Things often looked better in the mornings, Rita Loud had used this saying several times in her life, today was not one of them.
Lynn was giving her the cold shoulder, after yesterday's fiasco...
Lori had stomped off to school, along with Luan and Luna. The older woman winced when the girls sheepishly rejected her offer to drive them to school, like she was some beast.
Come to think of it everyone seemed to be avoiding her, Rita mulled about her normal chores. It being Monday ment that she had to get the house ready for the work week, Lynn cooked and did dishes while the kids their individual chores, Rita grocery shopped and swept and mopped the up and downstairs.
Lilly toddled about after her mother as Rita worked, the mother of eleven loved all of her children equally and tried to avoid picking favorites.
That being the major point of contention between her and Lynn...
Lynn had accused her of favoring Lori, the mother of eleven had snapped at her husband. It wasn't her best moment, they rarely fought but Lynn thought she was unfair to Leni. Now a couple hours later Rita was still trying to convince herself that she made the right choice.
The kids came home at their normal time, the older girls were talking excitedly as they walked in. Lori took one look at Rita and stomped past the older woman as Luan and Luna stopped talking and made excuses to avoid her.
Rita deflated once the girls went up stairs, Lincoln and Lynn Jr came through the door with Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa following. Revamping her attempts at talking to her kids.
" How was school"?
" school was fine", Lynn pushed past her mother in favor of avoiding awkward conversation.
Lincoln stammered out some excuses before following Luan and Luna Jr, Rita's smile wilted some. Her younger kids weren't much interested in conversing with their mother.
Dejected Rita pointedly noticed her second oldest oldest daughters absence. Leni had yet to come home after leaving yesterday, Lori to her mother's dismay had piled up te rest of Leni's belongings in the hall next to her door.
Rita hadn't expected Leni to be gone Long. Leni was different from the other kids, when the blonde was four and Lori was five. Rita was having a hard time coping with having a kindergartener, a preschooler and an infant. Lynn was working overtime while Rita was struggling to pass her dental hygienist classes, homework was her bane after a day of caring for small children and the house Rita had to force herself through grueling night classes.
On one particular night Rita wasn't having it, the whole day was a myriad of bad Luck. The gas ran high and left them in the negative after overdraft fees, Luna was colicky and refused to sleep all the previous night, and the cherry onto was that Rita had just gotten through finals...
The twenty four year old was exhausted, not knowing if she would pass her hygienists exam. All Rita wanted to do that day was sleep, for once Luna was fast asleep so Rita put on some cartoons and gave Leni and Lori some dry cereal to snack on.
Falling into bed Rita drifted into a deep deep sleep, a couple hours later Rita jerked awake. Her exhaustion forgotten the blonde feels a sense of dread blooming in her chest, the girls had let her sleep for four whole hours. Four uninterrupted hours, quickly exiting the bed room Rita checked on Luna first. The infant was sill sleeping peacefully, moving on Rita could hear the sound off the TV following by giggling. Sighing in relief Rita poked her head into the living room.
Lori was curled up in a light blue blanket, the table is covered in cereal. With no Leni...
Rita panicked and proceeded to demand to know where Leni had gone, Lori looked confused.
" I don't know, mommy".
" what do you mean you don't know, you're her older sister Lori! Do you want something bad to happen to her"?
Rita frantically searched the house while Lori followed her crying as she called out Leni's name.
They looked for hours, Rita getting more frustrated as they failed to find Leni. Rita was sure she'd have to call the police, that until Lori yelled that she had found Leni. Running Rita found her four and five year old in the pantry, sobbing the young woman held her kids close. After that she lectured Leni and Lori on the importance of family and supporting each other...
Sitting alone in the kitchen Rita could still feel a ghost of the pain from that night, the kids looked after each other and that had worked until now. Leni standing up to her was unexpected, Rita had never imagined Leni arguing against her. In the heat of the moment Rita lost her temper. As the mother, she knew best. Why couldn't Leni see that?