Chapter 14) Attempting to Reconcile Part 3
"Hey girls!" Lynn Sr. called out as he exited the pick-up truck. "So? What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to the object in the truck's bed.
"I think you literally brought home a cubical wall." Lori said. "But, why?"
"I'm glad that you asked. I'll explain while you two help me unload it and bring it down into the basement."
He walked around to the back of the truck and opened the gate. Luna and Lori joined him and together, the three got the fifty-four inch tall wall off of the bed and over to the front porch.
"So, I had this idea this morning while I was cooking breakfast." he told the two teens as he opened the front door for them. "We only have so many rooms in the house and there are thirteen of us. So there are only so many places we can go without a chance of bumping into each other. But what if we had a designated area for someone who needs alone time to cool off? A chill zone, if you will?"
"Oh, I get it!" Lori said. "Sort of like a little place to go when you've had a bad day. Right?"
Lynn Sr. nodded. "Exactly. Now, I was able to get this old wall from the office since they were going to just have it sent off to the dump. We'll set it up in one of the corners downstairs, leaving enough space there to set up a small table. Or maybe a desk if we can find one. Then you kids can put some stuff there for when you need to deal with whatever is bothering you until either your mother or myself can check in to talk to you about what's wrong. And nobody else is allowed to bother you unless you want them to."
The father followed Lori and Luna as they slowly carried the wall inside. He spotted for them to make sure they didn't bump into any furniture or anything as they made their way over to the entrance to the basement. After they got it down there it was simply a matter of finding a location for the new addition. It required a little rearranging, but the three made a spot for it in the back corner, setting the wall so it stood perpendicularly to the staircase.
"Okay then." Lynn Sr. commented, stepping back to see how it looked. "That should be enough space. It just needs a little decorating and a comfy place for whoever's here to settle down and relax. You kids can discuss that since you'll be the ones making use of it. And if we can, I want to set another chill zone up in the attic too. But getting another cubical wall up there may not be as easy, if I can even get a second one in the first place at all."
"We'll figure it out." Lori said. "But this is pretty good for now. It's actually literally what I wanted yesterday. What...what I should have done." She hung her head in shame and then turned to face her father. "I'm really sorry about what I did yesterday, Dad. I caused a lot of trouble for you and Mom. Not to mention Lincoln."
"It's okay, Honey." Lynn Sr. said, placing his hand onto his daughter's shoulder. "Well, what you did wasn't okay, but you're showing remorse and that counts for something. Now, let's go and get started on dinner, shall we?"
"Actually, before that..." Lori began, nudging Luna with her elbow. "Before that..." She repeated, giving Luna another nudge.
"Dude, what?" Luna asked with mild annoyance.
Lori sighed and shook her head at her sister for a moment. Luna only stared at her in silent confusion, leaving Lori to face their father and continue with what she had been trying to get her musical sister to say.
"Luna needs to tell you something important. Very important." Lori said.
Lynn Sr.'s brow furrowed ever so slightly, his eyes showing a mixture of seriousness and concern. He fixed his gaze onto his other child, who averted her own in return. Her reaction only furthered the growth of his feeling of worry. And this caused him to begin thinking of what could possibly be bothering her.
"Luna, kiddo, what's the matter? It's okay. You can tell me."
His gentle, encouraging tone didn't coax Luna into speaking. She did want to speak, but fear kept her mouth from opening. Lori cleared her throat to gain her father's attention again, taking hold of Luna's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Mom said we could tell you together." she explained. "To give Luna moral support."
The father nodded, "Of course. Let's go upstairs and into my and your mother's room for a little privacy."
"Okay." Lori said with a nod. "We'll be right up."
The girls let their father head up, Luna swallowing a lump in her throat. She glanced at Lori, tightening her grip on her older sister's hand. Lori locked eyes with her and smiled comfortingly. She went to follow their father, but Luna stopped her, tugging on her arm.
"Lori? I think I'm freaking myself out! What do I do if Pops isn't cool with it?!"
"Relax, Luna. Mom was okay with you liking girls, so..."
"Exactly!" Luna interrupted, panic in her voice. "If she's cool with it and Pops isn't, then they might fight! I don't want to happen! What if they..."
Lori hushed her sister by pressing her finger to the younger girl's lips. She gave her a firm look and prepared to leave the basement again. Only this time, she stood behind Luna and gently pushed her, encouraging her to move forward.
"You're literally being ridiculous, Luna. And you'll see that just as soon as you tell Dad the truth. Now let's go!"
