Chapter 8) The Next Morning Part 2
Lori loaded Luan's comedy props and costumes into Vanzilla's back seat. She also put her father's bowling ball bag and Lily's toy shopping cart in as well, making sure that all of the items were secure. After a moment's thought she decided to relocate her father's bag from the seat to the floor since it was the heaviest. Now all she had to do was retrieve the reusable grocery bags from inside of the house. And Lily's diaper bag too. Leaving that behind would be a mistake.
On her way back inside, Lori found Lily crawling around on the floor. She noticed that the baby girl was still only wearing her diaper and she went to scoop her up. Lily giggled as she was lifted into the air and then blew a raspberry at her older sister.
"Let me guess." Lori said. "A certain someone managed to get her clothes off, again. And I bet you did it literally right after you were just dressed. Am I right?"
Lily's only response was to giggle again and then to reach for Lori's earrings. Lori, familiar with such attempts, made sure to keep her baby sister from grabbing them. Luckily she knew to distract Lily with something that she would find more enticing.
"Look what I found." She sing-songed, reaching down and picking up Lily's toy keys off of the floor.
Lori began to dangle the plastic keys in front of Lily, quickly and easily gaining her attention. Lily grabbed her toy keys and happily began playing with them. And with her younger sister now entertained, Lori set out to locate the little girl's missing outfit. From what she could see, there wasn't a trace of any of it in the living room or dining room. She didn't see anything in the kitchen either, which led her to try searching upstairs.
"I had better not find any of your clothes in the toilet gain, Lily." She said to the infant.
"Poo-poo." Lily said in reply.
However, just as Lori was about to take the first step upstairs, Luan appeared at the top step. In her hands were Lily's clothes and she was clearly looking for the one who was supposed to be wearing them. And when she saw Lori, Luan froze for a moment. Her eyes went from Lori, to Lily, and then back to Lori again. Then she forced a smile and slowly approached her older and younger sisters.
"There you are, silly Lily. I was wondering where you went. I'll take her, Lori."
"Okay, but I think she needs a diaper change. Again."
"I got it. I need to get her dressed again anyway. Hopefully she won't make a stink about it. Ha, ha, ha! Get it?"
Lori only rolled her eyes in response. Luan turned around and went up to change Lily's dirty diaper and then put her clothes back on. Once the comedian was out of sight, Lori's face fell. She could tell that there was something up with her sister. There had been something in her eyes just then. And Lori had seen the same thing earlier that same morning too.
'I think Luan might be afraid of me.' She thought, 'Although I guess I shouldn't be surprised with how all of my other siblings have been. I better nip this in the bud before it gets any worse.'
Lori went to follow her sister, but her mother called for her and Luan to head out to Vanzilla. She listened, knowing that she would still get the opportunity to speak with her pun-addicted sibling. If anything, it would be better this way. Now when she confronted her, she wouldn't be able to find an excuse to leave. Not so long as they were riding inside of Vanzilla.
Once Luan came back downstairs with Lily, the five Louds went out to where Vanzilla was parked out in the driveway. The parents took the front seats, Mr. Loud driving, and the three girls were seated in the first row behind them. Lily's car seat was situated behind the driver's seat and Lori allowed Luan to sit next to their baby sister. She then took the seat next to Luan, trapping the brunette between Lily and herself. Something that the jokester didn't realize until it was too late.
As Vanzilla pulled out of the driveway and onto Franklin Avenue, Lori pondered the best way to approach the issue. Just getting straight to the point was the obvious method. But it was how to handle Luan's reaction that would be the question. Lori suspected that her sister may choose to avoid the subject. If that were the case, then Lori could only hope to press the subject so far. That is unless her mother and father took her side and Luan had to talk to her. But on the other hand, they could just as easily order Lori to let her sister be. Although Lori only saw that happening if she kept trying to get Luan to talk to her.
'I just need to take it slowly.' She thought 'And I should be careful with what I say too. If she is scared of me, then I don't want to do or say anything that will make her think that she's right to feel that way.'
Lori spent another few moments thinking of how to approach the matter. Once she had settled on her best course of action, she gently placed her hand onto Luan's shoulder. The touch was soft, but it made Luan tense up to the point where she was as stiff as a board. She warily gazed at Lori from the corner of her eye, almost as if she were keeping an eye on a suspicious stranger who had been following her down the street. The difference being that in that scenario, she at least had the option to run. For now, Luan had no place to go. But it did help having both their mother and father nearby.
"Do you need something, Lori?" Luan asked, forcing another smile as she looked at her sister.
"Luan, if you need to say something to me, then please just go ahead. I know something is bothering you, and I'm the cause of it. Just be honest with me, please."
Her sister hesitated. And as she finally turned to face her fully, Luan took Lori's hand from her shoulder and pushed it away. Luan tried to give her older sister a strong glare, but couldn't seem to maintain it and just looked away from her again.
"You want me to be honest, Lori? Well I honestly want you to just leave me alone. Don't talk to me, stay away from me, don't even look at me! You can start after we get out of the van."
