Chapter 53
Updated chapter
It was nearing four o'clock that afternoon while Lori, Lincoln and Leni remained in the park just casually sitting on the fountains ledge after having their frozen treats.
"Thanks for the ice cream Lori," Lincoln said contentedly wiping his hands on a piece of tissue
"You're welcome Lincoln," Lori answered in a warm tone.
"So Lincoln did you enjoy your little excursion with Ronnie Anne," Lori then asked eliciting a tiny smile from her brother
"First we came here and she introduced me to three new friends of hers," Lincoln began as his sisters listened intently, "Then we visited this tourist attraction called the Tower and visited the last floor to observe the city from the balcony, then afterwards we took pictures at a photo booth then visited a souvenir shop and bought something for Clyde and his dads, Lucy and Luna, I couldn't decide what to get our other sisters."
"So glad you had a great time Lincoln," Lori replied then fished into her purse and retrieved her phone.
"Wow it's literally four o'clock," she remarked while glancing at the time on the phone, "We should use the restrooms before we go."
"They might be over here," Lincoln declared and his sisters followed him in a particular direction.
Indeed they happened to be the restrooms that were actually well kept and clean. After finishing their business they returned to Vanzilla where Lori touched Lincoln on his shoulder to get his attention.
"Lincoln why don't you sit beside me," Lori remarked.
After the siblings buckled themselves in securely Lori started the ignition. Lincoln spent the next fifteen minutes just gazing at the passing scenery while Lori made the journey towards home.
"What did you think of Bobby's family," Lori eventually asked her eyes fixated on the road ahead.
"I like them, wish I got have gotten to hang out with the boys a little," Lincoln remarked.
"They're such great people Lori, Carlotta and I even exchanged phone numbers and shared fashion tips," Leni replied to her sister's question.
'That's nice," Lori remarked then her brother pulled out another comic from his backpack to read and Leni retrieved her phone and started texting her friend Jackie.
After thirty minutes of driving Lori gave a sideways glance at Lincoln then redirected her attention back to the road. Lincoln returned the comic to his bag once he finished reading and listened to more music on his Mp3 player.
An undetermined amount of time later Lori got weary of driving and noticed a huge sign with the name of a nature park up ahead then on a whim she made a right turn and drove into the parks entrance.
"Er, Lori," Leni began puzzled upon realizing they were going in another direction.
"I think we should take a little break," Lori explained.
Finding a spot near some secluded trees, they disembarked from Vanzilla and strolled around a bit until Lori stopped at a park bench and sat. Following her lead Lincoln and Leni sat on her right side with Lincoln in the middle.
All of a sudden, Lori was reminded of a certain matter that plagued her thoughts since the day after Lincoln and Lucy moved in with Clyde and his dads. She'd been contemplating about when was the right moment to bring Lincolns attention to the matter.
'Might as well say it now," Lori thought then her heart began beating slightly faster. Taking a deep breath of air Lori addressed him.
Lori faltered a bit for two seconds before continuing to speak, "I have a confession to make Lincoln, remember Gino my first boyfriend who broke up with me three months before Bobby came into the picture? He ended our relationship by leaving a horrible text message on my phone and that's the reason why I became hostile towards you because you were the only boy and why I started calling you a twerp and making fun of the awkward situations you got yourself into with or without Clyde."
"You didn't tell me he broke up with you up by text," Lincoln asked incredulously.
"Because I told only Leni and Luna what he wrote." Lori admitted sheepishly to which Lincoln responded by whispering, "Oh."
"The reason I was absolutely furious with you when Bobby said he was breaking up with me because you insulted Ronnie Anne because what you said about her reminded me of Gino's text, he wrote I should have stayed an awkward looking four eyed nobody. It still affected me long after my relationship with Bobby started so I decided my brother wouldn't treat girls that way. I'm sorry for threatening to hit you with the small table when you refused to go on the double date with me, Bobby and Ronnie Anne and for the other awful things I've done to you, kicking you out of Vanzilla after Lisa thanked you for convincing her to stop being a know it all when she refused to give me the answers to that quiz, those unkind remarks I made about those coffee mugs you made for mom and dad's anniversary when you spent so much time making them and calling you pathetic when you found the other mugs they hid in the attic and saying probably this year you wouldn't fail miserably and crush mom and dads spirits. Regarding the sweet spot Leni said because you saved her from a fashion nightmare you could keep it and Lucy said she didn't care about it either after we found the seating chart on the underside of your mattress," she continued.
Lori momentarily to rest her throat when Lincoln asked blankly, sensing Lori wasn't finished speaking, "What then?"
"I actually didn't want the sweet spot, I wanted to prevent you from having it so I convinced Leni and Lucy to fight for it by telling them you were being selfish for wanting the best seat because brothers are supposed to act like gentlemen and put their sisters first. They became angry like everyone else when I said that. I was pretending I was furious at you when I demanded you give up the seat," Lori continued in a solemn voice.
Lori became apprehensive upon seeing a blank expression suddenly appearing on Lincoln's face and she ceased speaking for a moment and the silence was so deafening you could hear a pin drop.
"Lincoln," the teenage girl began tentatively, feeling somewhat nervous, "Are you okay, what you are thinking right now?"