After a moment, Luna began to move on her own, Lori keeping a step behind her. The two entered their parent's bedroom and Lori took a seat on the air mattress that served as her temporary bed. Luna stood in front of their mother and father, who were sitting beside each other on their own bed. She could see that her father was looking at her expectantly with concern still in his eyes. Something that wasn't making things easier for the already very nervous girl.
Seconds passed and Luna said nothing. Rita, sensing her child's unease, gave her a loving and reassuring smile.
"It's okay, Luna. Trust me when I say that your father isn't going to react much differently than I did. And he's still going to love you all the same. Right, Honey?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Of course." Mr. Loud said, snapped from his thoughts. "Luna, please just tell me what's wrong already. The longer you make me wait, the more you're making me concerned. Whatever it is that's bothering you, I promise that everything will be fine."
He stood up and stepped up to Luna, taking her hands in his own. She looked her father in the eyes again and he gave her a small smile. One that helped Luna muster up the strength to tell him.
"I...I like girls! I'm bi!" She blurted out, a hot blush tinting her cheeks.
For a moment, Lynn Sr. did nothing but stare at Luna with wide eyes. But then he suddenly burst out laughing, surprising the other three in the room. Luna was both confused and worried by this unexpected reaction. Rita on the other hand, was not even the least bit amused with him.
"And just what is it about that that you find so funny?" She asked, her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He replied, managing to stop his laughter. "It's just that I was expecting to hear something bad. Like she had been expelled from school, or that some pervert had tried to force himself onto her! You know, an actual problem!" he let out a relieved sigh and pulled Luna in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Luna. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you to tell me that. But it's not going to make me stop loving you. There's nothing in the world that could change that."
Luna hugged her father back, , squeezing him tight with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I love you too, Pops."
The hug went on for a few seconds longer before they separated. Then Lynn Sr. put his hands onto Luna's shoulders, a serious look coming to his face.
"However, we are going to need a couple new rules for you, young lady. For starters, you cannot have any friends in your room alone with you unless the door stays open. Wide open. And if you go over a friend's house, you are to behave. I don't want to have somebody's parents telling me that they caught you fooling around with their son or daughter. Understood?"
Luna nodded.
"Good. Now I think we've had enough drama for one day. Let's go and get started on making dinner." the father said before turning to face his wife. "Care to join us, Honey?"
Rita smirked. "Well, I suppose that I should. If you really don't think that the three of you can handle things without me."
"There's no one else I would rather have supervising me." Lynn Sr. said, taking Rita's hand and helping her up onto her feet. "So what should we eat with our salmon tonight, Head Chef Rita?"
"Ooh, how about some steamed wild rice and garden vegetables?"
"Sounds good to me. Alright girls, you heard the boss! Let's get to work!"
He led the three Loud women out into the kitchen so they could all begin preparing the food. Soon the family was all gathered for their evening meal, aside of the sole brother and son of the family. But despite that, they enjoyed the food and talked like they normally did. It was a welcome experience for Lori after how dinner had gone the day before. She knew that she had yet to fully return to the good graces of her parents and siblings, but she felt that she was making progress. And she planned on making more of it first thing in the morning too.
-Loud House-
A delicious aroma filled the house the next day. Many members of the household were still snug in their beds, savoring the precious moments of sleep granted to them from a day off of school and work. Lori however had made a point to be up early on that day, willing to sacrifice the extra rest for the sake of preparing breakfast for her sisters and parents. Even if any of them happened to still be sore with her, she knew that they still wouldn't say 'no' to fresh chocolate chip pancakes.
Upstairs, some of the younger sisters were starting to cross from the realm of dreams back into the waking world. Lola Loud was the first, sitting upright in her bed and removing her sleeping mask. She caught the scent of Lori's cooking and she smiled widely, quickly getting out of bed.
"Lana!" Lola said, rushing over to her twin's side of the room. "Lana, wake up!"
A snore was the only response that Lola got. She frowned at Lana and pulled the other girl's blanket off of her in an attempt to wake her. But when that failed she next resorted to taking Lana's pillow and swinging it down on the girl's face, hard.
"Ahh!" Lana cried, startled from her dreams. She faced her sister and, upon realizing what had happened, gave her a sour look. "What was that for?! I was having a really cool dream! I was shrunk down really small and was riding on Hops's back!"
"Yeah, whatever." Lola said. "Tell me Lana, do you smell anything?"
