their parents.
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Amelia suggested.
Owen grumbled, "Let's just both go down there." Each of them picked up and soothed a baby then headed downstairs.
"What's the scoop down here, Finley?" Amelia inquired.
As soon as she saw Owen, Bronwyn ran up to him attempting to communicate something as he sobbed heavily. He could not even begin to understand her words. Owen handed Ella off to Finley as he picked up Bronwyn and carried her into another room to calm her down.
Finley smiled at his baby sister and playfully poked her nose as he shared, "Bronwyn's been whining and moaning since we got home, Mom. Ollie was trying to get to a seat at the table. Bronwyn's chair was pulled way out so he tried pushing it in so he could scoot behind it. I think the chair got stuck on the rug or something, because he ended up pushing Bronwyn and the top of the chair into the table. He let go right away and told Bronwyn he was sorry. She's just being a spoiled brat."
Finley turned back to Ella and held her up in front of him, causing Amelia to anxiously warn, "Be careful, honey."
"Mom, I'm not going to drop her," Finley reassured Amelia with a chuckle.
Trying to make light of her nagging, Amelia offered with a grin, "I've always wondered if one of my older siblings dropped me. It would explain a lot, wouldn't it?" Finley grinned as he set the baby down and took Gwen from Amelia. He lay down on the floor with his sisters and began playing with them.
"Try to encourage Gwen to crawl, Finley," Amelia urged. She walked over, sat down, and showed him how to prompt her along.
While working with his sister and without looking at his mom, Finley asked Amelia, "Am I in trouble for kissing Naomi?"
"Did she want to be kissed?" Amelia inquired.
Finley paused with a look of confusion, "Ummm…I guess so. I mean she kissed me as much as I kissed her. Why?"
"Because it's never ok to force a girl to kiss you or be with you physically," Amelia explained.
Looking at his mother as if she were nuts, Finley remarked innocently, "Why would anyone ever do that to someone else? That's horrible." He continued to encourage Gwen to balance on all fours as he talked with his mom.
"You're right. It is horrible. Sadly, some people cross that line," Amelia disclosed. She continued, "If you both wanted to kiss, I don't have a problem with you two kissing. French kissing is taking it a step further and making out in 7th grade seems a bit over the top. Were your hands-on top of or under her clothes?"
"Oh, geez, Mom. C'mon," Finley responded with utter embarrassment.
"Well?" Amelia emphasized.
"On top. I made sure I wasn't even near her…you know... or anything," Finley reluctantly admitted, unable to bring himself to say the word 'bra' in front of his mother.
"I think it's cute that you guys kissed," Amelia grinned. "I haven't talked to your dad, though. What do you think he'll say?"
"No idea," Finley responded. "I could see him being totally cool about it and I could see him flipping out."
"Nah…he won't flip out," Amelia promised.
"He won't flip out about what?" Owen asked as he approached the babies, Finley and Amelia and joined them on the floor.
Amelia uttered, "Finley and Naomi's kiss. What are your thoughts? And where's Bronwyn?"
"I put Bronwyn to bed. She fell asleep sobbing about how much she hated school and never wanted to go back," Owen shared with a dismissive tone. He answered Amelia's first question with his own question, "The kiss. Did she want to kiss or did you make her kiss you, Fin?"
"We've already been over all that. He's a gentleman," Amelia answered on Finley's behalf.
"Then why is it a problem? I haven't had a chance to read whatever is in the envelope yet," Owen revealed.
Finley explained, "We were around the corner from the outside boundary and, well, I'm really not trying to sound mean, but it was like Mrs. Tottington had never seen people kiss before. She freaked when she saw us."
Neither Owen nor Amelia could contain their laughter. "The only rule you really broke was crossing the outside boundary?" Owen clarified.
"Yep, but it seemed like Mrs. Tottington was pretty ticked that we were kissing. She lectured Naomi for over half an hour about being a lady and made me wait outside her office. Then she called me to her office and balled me out."
Owen nodded and glanced at Amelia with a grin. "Well, you two are only 12. I know you think you're mature and I know you're not going to want to hear me say this, but anything beyond holding hands and a couple kisses seems like too much to me when you're in 7th grade," he assessed. As they lay on the floor talking and playing with the babies, Owen's phone rang.
"Dr. Hunt," Owen answered.
"Hi, Dr. Hunt. I'm Clarisse Larson. Am I catching you at a good time?"
Owen stood up and walked over to the couch, "Sure. How can I help you Ms. Larson?" Having no idea who the caller was, Owen hoped she'd refresh his memory soon.
"I don't think we've met, but I wanted to call and introduce myself. I'm Naomi's mom. Apparently, our kids found themselves in the Principal's Office today," Clarisse explained.
"Oh, yes," Owen replied. "My wife and I were just chatting with Finley about that. What can I do for you?" Finley looked up at Owen, who looked away when he caught Finley's eye.