Lori opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself. She looked down at her feet and began to do as Luan had told her. It hurt her to know how her sister felt, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it aside of what she was already doing with Lincoln. Which meant she could add another name to the list of siblings who weren't going to forgive her easily.
'I guess Leni and Lily are the only ones who will want to spend any time with me for a while. That is, if Luan doesn't keep trying to keep me away from Lily. She won't trust me with her anymore.' She thought, her eyes moistening.
From the front seat, Rita let out a mildly exasperated sigh. After having to deal with Luna's behavior earlier that morning she had hoped that would be the end of any issues for the day. But she supposed it would be better that this was happening now, regardless of that. She just wanted all of this to play out and then be done with, once and for all. She shifted position in her seat a little so she could look at her daughters. Lori looked up at her mother, a pleading look in her eyes. Rita gave Lori a small smile and then turned her attention to Luan.
"Luan, is there any reason why you want Lori to leave you alone? Because I think that she at least deserves to know that much."
The comedian met her mother's gaze for a moment. She knew that she was cornered with the older woman backing up Lori and she wished she had chosen her words more carefully. Saying something more along the lines of 'I just want some space' or 'I'm not ready to talk about it yet' could have helped her to avoid this predicament. But her hindsight would only do her so much good with her mother awaiting her response.
"She knows what her problem is." Luan said softly and then taking a sudden interest in the back of the driver's seat.
"That's not good enough, young lady." Rita chastised. "But that's alright. Once we get to the store, the two of you can remain in the van until you've talked this through. And we won't start shopping until you're done."
"But I have to perform at that birthday party at eleven!" Luan protested.
"Well, then you had better not take too long." Rita said simply. "Because your father and I aren't going into that store until you and your sister are able to leave this van."
Knowing better than to try and argue the matter, Luan only crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. The remainder of the ride passed without anyone else saying a thing. That is, unless one counted Lily's giggles and baby talk.
Once the family arrived at the supermarket and Vanzilla was brought to a rest in a nearby parking spot, Mr. and Mrs. Loud exited the vehicle. Mr. Loud retrieved Lily from her car seat and then shut the door, leaving Luan and Lori alone. The tension between them became palpable almost immediately. Luan shifted uncomfortably, the seat belt suddenly seeming very constricting. She steeled her nerves as best she could, knowing that she couldn't allow her older sister to intimidate her. If her parents wanted them to talk about the problem, then they were going to talk. And if Lori didn't like what she heard, then that was too bad for her.
"Okay Lori, I have to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago!" She started assertively, turning to glare at Lori. "So just sit there and listen to what I ... are you crying?"
Lori slowly nodded, a steady stream of tears flowing down out of both of her eyes. She wiped them away and looked at her younger sister apologetically.
"You don't have to stop just because of that. Keep going. You said you've needed to say this for a while, right?"
"Yeah...but, it's just..." Luan clenched her teeth and let out a frustrated growl. "Dang it! I want to be mad at you, but it's hard when you look so sad! But I guess it works out since I hate being angry with anybody anyway. Just wish that I could say the same for you."
"I don't like being angry!" Lori blurted out with shock.
"You sure about that? Because you seem to get angry, a lot. And it's not only ever important stuff either. It takes almost nothing to set you off sometimes. Like the time Lynn told you that we ran out of bread and then you found another loaf. What did you do to Lynn again?"
"I...I literally hit her with it. Over and over again."
"Exactly my point. Do you honestly think that wasn't overreacting, even just a little?"
Lori hung her head, shaking it back and forth slowly. Looking back on that occurrence, she knew she had definitely flipped out. It hadn't even been entirely over Lynn's little mistake. She had just been having a rotten day and when she had found out that Lynn was wrong about the bread, she had just lost it. After that, it was all just a fuzzy memory.
"I'm just an awful sister, aren't I?" She asked pitifully.
"To be honest with you Lori, no. I don't think that at all." Luan said sincerely. "Most of the time, you're an amazing sister. It's just when you get mad, it's easy to overlook that. And I know that the rest of us aren't exactly angels either. But I like to think that I at least try not to let the little things get to me."
"You're talking about yesterday, aren't you?"
"Gee, you think?" Luan sarcastically asked. "I'm not going to bother bringing up everything that Mom and Dad talked about yesterday, but I am saying at least a couple of things about it. First of all, you slammed a door on Lincoln's hand, just because he wanted to go into his room! If that isn't overreacting, then I don't know what is."
"It...It was actually because he was going to tell Dad that I wouldn't let him into his room."
"That doesn't make much of a difference, Lori. And then there's what you said to him. Wishing that he hadn't been born was the most horrible thing I've ever heard anyone say to anybody. Can you blame any of us for being mad at you for that?"
"No. I'd feel the same way if I was in your shoes. It only makes sense that you'd be mad. And scared too."
Luan sighed. "Listen, maybe I'm just being paranoid. But I just can't help it. Trust me though, I would be glad for you to prove me wrong."
"I'll get right to work on that." Lori said, smiling a little. "And thanks for letting me have the chance."
"Hey, you can't earn trust back if no one lets you try to. Now if we're done here, we should get going."
