Eventually, Carly ended up talking to Jason and Sonny, leaving Kellie and Olivia to talk.
"So do you have any idea what you want to do after the baby's born?" Olivia asked.
"No clue," Kellie said, "On one hand it would be nice to just focus the new baby and the kids for awhile. But I'm afraid I'd get bored not working to some degree. I was starting the foundation when Jamie and Jared were born and expanding it when Alyssa was born."
"You took a lot of time off when Tyler was sick and afterwards," Olivia said, "I don't think you were bored just taking care of the kids. I know you still worked some, but Lorenzo and Charles handled a lot of your workload."
"I guess you're right," Kellie said, "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way. Right now with the way things are at the foundation, I don't even know what I'd do for work"
"The foundation sounds like it's a bit of mess right now," Olivia replied, "Are you sure you want to take that on?"
"I want to fix it," Kellie said, "So foundation does what I always wanted it to do. I just don't know if I can go back to work for the people that didn't even ask my side of the story. Not all of them will be implicated and some of them probably honestly thought they were doing the right thing."
"I think you're at a crossroads," Olivia said, "And you have to figure out what you want now and let go of whatever expectations you have about how you thought things would turn out with the foundation."
"It's not like I didn't know that I might not always work for the foundation," Kellie said, "I've always known my connections to Dad and Uncle Lo could be used against me to get me out or it might be problem."
"You thought it would be a decision you made with the people at the foundation," Olivia said, "Not them showing you the door."
"Yeah," Kellie said, "I guess that's the hardest part. I thought I had at least enough of their respect to make it a conversation and not a mutiny. They didn't come to me with their concerns. Even if I went back to work for the foundation, I'd always wonder what if they're not telling me something's not working. Not to mention they pushed back on a lot of decisions Lorenzo and I wanted to make. Decisions that might have prevented this whole mess if they'd backed us up."
"The foundation is a good thing," Olivia said, "I don't think anyone can deny that. I have absolute faith you'll get the foundation sorted out and cleaned up. But when it comes to what happens beyond that, I think you need to consider what's important to you and what you might be sacrificing. Can you honestly tell me you'd regret staying home with the kids for awhile and spending time with them?"
"No," Kellie said.
"Can you say the same if you decided to go back to work right away?" Olivia asked.
Kellie shook her head.
"I think that right there can tell you a lot," Olivia said, "But that's for you to figure out. It doesn't mean you couldn't go back to work eventually when the time is right. Knowing you, you'll find your way into something. I'd love to tell you that working for the foundation would be worth what you might sacrifice, especially because you founded it. The problem is honey, there are things about your life we know aren't going to change, the risks associated with Sonny and Jason's business are still the there as well as the risk from Tyler being Helena's grandson and your own past. Even if Tyler was still alive you'd be dealing with all those risks."
"The foundation mess might still have happened," Kellie said, "They would have tried to find another reason to fire me besides my relationship with Jason."
"That's probably true, But I guess what I'm trying to get at," Olivia said, "Is to be careful about going back to work for foundation if you think the people aren't to support you when your life gets rough. I just don't want you to rely on that and get hurt again. Especially when you have a lot of people behind you even when some of the ugly risks you have to deal with happen. People that aren't going to cut and run on you when things get rough."
"I hadn't thought of it that way," Kellie said, "Thanks, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't mean to."
"And that is not the first time you've called me Mom before," Olivia said, "I've told you I have no problems with you calling me Mom. In fact nothing would make me happier than for you to call me Mom and not feel like you need to apologize for it. As far as I'm concerned as you're every bit as much my child as Dante and Leo are. Unless I'm totally off base here, I'm pretty you think of me as your mom. Or am I wrong about that?"
"You're not wrong," Kellie said, "I love that you treat me like a daughter. I just don't want to take advantage of that."
"You're not taking advantage of me all," Olivia said, "If anything, I hit the jackpot with a beautiful daughter that I didn't have to go through all the child birth for. Though I'd would have done it if was the difference having you and not having you as a daughter."
Olivia grabbed Kellie's hand, "So what do you say? I think it's about time you stopped worrying about apologizing every time you end up calling me Mom? If you want to call me Mom, just go with it. "
"I'd like to try," Kellie said, "It might take some getting used to. I can't guarantee I might not screw it up and apologize or,,,"
"Nobody's perfect," Olivia said, "If you need to think about it that's okay. I just want you to know that options always there for you."
"I don't need to think about anymore... Mom," Kellie said.
Elementary School
Kellie went to the elementary school to pick up Jamie, Jared, and Alyssa. Jason had gone to pick up Danny from the middle school before picking up Jake.
