The Douglas Farm

Lisa was busy just about to serve Oliver's breakfast when he walked into the kitchen. "Oh, hello dahling! Your breakfast is ready!" she said. Oliver smiled and sat down at his usual spot at the table as she revealed four perfectly round hotcakes on a plate.

Oliver's smile turned into a grimace as he looked at the "heartburns on a plate". Lisa noticed the look on his face. "Vhat's the matter? Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

Oliver looked up at her. "Uh, now that you mention it, I'm not that hungry this morning. I think I'll just take some coffee." he said quickly. Lisa shrugged, walked over to the sink, and sent her hotcakes flying out the window. She then proceeded to serve Oliver his coffee. Just as she sat down to join him when Eb came walking in.

"Good morning, mom! Good morning, dad!" he exclaimed.

"Eb, we're not your…" Oliver began, but he was interrupted by Lisa.

"Good morning, Eb. Vhere have you been? You veren't on the couch vhen I got up this morning."

Ever since Eb's room went down in a blaze, Oliver and Lisa allowed him to sleep on the couch until it could be restored. "Oh, I got up early this morning to get a head start on my chores!" he said proudly.

Oliver looked at him suspiciously. "Why?" he inquired.

"Oh, I was getting to that! Mr. Douglas, can I have the rest of the day off?" Eb asked.

"The rest of the day off! Why!" Oliver yelled.

"To go furniture shopping!" Eb explained.

"Furniture shopping!" Oliver retorted.

"Yeah, Mrs. Douglas said that she would give me a check so I could go pick out new furniture for my room!" Eb said.

At that, Lisa looked down and began stirring her coffee vigorously, pretending not to notice Oliver's look of disappointment.

"Lisa, you told him you would give him a check!" Oliver said. Lisa looked up sheepishly and nodded. Oliver threw up his hands in frustration. "Why would you do a thing like that!" he asked.

"Oh dahling! The poor boy needs new furniture for his room!" she said, trying to reason with him.

"I'm sorry Lisa, but I need Eb here with me this afternoon. We have a lot of work to do around the farm." Oliver said stubbornly.

"But Mr. Douglas!" Eb pleaded. "No!" Oliver said, seemingly ending the conversation. Eb looked at Lisa with a beseeching look on his face. Lisa nodded and proceeded to try to change Oliver's mind. She looked at him with a subtle pout on her face.

"But dahling, it's just vone day! And it vould make Eb so happy! It vould make me so happy." Lisa said.

Oliver knew perfectly well that she was trying to use her charm to get him to change his mind, just as she always did. He was about to tell her that there was no way he was going to relent, but then Oliver looked down at Lisa's arms, which were crossed in front of her and resting on the table. Although the bandages that used to cover her arms were long gone, there were still faint scars all across them from her accident. Guilt spread through him again.

"All right." Oliver said with a smile. "If it'll make you happy, Eb can go furniture shopping!"

"Oh thank you, dad!" Eb exclaimed. He ran over to Oliver and hugged him from behind. "Let go of me!" Oliver said sternly. Eb immediately released him and turned his attention to Lisa. "Thanks, mom!" he told her as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're velcome, Eb! And your check is on the dresser in our bedroom." she said with a smile. At that, Eb ran to the bedroom, grabbed the check, and was out the front door.

"Watch this!" Oliver told Lisa. "Five, four, three, two, one." As soon as he reached one, Eb came running back in through the back door.

"Mr. Douglas, can I borrow your car?" Eb asked.

Oliver was about to open his mouth to say no, but Lisa gave him one of her looks. Oliver sighed, pulled the keys out of his pocket, and tossed them to Eb. Eb caught them and smiled. "Thanks dad!" he said. He then turned around and walked out the back door.

"And stop calling me dad!" Oliver called after him. Lisa giggled as she got up to freshen his coffee. Oliver sighed and looked up at her as she filled his cup. "There, you happy now?" he asked, still a little frustrated over the whole situation.

Lisa smiled sweetly at him. "Yes dahling, very happy." she told him. Oliver couldn't help but smile back. "I'm glad." he added. Lisa bent down and kissed him.

Once they parted, Oliver looked down at his watch. "Oh, it's getting late. I better get started with today's work." He took one last sip of his coffee and then kissed Lisa goodbye.

"See you later, honey. I'll be back for lunch." he told her. "All right, dahling." she responded. Oliver was about to walk out the door, but then remembered something. He turned back to Lisa.

"Oh, and honey," he began. Lisa looked up from clearing the table. "Yes, dahling?"

"I love you." he said tenderly. Lisa smiled. "I love you too, dahling." she responded. Oliver smiled and walked out the door.

Lisa was glad that something good had come out of her accident. She loved how he insisted on telling her that he loved her when they were about to be apart. It gave her a warm feeling inside. Also, it was quite amusing. If ever he forgot to tell her that he loved her when he left the house, Oliver would double back, no matter how far away from the house he was, and rush in to tell her.

She was beginning to worry about him a little, but she hoped that it was just a phase and that it would pass. In the meantime, she would enjoy it while it lasted. Lisa let these thoughts entertain her as she continued to clear the table.

Hello dere! It's me, the author! I'm sorry for the long delay in between these two chapters! For some reason, I'm having a really hard time coming up with ideas for this particular story. But don't worry, I won't give up! I'm sure inspiration will strike sooner or later! In the meantime, stay tuned! I will update as soon as possible! Bye!