"Right, you still have to go to perform at that party today. We wouldn't want to make you late."
"Yeah. I just hope that all the drama we've been dealing with won't affect my focus today."
The two got out of Vanzilla and joined their parents and baby sister. They headed through the parking lot, towards the store's entrance. As they proceeded, both Rita and Lynn Sr. fell back a bit. While their daughters had been talking, they had been listening in through the slightly open windows of the van. It had been mostly to make sure that things wouldn't get out of hand. But as they heard more of the girls' conversation, they found that there were certain things that they did not care for.
"So, is that the first time you heard about the incident with Lynn jr. and the loaf of bread?" Lynn Sr. asked in a whisper.
"I'm sorry to say that it is. And I already plan on taking care of it, so don't you worry about it, honey."
"I'm glad to hear that. This whole mess has just gotten so complicated."
"Well it's only a matter of time before we can just put it behind us. But for now, let's just try to make the most out of today. Okay?"
Lynn Sr. agreed and the two caught up with their daughters. The family entered the store and began their shopping. Rita found and empty cart while Lynn Sr. set Lily down with her toy shopping cart. The infant toddled off, her father following close behind.
"Not so fast there, Lil-ster! We don't want to leave Mommy and your big sisters behind, do we?"
He managed to catch up with Lily and guided her back to join with the other three. Mrs. Loud began to browse through the produce section while she had her two older daughters keep watch on their baby sister. Mr. Loud meanwhile went down to take a number at the deli and begin waiting in the line before it could get too long.
Lily started to wander again and her sisters kept tabs on her. Although Lori let Luan keep the closer eye on Lily, knowing that the brunette was most likely still a little less than eager to be around her. Even though their talk had helped to clear the air a little, she knew that things were still going to be different between them for a while. For now she'd just have to do whatever she could to earn back Luan's favor. Just like she had to do with Luna and Lincoln.
Lori heard Lily giggling and looked over at her. She saw Luan entertaining Lily by juggling some oranges. Her act was not only entertaining the one year old, but also drawing the attention of the other shoppers as well. But before a crowd could begin forming, Rita walked over and gave the performer a stern glare.
"Young lady, put those back this instant! I don't need you causing any trouble!"
"Sorry Mom." Luan said as she ceased her juggling and put the oranges away. "I was just putting on a show for Lily."
"That's fine, Honey. But keep in mind that there's a time and place for that and a busy store isn't the place."
"I understand." Luan said. "But hey, at least I listened to you the first time. Orange you glad I did that?"
Luan laughed at her pun, prompting Lily to giggle again as well. Rita just shook her head, but did so with a small smile, before she returned to her grocery shopping, Lori couldn't help but smile as well. It was nice to see that even though things had gotten so serious between them just a short while ago, that it hadn't had an effect on Luan's sense of humor.
Lori's eyes widened as she suddenly thought of something. The solution to her problem may not have been as difficult as she had thought. At least not with Luan it wasn't. In fact, it seemed so obvious to her now that she was kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner.
Now with a plan set in her mind, Lori began to observe her surroundings a little more closely. After a minute or two, she stepped towards Luan, ready to put her plan into action. She tapped Luan on the shoulder, gaining her attention.
"Hey Luan, do you know which fruit isn't able to run away to get married?"
"No, I don't." Luan replied, picking up on what Lori was up to. "Which fruit isn't able to run away to get married?"
"The Can't-elope." Lori said, picking up a piece of the aforementioned fruit.
Luan laughed. "Okay, that's a good one! Got any others?"
"Glad you asked. Which fruit has a hard time hearing?"
"I know this one!" Luan said, gesturing to a bin of large, round, green fruits. "The What?-ermelon!"
"Bingo." Lori said before pretending to look sad. "You know what? I kinda feel bad for them. It must really stink not being able to hear. I know! Let's lend them an ear."
Lori grabbed a piece of unhusked corn and placed it on top of the watermelon bin. Luan roared with laughter, doubling over and fighting back tears in her eyes. Lori smiled triumphantly. Her plan was working! If she could just keep this up, then there was no way she wouldn't be back on Luan's good side. That is, assuming that she wasn't already there.
"Alright you two, calm down." Rita said as she joined her girls. "Lori, would you find someone who's working here, please? I want to know if they have any more avocados, or if they're all out. And where's Lily?"
Lori looked around her and couldn't spot her youngest sister anywhere. She began to worry and looked more frantically. Luckily, Luan spotted her nearby. The infant was pushing her toy cart towards one of the store's clerks, just a short distance away.
"There she is!" Lori said with a sigh of relief. "Looks like she was one step ahead of you, Mom. Don't worry, I'll get her."
Lori went after Lily, closing the distance between them quickly. She reached her baby sister just as the little girl grabbed hold of the clerk's pant leg, giving it a tug.
"Come here, you." Lori said, picking Lily up. "Don't sneak off like that. You scared us! I'm sorry about that. I hope she didn't bother you."
"Lori?" Came the familiar voice of the clerk.
"Oh... um, hi Bobby."
End of chapter 8.