"I call this sibling meeting to order." Said Lori, using her shoe as a gavel. The remaining sisters had gathered in Lori and Leni's room to address the serious situation.
"Not only did Leni run away from home, but we also angered Lincoln pretty badly. We may very well have ruined the relationship with two of our siblings." "Thanks for the remainder dude." Said Luna, annoyed. "Hey, your at fault just as much as the rest of us!" Retorted Lori.
But before an argument could break out, Luan interrupted. "Guys! Things are bad enough as it is, we don't need you two making it worse!"
"You're right. Sorry Luna." "Me too dude." After that was out of the way, the meeting continued. "So how are we gonna get Leni back?" Asked Lola. "I'm honestly not sure. I just hope Pop Pop, Myrtle, or Lincoln find her and can convince her to come back. But we have to start figuring out how we're going to make things up to her for what we did. Any ideas?" Asked Lori.
"We could make her one of her favorite smoothies." Suggested Lucy. "Decorate her room?" Suggested Lana. "What if we get her some new clothes and sewing materials?" Offered Lynn.
"I don't know if that'll be enough to earn her forgiveness, but we gotta start somewhere. We all have to spend the day working on how to make this up to Leni. And hopefully, we can earn Lincoln and our grandparents' forgiveness too. I feel awful knowing we ruined Pop Pop's birthday." The sisters all were downcast. "Well, meeting adjourned. Let's get to work." And they all split up.
In the master bedroom, Rita was lying in the bed when Lynn Sr walked in. "Given any thought about how to approach the kids?" He asked. Rita sat up, her face showing that she had been crying for quite a while. "What if they really are scared of me now?" She asked. "How would I be able to fix that??" "I don't know, but whatever happens, we'll fix it together." Replied Lynn Sr. Rita nodded and left the bedroom.
Upstairs, she saw the girls were all in their rooms. Taking a deep breath, she spoke loud enough for them to hear through the door. "Girls, can you all come out here please?"
At first, no one came, until one by one, the sisters came into the hallway. "Girls, I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't know what I was thinking. I feel like I don't even deserve to be your mom after what I did." Grieved Rita. The girls, mainly the little ones, had initially been frightened, but soon saw how much regret Rita was showing and couldn't stay scared.
Lori put her hand on Rita's shoulder. "You're not the only one at fault. I mean, look at us. In only a few minutes, we not only lost Leni, but we also ruined our relationship with Lincoln. He hates us now and probably will until we can earn Leni's trust back."
That was another thing. Lincoln always meant so much to Rita as her only son and it hurt her to see him practically disown his family for hurting someone he loved so much. "We'll get them back. We'll be a whole family again. I know it." And she embraced her daughters.
Elsewhere, Pop Pop and Myrtle were looking for Leni near the retirement home. But like Lincoln, they didn't have any luck. "It's getting late dear, we're going to have to head back." Said Myrtle sadly. She knew how Sue got with residents showing up late. Pop Pop knew Myrtle was right. "Alright, we'll head out early tomorrow to look again.
They pulled into sunset canyon retirement home and headed inside. "Oh good. You're still alive." Grumbled Sue from behind the front desk. "Watch it." Snapped Pop Pop. As they reached their room, He slumped into his easy chair. "Oh, i hope Lincoln finds her before it gets too late." Sighed Pop Pop. "I'm sure Lincoln will find her. He's a very smart boy. I'm sorry your birthday turned out this way honey." Said Myrtle. "I couldn't care less about my birthday, I just want my granddaughter back home safe and sound." He said as he look out the window at the darkening sky.
Stay tuned for chapter 7!