He looked at his older sister directly by keeping his composure then spoke after a period of eight seconds.
"No Lori I'm not angry, I really want to thank you for your honesty," Lincoln replied softly.
Lori nervousness then dissipated at his response when the sky suddenly clouded a bit causing Lori to glance upwards. Frowning she stood up and addressed Lincoln and Leni.
"Looks like it's gonna rain so let's go," she declared hastily and so they hurried to the family van.
A couple minutes later a heavy downpour started as Lori drove through the park's entrance while Lincoln continued reading another comic book. By the time Lori made one final stop at another gas station almost an hour later to buy a bottle of water and filled Vanzilla's tank Lincoln and Leni were fast asleep
It was 7:30 pm that evening when Lori pulled up into the McBride's driveway with a now awake Lincoln. Lori breathed a sigh of relief as her brother quickly unbuckled his seatbelt.
'Thanks again for taking me along Lori," Lincoln said with gratitude.
"You're welcome Lincoln," she replied.
Reaching once again into his backpack Lincoln opened the plastic bag containing the souvenirs he purchased and pulled out the keychain specifically for Luna.
"This keychain is for Luna," he declared handing it to Lori which she placed in her handbag.
"Tell Leni bye when she wakes up," he said upon hearing light snoring coming from behind him.
"Okay Lincoln but I'll walk with you," Lori said
Swiftly unbuckling her own seatbelt she accompanied Lincoln to the front door and when they reached Lori smiled warmly at her brother.
"Have a good night bro," Lori said placing a hand on his right shoulder
"Tell the others and Pop-Pop hello for me, bye," Lincoln replied.
After a brief hug from Lori, Lincoln retrieved the house key Harold handed him last Sunday from the side pocket of his backpack and let himself inside the house. In the living room Clyde and his dads were enjoying a vintage movie from the early sixties on TV.
Acknowledging the white haired boys entrance upon hearing the door unlocking, Harold smiled and said, "Hi Lincoln glad you reached home safely."
Relieved to see his best friend after not seeing each other for hours Clyde's eyes lit up with joy.
"Hey everyone I bought some souvenirs," Lincoln announced cheerily.
First he removed the two mugs wrapped in white paper from the plastic bag and handed one to Howard then Harold.
"Thanks Lincoln," Harold replied and Lincoln nodded then handed over the t-shirt to Clyde next.
"This is for you buddy," Lincoln said.
"Thanks you Lincoln,' replied Clyde with gratitude.
Realizing the absence of a certain Goth from the scene Lincoln inquired, "Where's Lucy?"
"Oh Haiku called me this afternoon and asked for permission for Lucy to stay until tomorrow evening," Harold replied.
It always pleased Lincoln to see and hear Lucy enjoying herself instead of just maintaining her gloomy disposition so he smiled a bit.
"Wash your hands there's some spaghetti and meatballs left over," Howard said and Lincoln placed the bags on the coffee table.
Next day at the Loud residence during their late breakfast Luna (the music store was closed on Sundays and Mondays) told Lori shed assist her with doing the laundry but before the sisters got the opportunity to leave Albert delayed them.
"Just a minute girls," Albert said making the girls return to their seats and without wasting another moment their grandfather cut to the chase.
"Why were you playing chicken during senior swim last summer at the community pool?" Albert inquired which startled every girl present.
A little gasp escaped Luna and Luan's lips while Lori felt her shoulders stiffen.
Suddenly having an idea who informed Albert about the incident Luna asked, 'Did Lynn tell you?"
Albert replied, 'She told me all about it when I visited her last week and Lori," his voice became sterner, "Your parents left you in charge, as the oldest you should have ensured your siblings follow the rules of the community pool while having fun, what if the lady who dislocated her hip asked for your parents' names and phone numbers to sue them for your carelessness."
The girls, even the ones not responsible for the lady's accident felt a wave of regret. Luna and Luan hung their heads low while Lori responded.
"Sorry Pop Pop, at the time I was so preoccupied with cooling down and having fun I allowed everyone to do whatever they wanted," Lori replied shamefacedly.
Albert placed his right palm against his forehead in exasperation and responded, "Well it shouldn't have happened in the first place."
"It was me, Luan, Lynn and Lana who were playing," Luna added, "I'm sorry."
"You can leave now girls," Albert replied before rising from his chair.
Two hours later
The laundry was almost done with the last load currently in the washing machine so Luna went upstairs to give her brother a call. Being aware of the screen free Sunday rule Albert informed his other granddaughters about Luna dialed the McBride's landline number. Surprisingly Lincoln passed the phone at that exact moment and he grabbed the receiver.
"Hello, this is Lincoln speaking," Lincoln answered politely.
"Hi it's me Luna," she replied with him instantly recognizing her voice.
"Hi Luna what's up?" Lincoln greeted her jovially.
Hi little bro, how are you doing, I'm just calling to thank you for the keychain?" Luna responded.
"I'm doing fine Luna, I'm glad you like the keychain," he replied then Luna asked, "How's Lucy?"
"She's doing okay," Lincoln said then before mentioning Lucy was visiting Haiku his mood darkened a bit when Loris words about the Goth and Leni not wanting the sweet spot flashed through his mind.
'Hey Luna I wanna know something, did you really want the sweet spot?" he inquired.