Lana's brow furrowed and she crossed her arms. "Well excuse me, Princess. I didn't mean to gross you out. But I told you that I've been eating refried beans a lot lately and I don't have any control over what I do when I'm asleep!"
"EW! Gross! Not that kind of smell! It's something yummy smelling, coming from downstairs! Daddy is making pancakes!"
"Pancakes?!" Lana repeated, an excited smile coming to her own face. She scrambled out of bed, grabbing her cap from the place she had left it atop her bedpost as she made a beeline for the door. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" she called back to the princess. "Or I'll eat yours for you!"
"Oh no you don't!" Lola exclaimed. "I'm getting first dibs!"
Lola chased after Lana. But just as she left their room, she had to stop in her tracks. Lana was on her butt just outside of their bedroom door. And standing in front of her, a disapproving look on her face, was their mother who was carrying Lily.
"Well that couldn't have felt good." Rita noted. "Are you alright?"
Lana nodded. "Yeah. Sorry for bumping into you like that, Mom."
"And that's exactly why I don't want you kids running around inside. Now come on, let's get you up off of the floor."
Rita took Lana's hand and helped her back up. The mother then carried Lily downstairs, both Lola and Lana close behind her. She entered the dining room and set Lily into her high chair. The twins took their seats beside each other at the table by Lily.
"Would you two like some juice?" Rita asked.
"Yes, please." Lola said sweetly.
"Me too!" Lana added.
Their mother went into the kitchen and a moment later, Lori came out with a plate of fresh pancakes, topped with whipped cream and strawberries. She approached the twins and held it out in front of her. The scent of the fluffy, golden discs reached the two, eliciting happy sighs from them.
"Okay, who wants the first stack?" Lori asked.
"I do! I do!" The twins said at the same time, raising and waving their hands eagerly.
The two six year-olds looked at each other, their eyes meeting and narrowing. For a few seconds neither girl moved or said anything. But then Lola smirked smugly and shook her head a little.
"Oh Lana. Silly, silly Lana. I think you forgot an important detail. I called dibs."
"Yeah, well...I didn't hear you say it, so it doesn't count!"
"Fibber! I know that you heard me!" Lola said.
"Can't prove it!" Lana countered.
Lola growled and lunged at Lana. The two fell onto the floor and were soon rolling around while attempting to slap each other, pull the other's hair and dish out whatever names they could think to call the other. Eventually they wound up rolling right out of the dining room and into the living room where their fight continued. Lori watched them, not even the least bit surprised.
"I literally should have known better." She said to herself. "Oh well, it's their loss. They'll just have to wait while I just give these to someone else."
From her place in her high chair, Lily began to bounce a little and reached up towards Lori. The teen smiled at her baby sister and reached over to pat her on the head.
"Sorry Lily, but this is too much for your tiny tummy. But I made a baby-size pancake just for you. I'll be right back."
Lori turned to head back into the kitchen, setting down the plate of pancakes onto the table. And as she was just about to leave the room, Lisa entered. The kindergartener's eyes scanned the table, quickly locking onto the food that Lori had just put down. She walked over to the chair nearest the plate and climbed up onto it, licking her lips as she got a closer look.
"Just as I suspected." She stated. "The delicious aroma filling our dwelling is indeed flapjacks. With chocolate chips too! Are these reserved for anyone, Lori?"
"Nope. They're up for grabs. Help yourself."
"Don't mind if I do." Lisa said, rubbing her hands together before grabbing the plate. "I'll just consume these in the comfort of my room while I busy myself with my work. Thank you."
She carefully got down from the chair and went to return upstairs. But then she hesitated for a moment and then turned around to follow Lori into the kitchen.
"Lori, I wish to extend a sincere apology for yesterday. In hindsight, it was irrational of me to jump to conclusions the way I did. However, I would like to point out that the aforementioned irrationality stemmed from a lingering feeling of fear for Lincoln's well-being. To make amends for this, I humbly offer you a free spontaneous tutoring session. Please feel free to pop into my room whenever you wish to take advantage of my intellect."
"I'll be sure to do that." Lori said. "And Lisa? Don't worry about yesterday. You were just looking out for your big brother. It was actually pretty sweet of you. If you literally ignore the fact that you were threatening me, that is. Now hurry up and go eat your breakfast before it gets cold!"
Lisa did as told and made her way to her room so she could enjoy her meal while busying herself with her current studies. Lori meanwhile went to get Lily's pancake and cut it into small pieces. However she found that it had already been done, by her mother.
"Oh, thanks Mom."