Alyssa was the first one out of school.
"When did you get fat, Mommy?" Alyssa asked as she got in the car.
"Mom's not fat, she's pregnant," Jared said as he and Jamie came running out with Jake.
"That's the baby sticking out," Jamie said.
"Are you taking us to the park to meet Dad?" Jake asked.
"Your Dad is on his way to pick you up," Kellie said, "He went to pick up Danny first."
"Then we're meeting them at the park," Jamie said.
"Jared, Jamie, get in the car," Kellie said, nodded to the guard to make sure they did.
Kellie knelt next to Jake, "I think it is really sweet of you to invite Jamie and Jared to join you at the park today with your Dad and brother. I actually have surprise planned for them."
"Couldn't you do the surprise another day?" Jake asked, "It's a really nice day out and…"
"And they'll get to go outside," Kellie said, "But right now this time for you and your brother to spend with your Dad. Just the three of you."
"If Danny even shows up," Jake said.
"Even if for some reason it's just you and your Dad," Kellie said, "It's still good for you to spend time with your Dad, just the two of you. It's important for you and your Dad to have that time together."
"Hey buddy," Jason said, approaching them, "You ready to go?"
"I guess," Jake said, "Are you sure Jamie and Jared can't come?"
"Not this time," Kellie said, "But how about we set up another day for you and Jamie and Jared to get together?"
"Promise?" Jake asked.
"Promise," Kellie said as she heard the sound of her kids scuffling in the car, "We'll talk to your mom about it."
"Okay," Jake said, "I guess I"m ready. Is Danny still coming?"
"He's in the car," Jason said.
"I'll see you both later," Kellie said, standing up, "And you have fun."
"Let's go buddy," Jason said.
"Bye Kellie," Jake said, before he and Jason left, "Bye baby sibling."
Once Kellie got in the car, the kids started whining.
"Why can't we go to the park?" Jamie asked.
"Jake invited us," Jared said.
"We've been over this," Kellie said, "Sometimes we need to let Jake and Danny have time alone with their dad. I know Jake asked, but in the future you need to check with me before you say yes."
"I told you you'd get in trouble," Alyssa said.
"Only because you don't want to play ball," Jamie said.
"No one is in trouble," Kellie said, turning around to look at the kids.
"But since Jason's our stepdad and our dad's gone, why can't we go with him and Jake to play catch," Jamie asked.
"We know Jason's not really our dad," Jared said, "But he kind of feels like it since he lives with us."
"You guys, miss your dad, don't you," Kellie said.
"Yeah, we do. We know it's not the same, Mom," Jamie said, "But our new brother or sister has him for a dad."
"Does that mean Jason and you won't have time for us with the new baby?" Alyssa asked, "Ashley says new baby's get all the attention."
"I will always have time for you, all of you," Kellie said, "Will the new baby need a lot of attention? Yes, but that doesn't mean I won't have time for you. You guys are really fortunate to have Jason as a stepdad and he can do some of the things your Dad would have done with you. But his own sons need that time with him, especially since they don't live with him. Think about it this way, how would you feel if I constantly did things with Jake and Danny and not you guys."
"I guess it wouldn't seem fair," Jamie said.
"You're not Jake and Danny's mom," Jared said, "It wouldn't make sense that we wouldn't get your to ourselves sometimes."
Kellie was unsure what to say next and the kids continued the car ride in silence. Kellie whispered to the guard who was driving. Instead of going straight home like they'd planned, the guard drove them to the cemetery.
"Why are we at the cemetery?" Jared asked, " I thought we were going home."
"Since you're missing your Dad, I thought maybe you'd like to visit his grave," Kellie said.
"It's not like his body is there, we dumped his ashes in the ocean," Jamie said.
"Doesn't mean we can't still visit the cemetery and his grave here," Kellie said, pulling s'mores supplies out of a grocery bag, "Maybe we can all have smore before we go home."
"Can we make Daddy a smore?" Alyssa said.
"Of course," Kellie said.
"If you bought smores supplies, does this mean we're having a campout in the backyard," Jared asked.
"That's exactly what it means," Kellie said.
"With a fire in the fire pit?" Jamie asked.
"What's a campout without a fire to roast marshmallows," Kellie said.
"Yes," Jared said.
"So let's go have a smore by Daddy's spot here," Kellie said, "And you can tell him everything about your day and what you're going to do on your campout."
"Are you sure Daddy can hear us?" Alyssa asked.
"I sure hope so," Kellie said.