Clarisse hesitated then indicated, "I hope we're on the same page about this. From what I understand, the kids really like each other, and the kiss was consensual and pretty tame. My perspective is that there really isn't a problem here, but I wanted to touch base with you in case we have anything to iron out."
Chuckling, Owen disclosed, "We're on the same page, Mrs. Larson, no worries at all."
Letting out an audible sigh of relief, Clarisse suggested, "Perhaps I could meet you and your wife for coffee sometime? If our kids are going to be interested in each other, I'd like to keep an open dialogue with you or your wife. I've met Finley at soccer games and he's a great kid. I know they're only 12, but I think their relationship is platonic and I don't have a problem with them spending time together outside of school as long as they're supervised."
"That'd be nice. Why don't I hand the phone to my wife? She's much more aware of our schedule. It was nice to chat with you," Owen offered as he handed the phone to Amelia and quickly explained the situation. Amelia stepped into another room and chatted with Clarisse for about five minutes.
Owen asked Finley to keep an eye on the babies while he went in search of Oliver. As he stepped into the garage, Owen heard Oliver in the corner sharing details of his day with Nala and Simba. The three were snuggled up on a pile of blankets and a dog bed. Owen slowly approached and Nala enthusiastically barked when she saw him. Bending down to pet her, Owen asked Oliver about his day and chatted with him about what had happened earlier with Bronwyn.
"Dad, can I sleep out here with the dogs tonight?" Oliver asked.
"No, buddy, I don't think so. But maybe sometime soon we can go camping and the dogs will come with us," Owen conveyed without any sincere commitment.
Oliver jumped up into Owen's arms and exclaimed, "Really?! That would be SO cool! When, Dad, when?"
"Soon, buddy. Soon," Owen responded vaguely wondering what he'd just committed to do.
The next morning, Amelia and Owen were wrapped around each other in bed after beginning their day by making love. As they soaked in the quiet bliss and lay together, Amelia announced softly, "I want to pull Bronwyn from Prep and enroll her at a Montessori school." Describing 's report and then repeating what Bronwyn had said in the car the previous afternoon, Amelia concluded that St. Francis was not the right fit.
Thoughtfully, Owen responded, "It's too early to make that decision, Mia. We'd be crazy to give in to Bronwyn's declaration and change schools after just one bad day. Let's schedule a conference with the teacher and hang in there through the week."
Amelia sat up and turned to face Owen. With hesitation, Amelia escalated slightly and replied, "I don't know, Owen. I just don't think one more day there is a good idea for her."
Owen huffed, raised his voice, and insisted, "One day, she'll need to learn a little self-discipline. She needs to embrace the suck."
"She's 4, Owen. Four. She's not joining the Army," Amelia snapped loudly.
"What's wrong with the Army?" Owen inquired with a bellowing voice as he crossed his arms and completely forgot about the sleeping kids.
"My words were meant to paint a picture. You used an Army phrase, I pointed out she's not a recruit. Beyond that, I'm not touching that rabbit trail," Amelia stressed firmly before announcing, "I'm calling the Montessori school down the road. Bronwyn is a free spirit and St. Francis will break her spirit in their quest to mold another Stepford child.
Reactively, Owen protested, "Oh, so the boys should be pulled out too?"
"No. They thrive there," Amelia admitted, "They also don't sob to sleep or tell us they hate school. St. Francis works for them."
"So now we're holding our male and female children to different standards? This coming from a female neurosurgeon always quick to champion feminine abilities and brilliance," Owen roared.
"Dammit, Owen!" Amelia yelled. "You're twisting this discussion into a huge argument."
"Amelia, your perspective is woefully lacking. You're ignoring the fuller picture and failing to consider long term consequences," Owen roared. "Moving her after one day is a reactive and short-sided action."
"You'd rather Bronwyn go to school where she is miserable? That she begin her school years absolutely hating her experience?" Amelia snapped.
"No," Owen growled, "I'd rather she learns that life involves appropriate behavior and not just free play and her right brain."
"YOU want to start discussing the brain with me?!" Amelia laughed angrily. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"I'm done arguing," Owen stated, "We're done here. Case closed."
"Excuse me?!" Amelia screamed, "I am NOT your inferior. Don't you dare declare when our argument is over."
Amelia and Owen's text tones sounded simultaneously. Finley had written, I can hear you guys and Oliver just came in to ask me why you're fighting.
"Great. That's just great, Amy," Owen snapped. "Are you going to deal with that or am I?"
Sarcastically, Amelia claimed, "Well, Major Hunt, you're the one who is done in here. In fact, I believe the hallway is calling your name…" Amelia stopped speaking and placed her hand to her ear, "Oh, yes. Yes, it is…" She stood up and headed for the shower leaving Owen with the task.