"Thank you for cooking breakfast today." her mother replied. "But maybe next time you make pancakes, you could try using your father's electric griddle. It would save you time because you'd be able to make twice as many at once."
"Wish I had thought of that. Then I could have made enough for both Lola and Lana."
Rita sighed. "They're at it again, aren't they?"
"Afraid so." Lori said with a nod. "Neither of them would let the other have the first plate."
"I'll go and talk to them. You just keep cooking."
She picked up Lily's plate, along with a carton of orange juice and two empty cups which she tucked into her arm. Heading into the dining room, she set down the cups and carton onto the table and then gave Lily her breakfast. A big smile came to Lily's face as the food was placed within her reach. With a happy giggle, she grabbed her pancake pieces and began to gobble them up.
"Well, someone's hungry this morning." The mother observed. "Hopefully having a full belly means you won't have any trouble taking a nap today. But we'll worry about that later. Right now Mommy needs to go and get your silly big sisters."
Rita, following the sound of her still arguing twin daughters, entered the living room and found them. Their fighting had come to a conclusion, despite the bickering that was still occurring. And it seemed that Lola had been to one to come out on top. Quite literally.
"Get off of me!" Lana demanded, flat on her belly and kicking her legs.
"Only when you let me have those pancakes!" Lola replied from her place sitting on Lana's back.
"Never! You don't need them anyway! You're heavy enough as it is!"
Lola gasped. "Did you just call me fat?!"
"Yup." Lana said with a smirk.
"Why I oughta!"
"You ought to what?" Rita asked, stepping forward and crossing her arms.
"Oh! Hi Mommy! I didn't see you there!" Lola blurted out, getting up and smiling sweetly. "Lana and I were just..."
"Just going to go sit down at the table and behave?" Rita cut in. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Unless the two of you would prefer a time out."
The twins shook their heads. Rita pointed towards the dining room and the girls returned to their seats at the table. As they sat down, their mother poured them each a glass of juice and set them down in front of the two.
"Your sister is busy making more pancakes in the kitchen right now. And when they're ready, you two will split them evenly."
"What about the pancakes she already made?" Lana asked.
"Your little sister took them."
"Lily ate them?!"
"Don't be a dummy, Lana!" Lola said. "There's no way she could eat them all!"
A small burp sounded, followed by a satisfied giggle. Lola and Lana turned towards the source of the noise, Lily's high chair. Lily, having just finished the last of her food, now occupied herself by smearing the remaining syrup all over her plastic plate with her already sticky hands.
"Lily!" Lola gasped in surprise. "You little piggy! You did eat them all!"
Rita let out a small chuckle. "No, Lisa is the one who took them. I'm surprised neither of you noticed. Then again, maybe you couldn't because you were too busy with your little fight." she said, stepping over to Lily's chair and picking her up. "You need a bath, little lady. And as for you two, please be patient while Lori makes your pancakes. Because if you cause any more of a fuss, instead of pancakes, I'll have her make you both a healthy breakfast smoothie. She and Leni found a nice recipe for one that includes grapes, coconut...and spinach."
"EW!" Lola squealed. "Who would want to drink spinach?!"
"That's too gross, even for me!" Lana added.
"Then I recommend that you don't cause any more mischief. No 'her pancakes are bigger than mine' or 'hers have more chocolate chips' nonsense. Okay?"
The twins nodded and began to wait patiently as instructed. Rita carried Lily up to the bathroom to wash her up. On the way to the second floor, she passed by Luna who was on her way down to get breakfast.
"Good morning Honey." Rita greeted.
"S'up Mom. Hey Lilster."
"Ready for today?"
Luna nodded. "You bet. Don't worry, I'll keep the peace while you, Pops and Lori are all out."
"Good to hear. Then maybe you wouldn't mind taking charge sooner than planned? I was hoping to go with Lori and your father to start looking for new clothes and furniture for your brother."
There was a moment of hesitation before Luna spoke again. "Just how much sooner are we talkin'?"
"Not too long after breakfast. Maybe an hour and a half at the most. We're going to that nice store in Huntington Oaks that does custom-made furniture. And I want to be back with plenty of time before we need to drop Lori off at the community center. Are you okay with that?"
"You kidding? Of course I'm cool with it! Don't you worry about a thing. I'll have everything under control."
"I know that you will." Rita said, continuing up the stairs.
'Okay Lunes.' Luna thought. 'No biggie. You've got this. It's just babysitting. How hard can it be?'
End of Chapter 14.